Guild for Psychological Studies

Welcome!

For over fifty years, the Guild for Psychological Studies has conducted seminars that bring together the depth psychology of Carl Jung, the Records of the Life of Jesus (Synoptic Gospels), the Hebrew Scriptures, and material drawn from myth, poetry, world religions, and the evolving images of modern culture and science. Using a process based on Socratic inquiry and dialog, seminar participants carefully attend to images and feelings, discover connections between the personal and collective psyche, and often find a new commitment to the deep and unfolding truth that has been called the Self or Soul.

You are invited to use the menus on the left to explore the seminars we offer, read about upcoming events, learn more about the people of the Guild, view a growing collection of resources, and find out how you can participate in or contribute to the Guild's work. You can use the Guild Information and Contacts link or links throughout many other pages to ask questions about the Guild in general or any particular seminar. Don't forget to browse the boxes on the right side of the home page to see the latest forum and blog posts as well as recent Guild news.

soul-in-the-world

C. G. Jung diagnosed the modern condition as the absence of myth and the loss of meaning. Religion, especially Christianity, is no longer the cultural force it once was. Jung spoke of a new myth of meaning for modern people in terms of psyche, consciousness and personal individuation.

But the general tenor of Jung’s thought casts the psyche as primarily an inner human phenomenon. The outer realm of modern scientific and technological culture is seen as lacking soul, and even endangering our world.

If we take the transpersonal nature of the soul, or psyche, seriously, we can ask the following questions:

Is religion still relevant or has technology taken its place as the prime location for the energy that drives human culture?
What if the soul is an evolving force manifesting as history and culture with an unknown purpose?
If we step back and take a long view can we discern the soul in the very technology and media that humanism finds so abhorrent?
What if, as examples, the nuclear bomb, television, media, and the World Wide Web are where the objective nature of the soul is manifesting in our contemporary world?

This workshop will explore the work of the Jungian thinker Wolfgang Giegerich, introducing his provocative ideas about soul-in-the-world, seeking both to think through the implications of his thought and to provide space for an experiential encounter with modern culture and ourselves. April 13, Friday, 7 – 9pm and April 14, Saturday, 9am – 4:30pm Easton Hall, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2401 Ridge Road Berkeley,CA

A presentation by the Casting Seeds Group of the Guild for Psychological Studies.

Date:

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 7:00pm - Sat, 04/14/2012 - 4:30pm

Place:

Easton Hall, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, 2401 Ridge Road, Berkeley CA

Leaders:

Hal Childs, PhD, MFT; Harry Henderson; Susanna Singer, MDiv, PhD; and others

Fee:

$50-$90 (sliding scale) plus $10 non-refundable registration fee.

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Looking Toward the Future

Submitted by Harry Henderson on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 1:02pm

(a statement from the Guild Board)

During the past several years the Board and leaders of the Guild have had to struggle with a number of difficult issues. An increasing number of seminars have had to be canceled because of insufficient sign-ups. Several senior leaders and mentors have found that is was time for them to stop actively leading seminars or to reduce their participation in other Guild activities. Because of the limited number of seminars and other events, the Guild did not issue a program brochure for 2011-2012.

At the same time it is important to recognize that there has been significant activity in the Guild during the past year. Longstanding seminars such as Nourishing the Soul and More Fire for Life continue to have strong support. Despite last minute changes in leadership and venue (due to illness and the Four Springs fire), Basic Records had a full sign-up. In December, two separate Advent seminars together had nearly 40 participants and staff. We see these events as evidence that there is still a desire for what the Guild has to offer, and an ability to continue the work. Further, the financial situation of the Guild is quite stable, with significant resources available for new initiatives.

One of the strongest signs of new life has been the ongoing work of the training program, Casting Seeds. This year leaders and members of this class are engaged in an intensive study of some of the most advanced work in depth psychology. Several leaders will be attending the inaugural conference of the International Society for Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority (ISPDI) in Berlin, July 23-25, 2012. (See www.ispdi.org for more details.)

During the past few years a small but active and committed group of new leaders have experimented with new forms of seminars and events (including one day seminars and excursion-based seminars). There is also the possibility of exploring the offering of online courses and discussion groups. Casting Seeds is committed to working together to design and lead seminars, a process that began with December's Advent seminar in San Francisco and will continue with a seminar in April.

Meanwhile, your Board has been working hard to determine the form of organization that would best enable the Guild to continue its work and to use the available resources and energy most effectively. In the next few months the Board will be soliciting proposals from Guild leaders for seminars and other projects to be funded by the Guild, with appropriate procedures and guidelines. Instead of using traditional program brochures, new seminars and projects will be publicized individually, using the web site, email, the Threshing Floor, fliers, and so on.

Like virtually all institutions in our world today, the Guild must adapt to new realities and embrace emerging opportunities. We believe that the work that brought each of us to the Guild over the past decades will continue in the years to come, and we are committed to helping to sustain it even as we reach out in new ways.

Nourishing the Soul 2012

In this Nourishing the Soul, we will explore the rooms, real and imaginary, of our childhoods, remembering rhymes, songs, and stories. We will try to keep what we’ve recalled in collages, drawings, poems. Mary Oliver, particularly her Blue Pasture, may be helpful here.
And we will explore, grown up now, ways of making the world better, using as our text the highly provocative, talky play, Major Barbara, by George Bernard Shaw. It is still able, almost a hundred years after it was first produced, to make us wonder about how the world we live in really works.

Date:

Tue, 03/27/2012 - 5:00pm - Fri, 03/30/2012 - 1:00pm

Place:

Bishop's Ranch.

Leaders:

Nils Peterson, Sue Renfrew, and Maureen Draper.

Fee:

$445 plus $45 nonrefundable registration fee.

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Four Springs: The Fire and Beyond

Submitted by halchilds on Mon, 06/20/2011 - 9:59am

The Lodge at Four Springs burned to the ground on the evening of Memorial Day, May 30. We are struggling with shock and disbelief, as well as possible multiple levels of meaning. What could this mean for Four Springs? What could this mean for the Guild?

We are including here some photos, as well as statements from Tim Locke, the Executive Director of Four Springs Seminars.

Living with Soul: Interview with Charles Pfeifer

Submitted by Harry Henderson on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 6:59am

Charles Pfeifer, a Guild member who leads Records seminars in Madison, Wisconsin, was recently interviewed by Jean Feraca on the Wisconsin Public Radio program Here on Earth. Chuck talks about his work with Walter Wink and his use of the Records material.

Here is a link where you can listen to the interview, "Living with Soul," as well as a link to Chuck's blog.