ISPDI Newsletter Spring 2022
Letter from the President
Dear Members, Colleagues, and Friends,
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To our members and friends of psychology as the discipline of interiority, welcome and good wishes from myself and the entire executive committee as we begin a new and, in terms of the pandemic, hopefully better year! May 2022 be a healthy and insightful year for you.
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Because of the conditions we have faced during this pandemic, many of us continue to have only limited opportunity to attend conferences in person. While we and other organizations have had a number of successful meetings via Zoom, nothing can replace the “after hours” informal sessions in pubs or other spots where we can share speculative ideas and insights and learn about new publications and other developments. Put another way, we on the executive committee have missed seeing you all in person.
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As you probably know, last year we held our “Soul’s Logical Life” conference, not in Lisbon unfortunately, where we initially hoped to have it, but online. We want to once again thank the presenters and participants who helped make the event, despite the limitations of meeting online, successful and rewarding. We noticed that a number of new participants who attended this event subsequently have joined the ISPDI. Welcome to you and I hope to see you at the next gathering.
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Those of you who have been around the ISPDI for awhile will know that the year after a large conference is usually the time for an “off-year” event. In the past this has been a smaller, less formal, in-person gathering. This year we are planning to have what we are calling “Topos”, i.e., a “place” to meet and discuss all things PDI. Members of the executive committee have volunteered to lead these online meetings which will focus on various topics. The first one is scheduled to take place on April 3, 2022 with Jennifer Sandoval hosting. See below in the newsletter for more information. I hope you will join us!
We do hope that by 2023 the situation in the world will be such that a conference at that time will be able to be attended in person. We have been discussing potential themes and locations and will certainly keep you posted.
Until then, fortunately the work of interiorization and interpretation requires only the laboratory that must be created by the appropriate attitude and method, and is well suited even for a time of lockdowns and shut ins.
David Teniers the Younger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Perhaps I could share a recent dream I had that somewhat illustrates this point:
I’m out walking with other members of the ISPDI looking for a location to hold a conference. We come across a large, beautiful, medieval-styled cathedral. We enter this ancient building walking up and down the spacious aisles taking in the architecture, the colours, the wood and stained glass windows; getting a feeling for the place. Next, a few of us were in pews praying out loud the “Our Father.” I noticed that there were different versions of the prayer being recited at the same time. My version, for example, was different from the men sitting across from me but this didn’t seem to be a problem. It was acknowledged that one version was older or more updated than the other but both versions continued to be recited simultaneously on different sides of an aisle.
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An obvious question: Why were ISPDI members looking for a conference location in a cathedral and then praying the “Our Father”? If the dream is viewed from within the context of Jung’s and Giegerich’s idea that depth psychology is the heir of religion and metaphysics, some context appears. The ISPDI is obviously not a church or religion, but it does acknowledge an historical understanding of the life of the soul that traces its development in time back through religion to myth. Psychology is then understood as a modern form of the soul’s self-expression without the “garb” of a religious structure, dogma or any metaphysical system.
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A quote from Giegerich comes to mind, “The public celebration of the soul’s truth such as in openly enacted rituals is the soul’s celebrating its own truth by releasing it into it’s being true, the soul’s self-relation and self-correspondence, not people’s personal celebration, despite the fact that they of course are the ones who were needed to perform the rituals…. The soul makes itself: it becomes true to itself – even if only through humans. We may here be reminded of the theological view that a prayer is only a true prayer if it is already God who through one's human praying and speaking the prayer to God, in other words, not the human person per se – not the ego” (WIS p. 125).
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This reflects a prime purpose of the ISPDI, whether meeting in a literal location or online, i.e., to create a space for the exploration and furthering of psychology understood as the present or current form of the soul’s self-expression.
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Now, although things have been relatively quiet in terms of physical meetings and gatherings in the ISPDI and the world in general, nevertheless the practical world of PDI has been as active as ever, if not more so, with several major books coming from Wolfgang Giegerich and other ISPDI authors. In case you are not aware of them yet, the newsletter below is devoted to helping you connect to new publications, old books in new forms, and a variety of opportunities this society offers for you to discuss the work of Wolfgang Giegerich and other aspects of PDI.
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Important to mention here is that Giegerich’s Collected English Papers are now being translated into Spanish and published by Alejandro Bica. The first volume, Violencia del alma (Soul Violence) is now available with more translations to follow. See below for more information and a comment from Luis R. Álvarez, one of the people involved in the project.
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Also of note is the recent translation of The Soul’s Logical Life into Portuguese. The book was published in 2021 by Editora Vozes, the same Brazilian publisher of Jung's Collected Works, Seminars, Letters as well as many other volumes on Jungian psychology. The Portuguese title is, A Vida Lógica da Alma and it was translated by André Dantas. A YouTube recording of the online launch of this book, with questions and responses from Giegerich was recorded on October 2, 2021.
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In closing, just a friendly reminder to everyone to make sure your membership is up to date. Remember that your memberships are tax deductible, and we have a student rate as well as provisions for anyone dealing with financial issues. To renew your membership (or to become a member) you can access the membership page here: https://www.ispdi.org/become-an-ispdi-member.
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Finally, I want to send out a special thank you to executive committee member Harry Henderson who did the bulk of the work for this newsletter. Much appreciated!
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In the meantime, all the best to you all for a healthy and prosperous 2022.
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John Hoedl
ISPDI President
The Prolific WG
Wolfgang Giegerich has been prolific during pandemic time! In last two years, he has published the following books. (Click on the links for more information and to purchase via Amazon):
Vintage Wine in New Bottles
With the new publication of the Collected English Papers (CEP) of Wolfgang Giegerich by Routledge comes the opportunity from Amazon to also purchase the volumes as e-books for Kindle. While preferences between traditional paper books and e-books can vary, the latter do have several advantages:
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Compactness (great for having references at hand at a conference)
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The ability to search for any word or phrase, even if it is not indexed
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Highlights can be made and downloaded as a separate file
Here are the Amazon links for the six volumes of the CEP:
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Soul-Violence: Volume 3, (The Collected English Papers of Wolfgang Giegerich)
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The Soul Always Thinks, Volume 4 (The Collected English Papers of Wolfgang Giegerich)
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New Spanish Translation of Giegerich’s Works
The first of a projected series of volumes drawn from Giegerich’s collected works is now available in Spanish translation! The translators describe how they came to develop this project:
"After the untimely demise of our teacher Enrique Eskenazi, my colleague Ale Bica and I, Luis R. Álvarez, along with a few other of his students, decided to take on a task which we felt was left unfinished; namely, the continuation of the labour of delving into the works of Wolfgang Giegerich. We did so for some 6 or 7 years, during which we would meet in a weekly fashion to translate into Spanish and debate many of his articles and some of his books: “What is soul?”, “Neurosis: the logic of a metaphysical Illness”, “Pitfalls in comparing Buddhist and Western Psychology”,… to name just a few.
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Then, one day about 3 years ago, Ale Bica suggested to me the idea of making these translations available to the general public. And so, we started the new task of reviewing, correcting and putting in order the many hours of recorded material, as well as other translations made (or started) by Enrique Eskenazi himself or other students, not knowing yet how or if these texts would be published. We got in touch with Wolfgang Giegerich himself, who has been very helpful and kind to us all along the process, making suggestions and reviewing all of our proposals regarding the arrangement of the volumes and giving all the permissions and advice we needed along the way. We have been also lucky to have the assistance of our colleagues, which have been of pivotal importance helping us with the revisions of the texts and even offering to write the prologues to each volume. That is why we consider the publication of this first volume of Wolfgang Giegerich’s collected works in Spanish, and the ones that are to come, a collective effort, and we are very happy to see that passion and dedication bear fruit."
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Luis R. Álvarez
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Here is the link on Amazon (the book is also available on the Spanish Amazon site):
Other Works by PDI Authors
In addition to most of Giegerich’s recent publications, Dusk Owl Books under the leadership of Greg Mogenson) has published the following titles:
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Psychology and the Irrelevantification of Man: From Jung's project to the post-human times (ISPDI Monograph Series) (by Marco Heleno Barreto)
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Psychology and Metaphysics: On the Logical Status of Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority. (by Marco Heleno Barreto)
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Dereliction of Duty and the Rise of Psychology: As Reflected in the "Case" of Conrad's Lord Jim (ISPDI Monograph Series) (Volume 1) by Greg Mogenson
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Psychology’s Dream of the Courtroom by Greg Mogenson
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Inwardizing Rilke's Dog of Divine Inseeing Into Itself (ISPDI Monograph Series) by Greg Mogenson
Jungian Analysis Post Mortem Dei by Greg Mogensen
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A variety of PDI perspectives by several ISPDI members can be found in:
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Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority (edited by Jennifer Sandoval and John Knapp) Routledge, 2017.
New Book in Preparation
More PDI explorations are on the way! The working title of the coming publication is Psychology as the Discipline of Interiority: “The Soul's Logical Life” in the work of Wolfgang Giegerich (edited by Colleen EL-Bejjani, Pamela Power, and Jennifer Sandoval). We are aiming to publish this summer.
Remembering Meredith Oenning-Hodgson
Meredith Oenning-Hodgson, a Jungian Analyst and ISPDI member, passed away unexpectedly in Edmonton, Canada on Saturday January 22, 2022.
Her death will be a great loss for many; of course, to her family and friends, but also to the Jungian community in Edmonton where for many years she had been a central figure for those interested in depth psychology. She taught and mentored many people over the years, in and out of her consulting room, making lasting impressions on their lives.
Meredith was born in Denver Colorado. Growing up she lived in 5 different states as well as Pakistan and Austria before moving to Frankfurt, Germany in 1967 where she lived for the next 32 years. Her son Anton was born in 1971. She earned her second M.A. from the University of Frankfurt and in 1985 received her diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, where she also later taught. She set up her private practice in Frankfurt and worked with patients there for 15 years.
In 1999 she moved to Edmonton, Canada to live with her husband John Hodgson where he was working as a professor of geography at the University of Alberta. She was a fan of the snow and cold in this northern city, often saying it corresponded to a favourite lecture of hers she presented from time to time: “The Snow Queen.” Not long after she arrived, she set up her private practice and began bringing like-minded people in the city together resulting in the formation of the Edmonton Jung Forum which became a favourite organization for local, regional and international speakers to meet and hold lectures and seminars. Meredith herself presented a number of times for the Jung Forum.
Later she hosted quarterly gatherings called, “Psyche Sundays,” in the living room of her grand house. These events were always rich with ideas, discussion, good hospitality, and friendship as well as fine cakes and refreshments. There was no dress code per se, but everyone who attended knew that Meredith would be dressed elegantly in honour both of the occasion and the material. This would often inspire attendees to wear slightly more formal attire making the event rather proper and special. This was Meredith’s style, to add flair and sparkle to most any event she partook in.
Meredith loved to discuss ideas with people. She especially loved engaging in depth psychology (this perhaps runs in the family as her sister Jacqueline West is also a Jungian Analyst living and practicing in New Mexico) but was most passionate about Giegerich’s work and psychology as the discipline of interiority. She hosted a weekly Jungian study group in her house for over 12 years, the last 5 or so devoted almost exclusively to Giegerich’s writing. These weekly meetings were often augmented with further PDI discussions during the week including on the phone or zoom with her brother Jim Boggs, an anthropologist living in British Columbia.
From time to time she corresponded directly with Dr. Giegerich, exchanging letters with him in both German and English. She would often ask specific questions about aspects of his theory, sometimes sharing parts of the communication with the study group.
Meredith lived (or “danced” as she sometimes said) with Parkinson’s disease for over 20 years, carrying its burden with grace, patience, and dignity. She lectured on this experience from time to time and in 2019 she published her book: The Hiss of Hope: A Voyage with Parkinson’s, Toward an Intimate Autonomy.
She gave a presentation at the ISPDI August Gathering 2020, “A Report from a Giegerich Study Group.” The following summer many of her friends and family helped celebrate and honour her on her 80th and last birthday; it was a beautiful summer day with music, poetry, friendship, and elegance.
Topos: a New ISPDI Presentation Series
We are pleased to announce that a series of presentations hosted by ISPDI Executive Committee members (and perhaps invited others) will be given over Zoom throughout the coming year. The format will involve a presentation of a PDI topic followed by ample time for discussion. Jennifer Sandoval has agreed to kick off this series with a presentation on April 3. More details to follow!
Georgios Liakopoulos, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Open Inquiry: Your Monthly Dose of PDI
Our monthly Open Inquiry meetings hosted by Colleen EL-Bejjani continue. We have been reading and discussing Giegerich works, currently Working with Dreams. Email for notifications and links.
What could we do better? What would you like to try?
Our Executive Committee has been energetically considering ways to pursue PDI in both traditional and newer formats including online conferences and seminars. We always welcome feedback and suggestions from our members.
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And Always Open: Our Web forum
Our nicely refurbished website is always open. A forum is available for members to offer or respond to topics involving any aspect of PDI.
What could we do better? What would you like to try?
Our Executive Committee has been energetically considering ways to pursue PDI in both traditional and newer formats including online conferences and seminars. We always welcome feedback and suggestions from our members.