Friday, December 2, 2011

Creative December of the Goddess!



 December, creative month of the waning and the return of the light, bringing cold nights and the deep waiting, the noche buena, good night, color of the poinsettia, lighting of twinkling lights and honoring of the Goddess.  We begin this month with guest teacher Karen O'Connell and her fantastic "Creative Flow" workshop, a blend of gentle QiGong movement, chakra visualization and balancing, and journaling using techniques of Non-Violent Communication.  Details below!
 


During the “In The Creative Flow” 4-hour workshop, you will
learn and experience effective and practical ways to get and stay
in a more creative flow of being, thinking and living.
In a beautiful artist’s studio and soothing outdoor garden
setting, you are invited to come experience the benefits of
being able to:

• Deepen your body awareness and work with the
energy fields of nature— as you expand your creativity,
vitality and overall well-being
• Balance your chakra centers to:
o Increase a sense of aliveness
o Remove blocks that stagnate
o Support your ability to create and enjoy the moment
• Use new communication tools for greater freedom of
expression, confidence, happiness and zest for life
Karen with smiling energy to share with us!


Thursday, December 8, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
EarlyBird Special until Dec 4th: $40.0o USD
Regular Fee (after Dec 4): $55.00 USD
Attire: Casual, comfortable clothing,
Bring: yoga mat, blanket and journal.
Handouts will be provided.
In The Flow is a multi-modal
experiential system of creative
expression and personal growth
developed by KarenO’Connell, M.S.

Karen developed this multimodal system
after years of personal exploration
and professional training
in psychology, spirituality and energy medicine.
Her enthusiasm for facilitating these interactive
workshops is deeply rooted in her personal journey
and commitment to aliveness. To learn more about
Karen O’Connell, visit her
website at www.KarenOConnell.com.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Fall 2011 Visual Journaling with CG Jung's Red Book & Exploration with the Mandala

  
The Autumnal Equinox came in on a breeze; now in late September the days are warm and the nights crisp.  We will delve in with a Fall Workshop:  Visual Journaling with CG Jung's Red Book led by Rebecca, and Exploration with the Mandala led by guest teacher Phil Roger.

Classes will be held for six Fridays, 2:30-5:30 pm, beginning September 30 and ending November 4th.  Participants can join all classes for a rich experience (and a discount in price!), or may attend one or two or several as their schedules and travels permit. All materials are provided except your personal journal; spiral-or-nicely-bound journals or sketchbooks of good quality unlined paper are recommended. The studio has a nice supply of markers, colored pencils, calligraphy pens, stamps, glues, collage materials, glitter! --okay there's more but I'll stop there.



Rebecca (that's me) has been studying Jung's work in more depth and will add new material to the previous Visual Journaling workshops; in particular has been inspired by a Teleseminar series with renowned Jungian analyst Dr. Michael Conforti.  Looking forward to collage-ing anew, painting in the book, and free-writing.  Maybe we will practice some calligraphy, which Dr. Jung so expertly used in his own journal!

http://www.assisiconferences.com/


Phil Roger will join the series as Guest Teacher, bringing his 30-year study of the Mandala (his Master's Thesis was on Manala imagery) as well as his centering Kadampa Buddhist practice.  Mandala work will spark a creative dialogue with the unconscious, refinding balance, and Self-as-Center.  Phil just completed a 4' mandala assemblage and as an artist is a continual practitioner of this art form.



September 30th and October 7th will be Introduction to the Red Book and Mandala Themes in the Red Book, respectively; beginning either a new journal or a new section in a previously worked journal.  Rebecca will lead these classes, augmenting the Red Book imagery and writing with background from Jung's autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections.  The main focus will be on each student using art materials to find their own dialogue with the inner selves, a very personalized Red Book of Your Own.

On October 14th and 21st, Guest Teacher and Artist Phil Roger will be teaching Exploration with the Mandala--a combination of journal work and larger paper works; it will be about some history and background of the Mandala (one of Jung's themes as well) as well as lots of hands-on work.The microcosmic orbit, offering to the universe, sacred geometry, and learning to make the Yin-Yang or Taijitu symbol, will be part of this two-week block.

Then on October 28th and November 4th, Rebecca will wrap up the workshop series with some other themes in the Red Book including the Wise Inner Guide --who Jung encountered as the dream figure Philemon-- and the Desert Journey; where do we find the richness of soul, in our own personal landscape.  Whereas Jung encountered many imaginal figures in a rocky desert scene, you might find your setting for an Inner Journey to Soul as the sea, or mountain, jungle, or even cityscape!  Participants discover their personal connection to Psyche or soul;  Jung was like a pioneer, but we each have our own path to follow, which is this life,

Class costs are $200 pesos Mexicanos per session (includes all materials except personal journal) or $1000 pesos for all six sessions.  Such a deal!

Write for reservations and directions to the studio:  mexrebe@yahoo.com, call 154 7010 in San Miguel, or Vonage (US) # 505 205 1316.

Generally the class structure is about a 20 min talk with presentations of the Red Book material (the book is GORGEOUS, it will blow your mind!), about 1 1/2 hours of art-making time, and then about 20 min or so for group sharing if people so choose (like show and tell).
I am really loving this material! So rich, deep, soulful. Allows space for our joys and insecurities--for it all.
I have been taking a teleseminar on the Red Book with a wonderful Jungian analyst, so my knowledge is expanding every week, and I look forward to sharing new insights since I began teaching this workshop last fall. ---saludos!  Rebecca
(and Molly)