As one looks back one sees a pattern unfolding, much like the plot of a novel, in which events that seemed entirely unintended turn out to have been central to the composition. Who composed the plot? C. G. Jung calls this guidance system the archetype of the Self, which is one’s full potentiality, present at birth and guiding one to adulthood and beyond.
This presentation consists of two parts: a theoretical portion exploring the theme of destiny in the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell and in the life and work of Jung and his theory of the process of individuation — and My Father’s Hand, a memoir of growing up in poverty in the Philippines. These will be followed by a discussion to explore the mythological and depth psychological approaches to memoir composition to find the inner story of a life.
GRACE HOGSTAD, PHD, received her Doctor of Philosophy in Mythological Studies with Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and holds a Master of Arts degree in English, Creative Writing, from California State University, Northridge. She is certified by the C.G. Jung Institute of L.A., Certificate Program in Jungian Studies. Prior to her doctoral work, Hogstad operated her own real estate brokerage.
