An Essay on Transformative Learning in Relation to Jungian Synchronicity and Individuation

Authors

  • Linda Lazzeretti Sofia University

Keywords:

teaching and learning, transformative learning

Abstract

This essay is an exploration of transformative learning in relation to synchronicity and individuation. It is meant to offer for discussion another way or model in which to understand and explore transformative learning. It is a reflection of my own interest in this exploration as well. As such, I am focusing this exploration on applications for transformative learning from the writings of William James and Carl Jung in the following areas:
1 William James's "compass needle" (James, 1987, p. 214) within the psyche turning to successor stages or emergent transformation of consciousness.
2 A closer look at the margins of the psyche where these successor stages happen.
3 The emergence of the individuation process through imaginal work in the unconscious and conscious that involves fantasy thinking and active imagination (Jung, 1989, p. 171).
4 The connection involving the "phase transition" concept (Cambray, 2009, p. 64) of synchronistic emergence as part of the successor stages in the individuation process.

Author Biography

Linda Lazzeretti, Sofia University

Adjunct faculty, Masters of Education in Transformative Learning Program, Sofia University

Field supervisor, credential coach, Oakland Unified School District

References

Adamatzky, A. & Mainzer, K. (2013). Local Activity Principle: The Cause of Complexity and Symmetry Breaking. Chaos, Cnn, Memristors and Beyond (pp.146-159). Singapore, SGP: World Scientific Publishing Company.

Atmanspacher, H., & Fuchs, C. (2014). The Pauli–Jung Conjecture and Its Impact Today. Exeter, UK: Imprint Academic.

Barton, S. (1994). Chaos, self-organization, and psychology. American Psychologist, 49, 5-14.

Baumgartner, L. M. (2001). An update on transformational learning theory. In S. B. Merriam (Ed.), The new update on adult learning theory (pp. 15-24). New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 89. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bosustow Video Production. (1990). The World Within: C G

Jung in his own Words. Available from http://www.junginla.org/videos/

Cambray, J. (2002). Synchronicity and emergence. American Imago. 59. 4, 409–434.

Cambray, J. (2009). Synchronicity: Nature & Psyche In An Interconnected Universe. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press.

Cranton, P. (2006). Understanding and promoting transformative learning (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Embree, L. (2011). Reflective Analysis: A First Introduction into Phenomenological Investigation. Bucharest, Romania: Zeta Books.

Freeman, W. J. (1991). The psychology of perception. Scientific American, 264, 78–85.

Freeman, W.J. (1983). The physiological basis of mental images. Biological Psychiatry, 18, 1007–1025.

Freeman, W.J. (1999). Consciousness, Intentionality, and Causality. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6, 143-172.

Hanson, R. (2015). No – Self in the Brain: Insights from Neuroscience (Video Streaming). Available from http://www.spiritrock.org/day – long events/.

Herrmann, S. (2014). Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

Hogenson, G. (2005). The Self, the symbolic and synchronicity: virtual reality and the emergence of the psyche. The Journal of Analytical psychology, 50, 271–284.

James, W. (1987). Writings 1902–1910. New York, NY: The Library of America.

Jung. C. (1989). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. (Vintage Book ed.). New York, NY: Random House, Inc.

Kegan, R. (2000). “What ‘Form’ Transforms?: A Constructive-Developmental Perspective on Transformational Learning.” In J. Mezirow and Associates (eds.), Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kelso, S. (1995). Dynamic Patterns: The Self – Organization of Brain and Behavior. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

King, K. P. (2002). A journey of transformation: A model of educators’ learning experiences in educational technology. In J. M. Pettit & R. P. Francis (Eds.). Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Adult Education Research Conference, (pp. 195-200). Available: http://www.adulterc.org/Proceedings/2002/papers/King.pdf

Lipton, L., & Wellman, B. (2003). Mentoring Matters. Sherman, CT: MiraVia, LLC.

Mainzer, K. (2005). Symmetry and complexity in dynamical systems. European Review, 13, 29-48.

Melancon, G. and Joanette, Y. (2000). Chaos, Brain and Cognition: Toward a Nonlinear Order? Brain and Cognition, 42, 33-36.

Melloni, L., Molina, C., Pena, M., Torres, D., Singer, W., and Rodriguez, E. (2007). Synchronization of neural activity across cortical areas correlates with conscious perception. Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 2858-65.

Mezirow, J. (1978). Perspective transformation. Adult Education Quarterly, 28(2), 100-110.

Molle, M., Marshall, L., and Pietrowsky, R. (1996). Enhanced dynamic complexity in the human EEG during creative thinking. Neuroscience Letters, 208, 1-4.

Robertson, D. (1996). “Facilitating Transformative Learning: Attending to the Dynamics of the Helping Relationship.” Adult Education Quarterly, 47(1), 41–53.

Shenk, J. (2014). Powers of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity. Boston, MA: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Spinelli, E. (2005). The Interpreted World. London, England: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Taylor, E. W. (2000). “Fostering Transformational Learning in the Adult Education Classroom: A Review of the Empirical Studies.” In C. A. Wiessner, S. R. Meyer, and D. A. Fuller (eds.), The Third International Transformative Learning Conference: Challenges of Practice: Transformative Learning in Action. New York: Columbia University.

The Regents of the University of California. (2008). New Teacher Center Formative Assessment System: Mentor Teachers. Santa Cruz, CA: Author.

Tononi, G., Edelman, G. M., and Sporns, O. (1998). Complexity and coherency: Integrating information in the brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2, 474-484.

Varela, F.J., Lachaux, J.P., Rodriguez, E., and Martinerie, J. (2001). The brainweb: Phase synchronization and large-scale integration. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2, 229–239.

Zabriskie, B. (2014). Psychic energy and synchronicity [Abstract]. The Journal of Analytical Psychology, 59, 157-164

Downloads

Published

2017-11-01

Issue

Section

Essays