ABOUT THE C.G. JUNG FOUNDATION
Newsletter of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario
ISSN 1918-6142
Chiron is a newsletter that exists to support the work of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario. It was established in 1980, and has existed in electronic form since 2006. Its name and masthead image, adopted at that time, are drawn from ancient Greek culture. In Greek mythology, Chiron was the last centaur, a son of the titan Cronus. He was famed for his wisdom, knowledge and skill at deciphering the will of the gods, to healing effect.
Volume 28, No. 1 December 2008
Editor: Robert Black
Contents
- Marion Woodman's lecture review
- An Urge Towards Self-realization
- From the Editor
- New Analysts
- Survey says
- Other Jungian doings in Ontario
- Past issues
Marion packs them in again
Marion Woodman spoke powerfully and with great humour and penetration to a sold-out crowd on November 14 at Trinity College, Toronto.
She was introduced warmly and affectionately by Daryl Sharp. He sketched an outline of her life and reported that her books had sold over one million copies. She was, he said, “a phenomenon in the Jungian community.” The audience was interested to hear that a feature-length documentary, “Marion Woodman: dancing in the flames” is currently in production. When launched in 2009, details will be announced on her website (www.mwoodmanfoundation.org).
Ms. Woodman chose the title, “What was it all about?” and used its composition as an opportunity to reflect, at eighty, on “the basic things of my life.” By way of introduction, she stated that “the inner journey was always my chief concern.”
What was it to be the oldest child of a handsome man, a minister, and his beautiful wife? She was “the Shirley Temple darling of the congregation,” taken along on pastoral visits. From her earliest age, she remembered the special, closed off space of front parlors, where “a delightful child’s toy, brightly coloured, almost new” was positioned – yet wondered why there were no children in the household. The angry or fearful responses to her innocent questions developed her “gift of intuition,” which subsequently “was at the core of every decision I have made.”
Ms. Woodman taught English in high school for twenty-five years, “opening corridors of body, mind and soul” through Shakespeare and others. From her childhood, play-teaching at home to the Ontario College of Education to work as an Analyst, “I was born to be a teacher, and have never stopped.” She came to realize that work with metaphor and poetry was soul work. “The soul knows what it is on this earth for, and if it has a chance, it will go in that direction. You can try to change things … but you may find yourself in a pile of trouble.”
For herself, she came to “loath teaching in a system that could so savagely destroy soul.” In later years, time spent in India and an analysis in London, England, with E. A. Bennett enabled her “to find my own creativity.” After studies in Zurich, she opened a practice in Toronto, to “establish safe space in which another soul can dare to be … by whatever route.” She described her work as helping the individual to “accept who the soul is, and is becoming,” and to be there “when the mask can no longer be maintained, [helping] the soul break through into safe space.”
This auditor hopes that her talk will be published, perhaps in expanded form, as it would be difficult to recreate its true interest and spell. Four audience members were selected to receive an autographed copy of one of her books. In the question period following, Marion was succinct, insightful and humorous. A particularly charming part of the closing was presentation of flowers and vase by David Taylor, president of the University of Toronto Jungian Society, who spoke of the Woodmans’ contribution to the “Paradigms and Archetypes Programme” at New College. The evening was brought to a close by analyst Caroline Duetz, who thanked Ms. Woodman on behalf of all those present and also presented an immense bouquet to the speaker.
An Urge Towards Self-realization: Mid Life and the Psychology of C.G. Jung
by Rosemary Murray Lachapelle
Although it has several developmental stages, the human lifespan may be divided into two major parts. The first half has to do with physical maturation and social adaptation. The second half is characterized by inner adaptation and the struggle to come to terms with limitations. The transition between the two is commonly known as the mid life crisis. Swiss psychiatrist, C.G. Jung, discovered processes of transformation in the human psyche which become especially pressing during the second half of life. “The driving force, so far as it is possible for us to grasp it,” he wrote, “seems to be ... an urge towards self-realization.” (CW7:291)
During this time of passage, emotional vulnerability may be experienced and physical limitations may be encountered for the first time. There may be feelings of depression, anxiety, and even anger. Some people feel life has no meaning. Jung developed an understanding of the psyche which takes into account the unconscious as well as consciousness. The aim is to bring unconscious contents, as revealed in dreams, imagination, journals, art, and dance, into consciousness because, as Jung discovered, there is transforming power in images from the unconscious. The goal is an inner process of self realization, which leads to an increase in consciousness. As a result the individual gains insight and becomes freer to make life-giving choices.
One of the important tools to help increase self knowledge is working with dreams brought by the analysand. Dreams are material from the unconscious and bring us into contact with a deeper part of ourselves. Jung said that the “dream is a spontaneous self-portrayal, in symbolic form, of the actual situation in the unconscious.” (CW8:505) During a session analyst and analysand talk about the current life situation of the analysand. If she or he has brought a dream, it is examined to learn what it has to say about the present situation. The dream broadens perspective. As long as there is respect for the unconscious in the work, the process is ongoing and other approaches to the unconscious may be used.
In the second half of life there is another birth, another beginning. Although felt as a crisis, mid life can be lived as a period of transformation. The psychology of C.G. Jung, also known as depth psychology, teaches a way to self knowledge which is helpful and hopeful for a wide range of life situations.
FROM THE EDITOR
Electronic means of contact are fast, uncomplicated, easy on the pocket – and have become almost fundamental to the way our civilization functions. These reasons are why Chiron will continue to be posted primarily on the website of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario, with email notification sent of each new issue to those who have requested it .
Printing and mailing of physical copies may henceforth have to stop. Your editor, for one, would regret it if that had to happen. Somehow, printing a physical newsletter becomes more real. Not everyone associated with the Jung Foundation participates in the communications revolution, and for the most mindful of reasons. The soul does not seem to take into account the quick, the effortless or the economical. And the body often appreciates a physical object to hold, preserve and – who knows? – come across serendipitously, instead of turning on a machine and staring at a bright glass screen.
It takes time to process; time to adjust to new ways. Yet we might have to.
Why have newsletters at all? Chiron assists the work of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario. Since 1980, it has provided a forum for exchange, and is a source of information and adjunct to the Foundation’s public education programme. Those rôles continue.
Since 1991, when founder Jim Shaw proposed “that the aims and purposes of the Foundation will be best served by this responsibility resting in the hands of the professional members,” many additional tasks have been carried collectively by the Analysts, despite the weight of analytical, educational and personal responsibilities. That’s why there has occasionally been a hiatus in production.
Now, with the infusion of locally-trained Analysts, loads are shared by more shoulders, and new energy is apparent almost everywhere one looks. This newsletter looks, Deo concendente, to be back in regular production.
If you would like to offer letters, reminiscences, reactions, images, comments, book notices, short articles, or anything else that might reasonably further “the aims and purposes of the Foundation,” please be in touch!
NEW ANALYSTS
An immense amount of energy is represented by the simple and joyful fact that there are now some “first fruits” of the OAJA Analyst Training Programme. In order of graduation, these are the following:
1. Ingrid Eisermann. Ingrid was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada in 1968. She has enjoyed several major transitions in life, from her work as a Mathematics professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland to graduate studies in counseling at Loyola University in Chicago. Ingrid also worked as director of a counseling center in Northern Ontario. Upon completing her analytical training in 2006, she began her private practice in North York, where she lives with her husband Gary. In addition to her practice, Ingrid also works for a non-profit Family Service Agency in the city where she does individual and couple counseling. Her thesis title is, Mary Magdalene's Christification: A Paradigm of an Individuation Process.
2. Geri Daigneault. Born and raised in the Maritimes, Geri lived in Montreal, Victoria, and Fredericton with her journalist husband and their three children before moving to Toronto. While working for the New Brunswick provincial government in the early 1990s, Geri began her own Jungian analysis with Lynda Schmidt in Maine. She holds master’s degrees in psychology, adult education and English literature. Her fascination with Jung began when she enrolled in a graduate course on symbology with Northrop Frye at the University of Toronto. She worked as a counsellor from the mid-1990s until 2000, when she entered the OAJA training program. Since 1999 she has made her home in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto, where she is currently in private practice. Geri loves her work and can’t imagine wanting to retire. Her thesis title is, Marriage and Redemption in James Joyce’s “The Dead.”
3. Caroline Duetz. Caroline was born in Holland, immigrated to New Zealand at age nine and immigrated later to Canada. Caroline started her career as an elementary school teacher but after completing graduate studies at OISE, she ended up counseling adult ex-psychiatric patients in a Community College rehabilitation programme. This experience, further training as a Gestalt therapist and many years of personal therapy, eventually led Caroline to start a private practice in 1988. A former marathon runner, Caroline is also a lover of music, reading and animals. Caroline's analytic practice is now located in her home in the Beach where she lives with her long-time partner Charlene and their dog Casey. Caroline's thesis title is, Mind Trapped in Matter: Early Childhood Trauma and a Sugar Addiction.
4. Roger LaRade. An Acadien de souche hailing from Cape Breton, Roger served as a Jesuit priest in Ontario and Saskatchewan before working for the AIDS Committee of Toronto. He has degrees in philosophy, education, theatre and theology. Theatre and the Opera are two favourite forms of entertainment. Areas of professional interest include Jung’s thought on Catholicism and the psyche, and the individuation process of gay men. He shares a home in Cabbagetown with his husband Mark and their cat Jonathan. In addition to his private practice, Roger lives out his commitment to spirituality through pastoral ministry and spiritual direction within the Eglise Eucharistique Catholique – Eucharistic Catholic Church. His thesis title is, An Effluence of Ineffable Sunlight: The Blonde in the Gay Male Psyche.
5. Robert Black. Robert was born in Saskatchewan, a place with little visible past. From early childhood, he was fascinated by the profound influence that the invisible past has on determining both the present and the future. Hoping that love, faith and French studies would reorient his perspectives, he moved to Montreal in 1974. Anglicanism stuck and he pursued ordination; his introduction to Jungian analysis came from a Baptist instructor, a man interested in family “patterns of sin,” then in the process of becoming an Analyst himself. Robert’s attachment to the sin of consistency loosened, he moved to Toronto in 1981 to pursue love and doctoral studies in Anglican history. After graduation, he taught and published while assisting part-time in local parishes. He came to the programme from Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he was lecturer in history (1986-present) and chaplain (1992-2000). A whole new life emerged from the latter position. He listened, learned, acted and loved in new ways, all calamitously, and put himself into analysis. Thirteen years later, he still finds himself simultaneously mystified and peaceful. He constantly amazed by the richness hidden in the Shadow, and the creativity of the Collective Unconscious; he likes living downtown and loves his analytic practice. His thesis title is partly drawn from Jung’s comment about individuals not seeming to fit into their birth family: ’Like an apple on a fir tree;’ The Family Layer of the Psyche and Individuation.
6. Janice Bachman. A native of Ohio, Janice was admitted into the second year of the training programme. She is a Dominican Sister practicing in Columbus, Ohio. Formerly a pharmacist and health care administrator, Janice has been a spiritual director and retreat director since 1989 and involved in the training of spiritual directors since 1996. She has been on the summer faculty of Creighton University's (Omaha, Nebraska) Master of Christian Spirituality Program since 1997. Janice is interested in the convergence of analytical psychology and spirituality, and how the two disciplines and their symbols inform the process of analysis, spiritual development and becoming more whole persons. Her thesis title is: The Emergence of the Transcendent in the Individuation Process.
7. Rosemary Murray-Lachapelle. Rosemary is a native of Ottawa, where she practices. She is married and the mother of an adult daughter. Rosemary studied psychology, religion, and literature at the University of Toronto, the Université de Strasbourg, and Carleton University. As teacher, facilitator, and manager she worked in schools, museums, and the federal government. While working in international development, she travelled to a number of West African countries and met her husband Gaston, a native of Joliette, Quebec. Later she participated in Commonwealth projects for the development of long distance learning modules, travelling to deliver the pilots in Africa and the Caribbean. Her experiences were a wonderful education in the complexity of human experience and motivation. Rosemary loves art, music, literature, fairy tales, and opera. She has a penchant for languages, including ancient languages such as Old Babylonian which she has studied. She has recently discovered an interest in science. Rosemary also enjoys good company, good cuisine and fine wine. In part, Rosemary was drawn to Jung's psychology for its holistic approach and bridging capacity. She has come to focus on the re-connection of consciousness to body, emotion, instinct, and imagination. In her thesis she explored one symbol for this development in the human psyche; its title is The Black Madonna of Montserrat and the Great Mother in the Thought of C.G. Jung.
Professional members of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario are usually also members of OAJA (the Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts), a recognized group within the IAAP (International Association for Analytical Psychology). OAJA adds to its number by training Analysts and by transferring them from other societies. In this issue is a report on the first seven "home-grown" graduates of the Analyst Training Programme. But this year we have an addition by transfer.
Tim Pilgrim was born in Quebec and moved to Ontario in 1960. After graduating from Princeton, Tim spent the 70's studying and teaching 19th century English literature before jumping to business where he ran a number of marketing organizations through the 80's and 90's. His interest in psyche and systems led to a graduate degree in organizational psychology and to his training as a marital and family therapist. Tim maintains a research company which provides consulting to Canadian universities on their relationships to stakeholder groups. He enjoys spending summer months canoeing in the back country with his wife and son. As a graduate of the Inter Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, Tim did his thesis on the Psychology of Ambition. His private practice is at Avenue Road and St. Clair in Toronto.
Contact information for these analysts can be found on our website: www.cgjungontario.com/analysts.html or by calling the Foundation office at 416 961-9767.
Survey Says
At the last several public lectures, members and friends have been surveyed for their preferences about timing and subject matter, and any comments they cared to make. They were additionally asked to submit an email address to receive notices from the Foundation. 75% of respondents had an existing or previous connection to the Foundation, and 25% were first-timers brought to the event either by friends, distribution of the programme brochure, or our website.
The over whelming majority wish to keep the public lecture at 8 p.m. on a Friday, while being divided about whether to gather for a dinner at a nearby pub beforehand (30% said yes, 40% said no, and 30% said sometimes).
Programme suggestions included: developing creativity in writing and art forms, more on the mind/body connection, exposition of major symbols (the King, the Hero), more small group work (dream interpretation, fairy tale interpretation, art therapy, spirituality, film appreciation).
A series of “Jungian basics,” on a two or three year repeating cycle was requested, and the possibility raised of a “Certificate in Jungian Studies” at least for mental-health professionals.
These suggestions then helped to inform the public programme for 2008-09, and will do so in the future as well. Something like a certificate would be in keeping with other Jungian training organizations in North America, but would not likely appear in the immediate future.
Practical suggestions included having these lectures somewhere near the Foundation office on St. Clair Avenue West, ensuring wheelchair accessibility, and providing better lighting and sound broadcast.
OTHER JUNGIAN DOINGS IN ONTARIO
Some space can be made available to report briefly on other “Jungian doings” in the region, even if not explicitly connected to the work of the C.G. Jung Foundation of Ontario or its Analyst members. Please feel free to be in touch at .
If members can report on those events sponsored by the Philemon Foundation at Emmanuel College last November 20, your editor would be glad to share it in the next issue.
Information on the University of Toronto Jungian Society can be obtained from its head, David Taylor, at jungiansociety@gmail.com.
Past issues available online
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