May 13th - 15th 2011

Kontakt der Kontinenten, Soesterberg, The Netherlands

The Brain and the Soul

Neuroscience & Psychosynthesis

Key Note Speakers: Gerald Hüther, Piero Ferrucci and Catherine Vidal.

In recent years evidence provided by neuroscience has confirmed many of the working practices of psychotherapy, particularly in areas concerning early attachment, therapeutic attunement and trauma recovery.  Innovative models and exciting techniques have been developed which are capable of realigning neural pathways and promoting faster recovery from traumatic events and destructive emotional patterns.

Yet this paradigm leaves unaddressed some important questions concerning the nature of self, the search for meaning, and the longing to be reconnected with a wider, deeper whole.   We might also ask whether wisdom, insight and spiritual maturity reside as much in the heart as in the brain.  Perhaps the soul shows itself through our inter-relatedness with each other and the more-than-human world. Some believe that the challenge facing humanity at the present is the shift from ego centric individualism towards an empathic connectedness with others. 

This conference will attempt to address the growing relationship between science and therapy, and will explore the connections and differences between psychosynthetic and scientific discourses about the soul in the 21st century.