In today’s talk, Doug Qapel Duncan introduces the topic of archetypes. He gives an overview of what archetypes are, how they operate in our lives and explains how to harness their power by making them conscious. In the talk, Qapel touches on the topic of refuge and its connection to how we relate to archetypes. He also briefly talks about samadhi, states of absorption, which you can hear more about in last week’s bonus episode.

This recording was made during the first course that had to switch to online only during the early days of the pandemic. Catherine Sensei was in a writing retreat at the time and so Qapel led this course on his own.

Interestingly, Sensei was finishing her book about the Gion Festival. If you would like to learn more about this fascinating and beautiful 1150-year-old month-long purification ritual focused on warding off epidemics, check out Catherine Sensei’s book, The Gion Festival: Exploring Its Mysteries. Sensei is the world’s foremost English language expert on the festival, and has used this position to help reintegrate people’s understanding of the festival as a massive spiritual ritual. You can find it, and some videos on the topic at gionfestival.org/book.