Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association (HKSTA)

This month we conclude our study of The Road to Enlightenment by learning from the insights of Hayao Kawai in his book Buddhism and the Art of Psychotherapy.

Kawai first learns about Psychotherapy from the West in the United States. But after returning to Japan, he continues to develop further insights into the Jungian’s theory through his understanding of Japanese Buddhism.

In this book, he touches upon the philosophy of Rosarium Philosophorum, (Rosary of the Philosophers) that has 20 pictures depicting a “spiritual journey” that the alchemist has to go through in order to achieve enlightenment. He then compares the journey of the Ten Oxen Herding pictures with this series of 20 pictures that show a similar process. Then he goes on to decipher how the East and the West defers in the finding of Self and their attainment of consciousness.   

In this study, we will introduce the concept of Rosarium Philosophorum that is the basis of alchemy where the union of animus and anima comes into being to achieve a new sense of awareness. We will see how Kawai compares this philosophy with the Ten Oxen Herding and how these concepts can be applied in the fairy tale of The Wizard of Oz to conclude our 3-part study of this series.

For those who are interested in getting to know the concept of Rosarium PHiosophorum, you can find an introduction from this link: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/april2009.html

Details:

Study Topic: The Process of Individuation from the East and West
Presenters: Ms Jennifer Wong (A counsellor and a part-time assistant lecturerer for the Master program in counselling of the University of Hong Kong)
and Ms. Berenice Lee (A private practitioner, Certified Counsellor of HKPCA)
Date: October 27, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:00-9:00pm (online)
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

For this study group, we will look at some of the characters from the fairy tale of The Wizard of Oz to understand the road of enlightenment for the character of Dorothy.  “Symbolically this fairy tale describes how a person becomes healed and whole. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion represent unexplored, wounded and undeveloped aspects of the psyche. As the travelers evolve together, they create a sense of integration and wholeness that leads Dorothy into a more conscious awareness of herself. Through the inner development, she returns home to a place of contentment and self realization.”  (Gita Dorothy Morena from The Wisdom of Oz, Reflections of a Jungian Sandplay Therapist)

Gita Dorothy Morena is the great granddaughter of Frank Baum who is the creator and author of the original fairy tale of The Wizard of Oz. She is a Jungian Sandplay Therapist herself. I will be sharing some of her thoughts in her book of how she sees the symbolic meaning of these characters play out in sandplay and Individuation process towards enlightenment.   

Participants are encouraged to read the story of The Wizard of Oz or watch the movie (staring Judy Garland) before the study group where some references will be made.

Details:

Study Topic: The Process of Individuation from The Wizard of Oz  
Presenters: Ms. Berenice Lee (A private practitioner, Certified Counsellor of HKPCA)
Date: September 29, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:00-9:00pm (online)
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

The Ten Oxen Herding pictures from The Orient are often used to describe the road to enlightenment in the Zen tradition.  We will explore whether this series of poems and pictures can be applied and understood from the Jungian perspective of Individuation.

We will start by learning the meaning of the pictures and the poems that accompany them. We will see how they can be related to the Jungian concepts of Individuation that leads to the conscious awareness of wholeness.

This study is the 1^st of a 3-part series where we try to understand the concept of wholeness from the East and West. We will study the story of The Wizard of Oz next month and draw some comparisons between these two stories as well as using these concepts for the theme of ”Finding our Way Home” in sandplay in October.

A short you-tube clip is attached herewith at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8kAPQrjP14 to wet your appetite on how this Ten Oxen Herding story can be applied to our present lives symbolically as well.

Details:

Study Topic: The Ten Oxen Herding Pictures
Presenters: Ms Jennifer Wong (A counsellor and a part-time assistant lecturerer for the Master program in counselling of the University of Hong Kong)
and Ms. Berenice Lee (A private practitioner, Certified Counsellor of HKPCA)
Date: August 18, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:00-9:00pm (online)
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

The movie Forrest Gump begins with a white feather floating about in the breeze and gently landing next to Forrest’s foot.  The feather is blown about randomly by the wind and, Forrest says, “you never know what you’re gonna get”. If a feather was chanced upon on the ground, ancient people believed that it was the Divine sending a message or blessings to the finder. They were seen as having a connection to the divine. 

It makes sense that birds have always been considered holy or sacred creatures by ancient peoples because of their ability to fly close to the heavens. They believed that birds carried prayers, souls, wishes and good luck from the earth to the sky. Native Americans used feathers in ritual because they knew the spirit of the bird was represented by the feather. Bird spirits (and by association, feathers) are extremely powerful in purifying the spirit and cleansing the energetic environment. Feathers held a special meaning to Native Americans; they were considered the bridge between Mother Earth and the Spirit World. In Egyptian mythology, the feather was the symbol of Ma’at, the goddess of truth, justice and order. Weighing the hearts of the newly dead in the underworld against the weight of a feather of Ma’at determines the worthiness of his or her soul or to determine the purity of the soul. If the heart was light as a feather, the soul was deemed pure and the spirit could move freely into further evolution. Besides, in Celtic symbolism, feathered cloaks worn by priests represent the journey to the Otherworld.

The presenter will use the sandplay scenes to further the understanding of the symbol of the feather. How it appears in the Sandplay process and how does it carry significance for the process?

Symbol Sharing: Feathers
Date: July 29, 2021 (Thursday)
Time: 10:00-11:30am
Presenter: Ms Sally Chan (Certified ISST Sandplay Therapist, Chairperson of HKSTA)
Venue: Webinar via zoom
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

Octopus is one of the most interesting sea creatures. Name octopus is derived from the Greek language, and it means eight-footed. It moves with grace and fluidity, using both strategy and intuition equally as Octopus enjoys exploring the ocean.

Octopus contain a fantastic creature with an ability to defend itself with an ink-like liquid and the ability to camouflage. Moreover, the mysteries of Octopus are dissolution and regeneration, which expresses the hidden connections between chaos, emptiness and the ordering capacity of the psyche in a paradox.

After realizing the characteristics and the metaphors of Octopus, how to support clients in exploring personal growth?  In this study group, the presenter, Ms ManYee Wong will use Sandplay and creative art play case for illustration.

Date: June 22, 2021 (Tuesday)
Time: 7:30-9:00pm
Presenter: Ms ManYee Wong (Accredited Play and Creative Arts Therapist)
Venue: Webinar via zoom
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

Healing and personal transformation are the sine qua non of therapy. In Sandplay therapy, healing occurs with the strengthening of the ego-Self axis in the process of individuation, while transformation is evidenced by an expansion of consciousness and personal world view (Ammann, 1991)

Murray Stein argues that a person’s destiny is made up of a series of transformative images and experiences, such as an impressive person you meet, a dream, an active imagination experience, or a traumatic event such as a divorce or death of a loved one. Dr. Stein then focuses on the importance and significance of intimate relationships on the journey towards individuation because such relationships involve projections and therefore transference and countertransference. In order to analyze further such an important interpersonal dynamic, he makes use of Jung’s four stages of analysis: confession, elucidation, education, and transformation itself. Finally, the author illustrates the stages of inner development on the journey towards individuation as seen in the images and sequence of the Rosarium Philosophorum.

In this Study group, Adrian Davis will examine the nature and role of transformation in Murray Stein’s book Transformation: Emergence of the Self. 

Book sharing: Transformation: Emergence of the Self (Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology)by Murray Stein,1998
Presenter: Adrian Davis(Certified Play therapist (APTA) and Art therapist (CiiAT), Lecturer of Social Work Programme in Macao, Currently study Sandplay therapy with HKSTA)
Date: 25 May, 2021 (Tuesday)
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Venue: Webinar via zoom
Language: English

Remark: Book could be bought in the online book store, such as Amazon or Book Depository.

Reference: Ruth Ammann (1991), Healing and Transformation in Sandplay: Creative Process Made Visible (The Reality of the Psyche Series)

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.

Fox is a paradoxical kind of animals, which is not only cute and clever but also cunning and cruel. Fox is not as powerful as big cats. Nevertheless, it is no doubt relatively more intelligent among animals. Due to its intelligence, fox is always considered one of the spirit animals. This attribute, besides its instinctual power, sometimes appears in the sand tray.

Moreover, fox’s paradoxical nature is polarized and is expressed by the fox spirits. Some fox spirits are considered benevolent and loyal but others malevolent and treacherous. The characteristics of the fox spirits are “poles apart”. Interestingly, there have been quite some folklores regarding marriage with/of a fox spirit in the oriental literature. If the supernatural creatures are projection of our complexes in the unconscious psyche, which complex (or complexes) does the fox spirit represent? What is its relationship with our shadow?

In this study group, we will discuss the nature of fox, fox spirits in the oriental literature and its relationship with our unconsciousness, and these are illustrated by several clinical case materials.

Date: April 28, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:30-9pm
Presenter: Mr Ryan Hung (a counsellor who works with adults, in particular parents, and sometimes with children as well)
Venue: Webinar via zoom
Language: Cantonese

This study group is only opened to members of the Hong Kong Sandplay Therapy Association.