Remembering Our Beginnings

Paul Huss, D.Min.

The sowing of the seed for what in time became the Brunswick Jung Center occurred in Switzerland on Mt. Rigi, which C. G. Jung first visited in his childhood.  As he gazed upon the breath-taking alpine vista, he could say nothing, for as he recounts, “This is God’s world!”  Brad Pusey approached me on the summit and began talking about a wonderful woman who lived in New York City and summered in Brooklin, Maine.  Her name was Mildred Harris.  He went on to say that Mildred, who was then in her eighties, really wanted to do something in Maine as a way of expressing her thanks for the role that Jungian psychology had played in healing her epilepsy.  He said that Mildred owned a painting by Hans Hoffman, entitled The Source, and that she was willing to sell it in order to provide funding for some kind of Jungian activity.

On a beautiful fall day, Walter Christie, Brad Pusey and I met with Mildred at her Brooklin retreat called Hideaway.  During the course of that memorable morning, we explored possibilities and potential locations where her dreams might come to fruition.  To our joy and amazement, during the lunch conversations, Mildred turned to Brad and said, “Brad, I think we need to get in touch with Sotheby’s and arrange for the sale of the painting.”  With those words, the process that would eventually lead to what has become our beloved Jung Center, was launched.  Augusta, Portland and Brunswick were considered as possible sites for the new Center.  Each had active Jungian organizations, but Brunswick, roughly equidistant between Portland and Augusta, was chosen.

In the weeks that followed, an initial Board of Directors was formed, consisting of Brad Pusey, Walter Christie, Bill Furber and myself, Paul Huss.  Eventually, the full Board was formed, with the additions of Professor Bill Geoghegan, Bruce Riegal and Ruth Hoffman.  The painting sold and Mildred gave a substantial portion of the proceeds to what was now the C. G. Jung Center for Studies in Analytical Psychology.  On September 18, 1988, less than a year after that first meeting at Hideway, the Center celebrated its official opening at a noon luncheon given at Bowdoin College’s Cram Alumni House.  There were approximately one hundred people present.  The highlight of the occasion was an address given by Mildred.  Her presentation was recorded on video, and is available for loan to members under the title, "A Star Is Born."

The Center’s mission was then and now remains to provide courses in Jungian psychology on topics which would appeal to our understanding of Jung’s interests.  We wanted a center of learning grounded in the best of the liberal arts spirit of learning for the sheer love of learning.  The Mildred E. Harris lectureship was endowed and has brought numerous highly-regarded Jungians to the Center over the years.  Anthony Stevens inaugurated this annual lectureship with a stellar presentation on "The Collective Unconscious: Myth or Scientific Hypothesis?"

Since these memorable beginnings, the C. G. Jung Center membership has grown, and numerous course and workshops have been offered over the years under the able and committed leadership of men and women who have given generously of their time, talents and energy.  I have no doubt that Mildred would be thrilled with the way in which her vision has become a flourishing reality that benefits so many of us.

Mildred E. Harris

Mildred E. Harris was born in 1903, in San Rafael, CA, but spent much of her life in New York City.  Her interest in Analytical Psychology grew through her analysis with Helen Henley, which began in 1935.  Mildred was a charter member of the Analytical Psychology Club of the C. G. Jung Foundation of New York.  In 1936, she attended Jung’s lectures at Bailey Island in Maine.  Although Mildred told the story that Jung briefly diagnosed her (“Stick out your tongue”) and predicted an unfavorable prognosis for a Jungian cure for her epilepsy, she attributed her eventual recovery to the years of analysis she undertook in New York.

Mildred practiced physical therapy in New York, utilizing techniques in yoga, breathing and imagery.  She taught training courses on relaxation and natural childbirth at Columbia University.  In 1978, she retired and moved to Brooklin, Maine, where her family had summered for years.  Mildred became a vibrant member of the Jungian community in Maine, attending the Jung Seminars at Bowdoin College.  These weekly seminars on a wide range of topics ran from 1980 through 2005, under the direction of Professor Bill Geoghegan of the Department of Religion.

Mildred’s regard for Jungian psychology and her love of Maine came together in the 1988 founding of the C. G. Jung Center for Studies in Analytical Psychology.  She served as a consultant to the newly-formed Center and in 1989 taught a course entitled, Psyche and Soma: Developing Innate Integrative Capabilities.

Mildred Harris died in 1989. Her legacy lives on through the C. G. Jung Center.  The Mildred Harris Lecture is held each fall in her honor.  At her request, the lecture remains free for all to attend, a gift from Mildred and from the Center to the community.