A senior Jungian therapist in New York City. Hear his illuminating lectures: just point and click
Descriptions of lectures on myth, art, and psychologyThere are nine entries: scroll down to see them
How Hinauri Found her second Husband: Inner Relationship and the Power of the Feminine
Through the Polynesian legend
of Hinauri,
we will focus on how romantic attraction can spur
development,
how
creativity
results from a lively inner
relationship with
oneself, and how strength and assertion help to ward off
envy. The tale
will
also allow us to reflect on
partnerships that
are not sufficiently alive and need to be ended. While many
fairy tales
describe
the psychological growth of a
hero who is
male, this tale tells the story fully from a woman's
perspective.
A woman escapes from her familial psychology and journeys through the ocean to claim a new husband. Thus empowered, she liberates the artistic creativity of her people.
This stone-age tale speaks to contemporary women about relationship, both to lovers and to their own internal vitality. The tale also speaks to men about the power of their feminine side. Our culture has too few images of woman's development. By sharing the story of Hinauri, we connect more consciously to the active potential of the feminine. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.
The Power of the Great Mother
This archaic African tale is
about the
Great Mother who nurtures her daughter, loses her to envy,
and then
regenerates
her again.
We will relate this
fascinating
fairy tale both to psychological issues and to events in our
lives. It
illuminates,
for example, the stresses of the
mother-daughter bond as the daughter matures, the way in
which envy tries
to cut short our
growth and the strength needed to
withstand
envy. The tale also tells how the feminine develops
separately from the
masculine,
according to its own internal
cycle. At the
same time, the tale shows how the masculine may trigger new
developments
in the
feminine.
Our discussion will help both men and women to understand their own feminine potential. We will tell the story together, analyzing its rich symbolism. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.
How Tahaki Lost his Golden Skin: A Polynesian legend of envy.
Tahaki's lover rejects him when he loses his beauty,
then, when he
regains his beauty, wants him back
again. Meanwhile, Tahaki's less beautiful
cousin tricks the fish and devours them. This rollicking
tale has echoes
of Psyche's jealous sisters and of Job's answer to
God. It shows
that we
must be conscious of envy and that, ultimately, envy spurs
individuation.
Transforming Pathological Narcissism: The Legend of Rona Long-Teeth
It is easy to see pathological narcissism in
other people: their excessive self-absorption and sensitive
self-esteem.
But
it is much harder for us to see
it in
ourselves. The thoughts and the feelings linked to
injuries to narcissism
are threatening
and difficult to understand: they
escape our
awareness.
The Polynesian legend of Rona Long-Teeth describes pathological narcissism in such vivid and personal detail that it helps us to become conscious of these thoughts and feelings. We will read the legend together and analyze its symbolism. We will talk together about pathological narcissism and how it may affect us, for example in sabotaging our intimate relationships. I will relate two examples of how narcissism was transformed in therapy.
From this lecture you can expect to become more aware of the dangers of narcissism and of how it can be tackled. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.
Narcissism and its Discontents
We discuss the symptoms of
pathological narcissim, in particular how it may secretly
affect relationships.
We read an excerpt from Mrs
Dalloway by Virginia Wolf in which she vividly describes
pathological narcissism. Heinz Kohut provides a depth
psychological explanation. I describe my analytic approach
to narcissitic injury, which is based on Kohut's
understanding.
Our discussion will help both therapist and laypeople to understand better their own experience of narcissism. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.
What Ancient Myths Can Teach Us about Modern Psyches: The Archetypal Wisdom of "Demeter and Persephone"
Myths represent attempts to face the unknowable and explain
life's
mysteries.
As reflections of deep psychological processes,
they can
inform, organize and give meaning to our conscious
experience. The
powerful ancient Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone,
variants of which
are found worldwide from Polynesia to Africa and Siberia,
illuminates
issues such as sexuality, letting go of one's children,
accepting life's
dark side and finding one's creativity. At the deepest level
it is a
story of death and rebirth. This evening, through the lens
of analytical
psychology, we will explore the potent archetypes in this
ancient story
and how they relate to our own psychological growth and
relationships..
Listening to Dreams
Dreams seem to come from a source which sees us more
clearly than we
see ourselves.
If you think too much of your
daughter-in-law, your dream
may show her weakness. If you think too little of her, it
may show her
strength. Your dream is even more a guide to your own
internal depths, a
guide which can help you to heal. We'll talk about dream
interpretation:
Why do it? How is it done? Then we'll interpret together one
or two
dreams from the audience.
Anima and Animus: Invisible Partners
When a woman has a
crush on a
man she is
partly fascinated by her own unconscious masculine potential
(animus). 
In
the
same way a man is fascinated by
his own
unconscious feminine potential (anima). This fascination may
draw you
into a relationship
with another person but the
animus and anima
tend to remain unconscious. As long as each is unconscious,
each tends to
be
destructive.
We will read together two myths, one polynesian and one european, which suggest how, with a struggle, you can become more conscious of your own animus or anima. Consciousness leads to an inner relationship (with the animus or anima) which is the source of creativity. That inner relationship also makes it easier to have relationships in the outer world.
You can expect to learn more about the unconscious forces which sabotage your relationships, and more about gaining access to your own creativity. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.
Structure in Great Painting and Sculpture: A Visual Model of Individuation
As we explore the unconscious our personality may widen and deepen. Jung called this process individuation. Jung argued that the hero's journey (for example, the journeys of Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Beowulf, and Dante) represents an individuation journey into the depths of the unconscious and a return bearing gifts.
If great works of literature
symbolize
individuation, then so too may great works of visual art.
But this could
not be
through their subject matter
because, in some
of the greatest paintings, the subject matter is mundane.
Individuation
would
have to be embodied in the
art's
structure.
Braque described structure in painting:
"Cézanne and, after him, Picasso and myself ... convey[ed] a full experience of space ... bringing ... the objects in a picture ... within reach, as a painting should ... [In] cubism we were out to attack space which the impressionists had neglected."Braque was describing the pictorial space which is present in many great paintings.
In this lecture Dr. McDowell uses reproductions to analyze the structure which creates pictorial space. He shows that this structure in art closely parallels structure in the individuating personality. He argues that great works of visual art move us in part because of this parallel, because they represent the mystery of individuation. Since the parallel exists in paleolithic sculpture, humankind must have experienced some version of individuation 30,000 years ago.
You can expect to gain both a new understanding of individuation and a new way of looking at painting and sculpture. Audience participation will be welcome throughout.