Lectures

Presentation: Manfred Dreier and Lucy Weidenbach

The incest taboo – a short description of the phenomenon and most important terms

Various people, especially those in psychology, have already dealt with the incest taboo – the taboo of perceiving the reality in relationships – its origin, effects, and transmission from generation to generation. This short presentation will explain in summarised form the incest taboo as a phenomenon and provide an overview of the multitude of concepts that have arisen as result of this interest. These are concepts which must necessarily be understood for a differentiated understanding of the incest taboo. Perhaps in this way, we can avoid at the very beginning of the congress any misunderstandings about the terminology and dispel any concerns about dealing with the incest taboo as a subject.

Taboo as psycho-social control mechanism in and between people

The creation of taboos is a psycho-social phenomenon which is generally underestimated in its importance and which contributes substantially to how people keep themselves and each other in ignorance and lack of freedom. Freedom is taboo, knowledge is taboo, love is taboo. A taboo is a prohibition on what one may think, feel or do, without the need for the prohibition to be justified. The creation of taboos embodies the counterpart of the command: while commands consciously regulate within power structures what is to be done according to those in power, taboos regulate what is prohibited in order to maintain power and ownership structures. While from a political-social point of view the creation of taboos is an expression of a relationship of domination, the creation of taboos is from a philosophical-spiritual point of view an expression of a lack of enlightenment and ignorance regarding the true nature of our being.
A general removal of taboos is the necessary prerequisite for the "exit of man from his self-inflicted immaturity" (Kant), the enabling of love and true spiritual experience.

Respectable incest - the unknown violation

There is no question that incest can be a severe trauma for those affected, with sometimes lifelong consequences. Little is known and researched about the fact that the rejection of the libidinal feelings of an adolescent young person by "respectable" parents can also leave deep traces with far-reaching effects on later life in relationships and on how men and women relate in general.

The incest taboo in true psychotherapy

True psychotherapy is aimed on a deep level at dissolving the incest taboo, which is why the term incest therapy also accurately describes what we understand in essence by true psychotherapy. True psychotherapy is incest therapy; its aim is the dissolution of the incest taboo – the cement bonding together all our human conditioning – and it thus prepares the ground for the birth of a new consciousness that will bring a completely new story for the individual and humanity as a whole. It is through the dissolution of the incest taboo, which is usually – and especially in the context of psychotherapy – an act of perception and not of doing, that incest therapy leads to the freedom to realize our innermost personal and collective destiny and thus to help love, this force pervading all and everything, to break through.
The lecture will explain the theme of the incest taboo in the context of true psychotherapy and will show the means that true psychotherapy uses to accomplish this task.

The confrontation with the incest taboo prevents abuse

Most people associate the term "incest taboo" with abuse.
But we mean just the opposite! Abuse happens everywhere: in psychotherapy, families, churches, sports clubs, etc., precisely because it is a taboo to deal honestly and responsibly with the questions and facts regarding the reality of relationships.
We are convinced that an honest discussion, based on self-knowledge and without taboos, prevents abuse and is a prerequisite for genuine, intimate relationships.
Love, the genuine deep love that brings about healing, especially in psychotherapy, is only possible where no taboos restrict perception, but rather where everything may be, however frightening or unusual.
Exploring the incest taboo is all about perception, not action, even if action cannot be excluded, there where it leads to more love, liveliness and happiness.
Love cannot be regulated by prohibitions and regulations, it is based on the complete freedom to perceive reality and creatively implement it in life, which admittedly requires great maturity!
Love is the only thing that heals and it blossoms only a space beyond fear, taboos and morals.
Engaging with the issue of the incest taboo should not legitimize abuse in any way, but it should help to free the inhibited love among us humans, so that a shared life and work becomes possible, which in turn enables us to restore healthy being and the best in us to flourish.

Laws, codes of ethics and the commandments of love

We will give a brief overview of the laws and codes of ethics that have been established to protect patients from abuse. That a therapy form wants to uncover taboos and question laws and rules, does not mean that anarchy will reign, but rather that new ethical guidelines will open up for mindful therapists, which we call the commandments of love.

Epigenetics - How well-being and stress are reflected in genetics and thus multiply from generation to generation

Epigenetics has been intensively researched over the last 15 years and shows how environmental factors interact with our genes by releasing or blocking the reading of certain gene frequencies. This is closely related to changes in brain function as well as to the expansion of consciousness. Health and well-being are a process that "begins" with the great-great grandparents and does not end with the grandchildren.
Epigenetics gives us insights into the close intermeshing of our lifestyle with the innermost part of our 30 trillion cells and shows what influence we can have on future personal and collective developments. Psychotherapy, psycholysis and meditation have an equal place next to nutritional factors and physical movement.

The incest taboo in psychiatry

This presentation aims to illuminate various aspects of the incest taboo as they occur in everyday life in a psychiatric acute ward. I start from the incest taboo as origin of perception barriers as well as deeply socially anchored dictates and prohibitions for thought and behaviour.
These are also reflected in the microcosm of the network of relationships on a psychiatric acute ward. It is important to become aware of these dynamics, to be able to question and explore them.
This is a mutually stimulating process in the challenging task of helping people with the most severe mental illness back into life, not by finding quick solutions and answers, but by finding out in a partnership of equals what they really need.

The incest taboo in the evolution of humanity – the origin and impact of the deepest taboo

The incest taboo is regarded as the universal human institution.
Nevertheless, the history of mankind is full of reports and myths about incest.
When and why did the incest taboo emerge in the course of human development? What purpose does it really serve? And how does it work?
How does post-Freud psychotherapy in particular deal with this topic?
The presentation, based on the existing and my own personal research, provides an approach to these questions.

Testimonials

Presentation: Andreas Braun

Healing through true relationship

When does healing take place, what are the prerequisites? When does a therapeutic relationship have a healing effect? Personal observations and experiences highlight from the client's perspective the need for a true relationship between therapist and client.

The fear of being oneself and the liberation to love

There is much to learn in a polyamorous love story – about fear and abandonment, powerlessness and loneliness – in order to see, again and again and throughout everything, the truth that you are my destiny, that we love and depend on each other.
Admitting this and surrendering to it again and again, that's what opened me up for you and for life, for this entirely terrible and beautiful world.

Free from the incest taboo

What effects does the incest taboo have on our lives and what would our relationships, our families and our world look like if we were to overcome and integrate the incest taboo and live together in freedom and love?

The bliss of being able to love someone together

What is the secret of a harmonious, absolutely conflict-free, fulfilled love relationship involving many people, in which love, happiness, oneness and aloneness merge together?
An attempt to reveal this mystery, in the knowledge that love does not really let itself be explained, because love itself is a mystery.

Workshop

Exploring the incest taboo in yourself and in relationship

Because this time the congress theme is so fundamental and at the same time so demanding, we decided to offer one big workshop for everyone instead of many small workshops. With the help of exercises and meditative guidance, we will gain a closer experience this major theme through detecting, discovering and exploring the taboo within ourselves and in relation to each other. There will also be space for personal exchange and questions.

Movie

I Am Taboo. A film about the taboo of perceiving reality in relationships

Am I free perception? Can I meet you every moment in innocence – regardless of the life to which I am committed, no matter what life you lead?
One of the greatest taboos among us is the taboo of feeling. Especially when it comes to relationships. To how I feel towards you – independent of other relationships you may have.
Our history is marked by the creation and upholding of taboos that manage in a makeshift way what we don't believe we can do for ourselves: harmoniously deal with all the encounters and relationship situations that we experience in a vibrant life.
A fictional prelude to the film shows the extent to which the perception taboo – the so-called incest taboo – determines the everyday life of each of us. In the subsequent documentary, personal accounts of experience of this taboo are accompanied by professional commentary on what has already been researched in this field of relationship taboos.

Framework Sessions

The incest taboo in fairy tales and mythology

In many fairy tales, myths and stories, incest or the incest taboo, either open or hidden, plays an important role. Evidently, mankind has been dealing with the subject since language was first introduced. One discovers difficult and beautiful, happy and unhappy, perplexing, violent, and even magical stories. Ilona Neumann is a storyteller. Interwoven between the presentations, she takes us into the world of stories and mythology and thus gives us a deeper insight into the subject and our own human history.

An insight into the sacred movements of G.I. Gurdjieff

Dances with the audience
The "sacred dances" ("movements") of Georges I. Gurdjieff – just as psycholysis, tantra and community building in "real psychotherapy” – are an aid on the path of self-knowledge. Developed by Gurdjieff as a main instrument of his spiritual teaching, these dances with their special magic and challenge lead us into a meditative space of mindfulness and discipline, perception and feeling, self-knowledge and stillness.
We want to experience their beauty together, with the goal of creating a space of oneness and love.

Demonstration "The Cross" - a sacred movement by G.I. Gurdjieff

With the performance of "La Croix" we wish to give the audience an impression of the beauty of these dances and through the performance arrive in a deep, quiet, immense space.

Yoga for attunement

In these yoga sessions we sensitize our perception, open our heart and pelvis to prepare ourselves for the presentations. In order to really grasp the depth and scope of the incest taboo, we need a different understanding. One that goes beyond the intellect. One that comes much more from compassion.

Concert: Malia

It is a special pleasure for us that we could invite the singer Malia for an appearance at our congress. Hardly any other music could give our congress theme a more fitting expression! "I hope my story creates an intimacy that invites you in and frees you. Freedom is being yourself" says Malia about the music on her album "Ripples (Echoes of dreams)", which she will present with a band on Saturday evening.