Category Archives: Lectures

a lecture by Mark Palmer

May 10^th, 2019 at 7:15 p.m.

In this talk Dr. Mark Palmer will present the latest results of his studies into the nature of a patriarchal society and its effect on individual psychological development which C. G. Jung called “individuation.”  He will provide a working  definition and identifying features of the psychological “patriarch” as it might appear in myth and dreams, as well as  in our everyday experiences.  As a powerful psychological element, the “patriarch” can help or inhibit personal growth, individual freedom, and a relationship with the Self. Mark will discuss how the introduction of Eros or love may transform a one-sided, masculine patriarchy by inviting the re-introduction of the feminine principle. It is his hope that this presentation will invite us to draw our own conclusions as to the role of the “patriarch” in our lives.

 Mark T. Palmer, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and a Diplomate Jungian Analyst in private practice in Denver.  Mark’s interest in the symbolic and psychological importance of the patriarchy in the lives of individuals and societies dates back many years. He is a graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado, and he recently completed a thesis titled: “The Father Archetype, the Patriarch, and Individuation.”

a lecture by Lois Vanderkooi

 March 1^st, 2019 at 7:15 p.m.  

Facts: Fossil fuel development and use are fracturing communities and threatening health and safety. Climate scientists tell us that we have at most a dozen years to drastically reduce use of fossil fuels in order to avert extreme devastation to life as we know it. Using Jungian, neurobiological, Mindfulness Self Compassion research and practices, we will probe some of the psychological and sociological dynamics playing out among us. We will look at the difficulty of letting go of destructive habits and of adopting wholesome behaviors and attitudes both societally and individually.

With poems from Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Galway Kinnell, Hafiz, and others, as well as personal stories, we will experientially explore “paying attention” and being blessed as antidotes to fear and the strong shadows of the entitled and  aggressive energies that disconnect us from mother earth and each other.

Lois Vanderkooi, Ph.D.is a psychologist and social activist in Broomfield. She is a Board member of the C.G. Jung Society of Colorado. In 1980, Jung’s autobiography resonated so deeply with her that she left a lawyer-sociologist career to pursue Jungian analysis and studies. She  received a doctorate in psychology and also trained in Somatic Experiencing trauma work, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Biodynamic Cranial-Sacral Therapy. Lois is interested in the integration of body, mind, and spirit individually and in relationships through cultivation of mindfulness and non-violence.

a panel discussion with Christine Chao, Pepe Santana and  Lara Newton

February 1^st, 2019 at 7:15 p.m.

This interactive panel will contain both brief presentations by the panelists and open questions/discussion with the audience. We intend to look at such topics as: what does the Jungian approach offer to questions of race and diversity that trouble our culture currently, why have Jungian communities tended to be so ethnically and culturally narrow in the U.S., what do we know or perceive as Jung’s relation to these issues in his time? These are big topics, and our hope is to begin a dialogue that can be ongoing within our Jungian community. 

Chris Chao, Ph.D., is a Senior  Jungian Analyst in private practice in Denver. She is the Director of Admissions for the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado.

Pepe Santana, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Denver, Colorado. He has studied Jungian Psychology for many years. 

Lara Newton, M.A., is a Senior Jungian Analyst in private practice in Denver. She is Director of Training for the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado and President of the Jung Society of Colorado.     

[DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF]

Please note our location and our format:

Park Hill United Church of Christ,   2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207  
The social and refreshment time is at 6:30-7:15p.m.,   followed  by lecture and discussion.
Cost: free to members,  $15 at the door,
$10 students and seniors

Alchemical Black and the Mystery of the Prima Materia:
a lectureby Grazia Di Giorgio
November 30^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

Together with white, black is the only color to have a name in every known human language. While this fact already seems to hint at black’s powerful archetypal significance and its dyadic relationship with white, the development of Western culture instead saw a progressive moralization of the black-and-white pair that has rendered our collective dangerously one-sided in its relationship with darkness.

Within the underbelly of the Judeo-Christian tradition, however, alchemy – the “Black Art” – has cultivated for centuries an opposite approach to blackness as the base of the opus, which holds the promise of reanimating the darkness of matter. Using images, texts, and practical examples, this lecture will explore the alchemical view of the nigredo and its important decapitatiosymbolism, which appear particularly relevant in our difficult present times.

Grazia Di Giorgio, M.A.is a Jungian Analyst with a background in contemplative and somatic psychotherapy, who found in alchemy a common ground between these different approaches. A recent graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado, she currently lives and practices in Bari, Italy.

[DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF]

Please note our location and our format:

Park Hill United Church of Christ,   2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207  
The social and refreshment time is at 6:30-7:15p.m.,   followed  by lecture and discussion.
Cost: free to members,  $15 at the door,
$10 students and seniors

Modern Mythology: Archetypal Expressions in Star Trek
a lecture by Sharon Coggan
November 2^nd, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.*
*Please note the slightly later start!
There is a Fair Trade Gift Market in the Narthex of the church until 7pm that day, so we will be “opening our doors” at 7 and beginning the program at 7:30!

Echoing Jung, Joseph Campbell said mythologies need to be in synch with their host societies. Our ruling myths, or “sacred stories” carried in our religions, are 2000 years out of date with our modern experience. But cultures will always produce authentic new mythologies. In our day, it is science fiction that fascinates so many moderns. The immense popularity of the Star Wars saga, and the Star Trek series, speaks to the authentic nature of these modern myths.

This talk will explore some of Star Trek’s rich mythic themes from the half-human/half Vulcan master of science and logic, Mr. Spock, to the leadership of Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisco and Janeway. The myth of the Hero’s Journey acts as the backbone of the whole saga. Other archetypal themes include the embrace of the shadow, and anima/animus expressions:  all as seen through the lens of the amazing and multiform Star Trek universe.

Sharon L. Coggan, Ph.D. was educated at the University of Denver, Harvard Divinity School, Stanford University, and Syracuse University.  She is the Director of the Religious Studies Program at University of Colorado Denver, a program she created. She offers a range of classes on religion: World Religions, Concepts of the Soul, Concepts of God, Death and Afterlife, Mysticism, Eastern Thought, Myth and Symbol, Classical Mythology, Perspectives on Dream Analysis, and the Hero’s Journey.

[DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF]

Please note our location and our format:

Park Hill United Church of Christ,   2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207  
The social and refreshment time is at 6:30-7:15p.m.,   followed  by lecture and discussion.
Cost: free to members,  $15 at the door,
$10 students and seniors

Finding Ernest Hemingway in Wyoming’s and
Psyche’s Wilderness
a lectureby Jamie Egolf and Chavawn Kelley

October 5^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

Drawing on backgrounds in Analytic Psychology and Literature, Egolf and Kelley explore Psyche’s (sometimes extreme) inner landscape in Ernest Hemingway and how war trauma, PTSD, and constant suicidal thoughts manifested in the wilderness of Wyoming, where hunting, fishing, a wedding, injuries, hospitalization, and a suicide attempt occurred. Archetypes of bear and mother that led to gender confusion, impotence, and failed romance are illustrated in his life and writing. Finally, Hemingway’s role as a Soviet spy is revealed, and his suicide is explored.

Jamie Egolf, M.S.W.Jamie’s publications include topics such as comic superheroes, tapestry art, war heroes, and her presentations have occurred nationally and internationally in Santa Fe, Melbourne, and the US Air Force Academy–most recently on how Trickster transformed female oppression at the  Seeing Red Conference in Connecticut.

Chavawn Kelley, M.A.,a  Wyoming Humanities Council scholar, has been awarded fellowships nationally and internationally.  Her poems, essays and short stories have appeared in Quarterly West, High Desert Journal, Creative Nonfiction, Iowa Review, and other publications.

[DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF]

Please note our location and our format:

Park Hill United Church of Christ,   2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207  
The social and refreshment time is at 6:30-7:15p.m.,   followed  by lecture and discussion.
Cost: free to members,  $15 at the door,
$10 students and seniors

The Little Dream that Doesn’t Mean Anything
 a lecture by Tess Castleman
September 7^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

When a dream is forgotten, dismissed, ignored or called names (“worthless, a snippet, stupid, etc.”), important information is lost.  A discussion with clinical examples will explore what many miss:  the quiet beginnings of consciousness evidenced in what is often overlooked.  Alchemical parallels, cultural dreams, and elements of dreaming that are routinely misunderstood will be discussed as well.

Tess Castleman, Jungian Training Analyst, is the author of two volumes and numerous articles.  Besides practicing in Dallas and Zurich, she leads groups in dream circles, writing seminars, creative process experience as well as active imagination/dream retreats in locations throughout the world. She was elected to the Curatorium, (the governing body of the Jung Institute of Zurich) as the only non-resident of Switzerland where she served for six years.  There she helped to implement a revamped English training program.  She has founded Das Tiefengeist Institut, a training institute for helpers and healers to deepen their work with the unconscious.  She lives in Manitou Springs, CO and Dallas, Texas.

[DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE PDF]

Please note our location and our format:

Park Hill United Church of Christ,   2600 Leyden Street, Denver, CO 80207  
The social and refreshment time is at 6:30-7:15p.m.,   followed  by lecture and discussion.
Cost: free to members,  $15 at the door,
$10 students and seniors

The Little Dream that Doesn’t Mean Anything
 a lecture by Tess Castleman
September 7^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

When a dream is forgotten, dismissed, ignored or called names (“worthless, a snippet, stupid, etc.”), important information is lost.  A discussion with clinical examples will explore what many miss:  the quiet beginnings of consciousness evidenced in what is often overlooked.  Alchemical parallels, cultural dreams, and elements of dreaming that are routinely misunderstood will be discussed as well.

Tess Castleman, Jungian Training Analyst, is the author of two volumes and numerous articles.  Besides practicing in Dallas and Zurich, she leads groups in dream circles, writing seminars, creative process experience as well as active imagination/dream retreats in locations throughout the world. She was elected to the Curatorium, (the governing body of the Jung Institute of Zurich) as the only non-resident of Switzerland where she served for six years.  There she helped to implement a revamped English training program.  She has founded Das Tiefengeist Institut, a training institute for helpers and healers to deepen their work with the unconscious.  She lives in Manitou Springs, CO and Dallas, Texas.

Finding Ernest Hemingway in Wyoming’s and
Psyche’s Wilderness
a lectureby Jamie Egolf and Chavawn Kelley

October 5^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

Drawing on backgrounds in Analytic Psychology and Literature, Egolf and Kelley explore Psyche’s (sometimes extreme) inner landscape in Ernest Hemingway and how war trauma, PTSD, and constant suicidal thoughts manifested in the wilderness of Wyoming, where hunting, fishing, a wedding, injuries, hospitalization, and a suicide attempt occurred. Archetypes of bear and mother that led to gender confusion, impotence, and failed romance are illustrated in his life and writing. Finally, Hemingway’s role as a Soviet spy is revealed, and his suicide is explored.

Jamie Egolf, M.S.W.Jamie’s publications include topics such as comic superheroes, tapestry art, war heroes, and her presentations have occurred nationally and internationally in Santa Fe, Melbourne, and the US Air Force Academy–most recently on how Trickster transformed female oppression at the  Seeing Red Conference in Connecticut.

Chavawn Kelley, M.A.,a  Wyoming Humanities Council scholar, has been awarded fellowships nationally and internationally.  Her poems, essays and short stories have appeared in Quarterly West, High Desert Journal, Creative Nonfiction, Iowa Review, and other publications.

Modern Mythology: Archetypal Expressions in Star Trek
a lecture by Sharon Coggan
November 2^nd, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.*
*Please note the slightly later start!
There is a Fair Trade Gift Market in the Narthex of the church until 7pm that day, so we will be “opening our doors” at 7 and beginning the program at 7:30!

Echoing Jung, Joseph Campbell said mythologies need to be in synch with their host societies. Our ruling myths, or “sacred stories” carried in our religions, are 2000 years out of date with our modern experience. But cultures will always produce authentic new mythologies. In our day, it is science fiction that fascinates so many moderns. The immense popularity of the Star Wars saga, and the Star Trek series, speaks to the authentic nature of these modern myths.

This talk will explore some of Star Trek’s rich mythic themes from the half-human/half Vulcan master of science and logic, Mr. Spock, to the leadership of Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisco and Janeway. The myth of the Hero’s Journey acts as the backbone of the whole saga. Other archetypal themes include the embrace of the shadow, and anima/animus expressions:  all as seen through the lens of the amazing and multiform Star Trek universe.

Sharon L. Coggan, Ph.D. was educated at the University of Denver, Harvard Divinity School, Stanford University, and Syracuse University.  She is the Director of the Religious Studies Program at University of Colorado Denver, a program she created. She offers a range of classes on religion: World Religions, Concepts of the Soul, Concepts of God, Death and Afterlife, Mysticism, Eastern Thought, Myth and Symbol, Classical Mythology, Perspectives on Dream Analysis, and the Hero’s Journey.

Alchemical Black and the Mystery of the Prima Materia:
a lectureby Grazia Di Giorgio
November 30^th, 2018 at 7:15 p.m.

Together with white, black is the only color to have a name in every known human language. While this fact already seems to hint at black’s powerful archetypal significance and its dyadic relationship with white, the development of Western culture instead saw a progressive moralization of the black-and-white pair that has rendered our collective dangerously one-sided in its relationship with darkness.

Within the underbelly of the Judeo-Christian tradition, however, alchemy – the “Black Art” – has cultivated for centuries an opposite approach to blackness as the base of the opus, which holds the promise of reanimating the darkness of matter. Using images, texts, and practical examples, this lecture will explore the alchemical view of the nigredo and its important decapitatiosymbolism, which appear particularly relevant in our difficult present times.

Grazia Di Giorgio, M.A.is a Jungian Analyst with a background in contemplative and somatic psychotherapy, who found in alchemy a common ground between these different approaches. A recent graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado, she currently lives and practices in Bari, Italy.