Statement from the President | June 8, 2020

OUR TROUBLED TIMES

We at the Jung Institute of Chicago are distraught and deeply saddened by the violence and racism directed at people of color. We join in solidarity with all our sisters and brothers who have been the object of ongoing systemic racial discrimination, violence and hatred. We express our deepest sympathy for the deaths of the most recent victims of racial violence, George Floyd , Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the untold stories of so many who have suffered from the systemic oppression and injustice in our nation.

We astonishingly watch as the world community from Minneapolis, to DC, to London, to Berlin, to Tehran, to Dublin join in protest together – we witness and join the agony and suffering of the world soul responding to the oppression and ubiquitous racism prevalent in our world. We wish to join all peoples hand-in-hand in bringing greater consciousness and change as the fruit of the lives that have been lost through reckless and violent acts of hatred. 

The Jungian community of Chicago acknowledges that it needs to be part of the solution of bringing healing and care and an ongoing response that involves the courage to speak out and address racism in all its disguises. If we are faithful we will transform racism in both ourselves and in our world consciousness!

As sages throughout history have reminded us, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jesus, Jung and others, that one of the most difficult things is not to change society – but to change ourselves. We all have a purpose and mission, just like our brother, George.

George J. Didier
President

Adina Davidson | From the Sacred to the Banal: Can we Find a Way to Move Telehealth From the Banal to the Sacred?

This is part of a continuing series of posts from conversations with Lisa Maechling Debbeler, JD, MA, LPCC about the nature of being a therapist/analyst in a time of quarantine. We began talking on Saturday March 21, 2020 at the beginning of the shut down and are continuing to talk weekly. We were both continuing to work and trying to see as many of our clients/analysands as possible through Zoom or other virtual methods. We were both finding this both unexpectedly and expectedly difficult and wanted to share our experiences with colleagues and friends that we respect.


Lisa sent me a link to some long-term qualitative research being done by analysts who have been doing Teletherapy prior to the Covid 19 crisis. One of the issues they raised was whether Teletherapy brought an experience of banality into a sacred experience.

What makes our work sacred?

For me it is the times when I and my client or analysand experience the flow of healing that is beyond one ego talking to another ego. It seems that the connection or the field between the two of us opens a channel to something larger than either of us could have brought into the room. We experience the presence of the numinous. In Kabbalah or Jewish mystical tradition, this flow is called Shefa which can be translated as divine emanation or flow. Perhaps a analogous term more familiar in mainstream culture might be Grace.

In general, therapists and even analysts don’t talk a lot about this experience perhaps because it is so beyond our control but also because it is beyond language. By definition it is hard to talk about. At the same time, I would argue that without the presence of the numinous/Shefa/Grace there is no deep healing. With it there is sometimes change that seems miraculous or inexplicable.

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Freddie Taborda | The Future of Jungian Analysis After Coronavirus

Several years ago, I arrived at a building, and I thought it was empty. To my surprise, I ran into a man from another country (Mexico). I asked him if he was by himself. He said, “No.” Then, he added, as a clarification, of who else was with him: “My soul and I.” 

I was struck by the beauty and the wisdom of his comment, and I found out, later on, that his response was a cultural and popular phrase from his native land. I believe his comment (“My soul and I”) is an archetypal experience that highlights the primary and fundamental direction that Jungian analysis needs to take during and after the time of Coronavirus.

Coronavirus has forced individuals to ‘stay home’; it has compelled people to distance themselves from others; governments from around the world have implemented “social distancing” measures in public places, and the streets of major cities from around the world are somewhat empty. During this pandemic, people are forced to spend more time alone, at home. Solitude has increased world-wide. Individuals are noticing they are forced to be by themselves, at home, unless they distract themselves with electronic gadgets. Silence is more noticeable as well as the absence of other people. Therefore, Coronavirus is leading us to a spatial, temporal, emotional, and spiritual space of “My soul and I.” It is a space of possibilities and terrors.  

I believe the archetypal sentence, “My soul and I”,  has laid out the path that Jungian analysis needs to primarily pursue during and after the time of Coronavirus: the exploration, cultivation, and the caring for the Ego-Self Axis or “the soul and I.” In a letter to P.W. Martin, Jung (1945) stated, “…the main interest of my work is…the approach to the numinous…[which] is the real therapy…[and] as you attain to the numinous experiences you are released from the curse of pathology.” Furthermore, Jung delineated the relationship between images, soul, and the Divine, and emphasized the centrality of the Divine through working with images from dreams, active imagination, and synchronicities. Therefore, in time of Coronavirus, it is important that both analysts and analysands focus, during analysis, on those images (Soul) for ‘releasing’ the individual from pathology.

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Speaking of Jung Podcast | Interview with Tom Lavin

Speaking of Jung, a podcast by Laura London, is a wonderful series of interviews with Jungian Analysts. In this episode, recorded on April 27, 2016, she interviews Tom Lavin, PhD, member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts.

Thomas Patrick Lavin, PhD is a Zürich-trained Jungian analyst who holds a PhD in clinical psychology and a PhD in theology. He was formerly chief clinical psychologist for the U.S. Army in Europe and is a founding member of the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is in private practice in Wilmette, Illinois, and consults internationally on typology, spirituality and addictions. He has many recorded lectures available on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago’s online store, including Jung’s Commentary on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, and Madness, Religious Experience, & the Wisdom to Know the Difference, and Myths to Grow By. The first part of Myths to Grow By, “Mythologies of Journey & Pilgrimage“, is available for free through the Jungianthology Podcast.

Listen to the interview on

Speaking of Jung is available through a variety of podcasting platforms and apps, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Just search for “Speaking of Jung” in your favorite podcasts app to subscribe on your mobile device. You can also listen to select episodes on YouTube.


Links: The Speaking of Jung Podcast Website | This Episode of Speaking of Jung | The Speaking of Jung YouTube Channel | Tom Lavin’s Recorded Lectures on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website

Stefano Carpani | Past Plagues, Present Psyche: Finding Resilience, Creativity, and Joy in the Time of Coronavirus with Susan Rowland

This video is part of the series “Psychosocial Wednesdays”, an initiative by: Paul Attinello, Stefano Carpani and Bernhard von Guretzky.

Susan Rowland, PhD is associate Chair of two hybrid programs at Pacifica Graduate Institute: MA Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life MA. Author of seven books on Jung, literary theory, gender and ecology, her latest work is The Ecocritical Psyche (Routledge 2012), which argues for a symbol embodying a reciprocal relationship with non-human nature. Previously Professor of Jungian Studies at the University of Greenwich, London, she was founding Chair of the International Association of Jungian Studies 2003-6.

Stefano’s YouTube Channel | Stefano’s Website | Susan Rownland’s page and recorded lectures on the C. G, Jung Institute of Chicago Website | Susan Rowland’s Website | All COVID-19 related posts

Journal of Analytical Psychology | The Use of Skype in Analysis and Training: A Research and Literature Review

In a recent blog post, the Journal of Analytical Psychology shared a recently published issue of their free virtual journal, which includes the following article. The blog post includes an update by the author called “Working Online”.


The use of Skype in analysis and training: a research and literature review

John Merchant | Journal of Analytical Psychology | First Published: 18 May 2016 | Abstract | Full text | PDF

CIIS | Richard Tarnas: What’s Happening in the Stars Right Now

In this video by the California Institute for Integral Studies, cultural historian Richard Tarnas shared his thoughts about the synchronicity of what is happening in the heavens with what is happening now on our planet with COVID-19.  He offered an astrological perspective as to what was happening that seems to be affecting our planet, among such things as climate change and this pandemic. Tarnas offers a wider view of the history of the conjunctions of Pluto-Jupiter and Saturn which also coincided with other records of historical events.

Links: Richard Tarnas’s Website | California Institute for Integral Studies | ArchetypalView YouTube Channel

They Had a Dream (We Have a Dream): C G Jung, MLK, and the Evocative Power of Symbols

with Jennifer Leigh Selig, PhD

In continuation of our COVID-19 response, we are sharing another full seminar. You can support our ongoing efforts to provide free and low-cost educational resources during this pandemic by making a donation on our website or a purchase in our audio and video store. We have extended our Stay Connected Sale through May 31st, so you can still get 40% everything in our store (use the coupon code CONNECT on the cart page before checkout).

Jung initially rejected the invitation to write Man and His Symbols, whose intention was to make Jungian psychology understandable to a general audience, but a dream convinced him otherwise. In his dream, he speaks to a multitude of enthralled people who understand everything he says. In this presentation on Chapter 1 of Man and His Symbols, “Approaching the Unconscious,” we’ll explore how two years after Jung completed both his chapter and his life, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to a multitude of enthralled people and translated many Jungian concepts into everyday language in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Jung’s chapter is concerned with four major areas—the unconscious, dreams, archetypes, and symbols—all four of which we find illustrated and translated to a general audience in King’s dream speech. We’ll dream the dream forward into the 2020 election and see how leading presidential candidates are working with archetypes and symbols as well, on behalf of the psychological health of the body politic.

A PDF of the PowerPoint shown during the seminar, which includes links to the videos on YouTube, is available HERE . It was recorded on October 4, 2019.

Jennifer Leigh Selig, PhD is the founder and former chair of the Jungian and Archetypal Studies doctoral degree at Pacifica Graduate Institute. She has spent almost two decades researching, writing about, and presenting on Martin Luther King, Jr., including her 2005 title, Integration: The Psychology and Mythology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and His (Unfinished) Therapy With the Soul of America. Her latest books include Everyday Reverence: A Hundred Ways to Kneel , Kiss the Ground, and a co-authored volume titled Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spiritjenniferleighselig.com

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© 2019 Jennifer Leigh Selig. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
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Speaking of Jung Podcast | Terms & Concepts: Interview with Ken James

Speaking of Jung, a podcast by Laura London, is a wonderful series of interviews with Jungian Analysts. In the recent episode “Terms & Concepts”, she interviewed Ken James, PhD, member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. More information about the episode is available HERE.

Dr. James maintains a private practice in Chicago, Illinois at The Soulwork Center.  His areas of expertise include dream work and psychoanalysis, archetypal dimensions of analytic practice, divination and synchronicity, and ways to sustain the vital relationship between body, mind and spirit.  He has done post-doctoral work in music therapy, the Kabbalah, spirituality and theology, and uses these disciplines to inform his work as a Jungian analyst.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vo3XU0KBTo

Speaking of Jung is available through a variety of podcasting platforms and apps, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Just search for “Speaking of Jung” in your favorite podcasts app to subscribe on your mobile device. You can also listen on YouTube.

Links: The Speaking of Jung Podcast Website | This Episode of Speaking of Jung | The Speaking of Jung YouTube ChannelKen James’s Website | Ken James’s Recorded Lectures on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website

Enemies Podcast | Opposites/Contraries During the COVID-19 Crisis

In the podcast Enemies: From War to Wisdom, Polly Young-Eisendrath, PhD and Eleanor Johnson “analyze human hostilities from the most mundane to the most sophisticated as we apply psychology, psychoanalysis, art, spirituality, and relational theory in conversations about belonging in our relationships and ideologies”. From the episode description:

At this crucial juncture when we are beginning to contemplate our return to “life outside,” when the lock-down is over, we especially need to be reflective, thoughtful, and open-minded. The famous poet and artist William Blake wrote “Without Contraries, No Progress” in his famous poem “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” In this episode, we will talk about the importance of all sides of the conversation being included in our coming to terms with what is next, regarding this virus, our economy, and other future pandemics. How do we work with our communities, ourselves, and our bodies in order to stay healthy and aware? How does our human relationship with nature evolve now that we have seen the imbalances of human greed and wealth openly revealed? Without getting into politics, we will touch on topics such as 5G, vaccines, our human and civil rights, and what kinds of issues we need to open our eyes and ears to in these coming weeks, months, and years.

Listen On:

Links: Enemies: From War to Wisdom Podcast | Polly Young-Eisendrath’s Website | Polly Young-Eisendraths‘s page and recorded lectures on the C. G, Jung Institute of Chicago Website | All COVID-19 related posts

Stefano Carpani | C.G. Jung, Death & Covid-19 as the Teacher: Conversation with Polly Young-Eisendrath

Polly Young-Eisendrath, PhD is a Jungian analyst, psychologist, teacher and author. She is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont and in private practice in central Vermont. Polly is the originator of Dialogue Therapy, which is designed to help couples and others (for example, parents and grown children) to transform chronic conflict into greater closeness and development.

Links: Stefano’s YouTube Channel | Stefano’s Website | Polly Young-Eisendraths‘s page and recorded lectures on the C. G, Jung Institute of Chicago Website | Polly Young-Eisendrath’s Website | All COVID-19 related posts

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