“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain” (CG Jung)

Visual Journaling musings:

 SYNCHRONICITY AND THE END OF THE RED BOOK

Friday February 20th

The experience of synchronicity gives us the sense of being

 on the receiving end or downstream side of a much greater process…

Combs & Holland,

“Synchroncity:Through the Eyes of Science, Myth, and the Trickster” p. 39

           

   Synchronicity can be thought of as a moment of correspondence between an outer event and inner meaning, accompanied by a feeling of numinosity (a felt experience of the cosmic or divine, often accompanied by a sense of awe or even fear, with a sense of purpose and wonder). Most importantly Jung understood this phenomena to be acausal, that is, standing outside time and space.

             

   Jungian analyst Joseph Cambray has written about Jung’s Red Book that “elaborating the scientific understanding of synchronicity is so directly and intimately tied to the end of his work on The Red Book.” (p. 50, “Entrances and Exits”). What is he saying here? 

                (Here we will prepare our heads for some mind bending. Stand and shake and rattle)

“The end of prophecy, as a personal calling or event in this narrative, is concomitant with the awareness that the conscious mind is not the true author of our visions/dreams/imaginings but that the personal sense of self rests upon the archetypal. [note the small “s”]. Such awareness is probably most readily grasped in contemporary idiom by embracing a view of the self as an emergent phenomenon…” (Cambray, p. 51)

Emergence  is the study of the formation of new life, in a nutshell. Complexity theory shows that new systems emerge when there is just the right amount of imbalance; an asymmetry or a weak link (the material we worked with in The Rupture of the Mandala). It is in this break, or weakness that new patterns, behaviors, molecules, emerge.

The importance of weak links in stabilizing complex systems is that flexibility is provided. The synchronistic event is a kind of disruption of our usual habitual consciousness that provides the fertile ground for a new way of being, new way of thinking, a new perspective.

Synchronicity can be seen as the intersect of the material and psychic worlds. The event affects both the matter and psyche. 

What have been synchronistic events in your life? What was the ego's response?  

Dr. Joseph Cambray essay “Entrances and Exits” in the 2014 publication The Red Book: Reflections on CG Jung’s Liber Novus (Kirsch & Hogenson, eds.)

The Egg of Life

Visual Journaling with CG Jung’s Red Book

Windows to the Soul Art Studios with Rebecca Peterson, MA

San Miguel de Allende, MX

January 16^th, 2015, 1pm – 5:30 pm

And I am the egg that surrounds and nurtures the seed of the God in me.

CG Jung, The Red Book

Jung engaged in a long series of active imaginations which he then painted and reflected upon in his Red Book or Liber Novus (New Book).

In the first mandala to appear in the book (plate 19), the egg becomes the “golden center of an entire self-cosmos” (Thackrey).

In Jung’s Red Book eggs appear in various forms and motifs:

Jung dies on a dung-heap and in an anguished process is reborn three days later, while chickens “amazedly and mindlessly” lay their eggs around him. When he mistakenly wounds the god Izdabar, he uses the power of fantasy to squeeze this giant figure into the size of an egg, so that he can carry the god through a very small door into a welcoming house where the god could be healed. Jung then reopens this egg of rebirth by uttering a series of twelve incancations, each illustrated by a magical painting.

Students will work on their own versions of a “magical re-awakening of the egg” , as a painting or collage, drawing, writing or doodling or…!) in their visual journals. What awakens the creative potential of your own self-cosmos?           

           

In this year’s “Egg” workshop we will work with the mandala image “The Egg of Life” as well as other visual motifs of egg.

Bring a journal to work in; all else provided including delicious snacks and tea!

(Susan Thackrey, p. 74, "Manifesting the Vision: CG Jung's Paintings in the Red Book"  The Red Book: Reflections on CJ Jung's Liber Novus. Kirsch & Hogenson, eds. Routledge.)

Visual Journaling & CG Jung's Red Book Workshop

Death & Transformation-Friday Oct 4,1pm-5pm

“We need the coldness of death to see clearly. Life wants to live and to die, to begin and to end. You are not forced to live eternally, but you can also die, since there is a will in you for both. Life and death must strike a balance in your existence.” Jung, The Red Book, p. 274

In this next workshop at Windows to The Soul Art Studio we explore Death and Transformation.

In Mexico the layer of flesh is easily dropped to reveal the skeleton underneath, which is celebrated in art forms, ritual, and colorful fun at this time of year. 

We have entered into Fall and approach Samhein, Dia de los Muertos, when the veils thin and the Underworld becomes visible. Souls of the departed come to visit; we can commune with the other side.

The journey into darkness is by no means a negative experience. In fact, by plunging ‘into the depths of millennia’ Jung entered ‘a truly magnificent night’ where the ‘phoenix’ within could ascend and rise. Death being the portal to transformation.

For Jung life and death are the completion of our existence, that which gives balance. “ If I accept death, then my tree greens, since dying increases life. If I plunge into the death encompassing the world, then my buds break open. How much our life needs death!” The Red Book p. 274

Altar for Marcia Dworkin:

We will also honor the memory of Marcia Dworkin, fellow artist and creative spirit, by making a small outdoor ephemeral altar. If you wish bring a flower or seed candle or sweet. May her soul be at peace.

Setting: a beautiful country abode with a well-stocked art studio. Environment: great conversation and silence to nurture our hands so they may express their inherent intelligence. Art process: paint and collage, movement and meditation, play and contemplation. Current students add yet another page to their visual journals while new students may enjoy the pleasure of starting a visual journal. Cost: 400 pesos. Includes: all materials, tea and snacks. Bring: an art journal to work in (papers and pages available)

Register: with Rebecca at mexrebe@yahoo.com or via Facebook

or call 044 415 107 6488 Mex cel please leave message

USA # Vonage 505 205 1316

 

Kindle a Light of Gratitude

Kindle a Light: Visual Journaling & CG Jung

Friday, November 23rd, 12noon-3:30 pm

San Miguel de Allende, Windows the the Soul Art Studios

$300 pesos; bring a journal: all other materials provided.

 CG Jung wrote in his autobiography: 
"As far as we can discern, the sole 
purpose of human existence is to
 kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. "
In this Visual Journaling workshop we will collage, write, paint, draw our way into an exploration of what kindles that light that Jung spoke of. Your journal pages will focus on the higher Self archetype, the impulse to wholeness and connection; and we will evoke gratitude with contemplation, conversation, and art-making, and a nice cup of tea.
$300 pesos; bring your visual journal or sketchbook, all other materials included.
At Windows to the Soul Art Studios in Colonia San Antonio.
contact Rebecca Peterson for registration and directions;
mexrebe@yahoo.com or local # 154 7010

Flowing into this fall season, we prepare for the Underworld time of hibernation, connection with the silent darkness, Samhain, Todos Santos, All Hallow's Eve...the liminal moment when the veil lifts and we deeply connect with our roots, with our ancestors, and with Soul's riches that lie therein. 
In recognition of this time of year, Windows to the Soul Art Studios presents a series of workshops and classes. You are invited to peruse these offerings and join us in making art, in creative process deepening your connections to Psyche...

Saturday October 20th, Mayan Dreamspell Calendar with Edna Zambrano, 9:30 am – 6 pm. Access the natural flow of time as understood by the ancient Maya, gaining intuition, flow, and creativity as you make contact with the cycles of the planet and become more aware of synchronicities. Edna will guide students using art materials, movement, and writing in a creative and fun process. $800 pesos, bring your own lunch; snacks & tea provided as well as all art materials and handouts. You may want to contact Edna to have your chart done!

October 19th & 26th, noon-3:30 pm. Visual Journaling & CG Jung's Red Book led by Rebecca Peterson, two Fridays of exploration of Underworld themes in the Red Book and elsewhere in Jung's work; the abyss as symbol for entrance to this realm of Psyche. Collage, writing prompts, and conversation about the implications of Jung's work in our personal lives and for the anima mundi, the soul of the world.  $300 pesos, bring a journal or sketchbook, all other materials provided.


 Monday November 5^th 1-4 pm. Learn to express and dialogue with with your inner world in SoulCollage(c) with Patricia Mahan. Create your personal "deck" of cards which will give you insight into archetypes, animal guides, personas, which give flavor and detail to our selves. More info about this process at http://www.soulcollage.com/

And returning again to lead a Creating Mandalas one day workshop Friday November 9th with Phil Roger, artist and meditation teacher/guide.  Phil's teaching will be informed by Jung and the deep history of the mandala throughout cultures and history. 10 am - 5 pm; $700 pesos, bring your own lunch, all other materials included.

 Ongoing classes with Rebecca Peterson's Embellishing Tin Nichos (boxes) Tuesdays full or half day workshop. Reservations & directions at mexrebe @ yahoo.com., or 154 7010.