Assisi Institute The International Center For The Study Of Archetypal Patterns Presents: Exile and Homecoming A Series of Three Speakers
The Liminal World of Exile: An Archetypal Developmental Study Silvia Behrend Argentina / USA Thursday, September 24th 8:00-9:30pm EDT
This introduction to the archetypal field of exile will examine the various lenses through which exile can be understood as a liminal place of possible transformation. We will explore the developmental and generative aspects of exile as a means of coming to consciousness as well as the consequences of being exiled from one’s one native land. Regardless of the ways exile is constellated, through suffering and separation, there is a ontological and purposive dimension to exile that will lead us through to homecoming.
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Silvia Behrend, D. Min., M. Div. is a Certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst, mentor and educator in private practice in Olympia, Washington. Her 25 years of ministerial work focused on using the transformational power of art in secular and religious institutions based on subject-centered pedagogy, depth psychology, and a theology of relationship and creativity. Teaching and developing doctoral-level classes, being a parish leader, and developing programs to bridge cultural, sociological, political, and interfaith communities demonstrated the transformational power of art for individuals and community.
Silvia has brought this creative, sociological and ministerial experience to the work of the Assisi Institute. She has presented webinars and lectures in English and in Spanish in Australia, Colombia, Russia and Spain. As a clinical leader, Silvia has co-developed and co-implemented programs and retreats for the Assisi Institute. As senior faculty, she hosts national and international webinars on many subjects; dream pattern analysis, the field of leadership, psychological development, the creative, unconscious communication, voice of psyche and others. Most recently, she has actively participated in expanding programming in Latin America, serving as translator and administrator of the Voz de la Psique certificate program.
Silvia grandparents, gardens, dances, and spends time in her glass studio.
Exile and Homecoming in Homer's Odyssey: A Story About War, Its Aftermath and Homecoming Bonnie Damron USA Tuesday, October 13th 8:00-9:30pm EDT Homer’s Odyssey begins with these words, "Speak Memory...Tell me, Muse, of Polytropos, the man of many turns and many ways, that many-minded man...struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions...longing for his wife and his home.” For Homer, Odysseus is polytropos—that man of many turns. Home is Ithaka, and his wife is Queen Penelope. Without her, there is no Ithaka, no home, and no homecoming.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are founding stories, which have informed, our Western cultural heritage for over 2,800 years. The Iliad is the first story to confront us with the details of the field of battle, its heroes, victims, glories, crushing horrors, and its pitiful endings. The Odyssey is a story about a family torn by war. Itis the first story to confront us with fundamental questions about the devastating costs of war for individuals, and about those psycho-spiritual wounds we call post-traumatic stress, from which men, women, and families, suffer as a direct consequence of war and its aftermath. For a man like Odysseus, what does it take to heal his wounds, visible and invisible, after spending ten years at war, far away from his home, wife, son, and his people? Then comes another ten years of many trials in the netherworld before reaching his homeland once more. Upon his return, can a man like Odysseus ever become whole, able to embrace a woman fully, lovingly, and as an equal? Can he ever open himself to his sons and daughters, and teach them how to live fulfilling lives, as a father ought? What powerful medicine holds the potential to heal the soul of a warrior be he king, or an “ordinary guy”? Help comes one way, and one way only—through the auspices of womanhood, both mortal and divine. With the help of Odysseus, Penelope, Homer, Athene, and other gods, we will enter the deeper meaning of the dark night, the nekyia, the night sea-journey, and the journey home.
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Dr. Bonnie L. Damron is a psychotherapist, ethnographer, storyteller, and Archetypal Pattern Analyst in private practice in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan area. During her thirty-five years in practice, she has conducted seminars on archetypal motifs in fairy tales, myths, the arts, and the writings of C. G. Jung. She also leads study tours to Crete and the Greek mainland. Dr. Damron holds a Masters of Social Work degree from Catholic University, a Doctoral Degree in American Culture Studies from the University of Maryland, and a Certificate as an Archetypal Pattern Analyst from the Assisi Institute for Archetypal Studies.
The Archetype of the Expat: The call, the choice, the journey, and the yearning for Temenos. An exploration of this unique experience through the lens of archetypal and psychodynamic theory.
Tiffany Gordon South Africa / The Netherlands Tuesday, October 27th 8:00-9:30pm EDT
It often starts with a call. A yearning, a desire for more, a quest for exploration and possibility. This can be for a better job, a better life, a better work life balance, better weather, more culture, sometimes just something new. It can be for one’s self, for ones family, for love, or often for money. This call at some point gets converted into the choice to leave ones home for some place new. Hardly a new story, the journey of leaving ones home, is all of our stories too. Beginning in the birth and leaving of our first home, the womb, to Genesis, the garden of Eden, Jews being forced out of Slavery in Egypt and walking the desert for 40 years, the story of migration is indeed all of our stories. What I will be exploring here through an archetypal lens is the archetype of the expatriate, the expat. How is this unique? How is this at times overlapping with exile? Though utilizing clinical cases, how can this be explored through the hero's journey and what elicits a generative and non generative trajectory.
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Tiffany Gordonis a Clinical Psychologist and Archetypal Pattern Analyst (in training). She is currently based in Amsterdam where she runs a private psychotherapy practice specialising in Expats. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa, a country that is now defined by its diversity as well as its ability to change. Growing up and breathing in the culture of change allowed her to witness and experience first hand the challenges, bravery, pain, joy, and meaningful growth that transition and change can bring. It is this curiosity, respect for our uniqueness as individuals, and appreciation for self-reflection that she tries to bring into her work. Her path to becoming a Clinical Psychologist, much like many journeys in life, was not linear, and her work in community-based settings, hospitals, sustainable development, and teaching, contributed and very much influenced her desire to work therapeutically and assist in uncovering the potential we all possess. Her willingness to explore has taken her across the globe and she has spent several years as an expat, living in London, Japan, and now Amsterdam. Tiffany runs both a private and group practice in Amsterdam serving the local and international community. She is also the in-house psychologist for International gaming company, Guerrilla Games, where she provides support for the employees.