Dreams become reality

Susan Mehrtens had the first of what she calls her “voiceover dreams” as she lay in bed Nov. 25, 1983.

The dreams tell her what will happen in her life and what she’s supposed to do.

At first, they confused her. However, as time went on, she realized the dreams were helpful, and she decided to listen to them.

Over the course of a week in July 2005, Mehrtens had a series of voiceover dreams that laid out plans for an educational center based on the work of famed psychiatrist Carl Jung.

“At the end of the week, I was appalled,” she said. “It just seemed so big that I couldn’t possibly do it.”

Despite her reservations, she went to a lawyer, and after five months of work, the Jungian Center for the Spiritual Sciences in Waterbury was incorporated on Dec. 31, 2005.

Mehrtens, 70, a retired Community College of Vermont professor, runs the center out of her home on Clover Lane. There, she teaches courses on everything from women’s history to Native American spirituality.

The classes are small and discussion-based, which Mehrten said is in line with Jung’s belief that “small is beautiful.”

Classes generally last four weeks, meet once a week for two hours, and cost about $40 for the full eight hours.

Mehrtens said she runs the classes with the mindset that her students are adults who usually have a lot going on in their lives. There are no homework assignments, no tests and no grades.

She does have recommended reading, but students complete it only if they want.

Liz LeServiget, who lives in Moscow, has been taking classes with Mehrtens for many years.

“It’s rich stuff,” she said of Mehrtens’ classes. “It’s stuff you don’t learn in school.”

LeServiget’s favorite class so far was on esoteric Christianity, examining the mysteries of religion.

“It made me look at Christianity in a very different way,” she said.

Many courses Mehrtens teaches result from student recommendations. Mehrtens, who holds a doctorate in history, decided to teach a course on Western civilization because her students were interessted.

She also teaches subjects outside her specialty, and another frequent student, Danit Fried, said she has been amazed by the scope of Mehrtens’ knowledge.

Fried said she can take any subject and make you understand it.

“It wasn’t like learning a dry theory,” she said. “The theory was there, but it was fun to learn.”

Jack Barwick, chair of the center’s board of directors, said he is impressed with the volume of work Mehrtens turns out. It seems like she’s always writing and coming up with new ideas for classes.

“She’s got a whole factory over there,” Barwick said. “She can produce hundreds of pages at a moment’s notice.”

The center’s next class, which starts Jan. 6, is titled Jung the Man. It will cost $60. The course will delve into Carl Jung’s life rather than focus on his work.

Barwick is especially interested in that class, which is why he asked that it be held at the Old Stagecoach Inn on North Main Street, which he owns and operates.

“In psychology 101, you’re exposed to the man’s thinking,” he said. “You’re exposed to his contribution to the whole structure of psychology, but you don’t learn anything about the man himself unless you read a lot of biographies.”

Jung the Man will be Barwick’s first class at the Jungian Center, and he looks forward to it.

Mehrtens hopes people know that the Jungian Center, though based on the work of a psychiatrist, is not a clinic. There is no psychoanalysis. She will not be prodding your mind.

“It’s a school.”

For more information about the center and a schedule of upcoming classes, visit the website at jungiancenter.org.