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March 2009 Newsletter
 
In This Issue
From the Executive Director
March Programs
Jung Corner

From the Executive Director
Pat Cochran
Compelling music, an evocative poem, a stirring sunrise: these can all move us to a place beyond the boundaries of our powerful, yet limited, ego.  While all of these can transport us, none bring us a message that is uniquely suited to the particular situation our consciousness faces at this moment.  What has the power to transport us beyond the reaches of the ego, as well as communicate what we need to hear right now?  Dreams, of course.  It was Jung's own dreams and visions, and those of his clients, which formed the basis of his theories.  As he said himself in his memoir, "They were the fiery magma out of which the stone that had to be worked was crystallized" (MDR, pg. 4).  I highlight dreams in this month's newsletter because one of our most popular teachers, Weyler Greene, is presenting a class on dreams, "The World of Dreaming," starting this Monday March 9th.  We also offer an on-going drop-in Dream Circle group, which allows participants to share and hear each other's dreams as a way to understand or expand their personal meaning.  [See below for links to more information on these and other classes.]  There is a diversity of ways to approach one's own dreams, and also a rich array of class offerings here at the Jung Center.  Dream on!

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Pat Cochran, Psy.D.

March Programs
Earth EclipseTheWorld of Dreaming
Mondays, March 9- April 27, 7-9 pm
Weyler Greene, PhD
$200 on of before 3/2, $225 after, CEUs: 16

We spend every night of our lives dreaming.  This class will present an overall survey of the world of dreaming, which will include an overview of the history of dreaming, an exploration of Freud, Jung, and the psychoanalytic perspective; indigenous interpretations, lucid dreams and the biology and physics of dreaming.   Come and learn about a variety of perspective on this mysterious and captivating aspect of our psyches.


Roan InishViewing and Discussion:
The Secret of Roan Inish
Friday March 13, 7-10 pm
Facilitated by Mary Ellen O'Hare-Lavin, PhD
$15 pre or drop-in

After the Second World War, the Irish government saw fit to remove Gaelic speaking families from their ancient homes on the islands of western Ireland and transplant them to the mainland.   The Secret of Roan Inish is a movie based on the 1957 novel by Rosalie K. Fry about these uprooted people and how difficult it was to acclimate.   Roan Inish (Island of Seals) captivates the imagination of a young heroic girl who ventures back to the island of her birth, accompanied by her cousin (an animus figure), in search of her lost brother who is reported to have been stolen by the seals.   She finds her brother and in doing so also finds her Self.  We will explore the themes of the inner child, the journey to connect to lost parts of oneself, finding one's voice, and the meaning of story, all set in the magical land- and seascape of Ireland.


eco flowerOut of the Shadow:
What Literature Can Show Us About Ecopsychology
Rinda West, PhD
Friday March 27, 7-9 pm, 2 CEUs
$25 by 3/20, $30 after

This lecture will address the ways in which our culture has estranged psyche from nature, using examples from novels that provide an alternative perspective from that of the traditional western "man against nature".  Participants will explore ways that healing psyche and healing nature are related.  This program will be followed by a book signing with Rinda West, author of "Out of the Shadow: Ecopsychology, Story, and Encounters with the Land".

To purchase Out of the Shawdow on amazon.com click here


To register for programs please call 847-475-4848 x 221
or click here

Jung Corner
  This is our space for reflections on quotes from Jung.  We invite you to share a favorite quote along with your thoughts.  Click here to e-mail us!

. . . [I]n all the ancient civilizations an impressive dream was accounted a message from the gods!  It remained for the rationalism of our age to explain the dream as the remnants left over from the day, as the crumbs that fell into the twilit world from the richly laden table of our consciousness. . . .  Why do we always forget that there is nothing majestic or beautiful in the wide domain of human culture that did not grow originally from a lucky idea?  We never appreciate how dependent we are on lucky ideas-until we find to our distress that they will not come.  A dream is nothing but a lucky idea that comes to us from the dark, all-unifying world of the psyche.  (CW 10, para. 304-305)

Dreams are impartial, spontaneous products of the unconscious psyche, outside of the control of the will.  They are pure nature; they show the unvarnished, natural truth, and are therefore fitted, as nothing else is, to give us back an attitude that accords with our basic human nature when our consciousness has strayed too far from its foundations and has run into an impasse.  (CW 10, para. 317)

Here are two very different selections about dreams: one rather grand, the other more explanatory.  Dreams themselves can often be either poetic or prosaic, but however they appear to us, Jung reminds us here that they present to our conscious ego necessary material, messages and symbols.  Why does consciousness need these?  Because is has reached an impasse, it needs some "lucky idea" in order to create something majestic or beautiful, it has not stayed true to the essence of what it is supposed to be and become.  Every night, stories from the unconscious are given to us, providing a path towards wholeness.