JUNGIAN PERSPECTIVES ON SELF-AWARENESS

“Jungian Perspectives on Self Awareness” was the Sumedha Sadhana module that was completed last week. It was facilitated by Fr. Ajoy Fernandes SDB. Fr. Ajoy is a clinical psychologist holding a doctoral degree from De La Salle University, Manila, and the Vice Provincial of the Salesian Province of Mumbai.

Fr. Ajoy’s module was highly appreciated by the participants. He began by helping the participants to identify their psychological type and then explained dominant, auxiliary, tertiary and inferior functions of the type. He then moved on, using the inferior function of the type as a gateway, to exploring persona and shadow, animus and anima and the contribution of the psychological type to one’s personal spirituality.

Experiential exercises, art work and fantasy meditations were effectively used to explore these topics. Three movies – Chocolat, Spiderman II, and EarthSea—were very skilfully presented to explain the classic Jungian concepts of persona& shadow, animus & anima. The module concluded with the participants creating their on Mandala as a way of integrating psychological type, persona & shadow, animus & anima, and spirituality.

Some typical participant comments:

“It was a very good module of self-awareness and self awakening.”

“Very lively and enriching inputs with lots of depth.”

“The movies were inspiring. They gave me clear understanding of the Shadow….”

“Fr. Ajoy’s explanations and the way of relating to each one of us was excellent.”

“The sessions were very practical.”

 “It was greatly beneficial.”

PSYCHO-SEXUAL AND CELIBATE INTEGRATION

Last week (March 14-19) the Sumedha Sadhana programme had the module “Psycho-Sexual and Celibate Integration.” It was facilitated by Joe Mannath SDB, PhD. Dr. Mannath has over 20 years’ experience in religious and priestly formation work and twelve years in University teaching both in India and abroad. He is a well known writer and a regular columnist with The New Leader. Currently he is the Rector of Don Bosco Renewal Centre, Bangalore.

The topics he explored included: Main Challenges in Regard to Psycho-Sexual and Celibate Integration; Stages of Psycho-Sexual Development; Psycho-Sexual Maturity; Celibacy – Meaning and Motive; Helps for Happy Celibate Living; Celibate Friendships; and Sexual Attraction in Ministry. The presentations were enriched by relevant films, jokes and meaningful liturgies.

The module provided participants much clarity on topics that are seldom discussed and as such was very useful. As one participant commented in the evaluation, “This module brought me insight and awareness of the beauty of sexuality and celibacy.” Another observed, “These classes provided a new meaning to celibacy…It can be made very precious and beautiful by my living it in the way it should be.”

16TH SUMEDHA SADHANA IS ON

The 16^th edition of Sumedha Sadhana, Sumedha centre’s highly rated flagship programme, commenced on February 25^th evening. It will end on April 25^th.

There are 18 participants, the maximum number the Centre is able to accommodate. Of these, 13 are nuns and five priests, both religious and diocesan. Two of the nuns are from Thailand. All the other participants come from various parts of India – from the South to the North-East.

The first two weeks were facilitated by Jose Parappully, a Clinical Psychologist and the Director of the Centre. He explored with the participants the various psychological dynamics, especially those of midlife, that affect spirituality.

Joe Mannath PhD is facilitating the module “Psycho-Sexual and Spiritual Integration” this week. Following week Ajoy Fernandes PhD will explore “Jungian Perspectives and Self-Awareness.”

A change has been made in scheduling this year. Holy Week will be spent in a Spiritual Retreat and the programme will conclude with the Easter celebrations at the Centre.

Appreciation for Sumedha Sadhana

My experience in Sumedha Centre, in the Kumaon foot hills of Himalayas, close to Nainital was a special one. We were 18 participants; 5 Priests, 2 brothers and 11 sisters. Except for one sister from Thailand and myself, all were Indians. For two months we live together following the same rhythm of life. Men and women, middle aged and old, all worked, studied, prayed, danced and made fun together.

We participated in beautiful liturgies and rituals. Carefully selected films, books, songs etc were in abundance. We opened up to one another and shared what we were living at a deeper level. Together we discovered that we are all vulnerable, that we are all gifted and that we are all capable of living our lives fully. No one had any reason to be proud or ashamed of. After all, we are all human beings. In the process many of us experienced “healing miracles”, thanks to the expertise of the director who led us carefully through the process, valuable contribution of the resource persons and the understanding collaboration of our companions.

Throughout this experience I never remembered, I was a foreigner. I believed what I learned in school. My ancestors came from India and we have a blood relationship with the Indians. This is apart from being members of the same large human family. My Sri Lankan identity is still very important to me; but it is not a preoccupation anymore.

I will thank God for the rest of my life, for this precious experience I had in this beautiful land.

Thanks to all those who contributed to make this stay enjoyable, meaningful and fruitful. I would like to end this little article with a quotation from “The gentle art of Blessings” by Pierre Pradervand:

“If you ever, even for a few days, had the opportunity to live with others in an atmosphere devoid of all criticism and judgment, where you were accepted unconditionally just as you are, with your strengths and weaknesses, you are aware of what an extraordinary experience it is. Creativity, joy and spontaneity burst forth, hearts open, trust and self confidence blossom.”(pg. 97)

Before the experience of Sumedha Sadhana I would have said this is not possible. But today I would say, what I experienced is such more than this.

Sr. Winifreda WASALATHANTHRIGE

Sri Lanka

60-DAY SADHANA IN THE KUMAON HILLS

A sixty-day Psycho-Spiritual Wholeness Journey entitled Sumedha Sadhana concluded today at Sumedha Centre for Psychology and Spirituality, Jeolikote, in the Kumaon Hills of Uttarakhand.

Sumedha, a venture of the Salesian Province of New Delhi, is a centre for renewal of body, mind and spirit through the integration of insights and practices from psychology and spiritual traditions. The sixty-day Sumedha Sadhana is the flag-ship programme of the centre. It is offered three times a year.

The last of the Sumedha Sadhana for the year commenced on October 1 and brought together religious and priests from various parts of the country and abroad. There were 18 participants in all – eleven religious sisters, two religious brothers (including a Salesian from Mumabi Province) and five priests (three religious and two diocesan.)

The major module, lasting three weeks, was Psychological Dynamics on the Spiritual Journey, and was facilitated by Dr. Jose Parappully SDB, PhD, the Director of the Centre.

This module helped participants to journey back into their childhood to discover the experiences that helped to fashion their sense of self, and journey into the future to discern how they wanted to live out the rest of their lives. In this backward and forward journey they explored the various dynamics related to issues of identity, intimacy, generativity and integrity.

Dr. Ajoy Fernandes SDB, PhD helped the participants discover their psychological types, their persona and shadow and integrate them for a healthier sense of self during the module Jungian Perspectives on Self Awareness.

Dr. Rosamma John ICM, PhD helped participants explore Women’s and Feminist Spiritualities.

Dr. MC Abraham CSC, PhD and Dr. Jose Parappully led the participants through the healing and transformative experience of group therapy. Five days of silent spiritual retreat directed by Dr. Jose Parappully helped participants to integrate the experiences of the two months and concluded the programme.

As they looked back at their two-month experience at Sumedha all the participants expressed great satisfaction regarding the quality of the programme. Some said it was the best they had attended. One common comment was “I received so much more than I expected.” Another was, we go back “refreshed,” “renewed,” “reenergised.”

Nazareth sister Cecily remarked. “I made a deep journey into my past, my present and my future. There was a lot of time to introspect. The beautiful surroundings really helped. I got every thing I wanted. I go back recharged and re-energized. Sumedha was such a blessing. Very satisfied with everything.”

“What Sumedha did was to help me reinvent myself. I came here disappointed, disillusioned, and disordered,” disclosed Joy, a diocesan priest from Orissa. “Sumedha helped me take control of my life.”

Mike, another diocesan priest, said: “The best experience I’ve ever had. Every thing was a new experience. I received so much more than I expected. It has a given a new direction to my life.”

“I came here broken, finding my life so meaningless,” shared Teresa, a missionary nun form the North East. I am going back with hope.”

For Tesia, a hospital worker, Sumedha was “a profound God experience. I came here confused, troubled, searching for something. And I found what it was. I go back energised, confident.”

All this happened because “every aspect of the programme was carefully selected, beautifully blended, integrated in a meaningful sequence, and effectively communicated. I got exactly what I needed. I thought the programme was organised with just me in mind. I profited from every bit of it,” observed Winie, a Holy Family nun from Sri Lanka.

Supha, a Sacred Heart nun from Thailand, remarked, “I could be like a child here. There was so much freedom.”

“I liked the atmosphere of freedom given here. I felt I was being treated like a responsible adult whether in my personal routine or community. I found the food and other services very good,” said Theo, a missionary priest - a sentiment echoed by other participants as well.

Next Sumedha Sadhana dates: Feb 25-April 25; May 20- June 30; Oct 01-Nov 29, 2011. Registration is open.

JUNGIAN PERSPECTIVES ON SELF AWARENESS

An Important module of the ongoing Sumedha Sadhana programme is entitled Jungian Perspectives on Self-Awareness. It was held from 18 to 23 October and was facilitated by Dr. Ajoy Fernandes, PhD, a Salesian priest from Mumbai.

Dr. Fernandes first helped the participants to identify their Jungian Type using the Myers Briggs Type Inventory. He then focused on the Dominant and Inferior Functions and their impact on one’s spirituality. The exploration of dominant and inferior functions also served as introduction to the Persona and the Shadow. Participants were helped to identify their persona and shadow through fantasy and guided imagery exercises. He then moved on to an examination of the Animus and the Anima” and provided insights and strategies for their integration using two films, Spiderman II and Earthsea.

A final integration of the week’s explorations and experiences were accomplished through creation of Mandalas. Participants offered these Mandalas at the concluding Eucharist, integrating psychological exploration and spiritual practice.

Participants found this module immensely useful for growing in self-awareness and expressed great satisfaction with the way the module was handled. On a scaled of 1 to 10, one representing “Very Little Useful” and 10 “Immensely Useful,” nine of the 18 participants gave a perfect 10 on the scale to represent their assessment of the Degree of Usefulness of this module. Two participants gave a score of 9 and seven a score of 8. Two participant comments from several that illustrate satisfaction:

“The process helped me to go step by step in the journey of self-discovery till I got in touch with the real issue that bothered me for months…. Expressive art and imaginary exercises were very helpful to me, especially art.” Sr. Winie.

“I had done this workshop earlier about 10 years ago. But the way Ajoy did it was different. He had a unique style which I found useful. It was not a lecture but a non-threatening self-discovery in my own inner journey. Fr. Philip

News from Sumedha

We began the last programme for 2010 - Sumedha Sadhana - on October 1. It goes up to November 29. We have 18 participants (11 women religious, five priests and two religious brothers.). It's houseful!! We also had houseful for the June-August Sadhana.

We were anxious whether the participants would be able to reach Sumedha Sadhana as the road between Jeolikote and Kathgodam had been closed to traffic because of landslides. However all the participants turned up on time. They had to go all the way to Nainital via Bhimtal and then come down to Jeolikote! No one complained!!

Some sad news. Br John's father passed away on Oct 14. He was seventy five. We got the news that night at 9.30. The funeral was to be the next day. John didn't go as he would not be able to reach home for funeral. He will be going home in December. He lost his young sister (during child birth) on October 21st last year. So two big losses for him. Please remember him in your prayers.

Last month we had torrential rains for several days. On18th the rains continued non-stop and they caused lots of damage. Roads in several parts of the State were washed away and landslides killed several people. Part of the road in front of Sumedha Centre (near the BSNL tower) was washed away. It has been repaired. A long stretch of the road between Jeolikote and Kathgodam was washed away and the traffic on that road was suspended for some weeks. The road has just been opened (on the 15th), because of Dussera. The condition of the road is still bad. Authorities might still close it. Marketing has become very difficult and time consuming. We have to go to Nainital, come down via Bhowali and Bhimtal (3 hours to go and 3 to come!). Please pray the conditions of the roads improve. The road to Almora is still cut off.

Winter is slowly setting in. The evening are beginning to be chilly, but the days are glorious with brilliant sunshine and blue skies.

Our 2011 Schedule is given in the previous blog.

Blessings!