Depth Insights with Bonnie Bright

Carl Gustav Jung has visualized wholeness in the collective unconscious and its archetypes. Quantum physicist David Bohm saw it in what he named the"implicate order" which sustains, guides and organizes energy. Not surprisingly also, as it is in all of us, perennial traditions intuitively expressed it through their myths, legends and even used it efficiently in their medical systems.   Most importantly, it is consequently expressed through the brain, an obvious fractal aspect of it. This brain being also an observable physical object, a consensus becomes possible as to the model at its origin. Putting these together, Ariane Page in her book Isis Code describes this ultimate model as the LIFE biosystem (Law Inherent to the Five Elements).   Join me with Ariane Page for a stimulating and informative conversation that covers a range of topics including Carl Jung, depth psychology, nature, biology, neuroscience, and the elusive quality of "oneness"

  After the mass school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, in December 2013, I moderated a 2-part teleseminar series with Jungian analyst Michael Conforti for the Depth Psychology community and the general public in which we engaged in a depth psychological and archetypal discussion about the event. In preparation, I opened Issue 81 of Spring Journal (2009), a long running publication of Archetype and Culture called "The Psychology of Violence." Inside, I discovered a powerful and intriguing article by psychologist and professor, Glen Slater, entitled "The Mythology of Bullets." In the essay, Slater addresses the major mainstream issues that always arise in such devastating events: gun violence, media influence, and mental health.  However, Slater goes much deeper to look at the archetypal aspects of guns in America, how our inherent cultural roots come into play, and how the uncompromising drive of the American Dream insists we succeed at any cost. This drive enables us to project the causes of our failure onto others; to do whatever it takes to remove the perceived obstacles that have defeated and marginalized us, and to objectify fellow human beings.  More, with little cultural capacity for reflection or container in which we can view our failures, difficulties, sadness, anger, and depression, we reach out for the one mythical object that allows us to regain control--a gun. Join me with Dr. Glen Slater for an engaging and important discussion of the roots of mass shootings and the depth psychological and archetypal aspects of guns in America. Glen Slater Ph.D. holds degrees in Religious Studies and in Clinical Psychology and has taught Jungian and Archetypal perspectives at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara for nearly two decades. Glen is the film review editor at Spring Journal and a regular contributor to that public

Part 1 of "Beyond Horror and Hope" drew an unprecedented response listeners from several different countries registering to be a part of this sensitive and significant conversation regarding the horrific tragedy of the mass school shooting in Newtown, CT, and it's implications for us both individually and culturally. The trauma and terror of senseless acts of violence perpetrated on the most helpless and innocent among us, is not a topic that can be adequately covered in a single hour. While our conversation brought us to the depths of the alchemical nigredo or underworld and in many ways was a collective moment of bearing witness with not only the victims in Newtown, CT but also with the victims throughout history whose lives have been cut short by senseless violence, we were beckoned to continue this exploration of evil and innocence, horror and hope. In recognition of the enormity of this topic and of the tremendous response from the depth psychology community around the world, this second disussion focused on yet another archetypal look at various facets of the tragedy and the cultural landscape which contributes to this kind of event.  Jungian analyst Michael Conforti invite you to join us in a continuing discussion to find meaning and hope by using an archetypal lens in the tradition of depth psychology.

The horrific tragedy in Newtown, CT, has left us all grappling with the trauma of senseless acts of violence perpetrated on the most helpless and innocent among us, our children. While we may never understand what it is that allows for such atrocities, we have to continue to search for meaning, a way to understand and perhaps, to stem the tide of this force. Beyond Horror and Hope: The Archetypal Intersection of Innocence and Evil is an exploratory conversation in response to the Sandy Hook Connecticut school shooting with Jungian Analyst Michael Conforti, PhD and Depth Insights host and founder of Depth Psychology Alliance, Bonnie Bright, M.A. What are the archetypal influences underpinning the horror of the Newtown, CT school shooting---and those of so many recent violent events perpetrated on innocents with legal firearms. Is evil a reality? Is it an age-old pattern that becomes constellated under certain conditions? How do we find hope in the horror when tragedy strikes? It was Carl Jung who taught us not a only about the reality of the psyche but also offered up a courageous admission of the reality of evil. Building on Jung's discovery about the archetypes of evil, and Elie Wiesel's countless decades in writing about the Holocaust, we address the issues emerging from this and other similar disasters from the perspective of an archetypal approach to psyche and life. We invite you to join us, as together we bear witness to this tragedy and search for a way through the darkness to a place of understanding.

Bonnie Bright talks to Barry Spector about how America became a culture of exile, and the ever-greater need for mythology, archetypal thinking, ritual and grieving in the face of what Barry calls "The Myth of American Innocence." Barry’s book "Madness at the Gates of the City: The Myth Of American Innocence” is the featured book for the Depth Psychology Alliance free online book club in the month of November. Learn more by clicking on the Book Club at www.depthinsights.com. Barry writes about American history and politics from the perspectives of myth, indigenous traditions and archetypal psychology. In addition to Madness At The Gates Of The City, Barry maintains an active blog that takes an archetypal look at current events and culture and which, along with his essays, can be found at www.madnessatthegates.com. Barry and his wife Maya conduct an annual Day of the Dead grief ritual that will take place on November 3, 2012, near Berkeley, CA. Learn more at www.barryandmayaspector.com  

  Join host Bonnie Bright with Poet and Jungian Analyst, Paul Watsky, as they discuss the ways in which Jungian psychology and poetry converge. Paul Watsky shares the story of how he was led to both careers, and shares his work that opens the door into the deep poetic leanings of soul. Join us in the month of October for "Telling the Difference," the only book of poetry in the 2012 free online Depth Psychology Alliance Book Club at www.depthpsychologyalliance.com. "To quote Norman O. Brown quoting Euripedes, "God made an opening for the unexpected," and at long last we have what many of us have greatly desired: a collection of poems by Paul Watsky. "Paul Watsky's is a singular voice in contemporary poetry, with a range that encompasses the wry, the mordant, the laugh-out-loud funny and the deeply moving, often within the same poem." -Charles Martin Paul Watsky is the author of the poetry collection Telling The Difference grew up in New York City and began writing poetry during high school. He now lives and works in San Francisco, where he earns his living as a Jungian analyst. 

On the heels of the discussion and controversy around the recent film A DANGEROUS METHOD, “Out of the Shadows: A Story of Toni Wolff and Emma Jung” is a rich dialogue about shadow and the complexities of relationships and theory at the dawn of the field of psychology. The book is the featured selection for the Depth Psychology Alliance free online book club in September 2012. The year is 1910. Sigmund Freud and his heir-apparent, Carl Jung, are changing the way we think about human nature and the mind. 22-year-old TONI WOLFF enters the heart of this world as Jung's patient. His wife, EMMA JUNG, is 26, a mother of four, aspiring to help her husband create the new science of psychology. Toni Wolff's fiercely curious mind, and her devotion to Jung, threaten this aspiration. Despite their passionate rivalry for Jung's mind and heart, the two women often find themselves allied. Their relationship spans 40 years, from pre-World War I to the dawn of the Atomic Age. Their story follows the development of the field of psychology, and the moral and professional choices of some of its major players. Join host Bonnie Bright with Elizabeth Clark-Stern, a psychotherapist in private practice in Seattle,Washington, as they discuss this unique book. Before embracing this beloved work, Elizabeth worked as a professional screenwriter and has produced multiple plays and teleplays. This play, "Out of the Shadows: A Story of Toni Wolff and Emma Jung", published by Fisher King Press, has been performed in Seattle, at the International Jungian Congress in South Africa, and for the Archetypal Theater Company in New Orleans. MORE DETAILS on the September Depth Psych Book Club: http://www.depthinsights.com/pages/book_club/book_club_sept2012_depthpsych.html

Deep Blues: Human Soundscapes for the Archetypal Journey explores the archetypal journey of the human psyche through an examination of the blues as a musical genre. The genesis, history, and thematic patterns of the blues are examined from an archetypal perspective and various analytic theories--especially the interaction between Erich Neumann's concept of unitary reality and the blues experience.  Mythological and shamanistic parallels are used to provide a deeper understanding of the role of the bluesman, the blues performance, and the innate healing potential of the music. Join Bonnie Bright with blues musician, Mark Winborn Ph.D, NCPsyA, Jungian Psychoanalyst and Clinical Psychologist. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Memphis in 1987 and his certificate in Jungian Psychoanalysis from the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts in 1999.

Bonnie Bright speaks with Naomi Ruth Lowinsky and Patricia Damery about the power of synchronicity of creation and their new exciting anthology in the field of Jungian psychology. Bringing together personal stories from a unique group of Jungian analysts and authors in the field of depth psychology must surely be a challenging task.  In this revealing interview, Jungian analysts and editors Patricia Damery and Naomi Ruth Lowinsky share their own stories of the way in which the book Marked by Fire: Stories of the Jungian Way, the July selection for the Depth Psychology Alliance online book club came to fruition.   Naomi Ruth Lowinsky is an analyst member of the San Francisco C.G. Jung Institute and a widely published poet. Her recent memoir, The Sister from Below: When the Muse Gets Her Way tells stories of her "pushy" muse. Naomi is also the author of The Motherline: Every Woman’s Journey to Find her Female Roots and three books of poetry.   Patricia Damery, also an analyst member of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco i is in private psychotherapy practice in Napa, California. Patricia has published Farming Soul: A Tale of Initiation--which weaves a fascinating tale of her analytic training and simultaneous entry into Biodynamic farming--along and her latest novel, Snakes, the story about the demise of a family farm. Patricia and her husband farm a Biodynamic organic ranch.   -LEARN MORE about the July Online Book Club: http://www.depthinsights.com/pages/book_club/book_club_jul2012_depthpsych.html

Bonnie Bright speaks with Dr. Craig Chalquist about Terrapsychology, Encyclopedia Sophia, and"Earthrise" as a mythic image a la Joseph Campbell. Craig Chalquist has walked a lot of the landscape of depth psychology since he first coined the term "terrapsychology" nearly a decade ago. Here Craig speaks about how "patterns, shapes, features and motifs at play in the nonhuman world scupt our ideas, our habits, our relationships, culture, and sense of self" a quote from Rebearths: Conversations with a World Ensouled (p. 6), the June selection for the Depth Psychology Alliance online book club. Craig Chalquist Ph.D. is the author of 8 books and editor of 2 anthologies, including Rebearths: Conversations with a World Ensouled, the June selection for the Depth Psychology Alliance online book club. Currently a core faculty member in East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Dr. Chalquist has also taught at John F. Kennedy University, Antioch University, Prescott College, and Pacifica Graduate Institute among others. Craig's comprehensive work in the field(s) of depth psychology, ecopsychology, and mythology have given rise to a number of groundbreaking unique programs including Encyclopedia Sophia, an online repository for culture mentors, and Earthrise--a vision for a mythic image for our time. -LEARN MORE about the June Online Book Club: http://www.depthinsights.com/pages/book_club/book_club_jun2012_depthpsych.html

Bonnie Bright speaks with Dr. Darlene Viggiano about Viggiano's research on the Role of Dreams and Dream-like Experiences in Psycho-Spiritual Emergence Processes. Dr. Viggiano is leading a free online study group on the topic on Depth Psychology Alliance during the month of May 2012. Everyone welcome! Everyone goes through challenging times of psycho-spiritual growth. Darlene explores the function of dreams and visions during crucial periods of psycho-spiritual development. Darlene's work is based on research that analyzed 7 cases of extraordinary experiences associated with dreaming & dream-like states.   Darlene B. Viggiano, Ph.D. (MFT), author of Dreams and Dream-like Experiences: Their Role in Spiritual Emergence Processes, has co-led group dream analysis for Saybrook University, where she also presented on "Brain Activation Patterns and Neuro-physiological Correlates of Hypnotic Dreaming." She has presented extensively and authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on the topic.

Bonnie Bright talks with Safron Rossi, Ph.D., Director of Opus Archives & Research Center-- home of the manuscript and archival collections of scholars including Joseph Campbell and James Hillman--as she describes the 9 major collections at Opus Archives and how they inform the work of our time.  The archival collections make up a valuable resource and are highly relevant to the field of depth psychology. shares stories she has witnessed of synchronicities researchers experience while she tends this living archive in her daily work. Safron is also Adjunct Faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, teaching courses on mythology and depth psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies in 2009 and her writing and scholarly studies focus on archetypal psychology, feminist studies, and the western astrological tradition.  OPUS Archives & Research Center, located on the campuses of Pacifica Graduate Institute near Santa Barbara, CA, is free and open to the public. Appointments to visit the archives or the library collections are welcomed. Learn more at www.opusarchives.org

Join Bonnie Bright and Jungian psychoanalyst Ken Kimmel as they discuss the powerful influence of narcissism and how it impacts men's psyche and influences relationships with the women who love them. Ken's recent book, Eros and the Shattering Gaze: Transcending Narcissism (the Depth Psychology Alliance Online Book Club selection for April 2012) discusses a culturally and historically embedded narcissism underlying men's endlessly driven romantic projections and erotic fantasies, that has appropriated their understanding of what love truly is. Men enveloped in narcissism fear their interiority and all relationships with emotional depth that prove too overwhelming to bear--so much so that the lover must either be colonized or devalued.  Ken shares stories which illuminate many areas of common ground that Jung's Analytical psychology shares with contemporary schools of depth psychology and psychoanalysis. Ken Kimmel, MA, LMFT, LMHC, is a Jungian psychoanalyst in Seattle with over 30 years of clinical practice, an alum of Sonoma State College and a graduate of North Pacific Institute for Analytical Psychology. His current interests concern  the interface of Analytical Psychology with contemporary psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and mystical  traditions.

Bonnie Bright M.A. speaks with Gary Bobroff, M.A., about his fascinating research into the phenomenon of crop circles and their connection to C.G. Jung and his archetypes. Join us to learn how the Mystery of the crop circles is a potential herald to the re-emergence of the archetypal feminine in the collective. Gary Bobroff  has a degree in philosophy and an M.A. in Jungian-oriented Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has visited Crop Circles in the UK, Canada and the US. He is writer, therapist and workshop leader. For centuries, Crop Circles have been a mysterious visitor arriving at our door. Recentlu we have cientifically identified that this phenomenon is no hoax, but something authentically unknown. Considering the science, history, and symbolic nature of this modern mystery, Bobroff offers a framework for the reader's own deeper consideration of Crop Circles. Gary presents live at the San Francisco Bay Depth Psychology Alliance Meetup: Friday, March 23. Public welcome. Details/register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=l548rqeab&oeidk=a07e5iso675de0e55f8 Gary's web site: www.jungandcropcircles.net

Bonnie Bright M.A. speaks with Jungian Dr. Michael Conforti on his pioneering work with Psyche-Matter studies and the resulting book, "Field, Form, and Fate"--the March selection for the FREE online book club on Depth Psychology Alliance. Dr. Michael Conforti, Ph.D. is a Jungian Analyst, and is the founder and director of the Assisi Institute. Dr. Conforti's work has resulted not only in a training institute based on his discoveries, but also the development of a new discipline, Archetypal Pattern Analysis.  A pioneer in the field of matter-psyche studies, Dr. Conforti is actively investigating the workings of archetypal fields and the relationship between Jungian psychology and the New Sciences. He is the author of Threshold Experiences: The Archetype of Beginnings (2007) and the book we’ll be discussing today,  “Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature and Psyche” Join us as we discuss a priori fields that establish form, and the ways  in which we come into relationship with all that is....