Lecture: Exploring the Gifts and Opportunities of Mid-life- A Jungian Perspective
By Marla Estes
$5.00 - 20.00 Suggested donation, everyone welcome, no one turned away
Presentation Description:
Mid-life can be a threshold if we choose to cross it. We can enter into despair, we can embark upon a second adolescence, or we can be in denial, among other things. Or- we can get down to the business of what Jungian James Hillman calls "soul-making." In the first half of life, we learn how to navigate in our world, more often than not developing a false self and strategic survival mechanisms. Often through disillusionment at the mid-stream of life, some of us find that we haven't been rewarded as we had been led to believe that we would by parents, families, religious organizations, teachers, or the culture at large.
We are at a crossroads. We can cave in on ourselves and start the descent into decline and old age, or we can experience a renaissance, literally a rebirth. Letting the old die, so that a new way of being can emerge. Our unlived aspects can finally come to life.
Jungian thought supplies a road map of this territory. Not a recipe or formula, but a general idea of the tasks that need attending to at this stage of our lives. Jung said that what we're looking for is not goodness, but wholeness. He thought the "goal" of life was individuation, that is, becoming all that we are and can become, authentically and uniquely ourselves.
In this presentation, we will cover such topics as:
- Persona: the image we present to the world
- Shadow: both the unlived and repressed parts of ourselves
- Anima/Animus: our inner templates of the opposite sex
- Integration of polarities and the Transcendent Function: how working with our inner conflicts can lead to a new, higher level of consciousness
- Tools for transformation
Presenter's Biography:
Marla Estes, living in Ashland, is a teacher, writer, and mentor. She holds her Masters degree in Transpersonal Studies. She has taught at SOU Extension, the SAEJ program at Ashland High School, and leads a woman's study group called "Cultivating the Orchid."
More Information: (541) 482-4948 e-mail:
[email protected]
Website:
http://www.marlaestes.com
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TUESDAY LECTURE SERIES FORMAT: 90-120-minute lecture presentation including break and Q&A period. All events conclude promptly at 9:00pm. All Tuesday night lecture presentations are recorded.
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RVML's VISION STATEMENT: "Our ability to discern truth is enhanced by exposure to a broader perspective on the human experience. By integrating new truths into our awareness, the expansion of knowledge in the collective mind advances the evolution of human consciousness."
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RENT RVML's PRESENTATION FACILITIES: The 1,000 square-foot (15'x65') presentation area is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible with full audio-visual capabilities available.
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