COURSE SYLLABUS “Philemon,” says Jung, “brought home to me the crucial insight

COURSE SYLLABUS
“Philemon,” says Jung, “brought home to me the crucial insight that there are things in the psyche which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life…. In my fantasies I held conversations with him, and he said things which I had not consciously thought…. He said I treated thoughts as if I generated them myself, but in his view, thoughts were like animals in the forest, or people in a room….’If you should see people in a room, you would not think that you had made those people, or that you were responsible for them.’ It was he who taught me psychic objectivity, the reality of the psyche…. At times he seemed to me
quite real, as if he were a living personality,”44 like an invisible guru or teacher. – C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams and Reflections., p. 183/176.
A. Course Description:
A major emphasis in this course is to honor and explore your own experiences of the imaginal realm and to become more familiar with the nature of transference as a “field” within which images, feelings, and the imagination arise. Utilizing a phenomenological attitude, we will look at the healing functions of active imagination, dreams, feelings, and intuitions. In addition, we will engage in the experience of active imagination and observe the dialogue uncovering and bringing to birth possibilities not yet conscious or formulated. To enrich your work as a therapist, we will welcome the symbolic and mythic depths of the soul and their archetypal underpinnings.
B. Course Relation to Program Goals and Objectives
The following syllabus describes the specifics of “Inner Theater: Working with Active Imagination” Course 5810J. It is very important that you understand how this course is connected to overall goals of the Clinical Psychology Program. As you know, the program is comprised of the program domains of Clinical Practice, Scholarly Inquiry and Research, and Depth Psychology and the Humanities. Each of these three domains has its own set of goals, objectives, and competencies. Collectively, they delineate the outcomes that will be achieved upon completion of the program.
“Inner Theater: Working with Active Imagination” Course 5810J is one of the courses associated with the following domain/objectives:
Goal #1: Clinical Practice. To produce graduates who are prepared to effectively apply multicultural therapeutic services that are informed and supported by evidence-based practices.
Objective 1.1: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of and sensitivity to the existence of a symbol making function that is general to mankind, present on diverse cosmologies (Eastern and Western) and an integral part of the therapeutic relationship.
Objective 1. 2: Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of and sensitivity to human differences, including cultural diversity in professional practice.
Goal #2: Depth Psychology and the Humanities. To produce graduates who demonstrate the ability to understand and practice the basic principles of psychotherapeutic treatment from psychoanalytic and Jungian analytic perspectives.
Objective 2.1: Graduates will demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the application of the method called Active Imagination and understand basic principles of Jungian theory and technique.
Objective 2.2: Graduates will be able to utilize the imaginal approach in the context of an in- depth psychotherapeutic relationship.
This course explores the traditions that comprise the field of Imaginal Psychology and elaborates the unique features of Active Imagination that flow from these traditions.
C. Course Learning Objectives
Students will:
1. Develop the capacity to work clinically with the symbolic dimension of dream, fantasy, and symptom.
2. Utilize the method of active imagination used in the investigation of contents originating in the unconscious psychic processes.
3. Acquire basic knowledge of the historical and theoretical foundation of the imaginal in the practice of depth psychotherapy.
4. Become more familiar with the nature of transference as a “field” within which images, feelings, and the imagination arise.
5. Honor their own direct experiences of the psyche giving meaning to the symbolic realm, the imaginal, and their clinical applications.
6. Acquire an understanding of the implications of the ethical principles involved in opening a dialectical interaction between conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche.
7. Appreciate the implications of diverse cosmologies for psychological theory and clinical practice related to course material.
D. Prerequisites and Clinical Program Competencies:
There are no Prerequisites or Clinical Program Competencies for this course.
E. Course Schedule/ Activities:
*Note: The following represents a proposed schedule and is subject to change depending on students’ knowledge base and areas of interest. Students are expected to read the required readings prior to class.
Course Begins: Course Ends: August 11, 2023 – August 25, 2023
This course will meet for two days over the Summer term. As part of the coursework, you will be asked to keep an imaginal journal in the tradition of Jung’s Red Book for 1 -2 days prior to the start date of the course. This will be your personal experiment engaging and working with the images of the deep psyche. Journal entries should include dreams, drawings of dream images, active imagination work with images, accompanying music and movement (if you wish), and reflections on the significance of the work in your waking life. Keeping entries in the journal is a class assignment. Also be prepared to share an excerpt from your own “Red Book” (it may be a dream, a drawing, an active imagination, or a meditation on aspects of the course material) that has made a particular impression and that relates to the content and spirit of the class. I will not collect the journals.
Keeping entries in the journal is a class assignment. In addition to your imaginal journal, course assignments for each class, students are expected to participate actively in class throughout the course. The quality of your paper assignment, as well as your presence in class and presentations, are the basis of your grade. Class lectures will be supplemented with experiential exercises, discussions, and demonstrations to meet the course objectives.
The course schedule below lists topics, required readings, and assignments for each class. Suggested readings and videos are also provided for each segment.
Class # 1: November 3, 2023
Lecture/Activities:
Foundations of Active Imagination
In this session, we will begin our exploration of Jung’s observations about and accounts of the reality and autonomy of the psyche in Memories, Dreams and Reflections and The Red Book. The historical and theoretical background for this work in alchemy, the shamanic and mystical traditions, and the broader arc of Western esoteric traditions will be noted. In this class, students will be encouraged to explore their own relationship to the imaginal approach to psychotherapy. We will welcome the imaginal figures of your journal (and their archetypal/mythic underpinnings) to be present and to become known. (Course Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, and 5).
Assignments:
Required Pre-Class Assignment Week #1: Creating an Imaginal Journal: Introduction to images of the deep psyche.
1. Create an imaginal journal in the tradition of Jung’s Red Book with at least one journal entry before each course meeting.
• Due date is November 2nd by 11:55 pm PST
This will be your personal experiment engaging and working with the images of the deep psyche. Journal entries should include dreams, drawings of dream images, active imagination work with images, accompanying music and movement (if you wish), and reflections on the significance of the work in your waking life. Keeping entries in the journal is a class assignment.
2. Pre-class Brief Reflection Week #1: Creating an Imaginal Journal: A Transformative Dialogue with Images
• Due Date VNovember 1st by 11:55 pm PST
Participants are requested to share their experience of creating their Imaginal Journals on the Discussion Forum by posting 2-3 sentences.
• Describe your journey in creating the imaginal journal, including choosing an image that represents it, such as a dream, a drawing of a dream image, or an active imagination exercise with images, accompanied by music and/or movement if desired.
• The focus should be on your thoughts, associations, somatic responses, and overall experience during the creation of your imaginal journal entries. Your reflections are highly valuable for fostering discussions and deepening our understanding of the topic.
• Conclude with a brief reflection on the enlightening dialogue that unfolded.
Responding to discussion forum postings is optional. However, if students choose to engage, it is strongly encouraged to maintain a supportive approach when responding to their classmates’ postings.
Required Reading Before Class
Jung, C. G., & Chodorow, J. (1997). Jung on active imagination (Ser. Encountering Jung). Princeton University Press. (Pages 1-25)
Cwik AJ. Associative dreaming: reverie and active imagination. J Anal Psychol. 2011 Feb;56(1):14-36. Doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5922.2010.01888. x. PMID: 21241292.
Required Video to Watch Before Class
– Introduction to the Red Book (Link available on Sakai). Professor Sonu Shamdasani introduces the creation and significance of Carl Jung’s Red Book. On view to the public for the first time, the book is the center piece of the exhibition The Red Book of C. G. Jung: Creation of a New Cosmology at The Rubin Museum of Art through January 25, 2010.
In-Class Exercise Week #1 – November 3rd
Engaging and Working with images of the deep Psyche.
Be prepared to share an excerpt from your own “Red Book,” such as a dream, a drawing, an active imagination dialogue, or a meditation on aspects of the course material, that has made a particular impression and is relevant to the content and spirit of the class. The journals will not be collected.

WEEK#2: November 17, 2023,
Lecture/Activities:
Healing and the Imaginal Dimension of the Psyche
One of Jung’s major contributions to psychotherapy is active imagination, a process that establishes the transcendent function and that reveals the material and unmaterial domain. Jung’s collective unconscious brings forth the perspective of a collectivistic cosmovision than shares interest in the collective’s needs and sentiments. The in-depth therapy process to be modeled on the ancient alchemical worldview of transformation that considers the chthonic powers of earth, the reconnection with nature and the cosmos. The creative effects of the spiritual or visionary imagination, or imaginatio vera (from alchemy), Shamanic journeying, also suggest that we can travel into subtle imaginal worlds, deep subjectivity. You are invited to experiment with Jung’s ideas about our time as a Kairos that requires a new definition of reality/worldview, and what the implications might be for the practice of psychotherapy.
A) Required Pre-class Assignment Week #2: Imaginal Journal: Active Imagination Applied
Due Date: November 16th at 11:55 pm PST
Select an image from your imaginal journal and engage in the experience of active imagination. Allow the image to flow into your inner perception and uncover possibilities not yet conscious or formulated. Follow these 4 basic stages:
1. Empty your ego consciousness and free yourself from the thought flow of the ego.
2. Welcome the image arising from the unconscious into your inner perception.
3. Give the innerly perceived image form by writing it down, painting it, sculpting it, writing it
as music, or dancing it. Engage your body in the analysis and participate in this multi-
sensory experience.
4. Confront the material already produced in Week #1.
4.1) Ask questions to delve deeper into the imagery.
4.2) Engage in a dialectical interaction between the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche.
Jung referred to the figures encountered in active imagination as “personified emotions” and realized them in pictorial, symbolic form.
*Be prepared to share an excerpt from your own imaginal journal. I will not collect the journals.
B) Required Pre-Class Brief Reflection Assignment Week #2: Imaginal Journal: Active Imagination applied
• Due Date by November 15th at 11:55 pm PST
Please share your thoughts and experiences applying the 4 stages of Active Imagination on your own, before the class. Your reflections will contribute to valuable discussions and deepen our understanding of the topic. Please share your insights (2- 3 sentences) in the Discussion Forum. Thank you for your active participation!
If you choose to respond to your classmates’ postings, please do so in a supportive manner. Let’s create a safe space for their experiences and refrain from analyzing or critiquing them. Remember to honor the temenos in the process of active imagination.
Please be prepared to share an excerpt from your imaginal journal in class. The journals will not be collected.
In class Exercise WEEK #2:
Follow the instructions given in the class to complete the exercise.
Be prepared to share an excerpt from your own “Red Book” (it may be a dream, a drawing, an active imagination, or a meditation on aspects of the course material) that has made a particular impression and that relates to the content and spirit of the class. I will not collect the journals.
Assignment:
Final Assignment – Process Paper:
Due Date December 1, 2023, by 11:55pm PST.
Instructions
Please submit a 2-3 page, single-spaced typed process paper on Sakai. This paper should include the following elements:
1. Responses to the required readings: Reflect on the assigned readings and incorporate your thoughts and insights into your paper.
2. Questions for further reflection: Pose questions that encourage deeper exploration of the topic and attempt to answer them within your paper.
3. Points of disagreement: Identify areas of disagreement with the readings or other sources, providing reasons for your differing perspective.
4. Leading edge reflections: Share any additional innovative or cutting-edge thoughts and reflections related to the topic.
You may also include relevant images to support your analysis and enhance the visual presentation of your work.
Please ensure that your process paper is submitted to the Sakai platform by the end of the day on September 11. This assignment aligns with Course Learning Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Required Readings and Videos for 11/3:
Jung, C. G., & Chodorow, J. (1997). Jung on active imagination (Ser. Encountering Jung). Princeton University Press. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
Franz, M.-L. von. (1998). C.G. Jung: His Myth in Our Time. Inner City Books. Page 111 begins a discussion of active imagination – that continues through around p. 119.
von Franz, M-L. (2001). Jung: His myth in our time. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books. Chapter XII, Breakthrough to the Unus Mundus. (pp. 235-252).
Film Digifish. (2017). Video. What is Depth Psychology. How does depth psychology differ from other forms of psychological theory and practice? And, how can depth psychology recover a sense of purpose, greater dignity of soul, and revitalized personal authority?
Films Media Group. (2012). Video Carl Gustav Jung: an introduction. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
Optional Background Readings and Videos for 11/3:
Jung, C. G. (1963). Memories, dreams, reflections. Crown Publishing Group/Random House. (Chapter 5).
Jung, C. G. (2009). The red book: Liber Novus.
ISBN 10: 0877738793 ISBN 13: 9780877738794, Psychotherapy, Marie-Louise Von Franz, Publisher: Shambhala, 1993. Chapter: Active Imagination in Psychology of C.G. Jung (p.146- 162)
ISBN 10: 0877738793 ISBN 13: 9780877738794, Psychotherapy, Marie-Louise von Franz, Publisher: Shambhala, 1993. Chapter: On Active Imagination (p.163-176)
Nadia Khalil Thalji & Oksana Yakushko (2017) Indigenous Women of the Amazon Forest: The Woman Shaman of the Yawanawa Tribe, Women & Therapy, 41:1-2, 131-148.
Psychotherapy.net. (2010). Video James Hillman on archetypal psychotherapy. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
I. Other Resources:
A.R.A.S: The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism. www.aras.org Boa, F. (Director). (1980). The way of the dream. New York, NY: Kino Video.
Psychological Perspectives Journal of Analytical Psychology.
Overall Assignments:
• Engage in a significantly self-directed course of reading, based on Required and Optional Background Readings, Videos, and other Resources provided.
• Complete pre-class assignments, including creating a personal “Red Book” journal 1-2 days before the start of class, with at least one entry before each course meeting.
• Participate in two days of course instruction, actively engaging in class discussions, exercises, and sharing an entry of your choice from your “Red Book” journal.
• Submit pre-class reflections on the assigned topics and actively participate in the discussion forum.
• Complete a 2-3 page final assignment, a single-spaced typed process paper, and upload it to Sakai.
Note:
University expects all students to complete assignments in accordance with the Honesty Policy published in the Student Handbook. Plagiarism from any source (i.e.; book, internet, fellow student, newspaper, etc.) is a serious breach of academic honesty, subject to dismissal from University. It is assumed that students will do separate written work for each course. If you wish to use similar material for different courses, you must first obtain explicit permission from your instructors.