Once Upon A Time:
Exploring Your Story
Through Image and Symbol
with Karen L. Nelson and Cheryl Turner
Often the hands will solve a mystery
that the intellect has struggled with in vain. –Carl Jung
January is the perfect time to consider beginnings; many of us review, make resolutions and think about changes. In this workshop we will ponder the idea of story as informed by Carl Jung’s wisdom, “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves”. For many of us, Jung’s concepts provide light for the journey.
This workshop offers your hands and your heart the opportunity to sit quietly with some of the simple and yet profound gifts offered by Jung. We will offer space for consideration of the stories within you that seek expression. Knowing our own stories is a cornerstone for understanding ones’ self.
We hope “Once Upon A Time” will invite you into expressive, contemplative play. You will be guided through a process of selecting, tearing, cutting, combining and shaping images as a way to reveal parts of your unfolding story. This activity opens the door for discovery and often surprising outcomes. Just as images present themselves to us in our dreams, this process is one in which images are gathered together and inform us of aspects of ourselves and how we tell our life story…much like dreams do. Our stories may offer opportunities for conscious integration of our inner world, both known and disowned.
We will weave together Jungian concepts with this collage activity to create a tapestry of questions, answers, and an understanding of your own story-making, and story-telling process. We will discuss safe ways to tell our story and hear the story of another. We may also find that we have created community with one another as we share what emerges in this time together.
All materials will be provided; no special skills are required. You may wish to bring a pair of small, sharp scissors. You will leave this event with one or two collages, which may continue to speak to you in the ineffable language of images.
January 20, 2018
9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Location:
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
33 W. Dixon, Dayton 45419
Karen L. Nelson LPCC-S/CEAP is a counselor in private practice, serving individuals and couples in Dayton, OH. She graduated from Ohio University and Wright State University.
Cheryl Turner MA, LSW is retired from Montgomery County Children Services and Dayton Lifeworks, Inc. She graduated from Miami University and Antioch University.
Karen and Cheryl are both board members of the C.G. Jung Association of the Miami Valley and both are certified SoulCollage® facilitators.