Santa Fe Jung

Active Imagination With Music [LECTURE]
2026-03-13 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Denver)
by Rich Ryan

Music is the most direct and mysterious way of conveying and evoking feeling. It is a way of connecting one consciousness to another. I think the nearest thing to telepathy is making music together. –Oliver Sacks

Carl Jung discovered the process he later named Active Imagination during his “encounter with his unconscious.” This journey led him to a 16-year project that ultimately culminated in the creation of The Red Book. Active Imagination has been elaborated upon and utilized through writing, painting, drawing, dancing, and sandplay. However, the application of Active Imagination through music has not been extensively explored or documented.

Music offers a rich projective field for engaging with the unconscious and the process of individuation. It functions as an archetypal and instinctive phenomenon, operating autonomously within the psyche.

The Friday evening program will demonstrate that music serves as a portal to the unconscious and acts as an archetypal force for accessing the collective unconscious. I invite you to explore this idea with me and share a musical experience through Jung’s method of Active Imagination by listening to music together.

In the Saturday workshop, we will delve deeper into the Active Imagination process using several short, selected pieces of music. Materials will be available for you to respond to your experiences through drawing and writing, and one particular piece of music will serve as a prompt for movement, dance, or spontaneous expression.

RICH RYAN, PhD LCSW trained at the Jung Institute of Los Angeles where he is a member analyst. He is also a member of the Interregional Society of Jungian Analysts and the C. G. Jung Institute of Santa Fe, where he is the incoming (2025) president and teaches in the Analyst Training Program. Rich is licensed in New Mexico and California and currently practices in Santa Fe and California. He is available for supervision, consultation, and analysis in person or by telehealth.

Get Tickets to Register

ONLINE registration to attend this program live (in person or online) ENDED on Friday, March 13, 2026 at 9:00 am Mountain Time. In-person tickets will be available at the door, doors open at 6:30 pm Mountain Time.

Tickets to receive access to the video recording after the event are still available below.

If you registered to attend online via ZOOM, The ZOOM link will be sent out on Friday, March 13, 2026 at 12:00 pm Mountain time.

This lecture will be video recorded. Everyone who registered will receive access to the video one week after.

**Note: You must attend the LIVE lecture — either in person or online via ZOOM — to receive CEU credit (ie: no CEUs offered for only watching the video recording after the event).

In-person Location

Santa Fe Friends Meeting Hall

505 Camino De Los MarquezSanta Fe, NM

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Active Imagination With Music [WORKSHOP]
2026-03-14 09:00 - 13:30
by Rich Ryan

Music is the most direct and mysterious way of conveying and evoking feeling. It is a way of connecting one consciousness to another. I think the nearest thing to telepathy is making music together. –Oliver Sacks

Carl Jung discovered the process he later named Active Imagination during his “encounter with his unconscious.” This journey led him to a 16-year project that ultimately culminated in the creation of The Red Book. Active Imagination has been elaborated upon and utilized through writing, painting, drawing, dancing, and sandplay. However, the application of Active Imagination through music has not been extensively explored or documented.

Music offers a rich projective field for engaging with the unconscious and the process of individuation. It functions as an archetypal and instinctive phenomenon, operating autonomously within the psyche.

The Friday evening program will demonstrate that music serves as a portal to the unconscious and acts as an archetypal force for accessing the collective unconscious. I invite you to explore this idea with me and share a musical experience through Jung’s method of Active Imagination by listening to music together.

In the Saturday workshop, we will delve deeper into the Active Imagination process using several short, selected pieces of music. Materials will be available for you to respond to your experiences through drawing and writing, and one particular piece of music will serve as a prompt for movement, dance, or spontaneous expression.

RICH RYAN, PhD LCSW trained at the Jung Institute of Los Angeles where he is a member analyst. He is also a member of the Interregional Society of Jungian Analysts and the C. G. Jung Institute of Santa Fe, where he is the incoming (2025) president and teaches in the Analyst Training Program. Rich is licensed in New Mexico and California and currently practices in Santa Fe and California. He is available for supervision, consultation, and analysis in person or by telehealth.

Get Tickets to Register

ONLINE REGISTRATION to attend this program ENDED on Friday, March 13, 2026 at 9:00 am Mountain Time. In-person tickets will be available at the door, doors open on Saturday at 8:30 am Mountain Time.

This event is in-person ONLY.

In-person Location

Santa Fe Friends Meeting Hall

505 Camino De Los MarquezSanta Fe, NM

Open Google Map
