Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind

Pari, Italy 17-24 June, 2004 with F. David Peat

Many of us have experienced a mysterious and inexplicable co-incidence in our lives, an event that is charged with deep significance. Such true synchronicities are more than mere chance occurrences. They provide a bridge between inner and outer worlds, between our private thoughts and objective realities. Within a synchronicity patterns of external events and inexplicable occurrences mirror inner experience, and dreams and fantasies can flood over into the external world. To distinguish them from mere chance occurrences Carl Jung stressed that they are "meaningful coincidences", while James Joyce wrote of epiphanies, those moments of illumination when disparate events coalesce into a recognizable pattern.

While synchronicities defy any rational explanation, in terms of causal links and connections, they nevertheless reveal to us an underlying world of patterns, forms and connections that transcend any division between the mental and the material. It is for this reason, this intimation of the transcendent, that sychronicities are so fascinating. Many of us feel confined to a narrow world of logic and physical law, a world that admits no hint of mystery. We feel isolated within an indifferent universe and an increasing complex society whose members are reduced to ciphers. Synchronicities, by contrast, offer a doorway into a very different world. One that is more in keeping with the deep insights that have been offered, for example, by the new sciences.

The course will explore:
Synchronicities, illuminations, epiphanies and the sense of connectedness.
Events that sum up a life or anticipate the future
The nature of consciousness and its connection to the body.
Theories of Mind and Matter
The nature of the Archetypes and other structuring principles of the psyche
Laws of matter and mind. Are they a priori or do they evolve?
The role of the New Physics (chaos theory and quantum theory) and its connection to consciousness
Connections between minds, and between mind and matter
Metaphors of alchemy and the process of individuation
The course will conclude by exploring our own personal responsibilities, and connection to a wider community.

Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind will proceed via lectures and group discussions. Participants will be encouraged to keep a journal. In order to maintain a healthy balance between mind and body participants will also be involved in such activities as art work and stone balancing. Participants are also encouraged to take advantage of the thermal hot springs below the village, and time will also be set aide for one or more excursions from the village of Pari

Note: This course is intended for well-balanced participants who are in search of new insights and those who would like to explore the implications of synchronicity and its connection to such areas as the nature of consciousness and the New Physics. It does not offer any form of psychotherapy.

Timetable

June 17. Participants arrive, welcome and dinner.

On the following days there will be two daily workshop sessions:

• 9.30 - 12.30 Lecture and Discussion on the topic of the day
• 4.30 -  6.30 Art work, walks, discussion and amplification of points discussed in the morning.

Note: During the middle of the course there will be a one day-trip to nearby sites of interest such as the Etruscan town of Roselle, the "sword in the stone" at San Galgano, the Abbey of San Antimo or the city of Siena.

Cost: $1,300 Euros

This cost includes accommodation and all meals (traditional Tuscan fare), from dinner on June 17 to lunch on June 24. It also includes the cost of the one day excursion, all art materials, etc.

For additional information write to info@paricenter.com.

Contact F. David Peat