FREE ONLINE EVENT
Sunday, October 17, 2021, 4-6 pm PT (UTC -7)
REGISTRATION with your email address is required. After registering, you will receive an email containing the Zoom link.
This program will be recorded and made available for free to anyone, along with a transcript, via a link on the Past Programs page of our website.
Four months before his death, Carl Jung wrote to Bill W., one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, that the “helpful formula” for treating alcoholism is “spiritus contra spiritum”, or spirit against spirit, noting that the term used to denote the “highest religious experience” is also used for the “most depraving poison.” He describes alcoholism as “the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness…” In this talk, we will explore addiction from a Jungian perspective by endeavoring to understand not just its pathological aspect (the reductive approach) but, more importantly, its transformative potential. In approaching addiction from a symbolic perspective, we can better understand its telos or purpose in forcing the sufferer onto an individuating path leading towards, as Jung puts it, “the union with God.” Approaches to treatment will be discussed, with a focus on Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon and other similar programs and the way in which they are designed to bring about spiritual/psychological healing through participation in community and the practice of the twelve steps. Dreams, mythological motifs and other images will be used to help illustrate this talk.
Michael Marsman, LCSW, is a certified Jungian analyst in private practice in Berkeley, California and is a member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco and the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association (JPA) in New York. He is a graduate of the JPA, where he is a faculty member, supervisor and former board member. Among his published works are: “Bringing Dharma to Earth: The Sabarimalai Pilgrimage and Ayyappan Myth,” Spring Journal (2013); “Transgenderism and Transformation: An Attempt at a Jungian Understanding,” Journal of Analytical Psychology (2017); and “Kali: In Praise of the Goddess,” Psychological Perspectives (2019). Michael has taught and presented nationally and internationally on diverse topics such as Hindu mythology, analytic ethics, transgenderism, archetypes and the collective unconscious and amplification. He is a board member and Treasurer of the Philemon Foundation.
Hear Michael discuss addiction and other topics in a recent “Speaking of Jung” interview: https://speakingofjung.com/podcast/2021/6/16/episode-89-michael-marsman
THE C.G. JUNG CLUB OF ORANGE COUNTY
The C.G. Jung Club of Orange County provides quality educational programs designed to promote the study and discussion of Jungian Psychology, also known as Analytical Psychology. The programs elaborate and amplify the ideas of C.G. Jung by exploring diverse perspectives of Jungian Psychology, as well as a wide range of subjects studied by Jung and his followers, such as mythology and comparative religion. We seek to understand the human psyche through the psychological theories and therapeutic methods pioneered by C.G. Jung and the current use of Jungian concepts by contemporary Jungian analysts.
For information about obtaining CEs for this program visit our Continuing Education page
For more information about the Jung Club of Orange County, visit the Club's website
Comments