C.G. Jung Society, Seattle C.G. Jung Society, SeattleFilm and lecture: Thursday, March 15, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Antioch University Seattle, Room 100, 2326 Sixth Ave., Seattle (Directions)
$15 members, $10 students/seniors, $20 nonmembers, $15 nonmember students/seniors
2 CEUs
Co-sponsored by Antioch University, Seattle
The Rabbi of Apt prepared himself for death. That is what most Just
men do. The Talmud confirms it; the Just are given advance notice--time
to put their affairs in order.
–Elie Wiesel, Sages and Dreamers
Music was an inspirational process for David Blum; the gods spoke and he listened. As he prepared for his own death, he again knew to listen.
The world’s wisdom traditions teach us that genuine knowledge exists in a domain not generally
accessed by ego consciousness. Rather, the generative matrix from which wisdom arises
resides in the Self and the archetypes of the Collective Unconscious. The early mystics and
great spiritual teachers have taught us ways to approach this transcendent function. So, too,
Jung’s discovery of the objective psyche provides a model for working with the archetypes,
our contemporary experience of the sacred.
David Blum’s courage in facing death is not simply a reminder of our finitude but also of our imperative to live and die with a conscious receptivity to the callings of the Self. Such an encounter with the ultimate authority of the objective psyche is not meant to help us avoid or minimize the profound emotions surrounding the loss of a life but to understand ourselves in the larger context of human destiny.
To assume an archetypal approach to death means looking beyond the vantage point of
the ego and conscious reality, to heed the urgings of the Self. What is our destiny? Have
we the courage and fortitude to live in accordance with the mandates of the Self? To take a
final look in the mirror only to realize that we have not lived in vital connection with our
inherent wisdom may be what hell is all about. However, to see a reflection affirming that
our life has been lived in conscious relationship to what is larger than our ego prepares us for
a meaningful transition. The voice of the Self is ever present, and David Blum possessed the
grace and humility to listen.
It is an honor to be invited to present this lecture, to pay tribute to David’s memory, and to celebrate the gifts that he has given us through both his life and his death.
(The title of this event is taken from Apparitions: An Archetypal Approach to Death, by Aniela Jaffe.)
Michael Conforti, Ph.D., a Jungian psychoanalyst, is a founder and Director of the Assisi Institute. He has been a faculty member at the C.G. Jung Institute-Boston, the C.G. Jung Foundation- New York, and for many years served as a Senior Associate faculty member at Antioch New England Graduate School in the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology and the masters programs in Counseling Psychology and Organization and Management.
Dr. Conforti is actively investigating the workings of archetypal fields and the relationship between Jungian psychology and the New Sciences. He has presented his work to a wide range of national and international audiences, including the C.G. Jung Institute-Zurich and Jungian organizations in Venezuela, Denmark, Italy, and Canada. His book, Field, Form, and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature and Psyche is published by Spring Journal Books. His articles have appeared in Psychological Perspectives, San Francisco Jung Library Journal, Roundtable Press, World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, and Spring Journal.
Dr. Conforti maintains a private practice in Vermont where he also serves as a state-appointed advisor to the Board of Psychoanalysts. He provides a wide range of consultation to individuals, groups, and organizations, including the film industry. He is presently working with a major Hollywood studio, exploring the role of archetypes and symbolism in the cinema. He has also been asked to consult on the application of field theory to the understanding and resolution of international border disputes. He was selected by The Club of Budapest and the University of Potsdam to be part of a 25-member international team of physicists, biologists, and dynamical systems theorists to examine the role and influence of informational fields. Dr. Conforti is a recipient of the 1995 Vision Award presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.
Dr. Conforti was recently appointed Senior Fellow of the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland. He is currently working on two new books: Hidden Presence: Archetypes, Spells, Possession and the Complex and The Threshold: Archetypal Dimensions of Initial Conditions. His book Field, Form and Fate will be available for purchase at the March 15th lecture as will DVDs of An Appointment with the Wise Old Dog.
This program has been approved for 2.0 CEU’s by the Washington Chapter, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists and Licensed Mental Health Counselors. Provider number is #1975-157. The cost to receive a certificate is as follows: 2.0 units for lecture $10.
Updated: 6 February, 2007
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