C.G. Jung Society, Seattle C.G. Jung Society, Seattle
Lecture: Friday, December 12, 2003, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Room 202, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., Seattle
$10 members, $15 nonmembers
Though only an imaginary creature, the unicorn has persisted in the West and East from antiquity to the present day. Medical tradition regarded the unicorn as mysterious, fleet, and fierce. Its horn—even a splinter—was a protection against all poisons, which made it precious and worth the arduous hunt. The irresistible lure was a virginal, young woman, whose fragrance attracted the beast to her lap, allowing hunters deadly aim. Then, they would convey the prize to the king.
Two remarkable sets of 16th-century tapestries, one displayed in Paris and the other in New York, depict contrasting actions in relationship to the unicorn. With these images as guides, this presentation interweaves the themes of Desire, Imagination, and Necessity as they pertain to the unicorn's sacrifice and our individuation. What might the tapestries show about imagination and action and how, in concert, they become most life-serving?
Workshop: Saturday, December 13, 2003, 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Seattle University, Simson Room, Seattle (see directions)
$50 members, $60 nonmembers, $45 student/senior members, $55 student/senior nonmembers
Workshop is a mini-retreat limited to 20 participants. Preregister prior to or at the Friday lecture for the workshop.
To learn about preregistering for the workshop, see Preregistration Policy and Form, but use the fees on this event page.
"...as if a dream or a poem itself might embody a seeking, a seeking not for interpretation, criticism, or understanding even, but for GENERATION, a generation of another poem, another dream, a generative spirit seeking relationship in and through these forms."
—Russell A. Lockhart
Flooded by images from within and without, a protective "numbness" prevails in our soul. How often do we take the time or make the effort to "dream forward" any image? How often—except in satisfying physical needs—do we shape an individual response to an image that has inspired or troubled us? How in touch do we feel with the "generative spirit" that seeks relationship to us through artistic forms?
In this workshop, we will view the film No Man's Land, a riveting allegory for our current world situation. In the film, the characters--similar to Parzival at the Grail castleÑconsistently fail to arouse themselves from the trance of the habitual, to take a risk and create something new that might set events on a more life-serving course. The film's haunting final image challenges each and all of us with what seems an unanswerable question.
Our task will be to dream this image forward. In the process, we will consider the following: To become truly healing, do images need to become actions? Do dreams and works of art require an "ethical" response for their completion—i.e., for their capacity to be generative? What is the role of the heart in relating to image and action? How can we know when an image or action is life-serving?
Linda Sussman, Ph.D., pursues her vocation relating an to the healing word as an educator, storyteller, interview writer, communication consultant, counselor, and ceremonialist. Originally trained as a psychotherapist with a predominately Jungian orientation, she helped to form and worked at the Center for the Healing Arts in Los Angeles for ten years. She obtained her doctorate in Spiritual Psychology and Oral Tradition from the Union Institute and University in 1992. In 1995, she published The Speech of the Grail: A Journey Toward Speaking That Heals and Transforms. She has been teaching storytelling and mythology, primarily to adults, for 18 years. She now resides in Ashland, Oregon.
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