The developing Human Being
More and more, modern psychology is recognising that human beings are on a path of development, and that the spiritual dimensions play a vital role in this development. Jung speaks of the unconscious within each person, and the collective unconscious within the whole of humankind, as the driving force that brings us to points of crisis, which then become focal points for further development. As Liberal Catholics, we need to understand how the inner levels work within us, and how we can help ourselves and others to grow.

The Threshold
In order to reach those inner levels within us, we need to approach the threshold, i.e. the boundary between the conscious and the unconscious. In our modern society, we are trained to be conscious of everything, to suppress our feelings and intuitions that come from deeper levels within us. We have become so rational that we are unaware of the deep-seated images that operate in our lives, often preventing us from growing. We have to transform those forces within ourselves that resist change.

Humankind as a whole is struggling with this: the mystics called it the dark night of the soul, that state of being where we feel cut off from the spiritual, where we have to confront the shadow within us. If we look at world events, we can see this happening. Each of us individually is going through a similar process.

The combination of working consciously with our growth and the involvement in the Church's Sacraments (providing us with the nourishment we need to do our inner work), is something unique that The Liberal Catholic Church can offer. It could be of inestimable value to our work as Liberal Catholics to explore the approach to the threshold during the forthcoming Summer School.

It is a life-skill we all need, but few of us have had the opportunity to develop. There are many methods of counselling that one can learn, each with their valuable contribution to make. However, many of these methods do not take the spiritual into account, and one therefore experiences these as helpful, but not reaching the whole person.

This Summer School looks at ourselves as evolving, growing human beings, with a destiny and a learning path in life. All our challenges that we experience – our sufferings, situations of confusion, desperation, hardship, etc - are things we have chosen in our innermost selves to go through during our life. Only if we can understand these processes within ourselves, can we help others to cope (even transform) their difficult situations.

Who can take part?
Counselling is a lay activity that anyone, Clergy, Bishops and Laity, can learn. It requires that one can put oneself aside completely for a while, and become a sensitive listener. It also requires an understanding of the three levels of the human psyche (conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious), and how all three levels need to be engaged to find the roots of a problem that we have encountered. An essential requirement is a morality that reveres and respects the process the person is going through, keeping the counselling in a sacred and protected space.

Counselling as a process of facilitation
The role of a counsellor is to provide the opportunity to help a person to listen more deeply to him or herself. As a facilitator, the counsellor takes his/her lead from the person being counselled, sensitively guiding the process through three phases: first, a clarification of the issue, then deepening the understanding through unveiling the feelings involved, and finally allowing the person to intuit what action he or she really wants to take (the transformative stage). The use of imagery adds depth and wholeness in this process, especially in the second and third stages.

This approach to counselling respects that the psyche only opens those issues, which the person is ready to handle at that point. Hence the importance of being led by the person, facilitating, but not analysing or imposing anything. It goes without saying that serious emotional disturbances have to be referred to professionals and cannot be handled by lay counsellors.

The conversation is a deep sharing between two people and if held in the space and reverence that it deserves, touches on a spiritual communion that is in itself healing. "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in the midst of them."

Learning by doing .....
This Summer School offers an introduction to the process of holistic counselling, followed by some practice. The actual methods of the counselling process are explained, and then practised in small groups. As we can only learn counselling by doing it, every participant must be willing to take turns to be counselled by their fellow-participants in these small groups. This requires that a genuine, but relatively small issue, is shared with the group. Confidentiality is essential, and each group will only function once confidentiality is established.

Our church gives healing an important place in its services, bringing the spiritual into the process of becoming whole again. Healing is both a learning process and a spiritual process. There is no disease that makes its appearance without a reason. Even if the disease is caused by infection of some kind (something attacking the person from the outside), it has a purpose for the sufferer. Learning to understand the purpose of the disease is of inestimable value in the healing process, and we can learn ways in which, as groups of concerned people, to help each other to do this.

If we combine healing services with mutual work in understanding illnesses, we can provide a very valuable support for those who are struggling in our communities. The human warmth generated by these activities are also healing, strengthening the bonds between people in the Church Community.

The Presenter of the Summer School
Peter van Alphen was born on 14^th December 1950. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Music, majoring in church organ and choral conducting. He later obtained the teachers licentiate with the University of South Africa. Thereafter he went to the Emerson College of the Waldorf School Movement in Forest Row, Sussex, to become a teacher in the Rudolf Steiner method of teaching. He returned to Cape Town as a teacher in the Waldorf School. Today he is head of the Waldorf School Movement in South Africa. He is deeply involved in the training of teachers and in outreach programs for adult education among disadvantaged communities. His success in starting and running a community centre for disadvantaged people attracted the attention of the authorities. In 1998, the centre was graced by a visit of Nelson Mandela, then State President of South Africa. Peter is an adult educator with many years' experience in lay counselling. He became a Life-Line counsellor and attended numerous counselling workshops. He also received informal training from a clinical psychologist in Cape Town. Peter has trained adults in counselling techniques for 6 years.

Peter has been chosen to extend the Waldorf School Movement into East Africa. He runs Teacher training courses in Nairobi, Kenya, which is attended by students from not only Kenya, but also Tanzania and Uganda. He is a Deacon of the Church but became inactive in the Sanctuary when he joined the Waldorf School Movement. He is, however, well known for his playing of the organ during church services, delivering sermons, and for his sharing of deep thoughts on the role of The Liberal Catholic Church in the world.

Recommended reading list
The following books are recommended for study in order to be better prepared for attending the Summer School. They make good reading, at the same time giving a continuous reference on how to interpret stories in Jungian perspective.