Redreaming a World in Crisis: Soul, Science and Imagination at the Edge of the Abyss

“We can only make a future from the depth of the truth we face now.”

–Ben Okri

Perhaps never before has the world been engulfed in such a trifecta of crises: the pandemic crisis, the climate crisis, and the ongoing mental health crisis have converged on this moment in history. In a recent article in The Guardian, award-winning author, Ben Okri, writes:

“…we are on the edges of the biggest crisis that has ever faced us. We need a new philosophy for these times, for this near-terminal moment in the history of the human.” Okri goes on to propose something he calls, “existential creativity.”

With this idea of existential creativity in mind, Pacifica Online is pleased to present The 2022 Sophia Talks: Redreaming A World in Crisis Featuring presentations from internationally recognized academics, analysts, and authors, the focus of this series will be to highlight new perspectives that offer relevant and related insights on the crises we are collectively facing, from the worlds of psychoanalytic psychology, archetypal psychology, art, and activism.

We invite you to join us for this Sunday Series of thought-provoking and culturally relevant conversations. Each presentation will be followed by a Q & A discussion with attendees.

Sessions:

Reconsidering Individuation in the 21^st Century: When Archetypal Patterns Shift

Joseph Cambray, Ph.D.

Over the past several years the upheavals and accelerating changes associated with the pandemic have impacted us all. From a depth perspective, the disruptions and uncertainties at societal and global scales point to a shift or transformation in the archetypal patterns emerging in the collective unconscious, while manifesting in our individual lives. The figure of the hero, as the basis of ego identity, is declining while appreciation of interconnectedness sustaining the psyche has become more evident. How can we best find our way through these times? An archetypal systems approach will be offered from which we can explore a reimagining of Jung’s notion of individuation.