BOOK 1: ‘ANSWER TO JOB’ by C. G. Jung
April – December, 2011
Through readings and discussion, we will explore the nature of evil from the Christian and dualistic perspective. CG Jung wrote Answer to Job, a remarkable book of 108 pages, written when he was 77 years old. He implored us to re-envision evil and to begin by first understanding its nature. While we have the power to destroy more than any other time in our history, will we resist the impulse to wield that power? Our inquiry will explore the intrinsic nature of our own psychology and its struggle with attaining and maintaining higher morals.
BOOK 2: ‘ARCHETYPE OF THE APOCALYPSE’ by Edward Edinger
January – September, 2012
We will reflect on the collective unconscious using as our guide Edward Edinger’s classic interpretation of the Revelations of St. John the Divine. Edinger and Jung agree that St. John’s vision did not arise out of a psychosis, but was a divine revelation; the content of which contains critical information to guide us in contemporary times.
In Archetype of the Apocalypse, Edinger examines the psychological underpinnings in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament and arrives at a profound interpretation of the disorder of our current epoch. He writes: “Terrorism is a manifestation of the psyche. It is time we recognized the psyche as an autonomous factor in world affairs… [Terrorists] are not criminals and are not madmen although they have some qualities of both. Let’s call them zealots. Zealots are possessed by the transpersonal, archetypal dynamisms deriving from the collective unconscious.” (From a letter made available to the editor in 1995.)
The sequence of apocalyptic events depicted in the Book of Revelation appears to be at hand. We will chart how St. John’s vision portrays events necessary to bring about transformation rather than cataclysm. The events playing out in real time may not be of our conscious choosing, but are an expression of our unconscious, which is changing.
BOOK 3: ‘Freedom from the Known’ by J. Krishnamurti
October – December, 2012
The collective unconscious will be focused on the Judeo/Christian/Islamic idea of the “End of Days”, the ending of the Mayan Calendar and the next US presidential election. We have the privilege to witness our planet grapple with the archetype of the apocalypse. This time requires us to be psychologically informed and calm. For that grounding in a time of great tumult, we will turn to Krishnamurti’s critique of people’s battle for existence and self-transformation. It is still the ethos of the group to not draw any final conclusions. Rather, as our understandings accrue, it is better to let the questions remain open and available for ongoing perusal.
In Freedom from the Known, J. Krishnamurti discusses how people can free themselves radically and immediately from the tyranny of the expected no matter what their age. By first changing themselves, people can change the whole structure of society and their relationships. The vital need for change and the recognition of its possibility constitute the rich essence of his writing. Major themes include: awareness, man’s search and the tortured mind, fragmentation of thought, the ending of fear, violence, anger, and hypocrisy. He also writes about love, art, beauty, relationships and the religious mind. This densely packed, 134-page book provides guidance to readers who want to climb to a higher moral level. Krishnamurti advises without advocating a cultural, religious or political point of view.