COSMOS & PSYCHE
intimations of a new world view
with Richard Tarnas
author of the best selling books
Passion of the Western Mind and Cosmos and Psyche
June 29 -July 1, 2007
The Academic Centre, University College, University of Melbourne
Also featuring lectures by
Brian Clark, Peter O’Connor and Mary Symes
In 1991, Richard Tarnas published The Passion of the Western Mind, regarded by many scholars such as Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith as one of the finest histories of Western thought ever written. His second book Cosmos and Psyche, published in 2006, challenges the basic assumptions of the modern world view and points towards a profound new understanding of the human role in the cosmos. Join Richard Tarnas along with others to explore Cosmos and Psyche and how a cosmological perspective opens up new possibilities in our quest
Richard Tarnas is a cultural historian, author, and professor of philosophy and depth psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He also serves on the faculty of the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. Formerly director of programs and education at Esalen Institute, he is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the post-modern that became both a best seller and a required text in many universities. His major astrological work, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View, was recently published by Viking Press.
Brian Clark is an astrological counsellor in private practice at the Chiron Centre in Melbourne whose focus is on the mythological underpinning of astrology. Brian is the author of The Sibling Constellation, the Psychology and Astrology of Brothers and Sisters and Celestial Tarot as well as numerous articles and booklets.
Peter O’Connor is a psychotherapist in private practice with a special interest and focus on dreams in his clinical work. For over 25 years Peter has also facilitated weekly ongoing dream groups. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Understanding the Mid Life Crisis, and numerous other books including Facing the Fifties, Dreams and the Search for Meaning, The Inner Man and Beyond the Mists, an in depth exploration of Irish Mythology.
Mary Symes works with dreams in a clinical setting. For 20 years Mary has worked privately and with groups exploring the rich terrain of the dream. Mary also incorporates astrological intelligence, Jungian concepts, psychological metaphors and alchemical imagery into her work. She is the author of Grief and Dreams as well as other papers and booklets on astrology.
To Download the seminar brochure click here
Please note that a considerable discount is available if you register and pay in full before February 28, 2007 or May 31, 2007. The total package includes cocktails Friday, tea, coffee and two lunches on weekend.
|
EARLY BIRD
May 31,
2007 |
AFTER
1 June,
2007 |
Friday Public Lecture only |
40 |
50 |
Saturday ½ day workshop (two sessions only) |
80 |
90 |
Saturday Full day (all 5 sessions) |
145 |
175 |
Saturday Interview Only (Peter O’Connor interviews Richard Tarnas) |
25 |
30 |
Sunday ½ day workshop (two sessions) |
80 |
90 |
Sunday Full day (all 5 sessions) |
145 |
175 |
TOTAL PACKAGE |
325 |
395 |
Lunch provided with the total package includes a selection of sandwiches and fruit. Tea and coffee are provided throughout the seminar. Accommodation is available for our out of town delegates. If you wish to book your accommodation at the venue or nearby, please see our recommended venues.
To register, please download the registration form and post along with your cheque or money order to Cosmos and Psyche at the Chiron Centre, PO Box 407, Kew 3101 or register by phone on 9852.8051. A registration form can also be sent to you via post. MasterCard, Visa and bankcard facilities are available.
To download the registration form please click here
Lectures and Workshops:
Jung, Cosmology, and the Transformation of the Modern Self
The modern mind has long assumed that there are few things more categorically distant from each other than “cosmos” and “psyche.” What could be more outer than cosmos? What more inner than psyche? Are they not informed by fundamentally different kinds of principles, the one objective, and the other subjective? But developments in many fields, from depth psychology to philosophy of science, now oblige us to recognise that cosmos and psyche are in fact deeply intertwined. Our understanding of the universe affects every aspect of our interior life from our highest spiritual convictions to our most intimate daily experience. Conversely, the deep dispositions of our interior life fully permeate and configure our understanding of the entire cosmos.
The limits of our cosmological imagination define the limits of our existence: Do we live in a disenchanted, mechanistic, purposeless universe as a randomly produced oddity of isolated consciousness, or do we participate in a living cosmos of unfolding meaning and purpose? Drawing on the insights of Jung and others, we will explore the evolution of the modern world view and the forging of the modern self, which have affected everything from contemporary religion and psychotherapy to U.S. foreign policy and the global ecological crisis. In pursuing this analysis, we will address three overlapping topics: the nature of archetypes as that concept has evolved from Plato to Jung and beyond; Jung's concept of synchronicity, which challenged the disenchanted world view and became a major focus of his own psycho-spiritual practice; and the categories of "masculine" and "feminine," taking into account the more complex nature of those terms and of the human psyche than the simple classical polarity suggested.
"There is no place without Gods and no activity that does not enact them. . . .
Every experience has its archetypal reason" - James Hillman
Astrology provides profound insight into the deep patterns of human experience and of our cultural history, but such insight depends on a capacity for rich archetypal perception, something that involves not only thinking but the emotions, the imagination, the aesthetic intuition, the body, the whole being. Because music and the arts engage all these dimensions, this workshop will use representative works of music as windows into the archetypal character of different eras and individuals, and into the planetary alignments they eloquently express. In lectures that draw from psychology, biography, and culture, we will explore the many ways in which the archetypes are reflected in personal birth charts, transits, and historical cycles.
This workshop’s aim is to provide information that those new to astrology can immediately integrate into their lives, and that advanced students can use to deepen their grasp of the range and subtlety of archetypal astrological analysis. Above all, our time together will be devoted to getting to know more profoundly the planetary gods. Our focus will be on increasing our direct understanding and experience—intellectual, imaginative, aesthetic, emotional, and somatic—of these archetypal powers of the world soul, the Anima Mundi.
Alchemy, like dreams, offers a direct but symbolic experience of processes at work in psyche. The 16th century illuminated manuscript Splendor Solis based on a 15th century alchemical treatise engages us in an archetypal experience of deep inner psychological work and transformation. The talk will use 7 of the 22 Plates where the inner processes, contained and imaged in symbolic form in the alembic, take place under the auspices of the Medieval Cosmos with its 7 planetary rulers. Although the beautiful illustrations describe a landscape four centuries past, the material is utterly contemporary and compelling, appearing in the therapy room via dreams, active imagination and art work, in personal dream journals, and in the astrological consultation. Through entering the alembic, engaging the projected imagery, becoming the matter being worked upon, we experience the stage Jung called the process of Individuation. Each plate links the collective qualities of its ruling planet/god with an inner image of how that energy might fuel the transformative process occurring in psyche.
The limits of our cosmological imagination define the limits of our existence: Do we live in a disenchanted, mechanistic, purposeless universe as a randomly produced oddity of isolated consciousness, or do we participate in a living cosmos of unfolding meaning and purpose?
In 1991, Richard Tarnas published The Passion of the Western Mind, regarded by many scholars such as Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith as one of the finest histories of Western thought ever written. What most of its readers did not know was that this work was written as a preparatory foundation for a second book containing a more revolutionary perspective. Cosmos and Psyche, just published this year, challenges the basic assumptions of the modern world view and points towards a profound new understanding of the human role in the cosmos. Based on thirty years of research, the new book sets out a remarkable body of evidence that suggests the existence of a systematic correspondence between planetary movements and the archetypal patterns of human experience.
This research began at Esalen Institute in 1976, when Tarnas and Stanislav Grof, then Esalen’s scholar-in-residence, discovered to their astonishment a consistent correlation between the timing of major psychological transformations and planetary transits to individuals’ natal charts. In subsequent years, Tarnas expanded the compass of the research to include the biographies of hundreds of prominent cultural figures, as well as the dynamics of the collective psyche evident in major historical events and cultural epochs.
Join Richard Tarnas to explore the nature of this evidence, the new light it sheds on the human psyche and the unfolding drama of history, and the new horizon of possibility this cosmological perspective opens up at this critical moment in our quest to co-create the future.
"The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego consciousness. "
- C.G. Jung
This talk focuses on dreams and the imagination. Dreams, with their embedded language of symbols and images, create the possibility every night of exploring the recesses of the soul. Through entering the cosmic night we become receptive to the intelligence of the psyche and the wisdom that the dream can reveal in these nightly excursions.
Jung wrote that ‘no intellectual formulation comes anywhere near the richness and expressiveness of mythical imagery’. Mythic motifs and narratives engage the pre-rational sphere of experience where psyche is more at home. In this lecture we will explore the revelatory process that myth stimulates and how mythic imagery and poetry allow the soul to make sense of psyche and cosmos.
U N I V E R S I T Y C O L L E G E
College Crescent,
Parkville,
Victoria, Australia, 3052
Tel: (03) 9347 3533
www.unicol.unimelb.edu.au
The Academic Centre at University College is conveniently located in Parkville, on the corner of College Crescent and Royal Parade. It is easily accessible from all the major arterials and Melbourne Airport.
The main conference room opens on to the delightful main courtyard garden. Set in picturesque gardens, adjacent to the University of Melbourne, the University College Academic Centre is a haven away from the normal working environment although it is only 10 minutes from the CBD. Professional trainers and meeting organisers recognise its special appeal. It is a place where they can confidently make presentations, conduct training sessions, meet to explore new concepts or to workshop ideas without being disturbed. The centre is comfortable, air-conditioned and self-contained. The architecture is contemporary and there is an abundance of natural light - elements that will contribute to a rewarding event. And for breaks, the centre offers a special ambience where participants can relax and mingle over coffee and lunch.
Parking is available on Royal Parade and adjacent streets after hours and on weekends.
Modern studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are also available at University College. Please contact Beth Magann on (03) 9349-9245 or email b.magann@unicol.unimelb.edu.au
OTHER ACCOMMODATION NEARBY:
Corner Royal Parade and Park Street
Carlton North, Melbourne, Victoria. 3054
Web Site: www.princespark.com
Email: enquiry@princespark.com
Phone: (03) 9388 1000
Fax: (03) 9388 1011
Freecall: 1800 33 7770
441 Royal Parade,
Parkville. Victoria. 3052
Website: www.vibehotels.com.au
Email: vhcm@vibehotels.com.au
Phone: (03) 9380 9222
Fax: (03) 9387 6846
94 Flemington Road,
Parkville. Melbourne. Victoria. 3052
Website: www.ParkSquire.com.au
Email: parksquire@msn.com.au
Phone: (03) 9329 6077
Fax: (03) 9326 6576
Corner Flemington Road & Harker Street
North Melbourne, Vic. 3051.
Website: www.rydges.com/northmelbourne
Email: reservations_northmelbourne@rydges.com
Phone: (03) 9329 1788
Freecall: 1800 226 466
Fax: (03) 9329 9950 |
