Journey to the Land of Shiva through the Jungian Lens: January 9-22, 2015

Ashok Bedi, M.D.

B.J. Jakala, PH.D.

From January 9-22 2015, a group of soul seekers will travel in India to experience the land of Shiva 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!

Shiva (portrait) by ChristasVengel on DeviantArt

christasvengel.deviantart.com

By B.J.Jakala

This amazing temple is dedicated to Sundareshvara (Shiva) and his consort Meenakshi (Parvati).

There are four main towers, each constructed on a base of granite as the foundation for the stucco figures of deities, and semi-divine entities painted in vivid colors. There are 3,646 figures on these outer tower landmarks. Inside the temples are carved granite pillars that provide the base structure as well as artistic representations of Hinduism. The complex gives new dimensions to the word “spectacular.” It is hard to imagine the amount of labor it took to construct such a site. The towers are maintained by repainting every twelve years.

When I walked inside the temples, I found a deeper place inside me: My own inner sancto sanctorum; a place of peace and a feeling of velvet stillness. It is that place where there is nothing to be done. There is no desire to be more or less than I am. I can just be in the life of a breath as it fills and empties so naturally that I no longer notice it happening. It is an inner destination I cherish

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

Reflections by Ashok Bedi, M.D.

Mostly, we are caught in the clutter of the outer life and managing, surviving, existing. However, to thrive and live out our real life program and purpose, we need to be informed by the Form Within. This In(ner) Form is our Soul’s program. When we live out of the soul, we fulfill our spiritual destiny, our teleos, our Dharma. To engage the Soul, we need to Step into the Soul on a regular basis. Most religions prescribe sacramental rituals to help us Step into our Soul via prayer, reflection and rituals. We may establish our own inner temple by creating sacred space for incubitas of our ego into our depths via time for personal reflection, silence, studio time, journaling, dream work, active imagination and engaging our soul via drawing mandalas. The South Indians have a tradition of drawing a mandala or Kolam at the threshold of each home every morning. This is usually done by the wife on behalf of the family to center into the soul space to deal with the imbalance, crisis or issues of the moment. I invite you all to construct and enter your own inner temple daily to meet with your soul and its connection with the primal spirit: a union of the Atman (Soul) with the Brahman (Holy Spirit). This yoking of the personal consciousness with the timeless flow of the collective consciousness is the meaning of the Sanskrit word Yoga.

Join us often to share in our experiences and images as we engage the Mystery of Shiva in India with our Jungian peers.

NAMASTE

DR. ASHOK BEDI, MD

He is a Jungian psychoanalyst and a board certified psychiatrist who 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 is also Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, serves as president of the Carl G. Jung Institute of Chicago, and is in private practice in Milwaukee (www.tulawellnessllc.com)

In addition, Dr. Bedi is the liaison for the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP) for developing Jungian training programs in India, where he travels annually to teach, train, and consult with the Jungian Developing groups at several centers including those in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Bangalore. He leads the annual “A Jungian Encounter with the Soul of India” study group to several centers in 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

Ashok Bedi’s fourth book, Crossing the Healing Zone: From Illness to Wellness, was published earlier this year by Ibis Press, a division of Nicolas-Hays, Inc. His previous books are Awaken the Slumbering Goddess: The Latent Code of the Hindu Goddess Archetypes (BookSurge, 2007), Retire Your Family Karma: Decode Your Family Pattern and Find Your Soul Path (Nicolas-Hays, Inc., 2003), and Path to the Soul (Samuel Weiser, Inc., 2000).

For more information, please see Dr. Bedi’s website, www.pathtothesoul.com

Robert “BJ” Jakala, PhD

Graduated from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2007 with a degree in Depth Psychology. He has been in private practice as a Marriage Family Therapist in Woodland Hills CA since 1987. He has taught courses on stress management and self-replenishment for health care professionals for over ten years at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. This is his fifth trip to India with Mindful Journeys with Dr. Bedi.

To Support the Charitable Activities of the USA – India Jung Foundation, kindly visit our website – www.uijf.org and click under the DONATE link to make your Tax Deductible Contribution via check or PayPal

Thank you

Ashok Bedi, M.D.