In the Garden of the Gods

The Sculpture Garden as Temenos, Transitional Space, and Mundus Imaginalis

Article by Randall Mishoe

This paper is a reflection on a visit to a most unusual public sculpture garden and the experience shared by six dream group members during an exquisitely beautiful April weekend on the southeastern coast. I will begin by describing the place, followed by comments about the dream group members, adding thoughts about the psychological nature of the event, and concluding with observations from the dream group members themselves.

The site is Brookgreen Gardens, an outdoor museum designated a National Historic Landmark. As the curator, Robin R. Salmon explains, "Whatever label is bestowed upon it -- historic site, art collection, zoological facility, horticultural display, protected habitat -- Brookgreen Gardens is completely unique among American museums." (Brookgreen Garden, p. 8)

"Brookgreen," in short, as it is referred to by the locals, was created in 1931 by Archer and Anna Huntington. Archer Huntington (1870-1955) was one of the wealthiest men in the US, a businessman, but also a patron of the arts who became a poet, a linguist, and a specialist in Hispanic culture. Anna Hyatt Huntington (1876-1973) was a self-taught sculptor who developed her keen skills of observation at the side of her scientist father, paleontologist and pioneer marine biologist, with ties to Harvard and MIT. Having early on created the sculpture Joan of Arc for New York City in 1910, she received critical acclaim and became world renown with works placed in locations not only throughout this country but also throughout the world.

News Release: Becoming

Oct 1, 2010

With great pleasure, Fisher King Press is pleased to announce the publication of

Becoming: An Introduction to Jung's Concept of Individuation

By Deldon Anne McNeely
ISBN 9781926715124, 230pp, Index, Biblio, (Oct 2010)

Becoming: An Introduction to Jung’s Concept of Individuation explores the ideas of Carl Gustav Jung. His idea of a process called individuation has sustained Deldon Anne McNeely’s dedication to a lifelong work of psychoanalysis, which unfortunately has been dismissed by the current trends in psychology and psychiatry.

Psychotherapists know the value of Jung’s approach through clinical results, that is, watching people enlarge their consciousness and change their attitudes and behavior, transforming their suffering into psychological well-being. However, psychology’s fascination with behavioral techniques, made necessary by financial concerns and promoted by insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, has changed the nature of psychotherapy and has attempted to dismiss the wisdom of Jung and other pioneers of the territory of the unconscious mind.

For a combination of unfortunate circumstances, many of the younger generation, including college and medical students, are deprived of fully understanding their own minds. Those with a scientific bent are sometimes turned away from self-reflection by the suggestion that unconscious processes are metaphysical mumbo-jumbo. Superficial assessments of Jung have led to the incorrect conclusion that one must be a spiritual seeker, or religious, in order to follow Jung’s ideas about personality. Becoming is an offering to correct these misperceptions.

Many university professors are not allowed to teach Jungian psychology. Secular humanism and positivism have shaped the academic worldview; therefore, investigation into the unknown or unfamiliar dimensions of human experience is not valued. But this attitude contrasts with the positive reputation Jung enjoys among therapists, artists of all types, and philosophers. Those without resistance to the unconscious because of their creativity, open-mindedness, or personal disposition are more likely to receive Jung’s explorations without prejudice or ideological resistance. There is a lively conversation going on about Jung’s ideas in journals and conferences among diverse groups of thinkers which does not reach mainstream psychology. Becoming is for those whose minds are receptive to the unknown, and to help some of us to think—more with respect than dread—of the possibility that we act unconsciously.

Download a free PDF sampler of Becoming

About the Author
Deldon Anne McNeely received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University and is a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. A senior analyst of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, she is a training analyst for their New Orleans Jungian Seminar. Publications include Touching: Body Therapy and Depth Psychology; Animus Aeternus: Exploring the Inner Masculine; and Mercury Rising: Women, Evil, and the Trickster Gods.

Fisher King Press publishes an eclectic mix of worthy books including Jungian Psychological Perspectives, Cutting Edge Fiction, and a growing  list of alternative titles.

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