Ashok Bedi , M.D.

B.J. Jakala, PH.D.

From February 7th through 18th, a group of soul seekers will travel in India to experience the land of Mahatma Gandhi through Jungian lens of Analytical Psychology. This experience is sponsored by the New York Jung Foundation. For the next several days, the faculty member of the group, Jungian Analyst Ashok Bedi and a Depth Psychotherapist Dr. Robert J. Jakala will compose a daily blog of their reflections about the experience. Other group participants have been invited to contribute to the blog and may join us from time to time. We are glad to share our experiences and reflections. Enjoy!

 
 


 
 

By B.J.Jakala

Dungarpur

 


 

The painting tells the story of a time when two enemies encounter their final battle. If you look closely at the lower part of it, you can see Dr. Bedi’s reflection as it was revealed by the glass. He recited the poem/story in his native language and I took this photograph. The story was told to my eyes and ears, both benefiting from history’s reflective lessons.

 

There are times in life when what we experience a merge of history and the present. Echoes of the past whisper the meaning, if we listen closely.

 

This was truly a magical moment in this Jungian Encounter with India.

BJ Jakala, PhD is a participant in this year’s Journey to the Land of Gandhi through the Jungians Lens led by Dr. Bedi.

 Reflections by Ashok Bedi

The archetypes from the mist of times past whispers to us via the symbols of our soul. We get the prescriptions of the soul’s guidance in synchronistic and mysterious ways. Sometimes it is via a chance encounter with a stranger who relays the messages from our angels. At other times, it is an adversary who mirrors to us our unconscious shadow. Occasionally, a medical or psychiatric symptom instructs us to reset our life direction. The most consistent voice of the gods whispers to us via our relationships, if stay reflective and open to our life and relationships as a living dream. Like a dream, imagination or creative productions, an examined life becomes an inner guide, aligning our outer, mundane, horizontal life with our deeper, vertical, sacred and spiritual dimension. While living daily life, if we stay open to our spiritual flow, it becomes a sacred cross: a symbol of wholeness.

This is the postscript blog to conclude our Jungian Journey to the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Both, Jung and Gandhi live a symbolic life. They offered us a prototype of a spiritually informed life, which leads to wholeness of the personality and attainment of the Higher good to benefit all. Jung called this the experience of the UNUS MUNDUS – the world soul.

NAMASTE


 

Ashok Bedi is a Diplomat Jungian psychoanalyst and a board certified psychiatrist. He is a member of the Royal College of psychiatrists of Great Britain, a Diplomat in Psychological Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of England, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

He has been a Psychiatrist in Milwaukee since 1976 and now practices Adult Psychotherapy and Jungian Psychoanalysis (www.tulawellnessllc.com).  He is a Honorary Psychiatrist at the Aurora Psychiatric Hospital and the Aurora Health Care Network. He has been a psychiatric consultant to several agencies in Metro Milwaukee. Presently he is the consultant for the Sexual Assault treatment center at the Aurora Sinai Samaritan Hospital, Dewey Center at the Aurora Psychiatric Hospital for treatment of Addictions and the Pastoral Counseling Services of Greater Milwaukee.

Trained in India, Great Britain and the US, he is interested in the emerging frontiers of Spirituality and Healing and the synapses of the Mind, Body, Soul and Spirit. He is author of several books including- Crossing the Healing Zone: From Illness to Wellness, Nicholas Hayes Inc. 2013, Path to the Soul, Weiser Books, 2000, Awaken the Slumbering Goddess: The Latent Code of the Hindu Goddess Archetypes, Booksurge Publishers, 2007, and the coauthor of Retire Your Family Karma, Nicholas-Hays, Inc. 2003, These and his other upcoming presentations can be previewed at his website www.pathtothesoul.com 

He is the liaison person for the International Association of the Analytical Psychologists for developing Jungian training programs in India (www.iaap.org). He travels annually to India to teach, train the consult with the Jungian Centers that he led in establishing at several cities in India including Ahmedabad, Mumbai & Bangalore. He leads the annual “A Jungian Encounter with the Soul of India” study group to India under the auspices of the New York Jung Foundation.

He is the Co-Founder of the USA India Jung Foundation (www.uijf.org). The USA India Jung Foundation promotes educational and clinical activities in India and USA based on the principals of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology and Eastern spiritual and healing wisdom and traditions. It fosters clinical, medical, and educational exchange between professionals of the United States and India. These activities include educational activities directed both to professional and lay organizations in both countries to promote mental health education and prevention activities based on principals of analytical psychology and Eastern Spirituality. To support this  A 501(c)(3) Foundation and its charitable activities, kindly make your tax deductible contribution via the website: www.uijf.org