“The Self is not static … it is more often represented by some moving or dancing body.” Marie-Louise von Franz (1997, p. 65)
This journey takes us into the remote region of the Kalahari Desert that borders Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and the territory of the San Bushman, the first people. Here we enter the realms of the unfathomable mystery of the unitary nature of spirit and matter. The San Bushman people have a differentiated sense of obedience to their basic inner being which manifests as a deep respect for and relatedness to nature, the animal, and spirit. This lecture will focus on the initiation embodied in the spiritual hunt and healing dance, and the idea of the transformation of the individual through the connection to an inner numinous God-image. This idea is amplified by considering the stages of this initiation in relation to the stages of the coniunctio as highlighted by Dorn and the psychology of C. G. Jung. As such, this ritual can be understood, psychologically, as an image of the individuation process.