C.G. Jung Society of Atlanta

LECTURE: How should we balance the inner and the outer, the masculine and the feminine, the eternal and the every day? In struggling with goals and duties, how do we also attend to the workings of destiny and the cosmos? Utilizing a mythic story from India, The Ramayana, as guide, this talk explores the Eastern genius for the development of consciousness. Each of the characters in this individuation tale represents a part of the human psyche—all of which must be dealt with during the journey of life.

Jerry M. Ruhl, Ph.D. is a therapist, national speaker, and internationally known author living in Houston, Texas. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he developed a new holistic model for coping with life changing accidents and illness. Jerry Ruhl has worked closely with Robert Johnson for many years, culminating in a collaboration of their book: Living Your Unlived Life. In addition to his analytical work with Robert, Jerry trained with Jean Carlson in Denver and Roland Evans in Boulder, Colorado. Recently he accepted a position as the executive director of the Houston Jung Center in Texas.

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WORKSHOP: Active imagination is a dialogue that you enter into with different aspects of yourself that are generally unconscious. Conscious participation transforms it from passive fantasy to active imagination. It is a dialogue, not a monologue, with energy systems that frequently show up in dreams, moods, symptoms, neurotic habits, and even illness. Example: I awake with a mood. Instead of letting it ruin my day, I can sit down and ask: What or who inside me is angry? Where in my body can I feel this, and what is it like? What is its image? By working actively with these powerful patterns of awareness, we can change dysfunctional habits of mind, reduce inner conflicts, and draw upon deep wisdom. In this workshop we utilize dialogues from literature, case studies, and examples from C.G. Jung's own active imagination practice as recorded in The Red Book.

Jerry M. Ruhl, Ph.D. is a therapist, national speaker, and internationally known author living in Houston, Texas. Dr. Ruhl earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he developed a new holistic model for coping with life changing accidents and illness. Jerry Ruhl has worked closely with Robert Johnson for many years, culminating in a collaboration of their book: Living Your Unlived Life. In addition to his analytical work with Robert, Jerry trained with Jean Carlson in Denver and Roland Evans in Boulder, Colorado. Recently he accepted a position as the executive director of the Houston Jung Center in Texas, and he will also see patients in private practice in the Houston area. Jerry also facilitates ongoing dream groups, and presents seminars around the nation.

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LECTURE: In this talk, Geshe Lobsang focuses on the healing power of compassion meditation. Recent advances in scientific study of meditation are illuminating the fundamental mechanisms underlying the mind-body connection and the inherent healing power of mind, as well as its capacity to play a crucial role in counteracting stress, depression and other modern-day maladies. Drawing from the Lojong-based Compassion Meditation Protocol that he designed for Emory's compassion meditation research study, Geshe Lobsang will guide participants through the process of cultivating mindfulness and compassion.

Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, is the founder and director of Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc., in Atlanta, GA, and a Senior Lecturer in Emory University’s Department of Religion. He also serves as Director of the Emory-Tibet Partnership, a multi-dimensional initiative founded in 1998 to bring together the foremost contributions of the Western scholastic tradition and the Tibetan Buddhist sciences of mind and healing. In that capacity, he serves as Co-Director of both the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative and the Emory Collaborative for Contemplative Studies.

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LECTURE: Humanity may be considered homo narrans, the storytelling animal. This lecture has a dual focus; one aspect focuses on the nature of oral storytelling, the other on the mythology of Ireland. What is meant by the oral tradition? How did orality and literacy interface in the development of the Irish mythology? How do these Irish stories reflect a syncretism of Paganism and early Christianity?

John S. Gentile is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and his M.A. in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. His adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick received the award for Best Performance at the Casablanca Theatre Festival in Morocco in July 2009. He has traveled extensively in Ireland, where he has led study/tours in Irish mythology and coordinates a study abroad program in partnership with the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin.

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