A Jungian Approach to Solving the Real Problems in Life: How the Self is Our Best Friend and Our Worst Enemy

This course is not offered for NYS CE contact hours.

On occasion, most of us have gotten a glimpse, however brief, of a hidden hand directing the nature of our relationships and even the events of our lives. That is what Jung called the Self, the central organizing principle of our total psyche, and of our very being.

He had much to say about the operating principles of the Self, and how we are called upon to relate well to how the Self appears in our lives.

In this course, we will first do a careful exploration of exactly what Jung means by the Self, with handouts from Jung’s and Marie-Louise Von Franz’s various descriptions, and examples of the appearance of the Self. (Jung often said the Self is both above and below us, so he didn’t use the term Higher Self.)

Then we will look at some of those major operating principles, such as how the Self often first appears in our lives through a wound—awful and painful--that calls for greater development of our conscious personality. We will look at a number of “real life” examples of how the appearance of the Self in a person’s life often seems at first to be an enemy that must be resisted or even fought. When the Self appears as our very worst enemy, we are confronted with a higher power that blocks our way and imposes insurmountable obstacles to our greatest desires.

We will take up Jung’s discussion of how the “dark side” of the Self manifests in human life, and how the encounter with this dimension of life tests our ability to respond in the deepest of ways.

However, since the focus of the course is on solving the real problems of life, throughout the five sessions we will look at examples of the bright side of the Self: how it comes as a dependable friend, a clear guide, a profound teacher, and a source of wisdom and meaning, with everything hinging on how we respond to the messages of the Self with our attitudes.

Course readings will include handouts from the writings of C.G. Jung, Marie-Louise von Franz, Edward Edinger, Edward Whitmont, Yoram Kaufmann and David Hart.

FACULTY

Mary Apikos taught at Parsons School of Design NYC for 17 years. She taught inter-disciplinary courses about aspects of design culture that fell through the cracks to people who fell through the cracks. She is ABD in Cultural Anthropology from CUNY Graduate Center and has worked as an ethnographic textile conservator at the Museum of the American Indian, George Heye Foundation NYC and in private practice where she specialized in the care of sacred materials. In 2022 Mary completed a one-year remote applied arts program at the Centre for Applied Jungian Studies in South Africa and is on staff at The London Arts Based Research Centre. She is a working artist and currently resides in Chicago. Her work can be seen on her website maryapikos.com

Maxson J. McDowell, PhD, LMSW, LP, is a senior Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City. Former President of the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, he is also a longtime faculty member. He has taught courses in dream interpretation online and in person for over 25 years. He has published numerous papers on dream interpretation, Jungian psychology, narcissistic injury, systems theory and autism.

David Rottman, MA, Distinguished Senior Instructor, is past President of the C.G. Jung Foundation and is a member of the Jung Foundation’s Continuing Education Faculty. He is the author of The Career as a Path to the Soul. He was the editor and publisher for The Way of the Image by Yoram Kaufmann. He has a private practice in New York City.

Maria Taveras, LCSW, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in New York City. She is also an award-winning creator of Dream Art. She creates art from images in her own dreams and is the recipient of two Gradiva Awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis for her Dream Art. Her Dream Art has been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Berkeley, London, Montreal, and Cape Town.

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LOCATION
These are online courses, given through the program Zoom.
Please download the Zoom program in advance of the first class session at Zoom.us

TUITION
All 5-week courses are $175 for the general public and $150 for members.

REGISTRATION
The full fee must be paid at the time of registration.
Please register through the payment buttons on this website.

$175 General Public

$150 Members

IMPORTANT NOTES:

When you pay you must also email your current email address and telephone number to the Foundation at cgjungny@aol.com. The Foundation will send you an email message and you must reply to confirm receipt. If you are taking this course for 7.5 CE contact hours for licensed NYS Social Workers, Psychoanalysts and Creative Arts Therapists, please specify which license you hold and give your NYS license number.

Class size is limited. Early registration is strongly recommended. Refunds for continuing education courses, less $15 for administrative services, will be made up to seven days before the first session. There will be no refunds issued after classes have begun. No exceptions will be made. Programs are subject to change without notice.