The Creation of Symbolic Meaning on the Path to Individuation

Murray Stein, Warren Colman
Independent study
Online

Overview

C. G. Jung wrote extensively on symbols, beginning importantly with the work that heralded his break with Freud, Symbole und Wandlungen der Libido (Symbols and Transformations of Libido). The Red Book, which followed shortly afterwards, is itself a symbolic work in many respects, not only for its content of narrative and the painted images but for the meaning it held for Jung personally.

In this 3 hour seminar, Murray Stein and Warren Coleman look at Symbols and the symbolic process. Jungian psychology has been known for its interpretation of symbols as they appear in cultural materials such as myths, fairy tales and religious rituals. They also powerfully appear on a personal level in dreams, active imagination, projection and transference (or countertransference). Symbols often lead us through the transcendent function in psychic life and can become a primary motivator of change. Join us in this seminar as we look at personal symbols and how they effect our lives.

  1. To compare traditional and contemporary Jungian thinking about symbols and their place in psychotherapy
  2. To analyze the creation, use and misuse of symbols in culture
  3. To create symbolic meaning and describe its impact on individuals and culture
  4. To describe symbolic processes in psychotherapy
  5. To critique new conceptualizations in analytical psychology that bear on symbols and the creation of symbolic meaning
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