Conversations with Master Seekers Series
Psyche's Poetry
An extraordinary
weekend exploration
with David Miller
into the relationship between
poetry and depth psychology.
May 16 - 18
The Dent House
Ojai, California
Psyche's Poetry Overview
This weekend is the first in our new series, Conversations with Master Seekers. It will be an intimate look, with a maximum of 24 participants, into the entwined embrace of psyche and poetry, led by the incomparable David Miller. This event is appropriate for both poets and lovers of poetry! We have found an extroardinary place to land, on almost 600 acres surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest, in an elegant cluster of Craftsman era buildings. It is nothing short of superb! Please read on for more specific information about the weekend and how to register. As always, don't hesitate to email us at learn(at)imaginalinstitute.com if you have any questions! We hope to see you there.
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Weekend Schedule
Friday, May 16
5 pm: Registration opens
6 pm: Wine and cheese reception
7 pm: Only a Poet! Presentation
9 pm: More wine, more cheese, poetic revelry
Only a Poet!
On May 5, 1959, two years before his death, Jung, when he was 84 years old, said to Miguel Serrano, Chilean writer and diplomat: “Nobody understands what I mean, only a poet could begin to understand” This presentation will try to explore what Jung could possibly have meant by saying that only a poet can understand depth psychology.
Saturday, May 17
8 am : Continental breakfast
9 am: Image, Metaphor and Soul seminar part 1
Noon: Lunch
1 pm: Image, Metaphor and Soul seminar part 2
5 pm: Free hour to explore our gorgeous setting or enjoy poetic reverie
6 pm: Dinner
7 pm: Post prandial savoring of ideas and cavorting
Image, Metaphor and Soul
An exploration in seminar format of the current raging debate over image and metaphor in Jungian psychology, current depth psychology, as well as the precursors of the debate in German Expressionism, Italian Futurism, and French nouveau roman. What is this business over the simultaneous hatred of image and metaphor and love of image and metaphor?
Sunday, May 18
8 am : Continental breakfast
9 am: Poetry's Psyche discussion
Noon: Lunch and farewells
Poetry's Psyche
Reading and discussion of poetry for its radical psychological dimensions. Examples will be drawn from Rainer Maria Rilke, Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens, Maya Angelou, Theodore Roethke, May Swenson, Delmore Schwartz, Sharon Olds, John Ashberry, Denise Levertov, A. R. Ammons, Siv Cedering, Charles Simic, Emily Dickinson, Billy Collins, Edith Sitwell, and others.
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About David Miller
David L. Miller, Ph.D., an Imaginal Institute Founding Fellow, is the Watson-Ledden Professor of Religion, Emeritus, at Syracuse University, a retired core faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, and a Founding Fellow of the Imaginal Institute. Since 1963, David has worked at the intersections of religions and mythologies, literature and literary theory, and depth psychology. A multi-award winning teacher, David has shared his brilliance and humor with learners ranging from undergraduate students to professional psychologists as a teacher and guest speaker throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. From 1975 until 1988 he was a member of the Eranos Circle in Switzerland and he lectured at the Eranos Conference nine times during that period.
For more information about David, please visit his Imaginal Institute Fellow's Page here.
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Where We're Gathering
We’ll be staying at the Dent House, an exquisite estate located within the private and historically significant 560-acre Matilija Canyon Ranch & Wildlife Refuge. Surrounded by three million acres of the Los Padres National Forest, it is set against the magnificent transverse Santa Ynez Mountains just outside Ojai, California.
At 1500-foot elevation, the property, crossed by three perennial trout streams, offers glorious mountain air, a sense of true isolation, and the feel and look of a 19th century ranch brought lovingly into the 21st century. The land varies from cactus and yucca growing on the south facing slopes to clearings enclosed by Oak and Sycamore trees. There are lush fern dells to discover, cascading down from sunny plateaus to hidden swimming holes, edged by graceful willows, cottonwoods, and cattails. This was a spiritually revered place used by the ancient Chumash as a retreat. That sense of peace and remove from the chaos and noise of everyday life still affects today’s visitor as strongly as it did centuries ago.
For some gorgeous pictures of the Dent House and the surrounding ranch, please click here.
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Registration Information
Program Registration Fees:
$365 if staying on site
$385 if staying off site
This fee includes all programming and meals for the weekend. Before you download a registration form, please take a look at our lodging arrangements:
Lodging
One of the very special aspects of this gathering is our location at the Dent House. There are a total of ten rooms available, ranging in price and size, which will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. These will go fast, so please check out rooms and availablity on the link below and get back to us as soon as you can with your preferences. While we will allow folks to attend while not staying on site, because our numbers are so limited and the site is so tucked away, we would love it if you chose to stay with us.
*Note: ALL room reservations need to go through us at the Imaginal Institute, not through the Dent House management.
Find out how to reserve a room here!
Note! As of April 15, all of the rooms are now reserved, but we still have space for daytime attendees.
Click here if you'd like some other lodging suggestions.
To Register
Download Psyche's Poetry Registration Form Here.
