“… the animal is sublime and, in fact, represents the “divine” side of the human psyche. You remember that the purpose of the Dionysian mysteries was to bring people back to the animal…the animal within…
(Jung, VS. P.161)
Dreaming Animals is a presentation that grew out of my deep interest in the appearance of animals in dreams and in the lives of patients and analysands over the course of my forty years of practice. What is the meaning and function of various animals coming to us in dreams or meeting them by chance? Which animals bring us practical education or wisdom, terror, or beauty and joy? Can we relate to a creature with interest, attraction? Who are we afraid of or avoid? Do we have access to archetypal, mythical and imaginary beings? How are we treating animals in dreams and in waking life? What is the relationship between our body and animal body, instinctual life?
The workshop will continue to touch upon various individual creatures in greater depth, including the strata of psyche where they originate.
The topics include:
The deep unconscious - magical, mythical, talking animals, dragons, cellular and biological.
Reptilian brain/CNS: dinosaurs, snakes, and other reptiles.
Collective unconscious: wild, captured
Personal unconscious: wild and tamed - domestic
Supra conscious experience/visitations: angelic, imaginative, guardian
Jung's idea that animals are and illustrate the spectrum of instinct and archetype
There will be plenty of time for discussion, writing, art work or other creative expression. Please wear comfortable clothes and bring journal, paper and simple art materials.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify and appreciate the symbolic meaning of various animals within dreams, art, and throughout the individuation process.
2. Develop a capacity to appreciate the importance of animals as attachment (and loss) figures and transitional objects in personal lives, especially in an historical, developmental context.
3. Learn to better understand the importance of nonverbal modalities: the arts, meditation, and active imagination for integrative emotional experience and communication.
Presenter biography:
Penelope Tarasuk, PhD, is a Jungian analyst with 40 years of experience in the field of psychology working with a diverse population. Her workshops and lectures in the United States and abroad focus upon dreaming, active imagination, nature, art and body in spiritual development. She was a member of the Training Board of the C.G. Jung Institute-Boston, is a training analyst, candidate supervisor, and has been on the faculty since 1989. Her book based on this story, POLISHING THE BONES, published by Muswell Hill Press (London) and distributed by SUNY Press in North America, is available this fall, 2017.
