Jung understood the world is a living and interconnected continuum, “Triumph over nature is dearly paid for” both by the planet and in the physical and spiritual“uprootedness” he saw as a modern malaise. He recommended reconnection with “the dark, maternal, earthy ground of our being” through direct contact with the soil and the elements and immersive experiences in nature.
He had views as to the causes of our misalignment “as within, so without”. He was interested in pre-modern and indigenous cultures’ senses of meaning and participation in natural events and archetypal symbols from nature revealing an emerging process of consciousness.
The aim of this reading seminar is not merely an overview of theory, but to be grounded in our own developing relationship with nature and to look at how our patients may bring their (dis)engagement with nature through dreams, fantasies, anxieties and experiences.
Do you consider your work as a Jungian analyst may be part of an important, urgent shift in attitudes towards human destructiveness and the planet?
