Welcome to The C.G. Jung Association of Central Ohio!
Exploring the mystery within while living deeper in the world
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This edition of the JACO newsletter has 3 messages for our readers:
1.
A reference to a link of an interview with noted Jungian Murray Stein, titled
A World Shadow: COVID 19.
We are printing here a brief excerpt to preview it for you. The full interview is illuminating.
2.
A message of care and kind regards from Linda Meadows, Chair, on behalf of the JACO Board, accompanied by an arresting image from one of the JACO Art Gallery exhibitors, Kyla Zoe Rafert.
3.
A brief note about membership renewal.
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Brief Extract: “
Umbra Mundi is a companion to Anima Mundi. Anima Mundi is the soul of the world, the divine within material cosmos. Umbra Mundi is its shadow. … Because it is archetypal it infects everyone. Its most essential features are invisibility, universality, and numinosity. Because Coronavirus moves among us invisibly, is found on all continents, and strikes us as awesome and powerful, it represents the Umbra Mundi. We don’t know who has it or if we have it ourselves. It is everywhere, in all parts of the world, and it instills fear in the collective psyche, which we all feel. … It is a
mysterium tremendum et fascinans
, and it infects us with a mysterious terror and sense of vulnerability. We are not in control, and it is cold and relentless. … It has happened so fast. The Umbra Mundi invaded our unstable world unannounced and silently, and it threatens to undo the delicate fabric of our collective life on a global level. … What are we learning from it? … I have no doubt that we have been handed an opportunity for a vast transformation of consciousness on a general collective level.”
Murray Stein
is a graduate of Yale Divinity School (M.Div.1969), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D. 1985). He received his Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C. G. Jung Institute in Zurich in 1973. He is the author of
In MidLife, Jung’s Treatment of Christianity, Transformation: Emergence of the Self, Jung’s Map of the Soul, Minding the Self, The Bible as Dream
and other books, and he is the editor of
Jungian Psychoanalysis.
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A Note of Support from Dr. Meadows, Chair of the JACO Board:
We hope all of you and your loved ones are well and that it remains so. These anxious and uncertain times can disorient and unsettle us profoundly. JACO would like to offer any support it can to help you make sense of this experience and to gain insights into what it might mean personally and collectively. It seems we are not just being invited, but rather commanded to reflect upon who we are, our relationship to others, our values and also to confront all the aspects of ourselves (noble or ignoble) we have not acknowledged, consciously or unconsciously. This is heroic work and any guides along the way are welcome, so we will call upon all resources to bring you comfort and hope.
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In that context I would like to share with you an image created by artist Kyla Zoe Rafert. She exhibited her work at the Jung Haus art gallery this past fall. I am quite drawn to her work and recently, while bringing up the images of her exhibit, was struck by one that I think captures this pandemic moment. Looking at it, I think of Alice in Wonderland, blithely and naively living her innocent life when suddenly she goes down the rabbit hole where everything is topsy turvy and the world seems quite mad, but she learns a lot about herself. In this picture there is a door. She looks like she has entered through it, ready to experience the world inside – to descend into the darkness in order for transformation to take place. Or maybe she has ascended and turned around to take in this higher perspective. There are two sets of steps, so the landing looks to me like a balancing point, maybe a reference to holding the tension of the opposites. She holds a garland. Two garlands are adorning the giraffe’s graceful neck. So peradventure she has embraced this somewhat scary-looking and mythical-like being. Though towering over her, its countenance is gentle and knowing. There are many spiritual aspects attributed to the giraffe. It has a third horn, like a third eye. With its long neck reaching to the heavens, it is believed to symbolize transcendence. It is not engaged in the chaos of the lower realm. I see it as an energy moved beyond the ordinary, looking ahead, calling upon inner wisdom, aware of danger, but confident in its future.
Kyla Zoe Rafert earned her B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design and her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; she resides in Ohio. This is Kyla’s web site:
https://kyla-zoe.com/home.html
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A Brief Note About Membership Renewal –
This pandemic has taken a toll in so many ways, including financially, so we gave a lot of thought to sending out membership renewal notices this year. Because we are a non-profit, we rely heavily on membership dues and program registrations to sustain the organization as we carry out its mission to provide resources to others on this wondrous journey to wholeness. We had to cancel the spring Bauza Lecture, so we really need the revenue from memberships if we are to survive this devastating period of time. Most important to us though is your well-being. Therefore, if you find yourself in financial straits, do not feel bad if you cannot respond to a membership renewal reminder. We will still hold you lovingly in our care. But if you can renew your membership when you receive your reminder, we will be most grateful. Thank you so much for your understanding.
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Last but not...
"People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
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Jung Association of Central Ohio
59 W. 3rd Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43201
614-291-8050
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