An Imaginary meeting, Carl Jung (died 1961) & Teresa of Avila (died 1582): Two Spiritual Pilgrims

On just turning 21 I found myself in Rome about to begin a diploma in spiritual theology. The main focus of this study was the works of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.

 Around 30 years later I found myself in a teaching position and felt the need to find a psychologist whose writings had historical and cultural meaning. I found Carl Jung.

 Jung, like me, had a Christian upbringing and had migrated to a secular humanist philosophy but one rich with mythic and cultural underpinnings.

In this presentation my intention is to bring together these two major life events and offer some reflective ponderings in the form of an imaginary conversation.

 Dr. David Russell

David lives in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains.

On retiring from a teaching and researching role at Western Sydney University ‘s School of Psychology, he took up a psychology practice in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

Now, as a part-time psychotherapist, part-time academic and very active grandparent, he maintains a small private clinical practice and has a minor role as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Metavision Institute.

He is a past-Present of the Sydney Jung Society.

Creativity: The mysterious force of the spirit that moves us - with Jon Wilson in discussion.

Jon will take up the theme of The Creative Cosmos - Eros as mysterious creative force, Carl Jung on the creative instinct that needs to be satisfied and fulfilled, Marie Louise von Franz on creativity, James Hillman on the myth of Eros and Psyche.

Many of Jung’s clients didn’t have a clinically definable condition, but needed assistance in fulfilling their creative potentials. Jon will explore the creativity of the journey towards wholeness: individuation, ‘becoming who we really are’, perfectionism, the inner critic, right brain creativity, reverie, imagination, becoming a co-creator.

Jon Wilson lives in Fremantle in Western Australia. He is influenced by the work of Jung and Hillman, in particular. He writes prolifically, online, about Jungian subjects and has interviewed many and varied Jungian and philosophical thinkers in his Jung and the World Podcast over the years. A lover of dialogue, he is fascinated to hear the thoughts of those he interacts with, creating an opportunity for discussion during this presentation.

A talk in honour of Glenda Cloughley, following on from The Canberra Jung Society/Chorus  events, November 7 and 8, 2025and Angelika  Yiassemides  October 10, Sydney theme on Jung &  Benders conversation on Participation Mystique and Synchronicity. 

The ancient Grecian Mysteries of Eleusis  revolved around communal ceremonies and a theme  of Demeter’s loss and Persephone’s descent and return. They were also secret. The themes and conduct of the Mysteries were an inspiration to Glenda. 

I will  especially take up  one  theme - that of internal, subtly intuitive, concentrated  participations among people and with the forces of generative nature.

This is an ethos which, looking back, I can see as very close to Glenda’s heart; especially in her dedication to the Temenos group,  to the Chorus of Women’s activism and  to her psychotherapeutic  ethic. I see this as a contemporary  expression of a secret of the Mysteries, something so apparent: yet so unseen

See these links 1. Description of Eleusinian Mysteries 2. A picnic of Promise

In 1960, a year before Carl Jung’s death, the German parapsychologist Hans Bender met with him to ask his opinion regarding a sequence of strange events that transpired in the previous years. During this meeting, Bender would reveal to Jung the multiple synchronicities that surrounded his mother’s death, and the questions that emerged regarding the meaning of these occurrences. In turn, Jung offered his interpretation and elaborated on topics that he had rarely done in the previous years, touching on parapsychological matters, life after death, synchronicity, precognition, participation mystique between mother and son, and the nature of time. This presentation explores the multilayered weaving of these concepts, as expressed by Jung in this gem of an interview, which is, in a way, a sort of meaning-making guide for our time-bound existence: How are we to fulfill life’s task during our finite life? 

Brendon has named his talk, ‘Something to do with Home’.

“I hope to cover how I think about getting older, how to have a relevant religious life - my Buddhist practice and, some thoughts about Jung’s home arrangements. If time permits the late (for me) discovery of Alan Watts.”

Shadow work is an aspect of the process of becoming more individuated. This presentation aims to increase our awareness and intuition regarding the shadow. The shadow contains what has not been allowed in consciousness, for many reasons and includes ‘our hidden potentials, capacities and qualities lying dormant in our unlived life – as well as that which we fear, dislike and despise in ourselves and therefore see in other people’ (Perry & Tower, 2023). 

Jung (and Hillman) use the Latin terms, senex and puer for ‘old man’ and ‘youth’. They personify the poles of tradition, stasis, structure and authority on one side, and immediacy, wandering, invention and idealism on the other. The senex consolidates, grounds and disciplines, the puer flashes with insight and thrives on fantasy and creativity’. Jon Wilson explores the senex and puer within us and within our culture.

What happens when ancient archetypes dance through the modern stage of pop culture? In this talk Kristina will explore how contemporary artists - most notably Taylor Swift - channel mythic themes, inner figures and collective symbols through song, storytelling and visual world-building. 

From Cassandra to the Anti-Hero, anima projections to shadow work, Swift’s shifting personas offer a rich lens into the archetypal psyche at work in mainstream culture. Blending Jungian theory, mythic analysis and cultural critique this lecture invites both seasoned analysts and curious newcomers into a lively exploration of how myth lives in our times. Whether you're a devoted Swiftie or simply intrigued by the enduring power of archetypes, this is an evening to appreciate how the collective unconscious moves through art and into our personal stories.

Embodied Imagination® is a radically new technique which views imagery – dreams and memory flashbacks — as embodied environments in which we find ourselves. Working on images from this perspective stimulates unfamiliar states of consciousness and helps to contain them in expanded body awareness. This method has demonstrated healing effects in people with physical illness and survivors of trauma, giving rise to creative bursts in artists, as well as in-depth solutions to psychological and relational problems.

Jung’s grandson (Ulrich Hoerni) when asked what he remembered most about Jung as an older man was the definition of deity: “God is that which crosses my wilful path.” David will make these words of Jung his central focus for this presentation. To extend the meaning of this quote he says:

“The life of the spirit is one shaped by the desire to embrace the non-wilful, the unknown, the unknowable.

In this presentation I’m taking the liberty to change Jung’s use of the word ‘God’ to life of the spirit. I believe this to be in keeping with his intention and the spirit of our times.

My intention is to relate Jung’s life of the spirit, understood as an archetypal form, to the troubles of daily life both personally and culturally.

David Tacey will present ‘Dreams: Secret Doorway to the Soul

Freud called the dream the via regia, the royal way, to the unconscious and used dreams to discover repressed wishes and desires. Jung agreed, but went further. For him the dream is the secret doorway to the soul, a natural expression of the life force and capable of opening up spiritual dimensions as well as resolving problems.

Craig San Roque will facilitate a conversation, discussing the “Collected Writings of Giles Clark: Recycling madness with Jung, Spinoza and Santayana” edited by Judith Pickering and Geoffrey Samuel.

This new work is of great interest to Jungian analysts, analytical psychologists and psychotherapists in practice and in training, as well as anyone interested in understanding the interface between depth psychology, philosophy and neuropsychology, and in the mind-body problem more generally.

Craig San Roque, Geoffrey Samuel (co-editor) and David Russell will engage in conversation giving their reactions and learnings from this valuable and fascinating book.

In this presentation Dr Bryon weaves together interpersonal and Jungian analytic perspectives, informed by indigenous Andean shamanism, and contemporary scientific understanding of time.

In this presentation, Jungian Analyst and former President of the Melbourne Jung Society, Annette Lowe, will take us on a journey towards the understanding of the Collective Shadow: The archetypal enemy.

Dr Beth Foley will delve into her research topic, Malignant Altruism

David will explore the difficulties of our understanding, in the Western world, of the Aboriginal Dreaming and the balance between ego and soul.

In this talk, Dr Joanna Kujawa, will discuss 4 levels of consciousness in The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and their connection with the Mysteries of Isis in ancient Egypt which she believes are examples of spiritual individuation. 

This talk will explore how the nineteenth century came to realise that, like it or not, we are creatures composed of both light and darkness.

Note: this event now to be held on 3rd Friday of April

Allan Guggenbühl, is a Psychologist & Jungian Psychotherapist in Zürich, and is one the most renowned child and adolescent psychologists of Switzerland. He will talk of the wisdom of Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul. Our Psyche knows more than we consciously realise! It might convey an answer to a personal problem or societal challenge, without us realising it.

This talk will explore how the nineteenth century came to realise that, like it or not, we are creatures composed of both light and darkness.

Eminent Jungian Scholar David Tacey will explore the contribution of Aboriginal Spirituality to the Australian nation.

In this presentation, Jungian Analyst and former President of the Melbourne Jung Society will focus specifically on the ego, its early development and the components of the ego complex, its drives, and its relation to the unconscious.

In his presentation, Jungian Analyst, Physicist and President of the SA Jung Society will investigate if we can return to the harmony of wholeness when life continually splits us apart, leaving us in an inner state of disturbed emotion in the face of outer confusion.

In this ground-breaking presentation, international Jungian Analyst Robert Bosnak explores the dimensions of the emerging relationship between Humanity and AI models like Chat GPT.

In his presentation, Brian will reflect on our disconnection from the wild and the necessity for its restoration

In his presentation, David will link the experience of beauty with the experience of soul and thus with the experience of depression which is soul telling the person that it is in need of attention and has the potential to express a particular energy.

Jungian Analyst Les Stein asks for those of us who seek individuation and spiritual growth, how are we to relate to our community

In his presentation, David will show us how the awakening of the indigenous archetype in the psyche can have positive as well as negative effects on the psychology of nations. 

In this event Craig and Miriam map the making of Persephone - telling how, a ‘force of nature’ gathered a human body by crossing the country, a long time ago. We tell what we learned from taking an unusual shift in perspective on this myth; then open discussion with Dr. Anne Noonan and others.

In her presentation, Kerrie will draw on Jungian and post-Jungian theories as well as her own clinical material to illustrate the difference between an individual who appears to be working through the process of individuation, and someone who has authentically engaged with their unconscious.