THE PSYCHE IN THE WORLD: HOW CULTURAL COMPLEXES CAN TAKE POSSESSION OF OUR SOULS

Differentiating the personal, group, and archetypal levels of cultural complexes is not easy but can be quite rewarding in terms of helping ourselves and the groups to which we belong see more clearly how our lives are deeply influenced by these complexes which operate at many levels of the psyche. Drawing from his research in Australia, Latin America, Europe, and East Asia, Dr. Singer will examine the basic concept of cultural complexes and ways in which they operate—in individuals and in groups—that can be based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and national identity in the emerging global community. Utilizing case material, we will look at a potent cultural complex manifested in the life of an individual. We will study some of the ways in which cultural complexes can live and function both within a group and between groups. In the second session, we will follow how an archetypal energy takes form through history in personal and cultural complexes, as developed in my essay “A Fool’s Guide to Folly.” Throughout the workshop, participants will be encouraged to identify and share their own experiences of cultural complexes—whether it be in personal experience, clinical examples, or in the emerging national and world upheaval.

Part 1: Saturday 1 April | Part 2: Saturday 15 April