C.G. Jung Society, Seattle C.G. Jung Society, Seattle Lecture: Friday, January 9, 2009, 7 to 9 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Room 202, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$15 members, $25 nonmembers
2 CEUs
There is something about a numinous experience that defies explanation. Perhaps this is because inherent within the numinous experience is an encounter with Other, and each such meeting lacks a common point of reference. How then, can one give voice to an ex-perience that is so private and interior? Yet as its witness, one knows without a shadow of a doubt that they‘ve just encountered the unseeable . How can one illuminate the God that dances within them, and how can this experience be shared? During this lecture we will explore these questions and I will share my story of one such encounter. I began painting the Hebrew alphabet in 1999, a journey that evolved into a five-year odyssey of ecstatic wonder and numinous encounters. During the lecture I will share some of the manifestations of this extraordinary journey: my twenty-two paintings of the Hebrew al-phabet, their accompanying Prayer Poems, which were a vital part of the transformative experience of painting the Letters into being, and the process of journeying in the betwixt and between of the Imaginal realm. Our discussion will include ways in which Images (visual images, word images, sound images, and dance/movement images) can be portals to experiencing the numinous via the ritual nature of the creative process, intuitive dia-logues, and the experiencing of Images as subtle bodies.
Workshop: Saturday, January 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Room 202, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$50 members, $60 nonmembers
5 CEUs
To learn about preregistering for the workshop, see Preregistration Policy and Form. You can also register online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/.
This experiential workshop will explore ways to understand images we encounter in our conscious and unconscious lives. The discussion will be divided into two main areas of focus – the collective image and the personal image – and our conversation will be extended to include how these two realms impact one another. The morning session will be focused on the collective image. We will look at and discuss a wide range of images, including images from mass media (film, television, and advertising); and images we encounter within the "fine art" realm, such as museums and art galleries. Participants will be asked to select specific cultural images that call out to them. We will then explore the dynamic relationship and impact these cultural images have on our psyches, and how these images give voice to our inner lives. The afternoon session will focus on personal images, such as those that arise from visions, waking, and night-time dreams. We will investigate experiencing image through the multiplicity of the senses, which involves a seeing-through and also a letting go of commonly held notions of how to experience and see. It is this process of lifting the veil to the mythic experience, that allows us to move beyond the literal and open up to the imaginal.
Elizabeth Fergus-Jean, MFA, Ph.D. is an artist and educator whose contributions fo-cus on the depth dimensions of image, memory, and creativity. Her artwork embodies her deep spirituality and strong ecoconsciousness, and centers on stories that emerge from our culture as potent sites for the engagement of mythic material and the archetypal reso-nances found within our lives. Dr. Fergus-Jean lectures nationally on creativity, image un-derstanding, archetypes in media, and personal mythology. Her popular workshops reach out to a range of individuals who seek to expand their own creativity, understanding of images, and the awareness of mythic patterns within their lives. Her book, Illuminating Letter: Paintings and Essays on the Kabbalah, along with Illuminating Letter: Painting Portfolio, a limited-edition fine art portfolio, have just been published by Art and Psyche Press.
This program has been approved for 7.0 CEU’s by the Washington Chapter National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for Li-censed 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: 7.0 units for lecture and workshop $15; 2.0 units for the Friday lecture $10; 5.0 units for the Saturday workshop $10.
Throughout his life Jung searched religious and alchemical symbolism for validation for his own archetypal experiences. He found many parallels in the fascinating alchemical structure of the Kabbalah. Dr. Sanford L. Drob‘s research into the mystical Kabbalah has produced some fascinating articles on Jung and the Kabbalah, with many references for those who would like to pursue their reading further.
Dr. Drob‘s Web site has the full text of his essays on Jung and many others (including James Hillman), and the symbolism in the Kabbalah. www.newkabbalah.com
Updated: 7 January, 2009
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