September 5th, 2008 at 7 p.m
Politics and Psyche
a lecture by Jeffrey Raff
We are in the midst of a major political campaign; perhaps one of the most important in many years. With war still on-going and an economy in trouble, candidates suffer intense scrutiny even as they make promises that may or may not be kept. What does Jungian Psychology teach us about politics that can make sense of this and other campaigns? Can we apply Jungian concepts to the outer world of the collective mind? Understanding such concepts as projection and complexes helps one navigate the waters of political debate, while realizing that archetypes underlie the dynamics and meaning of political values makes sense of ideology and rhetoric. In this talk I shall examine the possibility that we can in fact learn from such concepts and that they might help to put into context the chaos of every day political life.
Dr. Jeffrey Raff has been in private practice as a Jungian Analyst in the Denver area for 32 years. He is the author of four books, including Jung and the Alchemical Imagination, and numerous articles. He is currently interested in the meaning and experience of chronic illness.
October 3rd, 2008 at 7 p.m
The Limbic System and Religious Experience: correlations with analytical psychology a lecture by Raffaella ada Colombo
I have long been interested in neuroscience and its application to analytical psychology. Thanks to current neuro-imaging technologies it has become possible to look into and research the cortical and sub-cortical brain functions. The limbic system is linked to the most ancient parts of the brain and has a central role in the memory, motivation and learning functions. It is also highly important in the expression of emotions and in the experience of religious feelings. A number of authors have described the neurological processes underlying the altered state of consciousness during mystical and religious experiences.
Through the study of archaeological material, and thanks to the neuroimaging studies, it is possible to observe the links with analytical psychology and the symbolic process. According to Jung humans have an innate predisposition to produce images or universal psychic structures. It is through evolution, through the constant repetition of the ritual and the representation of myths through time that we have developed neural systems capable of understanding symbolic meanings, capable of representing on a perceptive level the psychoid aspect of the psyche, meaning the archetypes themselves. The aim of the lecture is to hypothesize some correlates between neurophysiology and analytical psychology, specifically in the area of the religious function.
Raffaella Ada Colombo, MD is a psychiatrist and Jungian Analyst who graduated from CG Jung Institute Zurich. Since 1988 she has been working in a Psychiatric Hospital near Milan and in private practice. At the hospital she is involved in research on cognitive impairments of the prefrontal cortex in patients suffering from Bipolar Disorders. She has published articles on epidemiology, psychopathology and psychopharmacology. She is interested in the relationship of mind and brain and the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and analytical psychology, lecturing on these subjects at ISAPZURICH.
November 7th, 2008 at 7 p.m.
Soul in Sand
a lecture by Nancy Ortenberg
Sand has been used for thousands of years in sacred ceremonies, meditation, divination, and healing. To engage with the sand is to move outside time and space and enter into what Eliade referred to as ‘sacred time’. Jung said, “All creative works are the offspring of the imagination and the dynamic principle of the imagination is play.” Instead of using words, one enters into this sacred time and engages play in the sand to bring form and life to the symbolic imagination. As Jung points out, it is an experience of “the striving of the unconscious for the light and the striving of consciousness for substance. Often the hands know how to solve a riddle which has been wrestled with in vain.” In her lecture, through clinical casework with adult clients, images, and your own imagination, Nancy invites you to enter into the symbolic landscape of soul in sand.
Nancy Ortenberg, M.A., LMFT, is a Jungian psychotherapist in private practice in Boulder. Jungian sandplay therapy with adults has been part of her practice for over 25 years. She also provides individual and couples psychotherapy, dream groups, training and supervision for therapists, and has taught at Regis and Naropa Universities. She is a Board Member and frequent lecturer for the Jung Society of Colorado and the Boulder Friends of Jung.
December 5th, 2008 at 7 p.m
FOLLOWING THE REINDEER GODDESS: A Winter Solstice Journey
a lecture by Linda Leonard
Every winter at Yuletide images of the reindeer abound. In the Arctic the nomadic peoples of the north honor the ancient Reindeer Goddess as their guide to survival and as the peaceful messenger between heaven and earth and the bridge between spirit and nature. Inspired by a dream about a woman who runs with a herd of pregnant reindeer – a symbol that embodies both the strong and compassionate feminine spirit – Linda Leonard traveled to the Siberian wilderness to be with nomadic reindeer people, to Lapland to learn of the shamanic Sami culture, to Alaska to search for migrating caribou and to research the meaning of the reindeer. She will share myths, stories and cultures of the reindeer – a living symbol that can inspire and guide both men, women and communities in their search for spiritual development and the way of peaceful life.
Linda Schierse Leonard, Ph.D. is a Jungian Analyst currently in practice in Boulder, Co. Author of the best selling books: The Wounded Woman, On the Way to the Wedding, Witness to the Fire, Meeting the Madwoman, The Call to Create and Following the Reindeer Woman, her books have been translated into fifteen languages. She is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and gives lectures and workshops world-wide.
Jung Society of Colorado 