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Subtle Solstice: Holding the Tension of Opposites at 26° Latitude

Subtle Solstice: Holding the Tension of Opposites at 26° Latitude

Editor’s Note: This reflection completes our 2025 seasonal trilogy. After exploring the “relentless solar nature” of Summer in Southwest Florida and the balancing point of the Autumnal Equinox, Dr. Annemarie Connor now guides us into the subtle, internal landscape of the Winter Solstice at 26° North. 

Here in the subtropics of Southwest Florida, the shortest day and longest night of the year come together more subtly than in the greater latitudes of either pole. This year’s winter solstice falls on Sunday, December 21st, and promises mild temperatures, partly cloudy skies and a sunrise past 7am on Monday morning. As just about anyone who has lived in the Sunshine State for a few winters will confirm, we grow acclimated to the bright sunshine and can experience even a lightly overcast sky as impetus for an afternoon nap or a day spent on the sofa rather than the sand. As I reflect on the symbolic amplifications of the Winter Solstice, I find myself contemplating the contrasting energies of opposites, day and night, sun and moon, warmth and coldness, while pondering how this “tension of opposites” presents when one’s distance to the equator is a mere 26°.

Jung, Lake Zürich, and the Tension of Opposites

In Collected Works, volume 8, Jung writes: “The greater the tension between the pairs of opposites, the greater will be the energy that comes from them” (1928/1969, para. 49). 

The differential between the average high temperature on this Winter Solstice and the most recent Summer Solstice in our region was a mere 10°F, hardly the contrast Dr. Jung would have experienced on any December day, gazing out at the icy edges of Lake Zürich and contemplating his last sail down the shadeless lake in the heat of the summer sun. In fact, the tension of seasonal opposites in Zurich is sometimes so great that summer sailing contrasts winter skating when the vast “Zürichsee” freezes over. 

Here we see the lake frozen just south of the Altstadt, or Old Town, in February of 1929.

Figure 1. 1929 (Photo: ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Photographer: Pleyer, Wilhelm)

This scene is a quick twenty-minute ride north on a fast and efficient Swiss train from Jung’s home in Küsnacht. He was 53 years old in 1929 and surely had a similarly icy view from the back of his home on the lake. However, the view from his upstairs home office, his primary workspace and consulting room, would have been limited by the small windows and diffusely lit stained glass. Even more secluded was his smaller office across the hall, a small, dark alchemical lab of sorts, where he wrote The Red Book. Thus, at either solstice, summer or winter, Jung created a work environment that facilitated his focus on the inner work of individuation by segregating his workspace from the extroverted and playful energy of Lake Zurich in any season.

Enantiodromia and the Search for the Third Position

Winter Solstice in the North holds tension dramatically. Here in the South, one must be more intentional to notice the contrast. In the absence of a dramatic outward freezing or winter “death” of nature, we may face greater difficulty in creating a tension that allows one to turn toward the unconscious and the work of individuation. Jung used the Greek concept of enantiodromia, “running contrariwise,” to describe how the tension of opposites can drive one back and forth dramatically and unconsciously between poles (Samuels et al., 1986), such as optimism and pessimism, the symbolic equivalent to summer vs. winter. While this tension is inevitable, and a natural law espoused by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, it leads to true transformation only when the transcendent, the new, the third position emerges beyond the opposites.

Perhaps the relentless solar nature of the “Sunshine State” of mind leads naturally to a yearning for the overcast, or the darkness of a more lunar, reflective stance.  Yet lingering on one pole or the other leads to stagnation, and swinging wildly between each position, while perhaps exhilarating, equally leads nowhere. Both poles are necessary yet insufficient to effectively drive the individuation process. Jung might caution us that, according to nature, either pole leads only to its opposite, and if we are to be transformed, we must notice the contrast and become conscious of it in order to develop psychologically. Again, in South Florida, the poles are not so distinct, which may put one at risk of falling into a state where we metaphorically expect sunshine without shadow.

Lessons from the Mangrove: A Subtle Sacrifice

So, at this Southwest Florida Winter Solstice, let us strive to find ways to be more conscious, more “awake” in our naps and sofa retreats, so that we might experience an internal “winter” that helps us temper unconscious polarization (CW, 6 Para 709) and find something new and unexpected under the sun, perhaps even sacrifice that which no longer serves us. As an example of holding this tension, consider the mangrove trees that line our brackish waterways. In contrast to the Death-Rebirth archetype evoked by the denuding of leaves in the deciduous forests of the North, here the transformation is more subtle. The mangrove does not dramatically drop its leaves but, instead, sacrifices only those yellowing leaves that hold excess salinity. It slows its production of sap and deepens its roothold in the calmer, winter waters. This shift is not outwardly obvious but is vitally important in the ongoing filtration and stabilization of our estuaries – the lifegiving feeding, breeding, and birthing waters of the Gulf.

Figure 2. Mangrove Habitat, Jess Sutt/USFWS, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/media/mangrove-habitat

Creating Your Own Inner Laboratory

In conclusion, it seems that the subtlety of Winter Solstice at 26-degrees latitude offers us the opportunity to be invited gently into the winter season and to ponder what aspects of our personal psychological geography might be symbolized in the softening of the winter sunshine, the sacrifice of a few salty leaves, or the deepening of our hold on the deep, perhaps ancestral, layer of our psyches. Beyond a date on the calendar,  Winter Solstice in the subtropics is an opportunity to pause, not as in retreat from the cold and ice of the North, but in a humid and heavy stillness that allows one to reflect and discern what little deaths or sacrifices may be offered in service to inner peace, abundance, and the growing light of consciousness as the days grow longer. How will you create your own inner alchemical laboratory this solstice? Mine will surely include a brief afternoon nap, allowing a deadline or two to slip past, sunset out on the salty backwaters of the mangroves and, hopefully, the bringing to light of some small, new, precious facet of the Self.

-Dr. Annemarie Connor, CGJSS Board Member

 

Works Cited

Jung, C. G. (1969). The structure and dynamics of the psyche (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1928)

Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types (H. G. Baynes, Trans.; R. F. C. Hull, Rev.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1921)

Jung, C. G. (2009). The Red Book: Liber novus (S. Shamdasani, Ed.; M. Kyburz & J. Peck, Trans.). W. W. Norton & Co. (Original work written c. 1913–1930)

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Aequus Nox: A Jungian Reflection on Balance

Fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun sits directly above earth’s equator, creating the aequus nox, or “equal night.” During this convergence, day and night are approximately 12 hours each. As the sun is poised on this demarcation of opposites, it seems fitting that we reflect on some of the archetypal amplifications of balance and its importance to our psychological wellbeing. 

According to Jungian Psychology, one-sidedness, or the loss of balance, is a precarious state that can lead to illness or even soul loss. In Man and His Symbols (1964), Marie-Louise Von Franz describes the soul as one’s “regulating center” (p. 228), the central fulcrum about which we seek to move into a gentle balance of inner and outer, mystical and rational, inflation and humility.  An oar is an example of a fulcrum in action. The point on which the oar rests on the rowlock is a fulcrum. Without this pivot point the oar lacks the support and stability needed for it to function as a lever and, thereby, create a mechanical advantage for the rower. In a state of balanced forces, the rower’s applied effort is transferred into the work of moving the boat. The balance of the oar on the fulcrum optimizes energy transfer and, without the fulcrum, efficiency and power is lost.

Von Franz has described ways in which we may lose contact with the fulcrum, the center, the soul. In Man and His Symbols, she writes how overpowering instinct or, conversely, an “over-consolidation of ego-consciousness” (p. 228) can tip one off balance. First, she describes, how instinct run amok can carry the individual into a “one-sidedness that makes him lose balance” (1964, p. 258). In the Collected Works, volume 8, Jung described five primary instincts as fundamental to being human. The instincts range from survival needs (hunger, sexuality, physical activity) to complex psychic needs (reflection and creativity). When out of balance the drive for any one of these instincts impedes function and can lead to illness in the body and the psyche. Obsessive thoughts and compulsive drives around food, sex, or exercise are associated with biopsychosocial ailments including addictions. While perhaps most obvious when considering the survival instincts, a poorly positioned or missing fulcrum related to self-reflection or creativity may also lead to dysfunction. When the oar slips too far into the water, one falls into fantasy or daydreaming. In this realm of the deep, one can lose contact with the agency and power needed to row the boat, to move through life. In the worst of scenarios excessive reflection or manic creativity may be a fall into the depths of depression or psychosis. Secondly, Von Franz warns that the opposite constellation, the over-consolidation of ego functioning, leads to a dryness. The oar is figuratively out of the water of the unconscious and, therefore, there is no depth or meaning; life becomes flat and transactional. Metaphorically, there is no need to row when the oars are pulled up; life is simply lived above the unconscious depths and psychospiritual development is halted. 

When the oar slips the lock and falls to the depths, or is pulled up out of the water, a new source of power may be needed to restore the system to balance. At the level of the psyche, these restoring forces can be the anima or animus. At the level of the interpersonal, the analyst can help one to proverbially reset the oar on the fulcrum so that one may, once again, move effectively through life. Reliably, it is our dreams that come nightly to help rebalance the oar on the fulcrum. Jung writes, “The general function of dreams is to try to restore our psychological balance by producing dream material that re-establishes, in a subtle way, the total psychic equilibrium” (1964, p. 33).  The balance of the equinox cannot stay. The balance of light and dark will tip, and we must leverage our resources, instinctive and psychological, to adjust to the decreasing hours of daylight in seas both calm and turbulent. At this autumnal equinox, as we rest for one day in the harmonious balance of dark and light, we might reflect on our agency as captains of our little boats, our individual egos, navigating the liminal space of sea and sky. In this moment of pause, it may be wise to consider the position of one’s oar and the effects of pulling up or dropping in to various degrees as we navigate a new season. 

-Dr. Annemarie Connor, CGJSS Board Member

Works Cited

Jung, C. G. (1964). Man And His Symbols. Anchor Books/Doubleday.

Jung, C. G. (1970). The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (G. Adler & R. F. C. Hull, Eds. & Trans.). Princeton University Press.

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Paradise and Pandemonium: A Jungian Take on Summer in SWFL

Summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun “stands still,” a phenomenon captured by the Latin roots sol (sun) and stice (stand still). Here in Southwest Florida, it feels summery for weeks before the summer solstice and remains steamy well past the fall equinox. Perhaps it’s more appropriate to measure the seasons here as “dry,” December through May, and “wet,” June through November. More ominously, we can divide the year between hurricane season and high season. As our planet tips toward its closest point in relation to the sun every June, we locals enjoy decreased traffic, bathtub temps in the Gulf, and more bites on the fishing line. Yet we are concurrently tuned in to the low-level hum, the background noise of our alertness for upcoming storms, which foretells anything from a day away from the daily grind to the loss of home, health, wealth, or certainty. In high season, the snowbirds return to enrich our economy, the hot sunny days shorten, and our weather-related anxieties calm. Thus, we live in a land of opposites: paradise and pandemonium.

Jung used the daily journey of the sun and the four seasons as metaphors for the phases of life. Morning/Spring is akin to youth, when we rise out of our infantile merger with the Great Mother of the Unconscious and develop an ego and persona that gets us out into life in a way that is, hopefully, adapted to the demands of the world. High Noon/Summer symbolizes mid-life, typically a time of high-level engagement with career, family, and social obligations. If we are fortunate, high noon also brings an increase in consciousness, often in the form of a mid-life crisis from which we become disillusioned with the mundane and turn toward the transpersonal. Setting Sun/Autumn & Winter point toward old age as a time for introspection and accepting who we are, have been, and will become as we sink back into the Unconscious via the Death Mother.

So, what would Dr. Jung think about the subtropical, bi-annual seasons of Southwest Florida? Psychologically, I think he would challenge us to look beyond the opposites of paradise vs. pandemonium. He might suggest that we suffer the summer banishment from the winter garden of paradise and accept the wet season’s dark aspects as the prima materia, the uncomfortable yet necessary dark skies and downpours that make a dry and temperate winter possible. In alchemy, the prima materia is the undifferentiated, chaotic, and raw material from which something new and whole emerges. Indeed, Jung himself observed: “The psychological rule says that when an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate. That is to say, when the individual remains undivided and does not differentiate, the outside world must, of necessity, assume the split” (Jung, 1959, par. 126). For life lived only in the garden is infantile and unconscious, a wasting-away in Margaritaville, while weathering the storms of summer brings conscious awareness to the opposites of wet and dry, dark and light, good and evil that we must accept as conditions of being mere mortals in the sub-tropics. In sum, I imagine Dr. Jung would have much more to say on the subject than I can imagine. Yet, on the other hand, C.G. may have simply hopped an early spring flight back to Zurich where the lake stays bracingly cool, the mosquitoes are few, and the summer tourists sip Aperol Spritz by the shore.

-Dr. Annemarie Connor, CGJSS Board Member

Works Cited

Jung, C. G. (1959). Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (CW 9ii, par. 126).

A Brief Introduction to Jungian Sandplay Therapy


by Karen Hartfield

Dora Kalff, a Swiss Jungian analyst, developed Jungian-based sandplay therapy in the mid 1900s around three defining influences in her life. As one of Jung’s students, she embraced Jungian theories of psychology and the power of the unconscious in her own practice. She also adapted and expanded what she learned from contemporary child therapist Margaret Lowenfeld’s extensive work with children and play. Finally, Kalff was exposed to Buddhist thought when she housed Buddhist monks who had fled their home country for political reasons. Sandplay therapy combines these influences in its recognition of the deep wisdom and import of the psyche, the concepts of presence, and the creation of a sacred space for healing.

Jungian-based sandplay therapy uses two trays filled with sand (one dry, one damp) and a variety of miniatures that can be placed in the trays to create a three-dimensional scene or image. Through allowing this simple act of imagination and creation, the trays provide a means of expressing and processing experiences and feelings that bypass the thinking, analytical brain and access the unconscious. This can bring to light what is not otherwise visible. According to Jung, symbol is the language of the psyche. By providing a safe opportunity for the psyche to express itself through symbol, healing can come, not from the interpretation of the “completed” image, but in the expression of the image itself.

Jung wrote: “Often the hands know how to solve a riddle with which the intellect has wrestled in vain.”

Our thoughts often lead in circles; engaging a different and more visceral form of expression can break the cycle and create new and deeper understanding.

Each aspect of sandplay therapy is important. The tray offers a safe, contained space in which to process and explore. The sand provides a visceral, grounding means of connection. (Jung himself experienced the powerful healing properties of playing and working in sand). The miniatures are the symbols that communicate multiple layers of conscious and unconscious thoughts and experiences.  And the sandplay therapist is the witness that holds the protected space in which this sacred and often numinous process can transpire.   

Sandplay Therapy As Personal Process

Sandplay therapy is beneficial for both adults and children. It can be used in conjunction with other forms of therapy, and encourages the process of self-discovery and healing. 

However, sandplay therapy is not only for those dealing with specific issues. Those who are seeking a deeper understanding of themselves and a desire to live more consciously can also choose to explore themselves through a sandplay therapy process.

“In sandplay therapy, through the free and protected space, the individual is able to penetrate the depths of the personality and experience the Self. From this ground, a more naturally balanced relationship between the ego and the Self manifests. When this occurs, one has the opportunity to live life in a more conscious, authentic manner,” according to Sandplay Therapists of America, a nonprofit organization that promotes education, training and research in sandplay therapy. 

Allowing expression through the use of symbols, within a safe and protected space, touches into the personal underground connections that reach forward and back, and into the many layers of the psyche, shifting one’s internal state and one’s experience of the world in subtle and profound ways.

Karen Hartfield is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Sandplay Practitioner with Sandplay Therapists of America. She is the STA Regional Rep for Florida. She continues to expand her study of and involvement in this modality; in 2018 she also participated in a week long training with the International Institute for Sandplay Therapy in Malta. Her practice, Fearless Heart Counseling, is located in Venice. For more information visit Fearlessheartcounseling.com or call 941.301.7490.

 

 

INsight Lecture Series Offers Soul-Stirring Season from Jung Society

Imagine, create, transform graphic with paint splashes.

Lineup for 25th Anniversary Year Delves into Wholeness, Creativity, Resilience, Dreams, Near-Death Experiences & Exploring the Richness of Aging

November 1, 2019 / Sarasota, FL— Five intellectually stimulating and soul-stirring lectures will be presented in Sarasota by Jungian thought leaders from around the country during the C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota’s 2020 INsight Lecture & Workshop Series. The society’s monthly INsight lectures are deep and delightful excursions into topics that include finding personal resilience in changing times, creativity and art, exploring the richness of aging, and confronting the mysteries of life, death, and near-death experiences. All topics are discussed through the lens of Carl Jung’s theories of analytical psychology.

INsight speakers explore dilemmas of the human condition, the horizons of imagination and creativity, and the journey toward enlightenment and expanded consciousness—all illuminated by Carl Jung’s timeless concepts. The lectures kick off in November, take a break for December, and then resume monthly from January through April 2020. All lectures take place on Friday evenings from 7-9 p.m., and include a question and answer discussion with the audience. The events are held in Sarasota at either the Carlisle Inn, 3727 Bahia Vista St., or the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Rd.

November 15, Dr. Galin McGowan, a diploma graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich and a practicing Jungian analyst in Sarasota, will speak on “Divine Imagination and the Evolution of Consciousness,” at the Carlisle Inn. Tickets, $20-30; event includes coffee and dessert reception and art exhibit beginning at 6:30 p.m.

January 17, Dr. James Hollis, a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst practicing in Washington D.C., and the author of 15 books, will speak on “Living Between Worlds: Finding Personal Resilience in Changing Times,” at the Carlisle Inn. Tickets, $25-35.

February 14, Jungian analyst and art therapist Nora Swan-Foster will speak on “Jungian Art Therapy: The Visual Inner Path Toward Wholeness,” at the Carlisle Inn. Tickets $15-25.

March 13, Dr. Michael Conforti, founder of the Assisi Institute, author of several books, and a Jungian analyst practicing in Mystic, Connecticut, will speak on “Intimations of the Night: The Soul’s Call to Return Home,” at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota. Tickets $15-25.

The INsight lecture series concludes on April 3 with Dr. Monika Wikman, a Jungian analyst, astrologer, and author, who will speak on “Dreams, Life, Death, and the Alchemical Wedding Between Worlds,” at the Unitarian church. Tickets $15-25.

Each Friday night lecture is followed by a Saturday workshop presented by the speaker. Continuing Education credits are available for Dr. Hollis’ and Dr. Wikman’s events from the Friendship Center for Aging Studies at nominal additional cost. Package tickets for both lecture and workshop are also available. Learn more, register, and buy online at cgjungsarasota.com, or call 941.952.8188./end

About the C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota

The C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota is a nonprofit organization established in 1995 to encourage personal growth and raise the consciousness of individuals of all ages. The Society’s lectures, workshops and small group meetings are inspired by the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), whose theories on archetypes, synchronicity and the collective unconscious have profoundly influenced how society understands and relates to the arts and cultural disciplines, as well as providing a widely accepted framework for individual exploration of the human psyche. Learn more at cgjungsarasota.org, or contact Executive Director Lisa Cedrone at 941.952.8188 or JungSarasota@yahoo.com.

About C. G. Jung

C. G. Jung, one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, profoundly influenced all aspects of our modern culture, including medicine, religion, philosophy, literature and art. In the field of psychoanalysis, Jung developed his own system of analytical psychology. Through his pioneering theories of personality and the unconscious, Jung is responsible for many terms now considered common: the archetype and the collective unconscious, introvert and extravert, anima and animus, synchronicity and individuation, even New Age spirituality. Over the years, Jung’s ideas about dream interpretation, the integration of the psyche as the goal of personal development, and the common roots of all human mythologies have achieved world recognition.

Jung Society of Sarasota Names New President and Board Members

Jung Society of Sarasota Names New President and Board Members

New board members Carol Shore (left) and Joyce Zimmerman (right) with the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota's new board president Dr. Galin McGowan.
New board members Carol Shore (left) and Joyce Zimmerman (right) with the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota’s new board president Dr. Galin McGowan.

Dr. Galin McGowan, a diploma graduate of the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich and a practicing Jungian analyst in Sarasota, has been named President of the Board of Directors for the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota. McGowan was elected to the one-year term at the Society’s annual meeting held Nov. 6, 2019; two new board members , Joyce Zimmerman and Carol Shore, were elected at the meeting as well.

The C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota is a nonprofit organization established in 1995 to encourage personal growth and raise the consciousness of individuals of all ages. The Society’s lectures, workshops and small group meetings are inspired by the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), whose theories on archetypes, synchronicity and the collective unconscious have profoundly influenced how society understands and relates to the arts and cultural disciplines, as well as providing a widely accepted framework for individual exploration of the human psyche.

An analyst and psychotherapist for more than 20 years, Dr. McGowan lectures frequently on themes of spiritual dimensions of the psyche and the use of active imagination. She received her Ph.D. from the C. G. Jung Institute, Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a Master’s Degree in traditional Counseling and Psychotherapy from the University of Colorado with a specialty in Marriage and Family Therapy. She is a founding member of the Boulder Friends of Jung Society, and has previously been a teaching Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts.

Carol Shore is an Intermodal Expressive Arts facilitator specializing in art for wellness and transitions. She was the Artist-in-Residence for Moffitt Cancer Center’s Arts In Medicine program for twenty years, has worked with teens at risk for the Department of Juvenile Justice, and with war refugees under a World Relief grant. She holds a Master’s Degree in Intermodal Expressive Arts for Healing from the University of South Florida, Tampa, and has taught at Ringling College of Art and Design.

Joyce Zimmerman is a mixed media artist with strong ties to expressive dance movement. She frequently conducts creativity and self-expression workshops, incorporating the teachings of Carl Jung, and has conducted journaling workshops for the famed deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Massachusetts. As an artist, Zimmerman has been commissioned for calendar art by Little, Brown and Company, and she is the author of “The Poet’s Eye,” a collection of her poetry, prose, and art.

Earthrise photo by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders.

“NASA, Space Travel & Changing Worldviews” Mythological Roundtable Event Jan. 8, 2018, from 6-7:30 p.m.

January 8, 2018, presentation by Joseph Campbell Foundation Mythological RoundTable® Group of Sarasota to explore the mythological impact of NASA’s Apollo missions as we enter the 50th anniversary of the famous “Earthrise” photo.

Space travel and the Apollo missions altered the mythological landscape of humanity, and continue to inspire the poetry of our existence today. As we enter the 50th anniversary year of the famous “Earthrise” photo, taken by the crew of Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve Day, 1968, George Haddad, senior engineer and project manager at NASA, will be in Sarasota to present a behind-the-scenes look at the planning around NASA’s missions and relate it to the worldviews inspired by Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung.

“When we looked to the Earth for the first time from outer space, NASA was in a unique position to help humanity take a leap forward in consciousness. The mission was focused on discovering the Moon, but we really discovered the Earth,” says Haddad. “It had an incredibly strong emotional impact on the collective psyche of the human race because it revealed a new image of the cosmos.”

Myths can serve as guideposts in troubling times because they provide societies and individuals with a framework of reference and meaning that communicates the universal truths of our world and cosmos through symbols, imagery and metaphors. Myths also reach into the unconscious realms of our being and connect us with intuitive guidance so that we can better deal with the reoccurring, cyclical challenges that face humankind over the ages. This interactive presentation will offer us an opportunity to explore a bigger picture of consciousness evolution and how our inner journeys correspond to our external journeys and exploration of the universe and “outer space.”

“With our view of Earthrise, we could see that the Earth and the heavens were no longer divided but that the Earth is in the heavens. There is no division and all the theological notions based on the distinction between the heavens and the Earth collapse with that realization. There is a unity in the universe and a unity in our own experience.” ~ Joseph Campbell (1987, just before his death)

This is a presentation of the Joseph Campbell Foundation Mythological RoundTable® (MRT) Network Group of Sarasota in conjunction with the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota. The event is FREE and open to the public, but registration is required at: www.cgjungsarasota.org/events.

The group will meet at the Jane Bancroft Cook Library at New College from 6-7:30 p.m. on Monday, January 8, 2018.

MRT Logo.

 

tarnas

Visionary Moments: Descent into Darkness…Finding the Light

by Juliette Jones, appearing in Natural Awakenings, March 2017

Reflections on Dr. Richard Tarnus

Growing up in the nuclear age has precipitated momentous internal glimpses into the dark side of the human psyche. An early experience in grade school planted a seed that awakened me to forces which, at the time, were beginning to cast a dark shadow on the planet and now threaten our entire future, causing a recent forward adjustment to the so-called “Doomsday Clock.”

You may remember an educational classroom publication known as The Weekly Reader which covered news-based current events for younger grade levels. Each week, the teacher passed out these miniature newspapers, and we sat at our desks quietly reading. One such day, I happened upon a short article, written in an innocuous tone, that dealt with the subject of fallout shelters. Apparently, they had become popular enough to warrant mention in the context of a “normal” social phenomenon.

In one stunning moment, I realized that to bring such a phenomenon into being, the consciousness of this human race must suffer from a deep, dark distortion of perception. I was overcome by a thought that some collective disconnectedness had conceived and activated nuclear warfare, opening a Pandora’s Box from which terrible consequences would emerge.

This intuition came early in life and permanently shifted the axis of my sheltered worldview. At the time, it rocked me into a deeply depressed and fearful state, which I processed throughout my teen years, and laid the ground work for deep and continuous exploration of my personal psyche.

Not long ago, a program hosted by the C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota featured Dr. Richard Tarnus, an expert in depth psychology and acclaimed author the book Cosmos and Psyche. His impressive credits and connections are too numerous to list here, but he is one of the psycho-spiritual pioneers and prophets of our age. Much of the material that follows is reiterated from the wellspring of ideas that he graciously presented.

At present, humanity is undergoing an unparalleled evolutionary crisis, greater than anything our species has ever faced. The tensions of opposites in society are proliferating through every aspect of living with great force, and have affected the cultural zeitgeist of peoples and nations, as well as the morphic field of our planetary psyche.

In the world of form, we are witnessing mass extinction of species, global warming, misuse of resources, burgeoning pollution, political and moral crises and overpopulation. At the same time, spiritual faith abides largely in darkness. Although the media makes every effort to suppress these truths, the majority of real science is shouting the alarm.

“Faith is something that can only grow in darkness.”~Bruno Barnhart

In light of the vast 15-billion-year evolutionary history of the cosmos, our time is what the ancient Greeks would identify as a Kairos moment––a moment of change intended for a special work, a time when heroes and heroic communities must act to transform worldview. This is a great turning when the dark forces of the unconscious are rising and may clear the way for manifestation of authentic spiritual realization. A tremendous shift can occur with potential for a healing crisis.

Psyche (soul) is the intermediary connection between spirit and matter.

This moment was not of our conscious choosing, but has been brought about through expression of the human unconscious which has been transforming. The primal, innermost human consciousness is not separate from the cosmos, but exists as one with the cosmos––linked to nature, trees, earth and sky. The planet, itself has a psyche, and that psyche “ensouls” the entire natural world. Carl Jung named it the Anima Mundi.

In this dark hour, our Western culture has forgotten that we humans are not the only source of consciousness in the universe, and this forgetfulness is not just a psychic problem but a practical problem as well. In our material culture, humans have not just separated from their tribe, but from their intrinsic connection between all living things, the planet and the cosmos. All aspects of the current crisis reflect this same mistake.

Is the world experiencing a rite of passage?

In the Western world, there are no initiatory rites. However, in a collective sense, our present condition bears a great resemblance to initiatory rites of passage that still take place on an individual level in cultures that understand the human connection to the anima mundi. These rites involve frightening confrontations with darkness, death and aloneness, initiating the individual psyche to the great mysteries of life, death and rebirth, and catalyzing immense transformation.

Dr. Tarnus related a story about the initiation of a Native American shaman who, as a boy, was taken by sled far out onto the ice and placed alone, crouched in a small hut, upon an animal skin. For thirty days, he was left by himself and twice given only a small amount of food and water.

During this time, he faced frightening encounters with darkness, death and aloneness. Gradually, he experienced a transformative realization which granted him a larger, deeper perspective of the whole––a discovery of a vast horizon which he never knew existed. He found, in the depths, the voice of nature speaking in a motherly tone and granting him assurance there was absolutely nothing to fear from the universe. This realization was so powerful that he took his transformed view back to the general community to manifest his true purpose as a wise teacher and healer. This speaks to the universal nature of shamanic descent.

Rites of initiation reveal an undiscovered destruction and renewal principle. Perhaps, at this time, the human and planetary psyche are on the same trajectory. Perhaps we are under a grace and passing through an initiation rite that could lead to a better integration of our purpose on this planet.

The examination of consciousness­­––of our deepest wounds and the terrible suffering we have caused on this earth––is the soul’s most powerful remedy for the ills of civilization. Everything is at stake. We must change to survive, and the coming generation must take note if we are not to destroy ourselves with science and technology.

“We need a life of meaning, purpose and a sense of joy in participating in a community of being.”~Rick Tarnus

Find what you love to work on, be part of the collective action of a heroic spiritual community, and carry different values from the mainstream––open to the multiple meanings of the whole. Our personal journeys are embedded in life itself, as is the soul of this entire human journey. We are marvelous instruments of the whole, each an aspect of the universe becoming conscious. Our deepest value is not in our separateness or superiority but in the sense that we are wonderful instruments of something greater than ourselves.

 

 

 

 

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The Lessons of Grief & Loss


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Processing grief and the loss of loved ones…

Facing the aging process and our mortality…

Join noted authors Elaine Mansfield and Jean Benedict Raffa, Ed.D. as they explore the ways the conscious interaction between our inner and outer worlds can transform suffering and loss into an initiation with our deepest Self.

During a special lecture and workshop hosted by the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota, taking place on March 11-12, 2016, Mansfield and Raffa will serve as our guides into the realms of dreams, active imagination, and ancient myths—where we will learn how to grow through the process of Self-discovery in times of grief, sorrow, and depression.

Lecture—The Lessons of Mortality and Grief: Loss as an Initiation into Self
Friday, March 11, 7-9 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, Sarasota, FL

In the lecture, inspiring examples will deepen our understanding of dreams and imagination as guides in our healing processes.

“Our dreams contain wisdom and guidance from the unconscious; they come in service to health and wholeness. Working creatively with them eases our suffering, bringing comfort, pleasure, and trust,” says Raffa. “Dreamwork has been my primary spiritual practice for over 27 years,” she adds. “Through them I reconnected with the truths of my soul, found my voice, and gained the courage to follow my passions for self-discovery and writing. There is no better teacher than the Self.”

“Dreams brought meaning and spiritual uplift when my life was falling apart and my husband’s health was failing,” explains Mansfield. “They often balanced my ego position and opened me to a wider and deeper perspective. Dreams also guided me through grief, providing images that connected me to soul and helped me survive and thrive with a sense of purpose. They lifted me and balanced the downward pull of sorrow.”

The lecture also will include an inspiring 30-minute video about David Blum’s inner journey. He discovered that painting images from his dreams and exploring them with active imagination helped him and his wife cope with illness and prepare for his death.

Workshop—Journey Into the Underworld: Ancient Myth as Contemporary Guide
Saturday, March 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, Sarasota

Ancient myth will be addressed in the workshop through readings, discussion, ritual, and creative exercises, including a seven-step journey of descent and return.

“When my husband died, I was guided by the 5000-year-old stories of the Sumerian Goddess Inanna,” says Mansfield. “This mythological wisdom gave me an inner map for being with my husband’s dying process and learning from the grief that followed his death. I understood I was being initiated into a deeper part of myself and the deeper mysteries of life. Since we all face loss, I know Inanna’s stories will give others the support they’ve given me.”

In the workshop, participants will delve into the story of Inanna, the Sumerian queen of heaven and earth, which can provide guidance for our psychological descents such as: grief after a loss of someone or something we love, depression, or facing our own mortality.

“Most of us are familiar with hero myths from the patriarchal era, but few of us know about descent myths,” says Raffa. “Their themes are loss, suffering, death, and rebirth with resultant deepened self-knowledge, wisdom, compassion, trust, and love.

“During mid-life my ego was brutally assaulted by unconscious instinctual forces within my psyche,” Raffa adds.  “I had no idea my ordeal would be life-serving. But, with the help of Inanna’s myth, I eventually emerged with the elixir of a revitalized life-force and the gold of affirming self-knowledge.”

Elaine MansfieldElaine Mansfield has been a student of Jung, mythology, dreams, and meditation since 1970. She has worked with Marion Woodman, Robert Bosnak, and other Jungian teachers. Since the death of her husband, Elaine has focused on the inner journey of grief as an initiation and has become a hospice bereavement group leader. Her insights are explained in her book Leaning into Love: A Spiritual Journey through Grief and a TEDx talk: “Good Grief! What I Learned from Loss.”

jean raffa-1Jean Benedict Raffa, Ed.D., began an in-depth study of Jungian Psychology, mythology, and her own dreams after a lengthy and life-transforming spiritual descent. Her books: The Bridge to Wholeness, Dream Theatres of the Soul, and Healing the Sacred Divide, are outgrowths of this ongoing inner work. A former television producer and college professor, she continues to give speeches and workshops. Her blog “Matrignosis” focuses on Jungian psychology, self-discovery, and the search for spiritual meaning.

To register for this lecture and/or workshop, visit our events page.

Sponsored by: NAgreen

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Join Us for the Classic Film Salon

Join the C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota for this season’s Classic Cinema Salon on Tuesday, February 9 and Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Each month the Society sponsors a psychological film and follows it with an engaging discussion and interpretation to explore the themes “behind the scenes.” This program is free and open to the public. The films will be shown at Argosy University from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

For more information, contact Barbara Shocket via email at: ebhocket@aol.com.

Linda-Albert

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Possible and Impossible?

By Linda Albert

When I was seven years old, my mother took me out of ballet, telling me I was the clumsiest girl in the class. I loved ballet, had learned all the positions for my feet (flawlessly, from my point of view), and knew all the French designations by heart. For years, I smoldered inwardly at the injustice of my mother’s action. Still, I believed her, quickly becoming the first person at the party to spill the peanuts and the last one in class to be picked for any athletic team. Clearly, in those days, and for longer in my life than I would have wished, I often allowed others to draw the lines for me between possible and impossible.

In fact, it took me until the age of 53 to challenge my notions of physical ability by heeding the opportunity to join a group of professional colleagues in a week-long Outward Bound Adventure in the Boundary Waters of Upper Minnesota. I had spent the preceding 53 years doing everything I could to cover-up my shameful clumsiness and to remain as physically safe as possible. After signing up for the trip and with no positive experience to back me up, the only thing I could do to keep myself from coming unglued was to fill the very specific clothing list with color coordinated items from secondhand and thrift stores, and pray that I wouldn’t kill or maim myself, ending my life prematurely or having to live forever with the consequences. Naturally, my mother thought I had lost my mind but, in this case, she wasn’t the only one. Most of my friends thought I was crazy, and so did I. Still, I knew I had to do it.

Gradually, in my adult life, I had begun to take risks in new or wider areas. But they were usually risks in which potential success still had an edge. Possibility began to overtake impossibility as I found I could either succeed or, even more important, fail, but live to tell the tale. Before the days of professional realtor training, I studied and obtained a state real estate license when at first I wasn’t even sure how to find my way downtown to the review class, much less calculate commissions, or navigate around previously unknown parts of town. I became a theater director where my talents would be judged by strangers and reviewed in print. An opportunity came my way to join a professional communication consulting firm where I was invited to take on the challenge of creating Listening Training. One step ahead of my adult students at first, I ran around the country between assignments, attending every kind of course and workshop I could find in order to become expert in a field in which I’d happily found my niche, but at first felt like an imposter.

I learned that fear of failure was a huge barrier to success and that failure itself was sometimes painful, but also a productive teacher, and often more valuable in helping me to dare something else I might have previously considered impossible than all the successes and praise in the world. It made me tougher. It made me more flexible and limber. It gave me confidence in my ability to survive.

Of course, some risks—some possibilities are born of ignorance. If I had known how hard it was to sustain a marriage, raise four children, delve into my psyche in hopes of greater growth, buy tech stocks before the crash, or enter the dating world again a few years after my husband of 52 years had died, I might never have gone into those enterprises with such alacrity. I’m glad I didn’t know better because, if I had, I would have missed much of the joy and sweetness of my life along with the struggles that have and continue to nourish and hone me.

One thing I’ve learned for certain. You have to put yourself out there in order to invite possibility into your life.

There is a story about a man who had lived a long and God-fearing life. Nearing the end of it, he began to pray to win the lottery. He wanted to know his family would have financial security when he was gone. Every night he prayed, but every day somebody else was the winner. Finally, in deep prayer, he asked God why, having been such a humble servant, his prayer was not being answered. Out of the deep silence came a voice. “Meet me halfway,” it boomed. “Buy a ticket.”

When I was studying for a Master Certification in Neuro-Linguistics, during a segment on limiting beliefs, I stood up and told this story to my classmates. Some weeks later, one of them, the Vice President of a hospital, told me she was approached by a member of a Guild asking her to buy a raffle ticket. At first she refused due to the theory that she never won anything so why waste her money. Then she remembered the story I told and, considering the cause to be a good one, she shelled out $25 for one ticket. The grand prize was a trip for two to Paris. Amazingly, she won it. Meet me halfway, buy a ticket! Neither of us will ever forget the power of that message.

How many times I have put myself out there, met the world and possibility halfway and won, is incalculable now. How many times have I kept my energy hidden away, inadvertently making the possible impossible? I only hope that now, as I age and the world of limitations comes calling (this time in an inevitable alignment with the finite nature of life), I may have the wisdom to recognize that some new kind of possibility continues to remain around the next corner—if only I have the courage to meet it half way.

Linda Albert has lectured, designed, and taught workshops nationally for over three decades. A communication and life coach with a Master Certification in Neuro-Linguistics, Linda holds Archetypal Pattern Analyst and Dream Translator certifications from the Assisi Institute, which is led by Jungian analyst Michael Conforti, Ph.D. Her academic thesis was titled To Everything there is a Season: The Archetype of Aging. An internationally published award-winning writer, poet, and former theater director, she resides in Sarasota, FL. Visit her online at www.lindaalbert.net.

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C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota Sept./Oct. 2015

 

C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota Sept./Oct., 2015 Newsletter

THE C. G. JUNG SOCIETY OF SARASOTA

 

September/October 2015 Newsletter

We are about to start our new season.  Now is the time to renew your membership!  Mark your calendar for transformative lectures and workshops. Barbara Shocket and David Eisner have created the Classic Cinema Salon (monthly meeting on a selected Tuesday) in addition to leading the Jungian Analysis of Mythopoetic Literature group. Irene Moksha will facilitate the Dream Group.  Click here for a sneak peak at our brand new brochure graciously designed by Lisa Cedrone from Dragonfly Nation.

To renew or to become a member: you can access a membership form online or download and print the membership PDF here and mail to P.O. Box 50611, Sarasota, FL 34232-0305.

Memberships offer reduced prices to our events and support for the C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota and its mission.  Memberships are also tax deductible.  Our membership is valid from November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016.

Become a Member of the C.G. Jung Society of Sarasota

Small Groups:

BRING A DREAM, facilitated by Irene Moksha on Tuesdays from 7:15 to 8:45 PM. Participants in the Dream Groups are asked to keep a dream journal and be willing to share their dreams with the group.  We will work with dreams in much the same way we understand C.G. Jung did, looking for symbols which will lead us to understanding the messages from our psyche in order to help us in the process of individuation.

Contact Irene Moksha for more information and location.
JUNGIAN ANALYSIS OF MYTHOPOETIC LITERATURE

Facilitated by Barbara Shocket, M.S., LMHC& David Eisner, Psy.D., NCPsyA.
What are the evolving relationships between archetypes and the personal unconscious? Ancient Greek and Roman drama provide a rich resource for exploring this question by focusing on formative psychological battles, both intrapsychic and interpersonal. Themes of vengeance, justice, love, and betrayal still resonate today on multiple levels of self and society. Our dynamic reading and ongoing study group continues with a reading of Six Tragedies by Seneca, translated by Emily Wilson.
Contact Barbara Shocket: 941.350.8495 or email ebhocket@aol.com for more information.

Group meets at Argosy University, 5250 17th St, Sarasota, FL 34235 

Annual Meeting Thursday, November 5, 2015 from 5 to 7PM  
Following a brief meeting to answer questions about this year’s programs and the election of board members, hors d’oeuvres will be served and attendees will have a chance to meet, mingle, and share with new and current members. We urge all current members and potential members to attend.
The Community Foundation of Sarasota – 2635 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, FL 34237

We have a brand new facebook page! Like us!
CLASSIC FILM SALON
Tuesday, September 22 – 3 to 5PM
What happens when good and evil meet in a Southwest Desert Inn?
Let’s see this psychological thriller, explore its archetypal themes and symbolism, and share our observations.
This is a free program, open to the community, in conjunction with the ongoing Jung Society study group in Mythopoetic Literature
For further information, contact Barbara Shocket, ebhocket@aol.com or David Eisner, deisnerfl@aol.com

Schedule of lectures and workshops:
Linda Albert 
Lecture: Fri., Nov. 20, 7 – 9PM 
The Many-Sided Archetype of Aging: Inevitable, Eternal, and Evolving.
Workshop: Sat., Nov. 21, 10AM – 4PM 
Living Longer, Living Wisely, Living Deeply, Bringing the Archetype to Life: Techniques and Practices
James Hollis, Ph.D
Lecture: Fri., Jan. 29, 7 – 9PM Relationships: the Psychodynamics of Self and Other
Workshop: Sat., Jan. 30, 10AM â€“ 4PM Relationships: the Psychodynamics of Self and Other
Lucie Magnus, M.A., LPC
Lecture: Fri., Feb. 19, 7 – 9PM  The Alchemy of Eros: Lust and Longing, Love and Loss
Workshop: Sat., Feb. 20, 10AM – 4PM Beyond the Belle: An Explanation and Exploration of Toni Wolff’s Structural Forms of the Feminine Psyche
Elaine Mansfield and Jean Raffa, Ed.D
Lecture: Fri., Mar. 11, 7 – 9 PM 
The Lessons of Mortality and Grief: Loss as an Initiation into Self
Workshop: Sat., Mar.12, 10AM – 4PM
Journey into the Underworld: Ancient Myth as Contemporary Guide
Bob Waxman
Lecture: Fri., Apr.1, 7 – 9PM
Jung’s Fascination with the Paranormal and Mysticism
Workshop: Sat., Apr. 2, 10AM – 4PM Jungian Concepts Related to the Paranormal and Mysticism

Board Directory 

Phyllis K. Jensen, Psy.D – President
Stu Mathewson – Treasurer
Urte Tuerpe – 1st Vice President
Cindy Evans – Secretary
Candace Boyd – Board Member
Frances Doyle – President Emeritus

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The C. G. Jung Society of Sarasota is a not for profit 501(C)(3) established in 1995 for the purpose of promoting the study of C. G. Jung’s methods and theories of psychology.  We exist through donations, grants and sponsorship.  Let us know if you are interested in becoming a donor, a sponsor, or are aware of specific grants we can pursue by emailing us.