Katharine Downing Myers (1926-2020) co-guardian of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, surrounded by the participants of the second retreat devoted to the Red Book and Answer to Job, in 2014. From left to right, back row to front: John Smith, Chris Iosso, Paula Spizziri, Angelo Spoto, Cindy Paris, Natalie Shelpuk, Claire Hayman, Cash Keahey, Nan Zimmer , Laura Genovese, Mollie Allen, Sister Nancy Frommelt, Kathy Myers, Charlene Chandler, Diane Miller, Danielle Poirier, Lorretta Symons, Michael Connelly.
jung discovery group's history
The Jung Discovery Group was born of a particular initiative that grew with the years.
Since 1997, a modest group of sixteen to twenty people from different walks of life and practicing in a variety of fields gather once a year to study a particular aspect of Jung’s work.
Our retreats are designed to explore the process of individuation as we seek to understand healing and wholeness. Since, as Jung suggests, one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious, we concentrate on unconscious material, for when the individual work is done, 'all the world becomes our brothers and sisters'.
Our workshops' ultimate goal is to raise our own consciousness and that of the world, such that a critical human mass may help incline humankind toward light.
Our history
In 1995, Angelo Spoto's APTi keynote address titled “What would Jung Say about the MBTI and Does it Matter?" sparked an interest in the association for Jung's broader work and the field of depth psychology. The message was to invest our energies into 'reattaching the limb back onto the tree', meaning to reconnect Type and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator back to Jung's deeper work. Type was but the first step. Kathy Myers (co-guardian of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) felt compelled to do just that and initiated the idea of Angelo leading a retreat for practitioners.
In 1997, long time MBTI practitioners and APT leaders were invited to a first seminar titled The Shadow Weekend, led by Angelo. Over the last twenty years topics have covered a broad range of interests: Active Imagination, Jung and Eastern Thought, Psychological Types, The Red Book, The Problem of Evil, Individuation, The Shadow, Jung and Creativity, etc.
When Kathy, the instigator of these retreats, stopped attending the retreats due to her failing health, Angelo decided to offer seminars every two years instead of yearly. In 2018, the group was steeped in The Grail Legend whilst taking in Glastonbury, the Chalice Well, Thor and the land of King Arthur in the United Kingdom.
On alternating years, we have chosen different experts to lead us to reflect and grow. Our first guest speaker was Dr David Miller, author of "Christs: Meditations on Archetypal Images in Christian Theology", friend of James Hillman and Joseph Campbell. He addressed the question of "Archetypal Psychology: James Hillman and Jung's Second Wave". We've also held our very own Tavistock lecture weekend, where authors Roger Pearman, Katherine Hirsh and Danielle Poirier presented their work. The idea of formalizing the group with a name came that year, with Roger joining our committee.
Our groups are small, informal and typically restricted to fewer than 20 people. There are perhaps a dozen people who are regulars, and help to establish the intimate setting, the in depth conversations and the camaraderie that is shared over meals, morning or evening walks on the beach, and evenings with wine and shared laughter. We love our newcomers, so no need to be a stranger.
If this kind of retreat is calling you, this is your invitation to join us.