“Opening the Heart”: A Follow-up Enterview with Steve Parker

Abstract

AbstractStones are both heavily symbolic and down to earth. In response to a severe heart attack 20 years ago, Steve Parker began working with stones to create a place to retreat and a haven to heal. The stonework took on a life of its own and became a stone sanctuary, featuring many unique stone structures. It is a temenos, a special place for his clients and himself to reflect and connect with larger forces. The most recent work is a large 50-foot sunken spiral labyrinth that descends six feet into the ground, with a square perimeter. It is evocative of the alchemical quest of squaring the circle. The spiral labyrinth is also representative of a mandala, with the center symbolizing the place of the soul. Robert Henderson visited the stone sanctuary in 2015 and interviewed Steve for Psychological Perspectives of June 2017. This follow-up interview focuses on connecting the work with the ideas of C. G. Jung and the symbolism of stones, spirals, and soul. Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert S. HendersonSteve Parker, PhD, is a Jungian psychologist who has been living and working in Fairbanks, Alaska, for 40 years. Steve and his partner, Kornelia Grabinska, PhD, a Jungian analyst, have been running Jungian seminars for 30 years. After a severe heart attack 20 years ago, a series of images emerged that became the basis for art shows and an e-book: Heart Attack and Soul. He then began to make some of the images in three dimensions, building a large stone sanctuary and labyrinth that has become a place for reflection and healing. More information can be found at www.friendsofthelabyrinth.org.Rev. Dr. Robert Henderson is an ordained Protestant minister, poet, and Jungian psychotherapist in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He and his wife, Janis, a psychotherapist, have had many “enterviews” published in Psychological Perspectives, Quadrant, Harvest, Jung Journal, and Spring Journal, and are the authors of the three-volume book Living with Jung: “Enterviews” with Jungian Analysts. Robert has also had a number of poems published in Psychological Perspectives and authored a book of poems: Poems From a Listening Point.