Our 1997-98 program year will conclude with a panel discussion of Jungís approach to religion from a feminine perspective. Four distinguished panelists will present their views on the topic. Following these presentations, there will be an opportunity for questions and dialogue between audience and panel, as well as among panel members.
Jung was born in 1875 as Nietzsche was proclaiming his thesis that "god is dead." In fact, the god who has died is the one-sided masculine god of the fathers, sons, and warriors of the Western religious traditions. Jung brought western religion back to experience, depth, the animal soul, and especially the feminine side of God. His ideas of the anima, of the Virgin Mary as the fourth aspect of the Trinity, and especially of the conjunctio went far toward redeeming the dry male bonding of the religious peaks, bringing them down, "going under" into the heart, to use Zarathustraís words. Questions for panel members may be submitted in advance to the Jung Society mailing address (or by the email address of dcs@eskimo.com).
Panelists will include:
Panel moderator Louise Bode, a Jungian analyst, who holds a masters degrees in religious education from the University of Chicago and the Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City. Since 1989 she has been a follower of Gurumayi of the Siddha Yoga lineage, and is an active member of the Meditation Center of Seattle.
Elaine Molchanov, LCSW, is Diplomat in clinical social work, an internationally certified Jungian analyst, and member of Jungian Analysts North Pacific. As a result of travels and studies in India, she has practiced Siddha Yoga for 22 years. Elaine lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her family. Her practice integrates the insights of Jungian psychology with the worldís spiritual traditions to deepen awareness of our soulís journey.
Thubten Chodron has traveled extensively throughout the East in her spiritual journey. She has conducted dharma courses worldwide. She currently lives and teaches in Seattle with Dharma Friendship Foundation. Her books include Open Heart, Clear Mind, What Color Is Your Mind?, Taming the Monkey Mind, and Glimpse of Reality (with Dr. Alexander Berzin).
Sister Sharon McDonald, OSB, is currently Prioress of St. Placid Priory and Spirituality Center in Lacy, Washington, a Benedictine monastery of 30 women who seek God in community and provide ministries of retreat work and hospitality for people of all faiths. Sharon will speak of her experience of the waxing sacred feminine in community, in ritual, in ecology, and in works of justice. She is a member of the Olympia Jung Society.
Patricia Warming, MA, M.Div., is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Seattle. She will address the challenge of finding a conscious relationship to the feminine principle in a predominately patriarchal cultural and religious milieu. She is a member of the Association of Graduate Analytical Psychologists of the Zurich Institute, Jungian Analysts North Pacific, and the International Association for Analytical Psychology.