Energy and the Soul of Houston

Three Wednesdays, Nov. 3, 10, 17
7:30 pm
Free | Location: The Jung Center

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 | Ron Hinn and Robert Wagner

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

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.

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.

Joseph A. Pratt is the Cullen Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston, where he has taught for the last 16 years. A specialist in the history of the petroleum industry, he has written histories of Amoco, the Texas Eastern Corporation, and the National Petroleum Council. He is currently at work on a history of the offshore petroleum industry.

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.

This event is officially SOLD OUT. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list, send an email to our registrar at jrracs@junghouston.org. Please include your name, address, email address and phone number (in Fall 2008, the first event in this Soul of Houston series was washed out by Ike, and accurate contact information was essential in getting the word out). NOTE: All unoccupied reserved seats will be released at 7:30 pm.