Discussion Groups

Facilitated by Jeff Pinnette
One Sunday per Month:
Starting October 28, 2018
10 to 12 pm

FREE for members; No pre-registration is necessary

Required Text: Psychology of the Future by Stanislav Grof

This is an accessible and comprehensive overview of the work of Stanislav Grof, one the of the founders of transpersonal psychology. It serves as a summation of Grof ‘s enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies “moving toward wholeness.” Grof maintains that the current basic assumptions and concepts of psychology and psychiatry require a radical revision based on the intensive and systematic research of holotropic experience. He suggests radical inner transformation of humanity and a rise to a higher level of consciousness might be humankind’s only real hope for the future.

Stanislav Grof heads the Grof Transpersonal Training Program. He was formerly Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Esalen Institute.

For more information and detailed syllabus, see:

Psychology of the Future 2018-19 Discussion Group Syllabus

Bio: Jeff Pinnette is a long-time member of the Center who served on the Board for six years including two as Board co-chair and four as Program Committee chair.

Facilitated by Jennifer Morris
One Saturday per Month:
Starting February 9, 2019
10 to 12 pm

FREE for members; No pre-registration is necessary

Required Text: What Matters Most by James Hollis

Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
– C. G. Jung

Please join us for Jungian focused discussions about books, mythology, and fairy tales. Together we can explore the stories that, throughout time, give us important clues on how to live our lives more fully.

We will begin by reading What Matters Most by James Hollis. Taking a fresh look at the concept of happiness, Hollis uses a warm, accessible tone to encourage readers to learn to tolerate ambiguity, embrace growth rather than security, respect the power of Eros, engage spiritual crises, and acknowledge the shadow of mortality.

James Hollis, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst in private practice and executive director of the Jung Society of Washington. Educated at Manchester College, Drew University, and the Jung Institute in Zurich, he was a humanities professor for more than twenty years and is the author of fifteen books, including the best selling The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning at Midlife and The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other. Based in Washington, D.C., he lectures frequently throughout the country and worldwide, and has spoken at the Maine Jung Center numerous times.

Jennifer Morris’s Jungian experience started with seven years of personal work with a remarkable Colorado analyst, Katherine Kuisle, Ph.D. This experience profoundly changed Jennifer’s life, opening her heart to the guiding symbology around us and within us. She grew up in Yarmouth and lived in Maine for 40 years before moving to Colorado where she lived—when not working as a physician assistant in Alaska or adventuring on a sailboat in the Bahamas—for 23 years. Now retired, she and the cat are quite settled in South Portland, surrounded by her gardens.

Facilitated by Mary Kelley
Last Sunday of every Month:
Starting April 28, 2019
2 to 4 pm

FREE for members and non-members; No pre-registration is necessary
(Donations Graciously Accepted)

We will explore fairy tales from around the world to see what we can learn about how these timeless tales illuminate psychic processes. Hearing and reading the stories can be entertaining and soothing. Interpreting them can unearth kernels of truth. Participants are encouraged to bring their love of stories.

Mary Kelley is a local psychotherapist, and a former member of the Maine Jung Center Board of Directors. She recently taught a class at the Center “Understanding Ourselves Through Fairy Tales”.