Trauma and The Soul: The Mystical Dimensions of Trauma and Healing
Unfortunately there were problems with sound quality this year. We recommend the use of headphones or earbuds if hearing the audio files is a problem.
Dr. Kalsched showed, as part of his plenary, the film “As It Is In Heaven”, a Swedish film with subtitles which was written and directed by Kay Pollak. The film is currently available on Amazon and EBay as a DVD.
See note below for copies of the documents mentioned in the lectures. They are here by the permission of Donald Kalsched and are available only to FCRP/WFCRP Conference attenders and supporters. **
In the first track of the audio files below, Donald Kalsched was introduced by the FCRP Speaker Search Committee clerk, Lorraine Kreahling. Problems with microphones prevented adding the audio file of Co-Clerks’ Opening Welcome, remarks and introductions.
The following tracks are a discussion of the film.
The following tracks are the rest of the plenaries:
Dr. Kalsched mentions two quotes in his plenaries. The first is from Abraham Heschel:
“The Search for reason ends at the known; on the immense expanse beyond it only the sense of the ineffable can glide. It alone knows the route to that which is remote from experience and understanding. Neither of them is amphibious: reason cannot go beyond the shore, and the sense of the ineffable is out of place where we measure, where we weigh. We do not leave the shore of the known in search of adventure or suspense or because of the failure of reason to answer our questions. We sail because our mind is like a fantastic seashell, and when applying our ear to its lips we hear a perpetual murmur from the waves beyond the shore. Citizens of two realms, we all must sustain a dual allegiance: we sense the ineffable in one realm, we name and exploit reality in another. Between the two we set up a system of references, but we can never fill the gap. They are as far and as close to each other as time and calendar, as violin and melody, as life and what lies beyond the last breath.”
The second is a poem by Emily Dickinson:
There is a pain – so utter –
It swallows substance up –
Then covers the Abyss with Trance –
So Memory can step
Around – across – upon it –
As One within a Swoon –
Goes safely – where an open eye –
Would drop Him – Bone by Bone –
** Click on the type at the end of the notes below to view the essays.
- Essay on “Trauma, Synchronicity and Paranormal Experiences in Psychoanalysis” © Donald Kalsched, PhD ( Chapter omitted before publication from his 2013 book on Trauma and the Soul): Chapter-Ten-with-References
- Essay on which last plenary was based: “Wrestling with the Angels: Inner and Outer Democracy in America under the Shadow of Donald Trump” © Donald E. Kalsched, PhD Wrestling with Our Angels