March 21,
2008 at 7 p.m.

An Irish Storytelling evening and workshop with Clare Muireann Murphy

We are opening the spring 2008 lecture series with a very special treat. An Irish Storyteller will be with us, to share some of her country’s great and enchanting myths. Friday night Clare will tell “Twins of Macha,” “Deirdre of the Sorrows,” and “How Cuchulann got his name,” with a fourth story left to Clare’s fancy. She will also answer our questions about her craft. At our Saturday workshop, Clare will also tell stories, which we will then look at more deeply to unlock their psychological meaning. Jungian Analyst Lara Newton will lead the discussion groups. To send us on our way, the workshop will wrap up with a final story by Clare. This workshop is $90 up to one week in advance ($75 for members), and $100 late registration ($85 for members).

Clare Muireann Murphy is a storyteller, performer, writer and wordsmith based in Galway, Ireland. A graduate in English and Spanish Clare has been writing since she could hold a pen, and has a history in theatre both on and back stage. She has been key in reestablishing a lively storytelling community in Galway through a local Story Night, intergenerational storytelling projects, and storytelling workshops for disadvantaged children. She performs around Ireland and abroad.

Lara Newton, M.A., L.P.C. is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Denver, president of the Jung Society of Colorado and vice-president of the Jung Institute of Colorado. She has studied Irish mythology and literature for over 35 years.

April 18, 2008
at 7 p.m

The Hole in the Heart: Why We Fail at Love with Dr. Patricia Berry

For centuries love has been a topic for philosophy, theology, and especially the arts. During the past century depth psychology, modern science, and evolutionary theory have weighed in as well. Yet marriages and partnerships continue to break up. The divorce rate climbs. We seem to be failing at love. What is the problem? Are we the problem? Modern society? Or is it that love itself is difficult, perhaps even at an ‘archetypal level’? To explore the situation this lecture will draw upon the Upanishads of the East, Homer’s Hymn to Aphrodite of the ancient Greek world, Virgil’s Aeneid of the Roman West. To bring our view up to the present, we may also look at some contemporary film clips. The aim is that by the end of this discussion we will have a better appreciation of why love is difficult, how and why we fail at it, and what those failures could be asking of us.

Dr. Patricia Berry is a past President and Training Director, as well as current Vice- President of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. She is the author of Echo’s Subtle Body: a Contribution to Archetypal Psychology and numerous articles. In 1991 she was named the first Scholar in Residence at Pacifica Graduate Institute in California. She lectures widely and currently has a private practice in West Bath, Maine.

May 9, 2008
at 7 p.m

Music, sound and healing as a gateway to the psyche with Janis Page

The field of sound healing is considered cutting edge in complementary and integrative healing modalities today, and yet healing through sound and music is one of the most ancient forms of healing, used by the ancient Greeks, Tibetans, and indigenous shamans around the world. As we are vibrational beings, music and sound impact us on all levels, providing a gateway to awareness, deepening, and integration. Sound is a nutrient ~ what are you feeding yourself? What physiological changes happen with passive listening to music? What are resonance and entrainment, and how can we work with these principles? What do indigenous peoples around the world instinctively understand about the triune brain with their use of the flute, rattle and drum? How is voice in toning, chant, mantra and singing used in sound healing? This talk will be experiential, as Janis will play various instruments to demonstrate aspects of sound healing.

Janis Page, MA, CCMHP (Cross-cultural Music Healing Practitioner) is a sound healer, musician, composer and teacher with a special passion for working with psychic imagery, harmonics and cross-cultural studies and sound healing. She plays the didgeridoo, Native American flute, tabla drums and other percussion, Tibetan singing bowls and other Tibetan ritual instruments, as well as piano and voice. She teaches a class on Sound and Healing at Metropolitan State College of Denver.

June 6, 2008
at 7 p.m.

Tarot and the Psychology of C.G. Jung:
Structure and the Interpretation of Selected Cards with Dr. Stephen Foster

The Tarot is a series of ancient images, many of which are similar to Alchemical images and can be approached psychologically in the same way that Jung approached Alchemy and other symbolic systems. In 1952, Jung proposed his theory of synchronicity: “an acausal connecting principle”, “often linking the psychic and material worlds.” If one were to draw a card from the Tarot deck and assume synchronicity has influenced the outcome, the next question might be, “What is the psychological significance of this image at this time?” This lecture will relate the Tarot deck to Jung’s structure of the psyche, and will also look at the role of synchronicity in the Tarot. Using four Tarot cards from the Major Arcana (Trumps), Dr. Foster will explore their personal and collective psychological significance. This presentation will focus on the psychological aspects of the Tarot, not discussing the metaphysical or paranormal use of the cards.

Stephen Foster MA, LPC, is an Advanced Candidate with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts through the C.G. Jung Institute of Colorado and one of the Founding Members of the Boulder Friends of Jung. He has been studying Tarot for over 30 years. During this time reading cards, his own and other peoples, the Tarot has influenced his life. He also has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and works on environmental issues.