Cost for attendance (at MacKillop House):
Jung Society members free,
Guests $15 (Seniors/Concession $10),
Pay cash at the door, or by bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Cost for on-line access:
Jung Society members free (We'll send you a link).
Guests $10:
Pay by bank transfer or by credit card or PayPal via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing by 10pm.

Friday 7th July 2023

"The Experience of Beauty in Psychotherapy"

Dr David Russell

at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT (and by Zoom)

It is our obsession with the self that ironically preclude beauty. We are touched by the experience of beauty yet it plays no role in theories of psychology or in therapeutic practice. How come?

The field of psychotherapy is characterised by an intense subjectivity of self-reflection. The mirror has become a favourite metaphor as we focus, almost as an obsession, on one’s identity. Narcissism has become the epidemic of our time. No surprise there.

The mythic story of Echo and Narcissus provides us with a meditation on the experience of beauty. These two anima/dream figures are an archetypal force in our lives. They offer the potential for greater aliveness in all that we do.

My intention is to link the experience of beauty with the experience of soul and thus with the experience of depression. My working hypothesis is that depression is soul telling the person that it is in need of attention. Not just any sort of attention.

Rather, the need is for a very particular manner of attending. And as such it has the potential to express a particular energy. James Hillman puts it this way:
“It is only when [one] breaks down, when depression comes in, and you can’t get up and do it. When impotence happens and you can’t get on with it. When you feel beaten, oppressed, knocked back … then something moves and you begin to feel yourself as a soul. You don’t feel yourself as a soul when you’re making it and doing it.” (Hillman, in Inter Views with Laura Pozzo, 1983. P. 11)

While I tend to reference psychotherapy, this talk is equally applicable to every-day life.

David Russell is a past president of the Sydney Jung Society. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research in psychology at the University of Sydney. Here he was introduced to the writings of Sigmund Freud (unusual for a Department of Psychology) and developed an ongoing enthusiasm for the history and philosophy of psychology.

After a few years in private practice he moved into an academic career, which culminated in the establishment of the Master of Analytical Psychology degree at the University of Western Sydney. David has currently returned to private practice in Sydney CBD.

Cost for attendance (at MacKillop House):
Jung Society members free,
Guests $15 (Seniors/Concession $10),
Pay cash at the door, or by bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Cost for on-line access:
Jung Society members free (We'll send you a link).
Guests $10:
Pay by bank transfer or by credit card or PayPal via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing by 10pm.

SPECIAL SATURDAY WORKSHOP:

Saturday 8th July 2023

"Carl Jung and the Healing Archetype
Being Touched and Touching"

Dr David Russell

at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT (and by Zoom

In Greek medicine there were two archetypal themes: Hippocrates under the patronage of the sky-god Zeus and Asclepius under the patronage of the earth-god Chiron, half human and half horse.

Another way of seeing this manifestation is to see the bi-polar nature of the healing archetype with Zeus and Chiron being the two pure forms.

Modern medicine including modern psychology has followed the path of Hippocrates and has done so in such a single-minded manner that it has totally excluded Asclepius.

My contention is, following Jung, that an over reliance on consciousness as expressed only in our thoughts, tell us that we are out-of-touch.

What consciousness refuses to acknowledge, the body always manifests. In the words of an important book, The body keeps the score!

The over reliance on the sky-god, on just empirical medicine, has led to the treatment model at the expense of a touching, a being-in-touch model.

The temple of Asclepius, the earth-god, has been abandoned in favour of the physician’s clinic.
Through symbolism, through the life of the soul, Jung brought his sensuousness/sensibility into his clinical work. He could see, hear, smell the other.

The Jungian scholar, Ginette Paris, writes:
“Just as the body needs warmth, nourishment, and protection, the psyche needs an atmosphere where the heart finds its niche, its nest, and its rest. This is usually called ‘tenderness’. Without the capacity of humans to provide tender care to each other, the human race would have become extinct. … A culture that separates people into ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ generates the kind of acute anxiety that is a rising phenomenon in all advanced cultures.” G. Paris, Wisdom of the Psyche, p.121

My example of the wounded healer archetype comes from the Biblical story in the Book of Genesis. The focus of the story is Jacob wrestling in a hand-to-hand struggle with an angel. This embodied encounter is touch, big-time.

While this workshop references the practice of psychotherapy the theme and content are equally applicable to ever-day life.

An aim of the day is to maximise interaction, so, plenty of time for discussion.

David Russell is a past president of the Sydney Jung Society. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research in psychology at the University of Sydney. Here he was introduced to the writings of Sigmund Freud (unusual for a Department of Psychology) and developed an ongoing enthusiasm for the history and philosophy of psychology.

After a few years in private practice he moved into an academic career, which culminated in the establishment of the Master of Analytical Psychology degree at the University of Western Sydney. David has currently returned to private practice in Sydney CBD.

Cost for attendance (at MacKillop House):
Check the website for details.
Pay cash at the door, or by bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Cost for attendance (at MacKillop House):
Jung Society members free,
Guests $15 (Seniors/Concession $10),
Pay cash at the door, or by bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Cost for on-line access:
Jung Society members free (We'll send you a link).
Guests $10:
Pay by bank transfer or by credit card or PayPal via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing by 10pm.

Friday 3rd November 2023

"My Life Story" - a Jung Society Project

Rod Taylor

at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT (and by Zoom)

Concept of this project:

A My Life Story is a brief moment, a fragmentary story told by a person about that captures some part of how they see themselves. Something in the story appeals to the person because it reveals an insight into their character or their life.

The simple reason is that people are fascinated by other stories. If that is all the project achieves, that will be sufficient, however it offers the possibility that a suitably qualified person might offer commentary on what the stories reveal (overall, rather than individual stories). Word limit might be around 2-300 words.

This project aims to gather as many stories as possible from a diverse range of people. They would be published initially online and, if it gains enough interest, potentially could be published in a more ambitious form such as a book. Writers can remain remain anonymous and include an alias of their choosing.

Rod Taylor is a science writer, radio broadcaster, newspaper columnist and author. He has written for numerous publications including for The Big Issue, Fairfax Media, Australian Community Media and motorcycle magazines. Rod produces a weekly science program and podcasts for Radio 2XX in Canberra.  His weekly science column for Fairfax Media and ACM is in its 13th year. His books include:
  • Ten Journeys on a Fragile Planet, Odyssey, 2020
  • Contributor to Best Australian Science Writing, 2018
  • Co-editor Sustainability and the New Economics, Springer 2022
  • Currently co-writing Civilisation 2.0 with Dr Mark Diesendorf.

https://tenjourneys.blogspot.com/2020/04/ten-journeys-on-fragile-planetcoming.html
@TenJourneysFragilePlanet
Tayloram2000@zoho.com (0419) 217 293

Cost for attendance (at MacKillop House):
Jung Society members free,
Guests $15 (Seniors/Concession $10),
Pay cash at the door, or by bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Cost for on-line access:
Jung Society members free (We'll send you a link).
Guests $10:
Pay by bank transfer or by credit card or PayPal via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing by 10pm.