Community invited to Jung study

Published 1:05 am Friday, September 6, 2013

A group that has been meeting for two years to discuss spiritual topics of mutual interest is inviting members of the community to join them for a six-week series on Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung that begins Sunday.

Herb Riedel, who serves as facilitator of the group, said Jung was not only a great psychologist, but was overall one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century.

“He introduced concepts that have entered common usage, such as introverted/extraverted, archetypes, and the collective unconscious,” Riedel said. “He provided the foundation for the commonly used Meyers-Briggs personality test and lie detector testing. Jung possessed an unsurpassed understanding of the human condition, focused attention on the ‘second half of life,’ and recognized the importance of spirituality for a person’s psychological well-being.

“His teachings deserve to be more widely known and will be of interest to anyone who wishes to have a better understanding of themselves and the people around them,” he said.

Riedel and Caroline Picking will lead the sessions on Jung.

“Both of us have a long-time interest in Carl Jung spanning several decades,” Ridel said. “We have done extensive reading and studied Jungian concepts through a directed lay group called CenterPoint. I have also personally benefited from approximately 100 hours of Jungian analysis, which is a process for personal growth as well as therapy, and the first step towards becoming a certified Jungian analyst.”

The topics for the six sessions are:

• Introduction and the Persona

• The Old Ethic and the Shadow Archetype

• The New Ethic and Coming to terms with the Shadow

• Projections and Inflation of the Ego

• The Ego, Collective Unconscious, Dreams

• On Being an Individual

Riedel said the series will be of interest to all who want a better understanding of themselves and the people around them.

“People who have heard of Carl Jung and want to learn more, people who wish to understand what motivates people, and people who are interested in personal spiritual growth, will benefit,” he said. “This is also a place to meet like-minded individuals in a non-judgmental, accepting environment that provides support and encouragement to all people on a spiritual journey.”

The Andalusia Spiritual Discussion Group was formed in late 2011 to provide a forum for the discussion of topics of mutual interest in weekly meetings at the home of the facilitator. The group is open to members of all faith traditions and denominations and has covered topics from Western and Eastern religious traditions, yoga, meditation, dreams, Soul Science Lessons, a study of the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, psychology, and personal growth.

The Jung series begins at 7 p.m. this Sun., Sept. 8, in Riedel’s home located at 1401 East Three Notch St. For information, contact Riedel or Picking at hriedel@live.com or rrpking@andycable.com