The Musical Working of the Stone

About this image – BJ Jakala

The hammer and chisel create percussive sounds as this man (and a small group around him) work on the restoration project. From a distance it sounds like music as they etch the stones. This long and tedious task reminded me of how much work it takes to change or restore that which has been worn by time within me.

Like this project, I can reveal my inner layers, my deeper self, if I use determination, focus, and love of the artistry to be more of who I am. I can use each moment as an opportunity remove that which covers the inner sculpture of my real self. It will take time, effort, and support. It is the job of a lifetime. Like this man, love what I do and do it all day long. There can be pleasure and satisfaction

About this image – Ashok Bedi

Soul work is the Magnum Opus of the life time. We are given the stone slab of our potential by the universe. Then we are invited to chisel away via our choices in this life to sculpt what we may. The stone is the gift of the universe. The image we create out of it is our free will. It is a dance between the collective and our personal choices that choreographs our unique life narrative. What we then leave behind is our gift or debt to the collective. We have to retire our karmic balance sheet in this and subsequent reincarnations.

JUNGIAN ENCOUNTER WITH THE SOUL OF INDIAʼS HEARTLAND

Sponsored by the C.G. Jung Foundation of New York; Guest Faculty – Ashok Bedi M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

January 31 to February 11, 2016

Ashok Bedi, M.D. & B.J. Jakala, PH.D.

This is the 11th study tour of India to explore the archetypal soul of India from a Jungian, Analytical lens. 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. B.J. is the blog photographer and will display a photograph of the day and share personal reflections. Ashok Bedi will amplify the image with an archetypal lens. Share your brief reflections on our blog comment section.

Ashok Bedi, M.D. is a 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, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and a training analyst at the Carl G. Jung Institute of Chicago. He is in private practice in Milwaukee and is the author of several books which may be previewed at his website www.pathtothesoul.com. He is the liaison for the IAAP for developing Jungian training programs in India and travels annually to India to teach, train the consult with the Jungian Developing groups at several centers in India including Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Robert “BJ” Jakala, PhD is a depth psychotherapist in private practice for twenty-eight years. He is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpentaria, CA. He is also licensed as a Registered Nurse and has worked at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital for thirty-three years. He has taught Stress Management to the Nurse Residents at the UCLA Ronald Regan Medical Center for the last ten years. He may be reached at his website www.secretologist.com