ON-DEMAND COURSE

Your Life as Fiction

Jungian Psychology
TEACHER
Craig Chalquist
TOPIC
Archetypes
Format
4 class course
DURATION
60 min

Payment options: Credit Card or PayPal.

Inspired by Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, this course explores how fiction can help us shape a new personal and collective mythology for our time.

In this course we will be guided in the exploration of fiction. Fiction offers a lens through which we can have fresh ideas about ourselves and the world around us. By exploring fiction we will come to see our lives as part of a larger ongoing myth.

Course Description

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As Jung reminds us, life isn’t about solving our problems or challenges. It is about outgrowing them. So instead of fixing challenges, we are invited to adopt a new, more resilient attitude to life. Healing is about opening ourselves to new possibilities and ways of being. In other words, we are asked to re-imagine our lives.

How do we reimagine our lives? Through storytelling. Whether in fiction, therapy, coaching, or daily life, storytelling is a powerful way to learn about ourselves. Our lives are shaped and understood through narrative. Stories can help us hold and transform the complexity of our experiences.

We sometimes dismiss fiction as fantasy. In doing so, we overlook its capacity to inspire our individuation process. Carl Jung engaged deeply with different forms of fiction. Less known is that he read and met with science fiction author H.G. Wells. He also wrote a book on flying saucers and a preface to From India to the Planet Mars. This reflects his respect for the symbolic power of all kinds of storytelling.

In this course, Craig Chalquist, will guide us in the exploration of fiction. He views fiction as extended active imagination, much like Jung’s Red Book and Black Books. Craig also draws on Joseph Campbell’s insight that modern mythology often arises through personal creativity. Fictional characters will guide us. Through their voices and struggles, we can glimpse archetypal forces—the gods—speaking to us.

The exploration of this course points to a broader vision. By engaging with these stories and symbols, we can shape a new personal and planetary mythology. This mythology resonates with the challenges and possibilities of our time. Fiction, then, becomes much more than entertainment. It offers a mirror, a map, and a compass for navigating the mystery of life.

This course invites us to reflect on the fictional dimensions of our life. We will learn to see fiction as a way to connect to wisdom and healing.

This program is ideal if you want to be able to

  • Analyze how fiction can help you explore your inner world and how it offers insight in your individuation process.
  • Describe the fictional narratives that mirror your own life and the challenges you face.
  • Seek inspiration from mythological and archetypal figures that accompany you on your life path.
  • Create a new personal (and planetary) story and mythology.
  • Integrate storytelling and fiction into your life or professional practice.

Course overview

What you will receive

*You will receive a certificate of completion, but it’s not from an official accrediting body. Please check if it will be accepted by the organization you wish to use it with.
4 video & 4 audio recordings
Auto-generated closed captions
Certificate of completion*
Available in English

ABout the teacher

Craig Chalquist

Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. is a depth psychologist and storyteller with a background in Family Systems Therapy. He teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies and at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he was formerly the associate provost. He has also presented at various Jungian institutes and societies. 

Scholarships

We here at Jung Platform want to make these programs available to anyone. If you would love to participate yet can’t pay for the full course, then please send us an email at scholarships@jungplatform.com and describe why you feel you qualify for a scholarship, how much you can pay, and what you will do to help the Jung Platform promote this and other programs.

The Jung Platform Guarantee

We stand by our programs. If within 30 days of your purchase or the live course start, you're not satisfied, we offer a replacement or a full refund.

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