Calgary Jung Society

History of the Calgary Jung Society
Laura Pylypow, 2005  

There is nothing more essentially Jungian than the concept of the Symbol.  A logo is, of course, not truly Symbolic in the sense that Jung used the term, but nonetheless our beautiful and distinctive “tree” graphic, designed by lifetime member Dirk Van Wyk, is an exquisitely appropriate choice to represent our Society, which has grown, taken root, and flourished during the past fourteen years.  One might think that a city like Calgary, with its transient population and extraverted, entrepreneurial mentality, would offer rather rocky soil for cultivating a Jungian community.  In fact, the opposite has been in the case; we have vibrantly and regularly blossomed.

The seed was sown at a weekend conference held in September 1991 at Nakoda Lodge on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains.  Entitled “The Symbolic Life:  A Jungian Symposium”, it brought to this natural setting three distinguished Zurich-based analysts:  Kathrin Asper, Ian Baker, and Toni Frey.  Among the receptive audience of Calgarians who were interested in Jung’s analytical psychology, discussion arose that germinated at an organizational meeting in November, 1991, at which the budding Society’s first executive committee was named.  A consensus emerged about the new Society’s mandate: a primary focus on education; fostering the personal psychological development of members and participants, and increasing awareness of Jungian thought in the community at large.  The Society today remains grounded in this core responsibility, providing a richly varied offering of program events bringing an up-to-date perspective both on Jung’s own work and the evolution of Jungian ideas worldwide.

The Society’s first publicly visible tendrils saw the light of day on February 21, 1991, when the first General Membership Meeting was held.  Ian Baker’s inaugural lecture (“The Individuation Process in the Contemporary World”) and workshop (“Myths of Narcissus and Echo”), took place that day and the next, and our program events have occurred regularly ever since.  

Even during the first couple of years, we were fortunately able to invite some very distinguished visiting analysts for lectures and workshops.  In addition to our patrons, Sonja Marjasch and Ian Baker, both based in Zürich, the names include Mario Jacoby, also from Zürich, Michael Edwards, Renos Papadopoulos, and Andrew Samuels from the UK, Murray Stein from Chicago, and Guy Corneau from Québec.  We owe much to the efforts of the early executives and particularly the program sub-committees, as well as the generosity and advice of our patrons, for getting us off to such a burgeoning start.  

None of our success, whether during the Society’s “childhood” or its increasing maturity, would have been possible without the tremendous personal commitment and support of our local analysts.  Josephine Evetts-Secker, the first Jungian analyst to practice in Calgary, nurtured and cultivated the Society with great energy and determination from its earliest days, giving an ambitious series of four lectures during the first year, even housing visiting lecturers in her own home.  She gave us the very essence of “good mothering”; the loving care which helped us become an organism that could thrive in her absence, after she retired to her native England in 1997.  The Society honoured her with a lifetime membership, and she continues to be regarded here with great respect and affection.  When she made a return visit in 2004, her lecture and workshop were among our best-attended and enthusiastically-received regular events in recent years.

Mae Stolte and Zeljko Mateijevic have been with us continuously since the beginning, providing tangible and intangible contributions that could not possibly be enumerated.  They both give warmly and unstintingly of their time and wisdom.  In addition to regular lectures, workshops, and seminars, for example, Mae has recently assisted with a large project to consolidate, organise, and catalogue the Society’s archive, and Zeljko is currently donating his time as analyst advisor on our program planning sub-committee.  We were also fortunate to have regular contributions from Maureen Abbott during the years (1993-1997) when she was in active practice here.  In 2002, Mae and Zeljko were joined by Judith Slimmon, who immediately plunged into three years of service on the program planning sub-committee, and also chaired the organising committee for our 2005 Arts Symposium.  

From the beginning, the Society’s consensual view has been that the greatest benefit can be derived from having the local analysts act in an advisory rather than administrative capacity, in addition to their essential contributions of lectures, workshops, and seminars to our programming.  The organizational work of running the Society falls to the executive, a group of committed lay volunteers, who serve a one-year term running from one Annual General Meeting to the next.  The executives of the first few years were remarkably industrious.  We were incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation under the Alberta Societies Act in April 1992, giving our fragile stem some solid, official substance.  Seedling turned to sapling in March, 1994 when we secured charitable status.  It is far from typical for a young organization to complete its charity registration so soon after incorporation, but in this endeavour, as well as the original incorporation process, we benefited greatly from the legal expertise of lifetime member David Haigh.

In the intervening years, our general form has been fairly constant, but we have strengthened and matured and expanded.  The executive committee is responsible for planning and coordinating program events, which have occurred almost without interruption on a monthly basis, with summer and Christmas breaks, since 1992.  They also look after the Society’s finances, publicity, policies and by-laws, publish the semi-annual newsletter, and maintain the website.  We have been fortunate to have many dedicated members who have done exemplary work over multiple terms on the executive.  For example, Barbara Dobbie, who first served on the executive as Librarian and Newsletter Editor in 1994, and most recently served three consecutive terms (2001-2003) as President, has just been honoured with our fourth lifetime membership.  

The original program design, as set forth by the first executive committee in 1992, consisted of four components: two lecture series; Main and Foundation, workshops and seminars.  The main series lectures were envisioned as public events covering a variety of topics related to analytical psychology.  The foundation lectures were intended to be “core courses” in basic Jungian concepts, with limited advance registration.  Workshops were to be held on the days after lectures when possible, and were viewed in particular as an opportunity to gain greater benefit from visiting lecturers.  Seminars were to be offered by local analysts on topics covered by the Foundation series on an ongoing basis.  In practice, this led to some redundancy and confusion between the Foundation lectures and seminars.  These two components have since converged into the “Core Concepts” seminar series, and all of our lectures are currently open to the public without pre-registration.  The lecture/workshop pairings still occur, approximately twice annually.  In the last few years we have varied the “lecture” format somewhat, while keeping to our mandate regarding topics, adding occasional panel discussions and film presentations, which have both been well received.  The “amateur night”, however, which was tried in 2001, seems to have gone by the wayside, no doubt to the relief of the introverts among the membership.  Our logo has an “alchemical rose” at its centre, a reminder that transformation is a natural part of healthy development.  

In recent years, we have regularly “gone out on a limb” and invited high-profile speakers to give well-publicized lectures and workshop in large venues.  In March 2001 we presented analyst and bestselling author Marion Woodman, whose lecture and workshop on “Connections Between Body, Mind and Spirit” were a tremendous success.  She was followed in May 2003 by James Hollis, whose “Middle Passage” events were again enthusiastically received in terms of both attendance numbers and positive feedback.  These “big name” events require much more planning and preparation than our regular lectures and workshops, but we have reaped benefits of outstanding experiences for our participants, plus material rewards and an enhanced public profile for the Society.

We have always tried to provide a diverse offering of topics and speakers.  Although the majority of our speakers are analysts, our February lectures are designated as non-analyst events whenever possible.  These lectures are named for and dedicated to the memory of Fred Miles, a therapist and educator, and one of our most enthusiastic early members, whose untimely death in 1994 was a profound loss to the Society and the community as a whole.  In February 2005, our most recent “celebrity” event coincided with the Fred Miles Memorial Lecture, when we were privileged to welcome the distinguished art therapist and author Shaun McNiff.  His “Healing Through the Arts” lecture and “Liberating Creativity” workshop were, yet again, a great success for us on all levels.  

There is one more key visual element in our logo; the circular text direction illustrates the cyclic nature of developmental processes, including individuation.  For example, in 1992, our first weekend symposium was on Psychotherapy in the Arts, and recently in 2005, we revisited this important area for a second Arts weekend.  Both events used music, dance, and mask-making, and both looked in one way or another at our “soul animals”.  

Progress is not always linear, and our Society has experienced its share of apparent setbacks including periods of precarious finances and fluctuating membership numbers.  Currently, our membership is holding fairly constant at approximately half our high-water mark of 138 from the early 1990s, but the degree of engagement of our members is high, we are financially stable, and the turnout for and response to our events is consistently excellent.  It seems clear that there is a receptive audience in our community for what we have to offer, so that despite “seasonal” fluctuations, we are well-rooted and able to stand steady.  The tree image has one more quality that appears to fit our Society; trees, even in a harsh or variable climate, usually have a long and fruitful life.

(This history is based, in part, on a 1999 history of the Society by Sue Dutton and George Stacey. Please see following article.)

1 Collected Works of C.G. Jung: volume10, paragraph 26. 

2 Collected Works of C.G. Jung: v. 17, para. 249.

3 Collected Works of C.G. Jung: v. 4, para. 442.

Although the Calgary Jung Society in Calgary was legally incorporated as a non-profit Alberta society in April 1992, its beginning can be traced to a weekend conference held in September 1991 at Nakoda Lodge on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. "The Symbolic Life: A Jungian Symposium" brought three distinguished Jungian analysts from Zurich, Switzerland–Kathrin Asper, Ian Baker, and Toni Frey–to meet with many Calgarians who were interested in Jung’s analytical psychology.

This symposium led to an organizational meeting in November 1991 at which prospective members chose the officers of the executive committee, the society’s governing body. They also decided that this society should be primarily an educative force, helping its own members to develop psychologically in accordance with, and assisting the general public to become better informed about, the ideas of C.G. Jung.

It was significant in these early years that the Jung family gave permission to use C. G. Jung’s name in the official name of the society. This fact, plus the many fine Jungian analysts who have come to Calgary as speakers for the society, established its solid reputation on the international scene.

The program of lectures and workshops was divided into the Foundation Series, to introduce the fundamentals of Jung’s work, and the Main Series, to present original works in Jungian field. These two series have been supplemented by continuing seminars on such topics as dreams and fairy tales conducted by local analysts and by other kinds of events.

Ian Baker delivered the society’s inaugural lecture on February 21, 1992. After him has come a growing line of well-known and respected Jungians from Canada (such as Guy Corneau, John Dourley, and Jan Bauer), from the United States (including Murray Stein, Michael Conforti, and Robert Johnson), Britain (Michael Edwards, Andrew Samuels, and Renos Papadopoulos), and Europe (Sonja Marjasch, Toni Frey, and Mario Jacoby)–to name only a few.

Several people were especially important in the forming and fostering of the society:

Josephine Evetts-Secker, the first certified Jungian analyst to practice in Calgary, tirelessly promoted the idea of the society and facilitated its operation in every possible way, even housing visiting lecturers in her home. In 1997 Josephine and her husband, John Secker, a fellow academic and staunch supporter of the society, returned to England to pursue working retirements. That the society survived this loss testifies to the fact that it has found its own footing.

Dr. Sonja Marjasch and Dr. Ian Baker, experienced analysts and instructors at the C. G. Jung Institüt-Zürich, consented to be the society’s patrons. They counsel the executive committee as required.

Barrister David Haigh, another founding member, in 1991 and 1992 shepherded the society’s application for registration as a non-profit society with the Alberta government through difficulties and delays to a successful result.

When Fred Miles, a local therapist who was a popular and active member, died suddenly in early 1994, the society designated the February Main Series lecture of that year–and then every year henceforth–as the Fred Miles Memorial Lecture.

Last mentioned–but perhaps most important–are our local analysts. In addition to their work with individuals, analysts Maureen Abbott, Zeljko Matijevic, and Mae Stolte have dedicated a great deal of time to presenting lectures, workshops, and seminars and have otherwise provided unfailing help and advice. Without their contribution, the society’s annual program of events would be not just poorer; it would be non-existent.

The number of members in the society peaked at 138 by the end of 1992 and since then–perhaps reflecting the economic difficulties of this decade–has dropped steadily. But a committed core of Jungians, augmented by a small but reliable flow of newcomers, remains, and presently our membership roster totals seventy persons.

With thanks to members of the Executive Committee of The Calgary Jung Society for their help.

October, 1999