**Jung Society Annual General Meeting: Before Gordon's presentation we will be briefly conducting the Sydney Jung Society's annual general meeting, starting at 7.00PM.**
Jung defined synchronicity as ‘an antithesis to science’. He did not deny the notion of causality, but suggested that events could also be connected by ‘meaning’. Jung believed such an approach was far more beneficial in attempting to understand the workings of our universe. Jung’s fascination with the I Ching is well-known, as is his acknowledgement of other occult systems that have been applied to divination (The Tarot, Astrology etc.). Jung was a pioneer in recognising that personal insights, other worlds, fate, and myth played a greater part in human existence than had been formerly recognised.
One of the most admirable traits in Jung’s character is his dedication to continual personal development, specifically his own. My life is the story of the self-realization of the unconscious,' as he wrote. Such an ethos shines through in all his researches, thinking, and dealings with his patients. In this he was unique in the field of psychology for his time.
Jung would, I think, have been in accord with Erich Neumann in his later concept of ‘centroversion’. Left and right brain have reached a compromise as to how each perceives the world. Not only is Individuation made much easier, but the ego may be transcended in a pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Some part of the self must remain, however, in order for there to be a consciousness entity to experience that transition.
Jung summarised this approach to psychic unity in his division of the mind into four distinct functions. These were - thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. He maintained that to maintain, ‘orientation - all four functions should contribute equally.’ Examining what contribution, the unconscious has to make led to Jung’s involvement in parapsychology. In his study of synchronicity, a personal preference for the East - hence his involvement with the I-Ching - emerged. Mystical systems which are part of the Western Tradition - The Tarot, Astrology, and the Qabalah, do have archetypes as their basis, and I am certain this aspect would have appealed to Jung. He believed that the individual’s conception of the world was projected through archetypes, and that conflicts in a personality could be understood by examining them. The zeitgeist too may have a considerable effect upon the individual.
For some background on Gordon visit his website.
Gordon Strong
Gordon Strong was born near Glastonbury, Somerset, and currently lives in the West of England. He is an author, speaker and musician. A student of philosophy, psychology, new science, literature and history, he is keen to investigate every aspect of the world, visible and invisible.
He is an author whose dynamic and informed writing has inspired an international following. His studies of myth, legend and the esoteric embrace such diverse subjects as Merlin, The Arthuriad, The Holy Grail, Neolithic monuments, Tarot, Magic and the Qabalah. Gordon discusses his subjects with reference to his specialist knowledge and always with an engaging style. The history of Madame Blavatsky and The Golden Dawn are his most recent work in this genre.
Gordon’s work is popular in America where he is a frequent visitor. An entertaining and humorous speaker in the U.S. and U.K., he combines his academic knowledge with personal anecdotes from a unique and varied career.
He has been published by Llewellyn International, Skylight Press, and Kerubim Press. Beginning in 2015 his new fiction will appear exclusively from Magic Oxygen Publishing.
Date: 10 March 2017
Time: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Venue: Mitchell Theatre Level 1 Sydney Mechanics' School
of Arts, 280 Pitt St, Sydney
Cost: Members $15 Non-Members $25 Non-Member
Concession $20
*Psychotherapists and other practitioners can obtain credit for Professional Development hours recognised by CAPA, PACFA and ACA for this presentation.