Thomas Fire update from Pacifica Graduate Institute
Monday, December 11, 2017 at 4:32 p.m.

Dear Pacifica Community and Friends,

This is an update on Pacifica Graduate Institute’s status during the state of emergency due to the Thomas wildfires. At the moment we remain closed until further notice; we are waiting for our campuses to be free of any danger. Both campus are free from harm, though there is significant amounts of ash in the area. Our email systems have been removed to safety so unfortunately email communication is currently unavailable. We are exploring ways to update our website. However, in the meantime if you need to be in contact with us, please respond via our social media channel and we will attempt to direct inquiries to appropriate staff.

Pacifica Update: Monday, December 11, 2017 at 2:07 pm

Thomas Fire Update from Pacifica Graduate Institute
12/10/2017 12:38 p.m. Pacifica Standard Time

As a precaution, Pacifica Graduate Institute has closed its Lambert campus in Carpinteria, and its Ladera campus in Santa Barbara, as of 2:15 pm today, December 6, due to extraordinary conditions from the Thomas fire. Pacifica Graduate Institute plans to reopen Monday morning, December 11, 2017. Classes will not be held December 6 - December 10.

Jungian Analyst Stanton Marlan presents "Divine Darkness and Divine Light: Alchemical Illumination and the Mystical Play between Knowing and Unknowing." This presentation was given in the summer of 2017 at the conference Ars Alchemica: The Art And Alchemy Of Transformation.

This weekend symposium, hosted by The Retreat at Pacifica Graduate Instiutute drew upon the rich influence of Jung’s alchemical psychology, while expanding it for a new generation of scholars, seekers, and practitioners.

Pacifica was honored to have Andrew Samuels, internationally recognized political commentator and theorist from the perspectives of psychotherapy and depth psychology, present at the October conference Up Against the Wall: Politics, Community Psyche. Dr. Samuels presented "A New Therapy for Politics?" and we are delighted to share that lecture with the Pacifica community.

My Pacifica Experience. A guest post by Mythological Studies student Carol Myers.

Pacifica reached out and hooked me initially, with a presentation by Pacifica Mythological Studies graduate Kwame Scruggs. Last fall, I heard him speak briefly about his work with young men in Akron, Ohio, using myth and drumming. I liked his attitude and the way his head and heart worked, and I thought Pacifica and the Mythological Studies Program had something to do with that. In no time at all, I started the application process. I also attended the Pacifica Experience day in January of 2017. In spite of temperatures in the 30’s and relentless rain, there was a warmth and energy I liked. In particular, I recall the panel of students representing several programs offered at Pacifica. One of the students representing the Mythological Studies Program was Leonora Francesca ; I liked the way she spoke and I liked the way she thought. And I figured Pacifica and the Mythological Studies Program had something to do with that. I also met countless other students in several programs: administrators, teaching faculty, and staff who were marvelous! And I thought Pacifica had a lot to do with that! In addition, of course, I thoroughly explored the website, blog, videos, and catalog, all of which shined with energy, ideas, and creativity in action.

A guest post by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D.

On my first day of class I was nervous. Probably all of us were. The catastrophe of 9/11 gave all we did an added poignancy, raising the question of what we were there for in the face of such tragedy and its fallout.

At Pacifica we sit in a circle, which could be daunting at first for the shy, but I was relieved to see a small group of us. That, I came to realize, was the norm at Pacifica.

My Pacifica Experience. A guest post by Integrative Therapy and Healing Practices Specialization student Winsome 'Win" Alston.

I was excited about starting my studies at Pacifica because of what I had read about Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.  When I studied Jung many years ago, I was fascinated by his work on dreams, the archetype and the various characters we embody as we progress through life. Similarly, Joseph Campbell’s book on The Hero’s Journey also resonated with me and stirred something within my psyche. Thus, when I read about Pacifica, Depth Psychology, Jung and Campbell, there was only one place for me – Pacifica.

Over the past several months our nation has faced a series of traumatizing events: catastrophic storms and fires, social upheavals over injustice, exchanges of polarizing verbal attacks, and now another horrific act of mass murder, all against a backdrop of continuing escalation of nuclear threats and posturing. Our physical, psychological, political and social ways of being have been destabilized. Taken in aggregate these events appear to be revealing a time of crisis unprecedented in recent history. Yet they need not overwhelm. Out of dark and trying times, history tells us that transformation can occur.