Saturday Workshop-February 23, 2013

In the four-hour workshop Dennis will walk us through Riting Meditations as he has outlined in his recent publication, Riting Myth, Mythic Writing: Plotting Your Personal Story. Dennis changes the spelling of the word writing to begin with an “R” to emphasize the ritual aspect of the process. He will outline the meaning of myth and why coming to some engagement with one’s personal myth is crucial to a whole and complete life. As a participant you will write in short increments in longhand, without laptops, so as to discern the value of writing cursively as an act of remembrance to uncover patterns that govern your personal myth. Please bring your journal or notebook to the workshop.

“Imagine sitting in an Irish pub, drinking ale and listening to the bard weave stories about so many different things, or perhaps captivated by the glow of an outdoor fire while listening to an elder telling stories about history, traditions, and ways to navigate the different life portals that each and every one of us will have to enter at some time. And then – there are stories about destiny, that illusive, mercurial something that catches hold of us at the beginning of life and never seems to want to let go. La forza di destino!! These are the experiences one has in knowing and working with Dr. Dennis Slattery. Whether sharing a pizza and beer or having the luxury of attending one of his lectures or classes, one is privileged to experience an authentic “elder” who, in the tradition of all those wise ones who came before him, has the gift of bringing the world of myth and imagination to life and showing us that indeed these are as real as anything we can touch and hold in our hands. Dr. Slattery reminds us that myths teach us about all aspects of life, from birth to death, and through the weavings of these eternal stories not only help us recognize the presence of these universal and archetypal patterns but also shows us ways to approach the transcendent.” Michael Conforti, Founder of the Assisi Institute, from the forward of Riting Myth, Mythic Writing: Plotting Your Personal Story. www.dennispslattery.com

Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D., has been teaching for over forty years and has enjoyed the position as core faculty in the Mythological Studies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute for the past nine years. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of 18 books as well as hundreds of articles on culture, literature, psyche, and mythos. His works include one novel with Charles Asher as well as four volumes of poetry. His current books include Day-to-Day Dante: Exploring Personal Myth Through Dante’s Commedia (2010); with Jennifer Selig he co-edited the following two collections: Reimagining Education: Essays on Revising the Soul of Learning (2009) and The Soul Does Not Specialize: Revaluing the Humanities and the Polyvalent Imagination (2012).

Friday Lecture-February 22, 2013

In this one-hour talk Dennis will explore the relevant relationships that develop between the dominant mythology that fuels literary classics and the personal mythology of the reader. For the past forty years he has studied and lectured about the great works of western literature and through these majestic narratives he has engaged and developed his own individuation process. Dennis will explore the value of psyche’s fictional “as if” basis and use both Dante’s Commedia and Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick to illustrate his hunches.

Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D., has been teaching for over forty years and has enjoyed the position as core faculty in the Mythological Studies Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute for the past nine years. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of 18 books as well as hundreds of articles on culture, literature, psyche, and mythos. His works include one novel with Charles Asher as well as four volumes of poetry. His current books include Day-to-Day Dante: Exploring Personal Myth Through Dante’s Commedia (2010); with Jennifer Selig he co-edited the following two collections: Reimagining Education: Essays on Revising the Soul of Learning (2009) and The Soul Does Not Specialize: Revaluing the Humanities and the Polyvalent Imagination (2012).

Saturday Workshop – January 19, 2013

Saturday’s workshop focuses on exploring further the Friday themes: awakening, transformation, self-knowledge, intentional dialogue, selflessness, moral capacity, and conscious marriage. Because we are both “Beauty” and “Beast” in the relationship, we will explore further the meaning of the awakening into conscious couplehood. To this end, Psyche’s four tasks demanded by Aphrodite (Eros’ jealous mother—but a metaphor for Life itself) will be described and analyzed. A modern version of the developmental tasks toward psychological growth will be introduced and contrasted with the ancient ones. Throughout the workshop, participants are invited to pause, reflect on the story, present their own perspectives, and practice the exercises proposed.

Marilia suggests consulting Jean Shinoda Bolen’s Goddesses in Everywoman (1984/2004) and Susan Schwartz’s (2012) Couples at the Crossroads: Five Steps to Finding Your Way Back to Love beforethe workshop.

Marilia Baker, MSW, is a multicultural Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Keenly interested in Carl G. Jung’s teachings and depth psychology since 1961, Ms. Baker studied the Intensive Journal with Ira Progroff in Boston in the 1970s. Over the past 50 years she has sought knowledge and wisdom from Jungian luminaries, among them Jean Shinoda Bolen, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, James Hillman, James Hollis, Murray Stein, Jonathan Young, and Marion Woodman. These authors and many others have opened up meaningful psychological and spiritual pathways throughout her professional life.

In addition, Baker’s personal experiences throughout an international, transcultural 45-year marriage, contributed to her scientific interest in the meanderings of a dyad’s developmental journey, and on how couples are harnessed together by the force of archetypal energies.

Board Member of the Phoenix Institute of Ericksonian Therapy, Ms. Baker is an International Consultant and Advisor to Centro Ericksoniano de Mexico, and Invited Faculty at the Milton H. Erickson Foundation international congresses on Ericksonian Approaches. Author of A Tribute to Elizabeth Moore Erickson: Colleague Extraordinaire, Wife, Mother and Companion (2004), also published in French, Portuguese and Spanish. Marilia Baker is an Advisor on Board of Phoenix Friends of C.G. Jung.

Mandalas: Explore, Create, Discover! October 27, 2012 Saturday Workshop with Kathy Shimpock In this day-long workshop, we will explore the history of mandalas, create mandalas and experience personal growth and healing through guided imagery, meditation and journaling exercises. Mandalas may be used as a tool for self-discovery as messages are uncovered in the nonverbal language of the subconscious mind. Mandalas may also be used to unlock your own creativity. We will explore the process used by Carl Jung to create mandalas and other ancient and contemporary techniques. We will discover daily meditative practices using mandalas. Together we will create mandalas using a variety of medias including, collage, coloring, stencils and free-hand drawing. No previous art experience is required. As the Jungian psychologist Robert Johnson once said, “Never before has mankind been in such need of the healing power of the mandala as at present.” Bring a journal, pillow and/or blanket for guided imagery. Although basic art supplies will be provided, you are free to bring your own drawing supplies if you desire.

Kathy Shimpock has 30 years’ experience as a lawyer, researcher and administrator. She is currently working as a transpersonal practitioner specializing in expressive arts, spiritual guidance and practice, hypnosis and energetic medicine.  Kathy came to the holistic field by way of a career in law, working as a lawyer and as a law librarian in both the academic and private sectors. She has received a JD, MLL and MBA degrees. In 2008, Kathy became interested in learning hypnosis as a means of dealing with her chronic pain. Since then, she has become a certified clinical hypnotherapist, a Reiki Master Teacher and a certified spiritual guidance mentor (specializing in spiritual practice). She is currently an instructor at the Southwest Institute of Healing Art and president of Symbols of Soul. Kathy is also an approved facilitator for SoulCollage®,  a creative process for personal and spiritual growth and development, based on the work of Seena Frost. Kathy is the author of two books and over 40 articles in the legal field.

The Mandala: Jung’s Tool for Individuation October 26, 2012 Friday Evening Talk with Kathy Shimpock Carl Jung began creating daily mandalas in 1916 during a particularly difficult time in his life. These were sketched in a small notebook, the imagery from which became a cryptogram of his own inner state. Jung viewed the mandalas as archetypes and later said, “I guarded them like precious pearls… It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the center.  It is the exponent of all paths.  It is the path to the center, to individuation.” Kathy will explore Jung’s process for working with mandalas, as told in his writings and illuminated in The Red Book. She will discuss how his work made explicit in The Red Book has provided us with a detailed map leading to our own self-discovery.

Kathy Shimpock has 30 years’ experience as a lawyer, researcher and administrator. She is currently working as a transpersonal practitioner specializing in expressive arts, spiritual guidance and practice, hypnosis and energetic medicine.  Kathy came to the holistic field by way of a career in law, working as a lawyer and as a law librarian in both the academic and private sectors. She has received a JD, MLL and MBA degrees. In 2008, Kathy became interested in learning hypnosis as a means of dealing with her chronic pain. Since then, she has become a certified clinical hypnotherapist, a Reiki Master Teacher and a certified spiritual guidance mentor (specializing in spiritual practice). She is currently an instructor at the Southwest Institute of Healing Art and president of Symbols of Soul. Kathy is also an approved facilitator for SoulCollage®,  a creative process for personal and spiritual growth and development, based on the work of Seena Frost. Kathy is the author of two books and over 40 articles in the legal field.