093011

Lecture & Discussion: Encountering the Dark
Stirrings of the Unconscious in our World Today

Jacqueline J. West , Ph.D.

Jungian notions about consciousness and archetypal forces provide us with
rich perspectives to explore provocative and challenging questions that are
highly activated, individually and collectively, in our world today. What is
the psychological value of the presentation of tumultuous and violent images
in our lives through movies, news, art? Why is the theme of the Apocalypse
so prevalent in our world today and what do we as Jungians have to say
about it? How are archetypal images, such as the apocalypse, the divine child,
the fallen angel, employed politically? What is the point in turning towards
"the dark stirrings of the unconscious?"

These questions, amongst others, have arisen numerous times in our recent
Community Programs and they will be explored from various perspectives
in the programs scheduled for this year. Tonight, Dr. West and her associates
will orient us towards these explorations by weaving basic Jungian theories
regarding ego, Self, and shadow, as well as clinical wisdom about the transformation
of narcissism, into these pressing, current realities. The essential
development of a robust capacity to tolerate vulnerability and endure limitation
will be emphasized through these reflections, supplemented by images
from Jung's The Red Book, as well as the art of Anselm Kiefer, Frida Kahlo,
and others.

These remarks will be interspersed with conversations with and amongst
members of the audience and local analysts.

Jacqueline J. West, Ph.D. is a Jungian Analyst practicing in Santa Fe, NewMexico. She is currently coordinator of Community Programs in the New
Mexico Society of Jungian Analysts, in which she was past President and past Training Director, and she is a Training Analyst in the Inter-Regional Society ofJungian Analysts. She is co-author, along
with Jungian Analyst Nancy Dougherty, of The Matrix and Meaning of Character: An Archetypal and Developmental Perspective - Searching for the Wellsprings of Spirit. She lectures widely on the dynamicsof archetypally inspired character structures and their interplay with art and politics.