dream workshop at Yuri's Village on 23 November

I would like to invite you to my next workshop on dreams, which will be held in a free weekend event on November 22-23 called Health, Food, Creativity at Yuri's Village/LucSculpture.

 

Dreams are considered to be a message from the unconscious, which provides a picture of ourselves from a different angle.  In the workshop a short dream will be presented.  Let us explore together how our inner situation could manifest in our dreams.

This workshop will be given in English.
 

 

Title:       Exploring your dreams from a Jungian perspective

Date:       Sunday, November 23rd, 11:30am-12:30pm

Place:      Yuri's Village
                Third Floor, 663 Greenwood Ave, Toronto, ON, M4J 4B3

Fee:         Free

 

For more information, please visit the website: https://sites.google.com/site/healthfoodcreativity/

 

 

 

film workshop at Yuri's Village on 25 September

Please come to Mée's film workshop at Yuri's Village!

It is a workshop to consider a segment from a film, New York, I Love You (2009) from a psychological point of view.  The segment will be shown at the beginning of the workshop.

 

With a close look at the story it will be examined what psychological process of an individual might be displayed in a seemingly ordinary situation.

This workshop will be given in English.

 

Title:   Movie Night with Jungian Psychology

 

Date:  Thursday, September 25th, 6：00～7：30pm

 

Place: Yuri's Village

           Third Floor, 663 Greenwood Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4J 4B3

 

Fee:    $15

 

For more information: http://yurisvillage.com/events/wednesday-healing-circle/

 

 

an "ish-ful" life

When starting thinking what must be done and how it should be done, we tend to forget what we want to do or how we feel about the situation.  It often happens especially when we are trying to be adequate in a given situation.  On the other hand if we care too much about “shoulds” and “musts,” we are in danger of losing a connection to what we are thinking and feeling inside.

It cannot be denied that there are times when we have to do certain things in a certain manner regardless of our personal concerns and situations.  It does not mean, however, that our neglected inner flow has vanished magically.  It is there even if we decide to ignore it.
Then how can we acknowledge it and honour it?
I would like to explore this question, along with a picture book by P. H. Reynolds, Ish.


Ramon was a boy who loved drawing.
One day his brother laughed at his drawing.  Ramon was hurt and started trying to make his drawings look “right” but in vain.  He finally came to the conclusion that he was done.
Then he found that his sister made her room a gallery with his discarded drawings.  She said she liked his drawings because they look their model-“ish.”  That gave Ramon a whole new perspective on his drawings.
He began to draw again, and enjoyed expressing things in an “ish” way.  He discovered that he could even draw “feeling-ish” drawings and write “poem-ish” poems.  When he was experiencing something so wonderful which he could not capture in his “ish” drawing or “ish” poem, he appreciated the freedom not to capture the experience in a concrete way.  He lived an “ish-ful” life from then on.


When Ramon’s brother laughs at Ramon’s drawing, his brother does not clarify what is wrong with the drawing.  Ramon is hurt, however, and he is haunted by his brother’s laughter.  His brother’s laughter irritates him probably because it stimulates his sense of inferiority; Ramon feels angry, sad and embarrassed.  Then he starts struggling to get his drawing “right” but the love he used to feel for his drawing seems to be gone in his striving for perfection.

It is true that we sometimes require some kind of standards for certain things or occasions to make a judgement or evaluation that is appropriate in a given situation.  We have to be careful to note, however, that such social standards are not absolute or static regardless of the contexts.  Especially when considering the personal matters, those standards often do not work.  What is “right” or “correct” for one person cannot be easily applied to another person because they are different individuals.
Nevertheless so-called social standards are powerful to bind us in many ways.  We are easily haunted by them and tend to forget what is natural and unique for us as an individual.

Ramon’s desperate attempt to make his drawings look “right” deprives of all his natural pleasure of drawing.  Moreover he almost gives up drawing.  His natural and personal connection to drawing seems to diminish as he tries so hard to be “perfect” as an artist.

When Ramon’s sister suggests that his drawings look something-ish, however, Ramon’s whole attitude transforms.  The “ish-ful” perspective changes his whole life.  What has transformed in his attitude?

His sister's comment on his drawings makes him realise what is “right” for him is not restricted to what looks “right” for others.  This discovery transforms his relationship to drawing.  He finds that his drawing can express not only what he sees but also what he feels.  Consequently he is open to other means of expression in addition to drawing.  Then his relationship to the world changes; he appreciates his spontaneous experience of the world.  He knows that he is free to express his experience in various ways or not to express it at all.  In other words he is in harmony with the world within and without.  His newly acquired attitude is what is referred to as being “ish-ful.”

Being “ish-ful” allows us to be ambiguous and playful.  It enables us to bring our own inner flow to our life outside.  In other words, it gives us more space to be truthful to ourselves, because what we do or what we feel tends to fall somewhere between two extremes such as black and white.  It also helps us escape when we are trapped by "shoulds" and "musts."

Ramon is freer to express or not express what he sees and feels.  When he honours the world within and without, he does not have to be active all the time; he can be passive, too, and just enjoy what is there and where he is.

I think Ramon’s story is touching because he struggles to live with his truth, which might be “not right” to others but makes his life meaningful to him.  His journey seems to indicate a possible direction how to live a spontaneous and well-balanced, “ish-ful” life, where we appreciate to be ourselves.


 

 

 (* This article is published in Personal-Development.Com Newsletter issued on 31 July 2014.  Thank you!)

film seminar at JCCC on 15 June

Please come to Mée's film seminar on Sunday 15 June, 2014 in Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre !

Mée will give a film seminar on a Japanese film, Girl in the Sunny Place (2013), starring Jun Matsumoto and Juri Ueno.  The story will be considered in terms of Jungian psychology and dream analysis, which will give interesting insights about our dreams and psychological well-being.

The seminar will be offered in Japanese.


Title:   Dreaming of the Girl in the Sunny Place
           -An analysis from a psychological perspective-

Date:  Sunday, 15 June, 2014, starting at 4:30pm

Place: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC)
            6 Garamond Court, Toronto, ON, M3C 1Z5

Fee:   Free *

         * Seminar participants must have a ticket for the movie, Girl in the Sunny Place,
            which will be shown on the same day at 2:00pm in JCCC.
            Prior booking is required.  (Seats are limited.)

Please contact 416-441-2345 (JCCC reception) for booking.