LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Jung Center of Houston presents Energy and the Soul of Houston.  Houston's complex and crucial relationship to the energy industry will be the focus of this free lecture series, featuring energy industry veterans, psychologists, scholars, and prominent Houstonians. Three Wednesdays, Nov. 3, 10, 17, all at 7:30 pm.  Free.  Location: The Jung Center.

What powers Houston? Energy makes possible America's vast activity, the movement of people, materials, and ideas across time and geography. It lies at the heart of Houston's identity. Our existence has depended on the process of drilling into the earth, pumping the black remains of ancient life back to the surface, and painstakingly transforming it into fuel and products for our technologically advanced society.

What we do reflects who we are. Houston's pursuit and creation of physical energy reflects a massive and sustained investment of psychological energy, with far-reaching consequences for the future of the city and of the world. In this three-part lecture series, we will explore the past, present, and future of Houston's relationship with physical energy. We will view energy through a psychological lens, asking the meaning of our experience as energy producers and consumers. And we will discover how understanding the psychological significance of our search for energy can make a crucial difference in Houston's role in the future of energy.

Schedule of Lectures:

Don't Mess with Mother Nature: The Ecopsychology of Energy
Nov. 3 | Pittman McGehee and Phillip Cannon

The Myth of Energy Crisis: The Realities and Implications of Peaks and Tipping Points
Nov. 10 | Matt Simmons and Robert Wagner

How Energy Flows through Houston, Past and Future
Nov. 17 | Ron Hinn and Beth Robertson, with Jerry Ruhl

Philip Cannon enjoyed more than two decades in commercial and investment banking, oil and gas production, and private equity. He has served as Headmaster of St. John’s School in Houston and President and CEO of the Houston Zoo.

Ron Hinn is a Managing Director of PetroSkills, a Tulsa-based energy training firm. Combining three decades of industry experience with a passion for people development, Ron offers unique perspectives on the challenges associated with meeting today’s energy demand.

J. Pittman McGehee, MDiv, is a Jungian analyst and the former dean of Christ Church Cathedral. Pittman is the author of The Invisible Church: Finding Spirituality Wherever You Are and, with Blair Justice, Raising Lazarus: The Science of Healing the Soul.

Wilhelmina E. (“Beth”) Robertson is president of Cockspur, Inc. and Westview Development, Inc. Ms. Robertson served as a Director of the Board of Amegy Bank of Texas, at its inception in 1982 to 2005, and has served on the boards of The University of Houston System, the Council of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and others.

Jerry M. Ruhl, PhD, is an author, psychologist, and executive director of The Jung Center. With Robert A. Johnson, he is the co-author of Living Your Unlived Life, Contentment, and Balancing Heaven and Earth.

Matthew Simmons is the founder and Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Energy Institute. He was past Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association, and served as energy adviser to President George W. Bush, among others. Simmons is author of the book Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy.

Robert D. Wagner, Jr., PhD, has an MBA in finance from New York University and a PhD in Mythological Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has been a New York investment banker for the past 40 years, focusing primarily on the oil and gas businesses of Texas.