"The Woodcarver"

This is one of the many prose/ poems and stories conveying Taoist sensibilities. One way for me to remember to look into and inside .

“The Woodcarver” in _The Way of Chuang Tzu.
Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand of precious wood. When it was finished, all who saw it were astonished. They said it must be the work of spirits.
The Prince of Lu said to the master carver: “What is your secret?”

Khing replied: “I am only a workman: I have no secret. There is only this:
When I began to think about the work you commanded I guarded my spirit, did not expend it on trifles that were not to the point.

I fasted in order to set my heart at rest.
After three days fasting,
I had forgotten gain and success.
After five days
I had forgotten praise or criticism.
After seven days
I had forgotten my body
With all its limbs.

“By this time all thought of your Highness
And of the court had faded away.
All that might distract me from the work
Had vanished.
I was collected in the single thought
Of the bell stand.

“Then I went to the forest
to see the trees in their own natural state.
When the right tree appeared before my eyes,
The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.
All I had to do was to put forth my hand
And begin.

“If I had not met this particular tree
there would have been
no bell stand at all.

“What happened?
My own collected thought
Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;
From this live encounter came the work
Which you ascribe to the spirits.”

Hello Group. As requested here is my parting comment about this group experience:
Our Angelo Spoto weekend wakes up and reintegrates sides/facets of Self that are just schuffled along in the day-to-day...not really encountered or experiences.
thank you for another amazing experience.
Loretta

2011 Spoto Seminar Topic - Tools for Individuation

Hi Everyone,
The topic for next year is Tools for Individuation: Dialoging with the Unconscious. It will include some hands on application of techniques such as dream analysis, active imagination, and maybe even some sand play! Stay tuned for the seminar dates, location, and reading list.
Paula

Spoto Sustenance 2010

Hi Everyone,

I’m looking forward to seeing you in this weekend. As those of us who have participated before in the seminar know, Jungian psychology is hard work! We need snacks to keep us going! Not only that, but sharing food and wine adds to the conviviality experienced over the weekend. We are a bit more constrained than in the past due to the fact that we don’t have our own kitchen fridge at our new venue.

Please review the shopping list and also let me know:

• Whether you have a food allergy or dietary restraint not already listed
• Whether you have non-perishable suggestions to add
• Whether you think it will work to bring cheese and grapes and leave them out a few days. (I might also be able to put a couple of things in the fridge.)

Reply either by clicking the comments link at the end of the blog entry, or by replying to my email. The past few years, I’ve purchased a case of wine with 9 bottles of red and three of white. Here’s last year’s shopping list, minus perishables and the non-perishables meant to accompany them:

• Apples – 6 pounds Macoun (had some left over); note: Laura loves Macoun and can’t get them in PA (and they are your Snack Coordinator’s favorite); If anyone wants to bring a few local apples from their area, we could do an apple tasting.
• Grapes – 1 bunch red seedless
• Dried apricots – 1 container
• Almonds – salted and unsalted
• Cheese – 3 cheeses, including cheddar, 1 goat cheese
• Crackers for cheese (include whole grain, sesame-flavored Asian Rice Crackers
• Nuts: walnuts (Ray); 1 big container (qt.-sized) mixed nuts and/or trail mix
• 1 bag hard pretzels
• 2 big bags chips (corn and blue corn)
• 1 pints salsa
• Cookies – two tubs of mini cookies
• Caffeine-free diet Coke (Angelo’s request) and with caffeine (Cindy)
  3 2-liter bottles of seltzer
• Cranberry-Pomegranate juice

See you soon!

Paula

October 2010 Agenda

Friday October 15
8:00 – 8:30 PM: Short meeting to get oriented for the weekend. Welcome, announcements and messages.

Saturday October 16
8:00 to 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 AM to 10:30 AM: Meeting begins
10:30-10:45AM: Break
10:45 AM -12:00 PM: Meeting resumes
12:00 to 2:00 PM: Lunch
2:00 to 3:30 PM: Meeting resumes
3:30 to 3:45 PM: Break
3:45 to 6:00 PM: Meeting resumes
6:00 PM: Dinner

Sunday October 17
8:00 to 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 to 10:30 AM: Meeting begins
10:30 to 10:45 AM: Break
10:45 to 11:30 AM: Meeting resumes
11:30 AM to 12:00: Lunch
12:00 to 2:45 PM: Trip to Edith Wharton estate ($14.00)
3:05 to 4:30 PM: Meeting resumes
4:30 to 4:45 PM: Break
4:45 to 6:30 PM: Meeting resumes
6:30 PM: Dinner

Monday October 18
8:00 to 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 to 10:30 AM: Meeting begins
10:30 to 10:45 AM: Break
10:45 AM to 12:00 PM: Meeting resumes and concludes.