Workshop: Encountering Our Animal Guides. Animals speak to us in dreams and at crucial moments in our lives.Their roles seem to guide us in the task of becoming human and thus more true to our own animal natures. In this workshop, the animals in our lives and dreams will be p resented as embodiments of energy, as prototypes of spontaneity, as models of natural integrity, and as guardians and healers. Dr. Russack will share stories of how differe n t animals have helped individuals to discover how to live their human lives more fully and authentically. Therapists will learn new perspectives for incorporating animal symbolism in their practice. Participants are invited to bring material for discussion.

Neil Russack, M.D. is a Jungian Analyst and Psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco. A frequent lecturer on animals and nature in the psyche, he is the author of Animal Guides in Life, Myth and Dreams.

Reading List (click here)

In analysis, when the archetype of Dionysus erupts in the psyche, the individual’s fate is deeply impacted by the encounter. This lecture examines epiphanic moments such as possession by love or attraction and addiction to drugs or alcohol. How do we struggle consciously with such energy, and let it express itself without destroying what is already built? Slides of Dionysian initiation in Greece and in Roman Pompeii will be shown to amplify the clinical material.

Workshop: How do we draw from this indestructible life stream to vitalize our lives instead of our egos being obliterated by Dionysian energy? The Romans gave the god his due in the form of a ceremony, depicted in the intense, colorful frescoes from the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii.The images reveal Dionysus’ psychological impact on both men and women. In this seminar, after a showing of slides of the ceremony, we will create an altar evoking mystery initiation, share a Roman feast, and explore personal dreams in small groups for meaning in the larger scope of Dionysian myth. Please bring an altar object and a dream or poem that speaks of initiation for you.We will investigate what it means to honor this god of paradox.

VIRGINIA BEANE RUTTER, M.S. is a Jungian Analyst practicing in Mill Valley, California. She received her analytic training in both Zurich and San Francisco and holds M.A. degrees in Art History and Counseling Psychology. Her study of ancient myths and rites of passage through art history and archaeology is mirrored in her clinical work with men and women. She is the author of Woman Changing Woman: Feminine Psychology Re-Conceived Through Myth and Experience; and two books on parenting girls, Celebrating Girls: Nurturing and Empowering Our Daughters, and Embracing Persephone: How To Be the Mother You Want for the Daughter You Cherish. She is currently writing about Dionysian mystery initiation.

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Workshop: Dream Group. The Lakota People inspired the dream group model used in this workshop where dreams are seen as possible inform at i o n for the entire commu n i t y, not just for the individual. Some dreams are collective visions. Some “ordinary” dreams are inspiring/enlightening/healing even for others to hear. In this workshop, participants will be invited to share dreams on an individual level as well as to explore a dream’s potential for the group process. “Why did I need to hear this dream? ” is a salient question for those listening to another’s dream . This workshop is experiential . Care will be taken to insure confidentiality, set boundaries , and operate from compassion. All who volunteer to experience this unique process for dream work will be respected and honored for what it brings to all of us collectively.

TESS CASTLEMAN, M.A., L.P.C., I.A.A.P., is a Zurich trained Diplomate Jungian Analyst and training analyst. She is president and past director of training of the C.G. Jung Institute of Dallas and past president of the Friends of Jung of North Texas. She implemented and trained volunteers for The Jail Project at Dallas County Jail where inmates participate in a dream group. She is currently supervising a volunteer project to take portable sand tray work to nursing homes. In addition to individual analysis and sand tray projection, Ms. Castleman works in a variety of modalities: she leads expressive art workshops and therapeutic writing seminars, and has facilitated dream groups for over seventeen years. She is the author of: “Threads, Knots, Tapestries: How a web of communal connection can be observed through dreams and synchronicities” and “Heyoka Shamanism and Analytical Psychology.”

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Lecture: Friday, November 14, 7:30 pm
Town Hall, Kaiser Permanente
3704 N. Interstate
$10 at the door; Members free.

Lecture: What is comedy? Why is it so often paired with its dark twin tragedy? Why do we laugh? Is comedy healthy, or is it pathological? (Freud, who was rather dour, wrote a book on the subject, and Jung, known for his earthy humor and voluminous laugh, did not.) Bring a joke or bring a funny story to share!

Workshop: "Psyche and Story". Beneath the visible plane of existence, a story is always at work . It may be the tribal story, or the mythos of the family of origin, or the personal complexes at work . The story may be conscious or unconscious, but it is always present. What are the archetypal stories which have moved human history and where are their traces today?

James Hollis, Ph.D. is a Zurich-trained Jungian Analyst who has a practice in Houston,TX, where he is Executive Director of the Houston Jung Center. He is the author of ten books, the last being On This Journey We Call Our Life, and the forthcoming Mythos: Rendering the Invisible World Visible.

Reading List (click here)

Workshop: Saturday, December 6, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Town Hall, Kaiser Permanente
3704 N. Interstate, Portland, OR
Public: $85. Members: $50 if registered by 11/29; $60 afterwards.