Jung in Spain
THE SYMBOLIC LIFE
Language of the Soul
Annual Fall Seminar
Madrid, Spain
November 8–15, 2023
In a certain sense, the symbol has a life of its own…but it cannot be invented or fabricated because the experience does not depend on our will.”
—C.G. Jung (from a 1939 letter)
Program Overview
Caught up in the demands of everyday life, we often do not pay enough attention to messages from our Unconscious — the deeper level of our psyche which Jung has pointed out can be a guide towards our authentic Self — a pathway to Individuation and the ultimate goal for each of us.
Being in touch with the world of symbols — in effect learning the language of the soul — has the potential of generating something new and creative within us. It helps expand and transform our consciousness. In some cultures, this is seen as a creative act parallel to the creation of the universe as it brings to life something new in the world.
The ability to look inward and to pay attention to our inner life and the messages that come from dreams and synchronistic events, is key to one’s emotional health and the individuation process. Jung points out that these messages from the unconscious occur spontaneously, similar to the visions of such mystics and Saints as Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, and Jewish Kabbalists and mystics such as Moses de Leon, author of the Zohar (key book of the Kabbalah).
Finally, paying attention to our dreams and synchronistic events, and utilizing active imagination and the creative arts can help us tap into Jung’s concept of the “symbolic life.” By working with the symbol as it manifests itself in our lives, we may discover a new path in life towards our own individuation — a road that will lead to hope and healing, infusing our life with meaning.
We invite you to join us in Madrid to experience an exciting itinerary that combines a schedule of in-depth seminar sessions with tours of outstanding historical and cultural sites. Presentations and panel discussion with our superb faculty — including Earl Collins, Ann Belford Ulanov, and Monika Wikman — will be balanced with day trips to Avila and Toledo, historic walled cities with rich histories. In Madrid we will also visit the world famous Prado with its comprehensive collection of Spanish and European art. And for a special treat there will be an option to attend an evening of Flamenco music and dance.
Extend your visit. We are offering a special opportunity to extend your seminar stay when you book our five-day tour to Cordoba, Granada, and Seville. Find out more.
CEs and Certificates of Attendance
The Jung in Spain program offers continuing education credits and certificates of attendance.
Madrid at sunset.
The seminar setting: Madrid
Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula. Capital city of both Spain (almost without interruption since 1561) and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid (since 1983), it is also the political, economic and cultural center of the country.
While it is our home base for this tour we will take two day trips, one to Avila and another to Toledo.
Meals together…
Meals together are a wonderful opportunity for participants and faculty to get to know one another. At the hotel we will partake in superbly prepared and presented buffet style meals — two dinners: welcome and closing, as well as lunch on our first full day together. Daily breakfast, also included in the program cost, will offer a large selection of fresh fruit, local cheeses, cold meats, and fresh breads. Breaks will feature freshly brewed coffee, tea, herbal teas and traditional pastries. There will be opportunities to explore the many excellent area restaurants on our own.
Accommodations in Madrid: Hotel NH Madrid Nacional
The NH Madrid Nacional hotel is centrally situated on one of Madrid’s most prestigious avenues, the Paseo del Prado. The hotel is located in what is known as the Art Triangle, and within a few minutes’ walking distance of three of Madrid’s world-famous art museums: the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia. On the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, its 1920’s building is considered a work of art in itself- designed by the Spanish architect Modesto López Otero — one of Spain’s leading architects at the time.
The Madrid Nacional, overlooking the Botanical Gardens, is within easy walking distance of shops and restaurants. It has 206 tastefully decorated rooms ranging from classic to contemporary, all enjoying free wi-fi, and a stylish breakfast room looking out over the Paseo del Prado. A lavish breakfast buffet is served daily. In addition, within the hotel is the Tablafina gastrobar, specializing in Spanish cuisine with a menu made up of certified regional produce as well as a tasteful tapas menu to choose from.
Faculty
Earl Collins, PhD, is an Anglican priest and vicar in the south of England. A native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, he is an expert on Christian mysticism and a lover of Jung’s way of soul-making and soul-healing. He was for many years a monk in Ireland, Rome, and Jerusalem, and has lectured widely on Jung and mysticism. Publications: Come and receive Light and Meeting Christ in His Mysteries.
Ann Belford Ulanov, MDiv, PhD, is an internationally known and practicing Jungian analyst in New York City; Professor Emerita of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary; and international lecturer. She is the author of many books including Spiritual Aspects of Clinical Work; The Female Ancestors of Christ; Madness & Creativity; The Psychoid, Soul and Psyche: Piercing Space/Time Barrier; and Back to Basics; as well as with her late husband, Barry Ulanov, Cinderellla and Her Sisters: The Envied and the Envying; The Healing Imagination; and Transforming Sexuality: The Archetypal World of Anima and Animus.
Monika Wikman, PhD, is a Jungian analyst, astrologer, cranial sacral practitioner and author of Pregnant Darkness: Alchemy and the Rebirth of Consciousness; editor and contributor to Living with Fire: The Visionary Alchemical Work of Nathan Schwartz Salant. A graduate of the Jung–Von Franz Center for Depth Psychology in Zürich, she taught for many years in the graduate department at California State University, Los Angeles, and was the principal investigator of dream research at UCSD Medical Center on “Dreams of the Dying.” She has worked both as an analyst and a cranial sacral therapist with the dying and is director of The Santa Fe Center for Alchemical Studies, with workshops, publications, and research underway. Her work focuses on psyche-body unity, and healing states of consciousness.
Program Directors
Aryeh Maidenbaum, PhD, Jungian analyst, is co-director of the New York Center for Jungian Studies. His publications include “The Search for Spirit in Jungian Psychology”; “Sounds of Silence”; “Psychological Types, Job Change, and Personal Growth”; and “Anti-Semitism: The Jungian Dilemma”, which appeared in a recent book entitled Psychiatry and Anti-Semitism. In addition, he was co-editor of Lingering Shadows: Jungians, Freudians and Anti-Semitism; and editor of and contributor to, Jung and the Shadow of Anti-Semitism. His forthcoming publication is Jung and the Jewish Experience: Reflections by a Jungian Analyst, to be published by Routledge in December 2024.
Diana Rubin, LCSW, co-director of the New York Center for Jungian Studies, has organized and led Jungian Seminars and Study Tours for over 25 years. Currently she has a private psychotherapy practice in New York City and New Paltz, New York, where she works with individuals and groups and also works remotely. A former staff psychotherapist at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health’s Institute for the Performing Artist, Ms. Rubin has a special interest in the interface of psychotherapy and the creative process.
The walled city of Toledo
Daily Schedule*
Wednesday, November 8
Check in to Hotel NH Madrid Nacional, with time to rest, relax and/or enjoy walking around Madrid’s bustling streets.
5:30 p.m. Presentation by Aryeh Maidenbaum, “Myth and Reality: The Golden Age(s) of Spain,” followed by orientation and opening meeting
7:15 p.m. Festive welcome dinner at our hotel (included)
Thursday, November 9
9:00 a.m. Presentation by Ann Ulanov, “How are Symbolic and Spiritual Life Related? How are Psyche and Soul Related? To Ask the Right Question is Already Half the Solution (Jung)”
10:30 a.m. Break for coffee and tea
11:30 a.m. Presentation by Earl Collins, “Transforming Symbols: El Greco and Mystical Art”
12:45 p.m. Buffet lunch served at our hotel (included)
2:00 p.m. Depart hotel for City tour
Friday, November 10
9:00 a.m. Depart our hotel for a day trip to Toledo, approximately an hour’s drive from Madrid. Once the imperial capital of Spain, Toledo is home to historic churches and synagogues, as well as the residence of the renowned artist El Greco during the last third of his life. At one time known as the “Sephardic Jerusalem” (Sepharad meaning Spain in Hebrew), Toledo’s extensive Jewish presence included ten synagogues, two of which survive and serve as museums today: the Transito, built in 1357 as a synagogue, and Santa Maria la Blanca, a superb example of Moorish influenced architecture. Built in the early 13th century and thought to be the oldest standing synagogue in Europe, Santa Maria la Blanca was originally known as the Ibn Shoshan Synagogue. Itwas turned into a church in the 15th century.
During the course of our day in Toledo, there will be free time to explore sites of personal interest, shop for gifts, and have lunch on our own. We will return to Madrid with ample time to freshen up and have dinner on our own.
Saturday, November 11
9:00 a.m. Presentation by Ann Ulanov, “Teresa of Avila: A Remarkable Woman — a Warrior with Courage, Humor, Passion, Experiences that Extend from Neurosis to Encounter With God”
10:30 a.m. Break for coffee and tea
11:30 a.m. Presentation by Monika Wikman “John of the Cross: Visionary Mystic and Poet with Wisdom for Our Times”
12:30 p.m. Break for lunch on our own at one of the many restaurants nearby our hotel.
2:30 p.m. Depart hotel for the Prado Museum, Madrid’s best-known attraction. One of the world’s first public museums, it was originally planned as a museum of natural sciences, but had become a showcase for the Royal art collection by the time it opened in 1819. Its multiple collections house a huge array of masterpieces, including works by Goya, Velasquez, and El Greco, along with those of many other European Masters.
Evening free: dinner on our own
Sunday, November 12
9.00 a.m. Depart hotel for our day trip to Avila, located an hour and a half away in what was once the autonomous region of Castile and Leon. The city is surrounded by 11th-century walls. These medieval fortifications are the most complete and best preserved in all the country. The famed Puerta del Alcazar (Gate of the Fortress) is one of the original gates that lead through the walls into the old city. Once a thriving Jewish community, home to Rabbi Moses de Leon, author of the Zohar, Avila is also the birthplace and home to Spain’s greatest mystic, the 16th-century Santa Teresa. There are numerous reminders of her presence which survive within the cobblestoned lanes and sleepy squares of the city. In Avila, there will be time on our own to meander through this captivating and charming city. Lunch in Avila is included.
We will return to Madrid in time for dinner on our own at one of the many restaurants or tapas bars in Madrid.
Monday, November 13
9:00 a.m. Presentation by Earl Collins, “Transforming Symbols: Jung, Ignatius and the Imagination”
10:30 a.m. Break for coffee and tea
11:30 a.m. Presentation by Monika Wikman, “Alchemical Tongues: the Passion of the Soul Alive in Spanish Hebrew Poets in Christian and Islamic Middle Ages”
12:30 p.m. Break for lunch on our own at one of the many restaurants near our hotel
2:30 p.m. Depart hotel for the Reina Sofia Museum. This vast former hospital has been transformed into a repository for the Spanish collection of modern and contemporary art. One of its main draws is Picasso’s “Guernica”, the monumental and shocking depiction of events in the small Basque village of Gernika during the Spanish Civil War.
Evening Dinner and a captivating Flamenco performance for those who sign up in advance (optional).
Tuesday, November 14
9:30 a.m. Faculty and Panel Discussion
11:00 a.m. Break for coffee and tea, followed by the rest of the day free to explore personal sites of interest in Madrid on our own
7:00 p.m. Closing dinner at our hotel (included)
Wednesday, November 15
Departure for home or for those who have signed up in advance, depart Madrid for Cordoba, Granada, and Seville
Cordoba
Granada
Seville
EXTEND YOUR TRIP
Visit Cordoba, Granada, and Seville
November 15–20, 2023
Join us — Aryeh, Diana, and Lucy — as we travel to the exotic southernmost region of Spain, Andalucia. A land of sharp contrasts, its culture lies intriguingly between East and West, Europe and Africa. Centuries of Moorish rule have left an indelible mark on the area with its wealth of monuments, many of which are concentrated in the main cities of Cordoba, Granada and Seville. Our five-night trip will include guided tours of their main highlights.
Accommodations Cordoba, Granada and Seville
Granada: The NH Collection Victoria
The NH Collection Granada Victoria, a spectacular early 20th-century building, with just 70 comfortable rooms, is located in the heart of downtown Granada. Situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the hotel is a stone’s throw from Granada’s Cathedral and Royal Chapel, close to shops and restaurants, and a short drive to the Alhambra.
Seville: The Hospes Las Casa del Rey de Baeza
The Hospes Las Casa del Rey de Baeza, home for our three-day stay in Seville, is located in the center of old town, within easy walking distance of the city’s most iconic monuments and sites. Originally an 18th-century Andalusian farmstead, it has been transformed into a charming small hotel replete with orange trees, patios, and a rooftop pool. Fully refurbished at the beginning of 2023, it is a hotel with charm and character.
Extended Tour Schedule
Wednesday, November 15 | Cordoba — Granada
Depart by AVE high-speed train for Cordoba. On arrival we will have a guided walking tour of the historic center and a visit to the extraordinary Mezquita, parts of which date back to the Visigothic period. Once the city’s mosque, it was adapted under Charles V and is now Cordoba’s cathedral. Following some free time to meander about in Cordoba and lunch on our own, we will continue by coach to Granada for a two-night stay. Check in to our hotel in Granada in time for dinner (included).
Thursday, November 16 | Granada
Today we will enjoy a guided tour of what is considered by many to be the most extraordinarily beautiful site in Spain. The world-famous historic Alhambra is a complex of Moorish palaces overlooking Granada as well as its exquisite beautiful gardens. From our local guide, we will learn about the lost world of ‘Al-Andalus’ and the architectural, decorative and engineering skills of the Nasrid dynasty. Lunch on our own, followed by an afternoon free to enjoy the attractions of the lower town with its contrasting major Christian monuments, the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel, final resting place of the ‘Catholic Kings’ Ferdinand and Isabella.
Friday, November 17 | Granada — Seville
Depart Granada for Seville with a stop along the way in Ronda, one of the so-called ‘white villages’ of the South. Dramatically situated on a clifftop over a ravine, it was an obligatory destination for 19th century Romantic writers. The town is also home to several of Spain’s former bullfighting dynasties. Its bullring is one of the largest in the country and houses a museum dedicated to the tradition. After lunch on our own, continue to Seville, and check in to our hotel for a three-night stay. Dinner on our own with an opportunity to sample some of the myriad tapas bars in the vicinity of our centrally-located hotel.
Saturday, November 18 and Sunday, November 19
Two full days to absorb the atmosphere of Seville- the region’s capital. The extensive historic center of the city is a pedestrian zone with photo-opportunities at every turn. During the course of exploring exotic Seville, our expert local guide will lead us through the monumental Cathedral with its picturesque Giralda Tower, built over the site of the former Central Mosque with its minaret. The adjacent Alcazar, parts of which date back to the 10th century, and which was historically known as al-Qasr al-Muriq, is an impressive palace (at one time also serving as a fortress) largely constructed in the 14th century as a palace for King Pedro of Castile.
Other highlights of our stay in Seville will include the 16th-century Casa de Pilatos, with its typical patios and mudejar/renaissance mix of architecture, and the imposing Plaza de España, built for the World Fair at the end of the 1920’s. Today, the former national pavilions house various museums — including, for those interested, the Archaeological Museum of Seville. Afternoon free to explore sites of personal interest, while this evening we will enjoy a festive farewell dinner (included) on our last night in the capital of Andalucia.
Monday, November 20
Departures for home from Seville airport.
*Tentative Daily Schedule: subject to modification
Walled City of Avila
Registration Information
Reserve your space. A deposit of $1200 per person for each program is required to reserve your space. Registration form must be completed in full, including credit-card information. Register online or call the office: 845-256-0191. We will be happy to help you register, provide more information, and/or help with your travel plans.
Payment in full is due by June 15, 2023.
Participation
Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. No prerequisites are required.
Arrangements can be made for family or friends interested in accompanying participants (but not attending) the program.
Continuing Education Credits
The Jung in Spain program offers continuing education credits as well as certificates of attendance.
Complete details are available here.
Travel Arrangements for Jung in Spain
Help with Travel Arrangements One of the services we provide, at no additional charge, is to help with your travel arrangements. Our knowledgeable and patient staff can assist you in making your travel plans — including booking reservations that are available from the various airlines. If you need help booking your flight, contact our office at 845-256-0191, or email us.
Trip Cancellation Insurance
Participants are urged to purchase travel insurance for losses necessitated by having to cancel participation. For your convenience, insurance information will be sent upon registration — or consult your own insurance agent.
Other Information
Tax Deductions Seminars of this type generally meet the requirements for IRS deductions.
Faculty and Other Changes All rights are reserved by the program directors to make faculty substitutions and/or modify the program (including hotels) if needed. All rights are reserved to ask a participant to leave who is disruptive to a program.
Cancellations and Refunds Deposit is refundable, for both the seminar and extended tour, when cancellation is
requested in writing, less a $195 administrative fee, received on or before March 1, 2023 for a full refund; by May 10, 2023 for a 50% refund; and by June 15, 2023 for a 25% refund. No refunds after June 15, 2023.
Covid If Covid restrictions cause us to postpone this trip, your deposit will be credited toward your choice of any 2023 or 2024 program.
Registration Form
Disclaimer of Responsibility: By registering for this program, participant and/or accompanying guest specifically waives any and all claims of action against the New York Center for Jungian Studies and their respective staffs for damages, loss, injury, accident, sickness, or death incurred by any person in connection with this tour. The New York Center for Jungian Studies and their respective staffs assume no responsibility or liability in connection with the service of any train, vessel, carriage, aircraft, or other conveyance which may be used wholly or in part in the performance of their duty to the passengers. Neither will the New York Center for Jungian Studies or their staff be responsible for any injury, death, loss, accident, sickness, delay or irregularity through neglect or default of any company or person engaged in carrying out the purposes for which tickets, vouchers, or coupons are issued. No responsibility is accepted for losses or expenses due to sickness, viruses, weather, strikes, hostilities, wars, terrorist acts, or acts of nature, local laws, or other causes, or for any baggage or personal effects of any individual, or their accompanying guests, participating in one of the New York Center for Jungian Studies programs. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable for any reason whatsoever to alter the itinerary or arrangements for reasons outside the control of the New York Center for Jungian Studies, such alterations, including hotels, guides, scholars, or postponement of a program be made without penalty. All rights are reserved to require any participant, and/or their accompanying guests to withdraw from the program at his/her own expense when such an action is determined by the program staff to be in the best interest of the participant’s or accompanying guest’s health and safety, and/or that of the group in general. This agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, where it was made, and any action or proceeding concerning the subject of this agreement shall be commenced in the District Court of the County of Nassau.