Michael Contorti, a Jungian analyst, led a terrific workshop at New Thought Unity on Saturday for the Greater Cincinnati Friends of Jung. While he was talking, Michael modeled the behavior and thinking patterns that will enable us to understand our own archetypal influences and lead us to transcendence.
Approaching dreams as stories with important messages to pass on is key to Jungian thought. Michael’s question, when speaking of dream images, is always whether the interpretation being placed on am image is fact or conjecture. The second question is – does the discussion lead farther into the image or lead us away from it? If it’s interesting and cute, it may make for good discussion, but likely doesn’t lead to the heart of the matter.
He had some great dreams as examples, and kept a feeling of dialogue with the audience, so we did not feel talked to, but felt we were in a conversation – an impressive achievement with 50+ people in the audience.
He also had several short videos – one of the life of a monarch butterfly, another of Deepak Chopra – that were very helpful in building our understanding. He skillfully wove right- and left-brained ideas and concepts throughout the workshop.
There is a lot for both of my brains to work with, ponder, must about. Makes me happy!