Tao
of Elvis
Friday, September 17, 2004, 7:30pm
At Binkley Baptist Church, corner of 15-501 and Willow Drive
The C.G. Jung Society of the Triangle and the Center
for the Study of the American South present
"The Tao of Elvis"
a lecture and book by
David H. Rosen, M.D.
Professor and Jungian Analyst
The Lecture
"The Tao of Elvis: The Myth and Meaning of America’s King"
Elvis Presley represents a modern mythical deity who links the individual to
society and the cosmos through the Muses. The discrepancy between Elvis’s
true and false self caused him immense pain and agony. He became extremely
despondent and eventually stopped the unbearable anguish through multiple drug
use. Nevertheless, Elvis was on a spiritual quest, which is surely related
to his later being seen as a religious figure following his death. Since then,
Elvis has become even more popular: he’s evolved into a multicultural
icon and mythic figure. What does this say about us? Why has Graceland become
a Mecca for hundreds of thousands of visitors and pilgrims each year? What
does it mean that churches have been established in Elvis’s name? Why
are there so many impersonators of Elvis? Why do American presidents admire
him? What do the sightings of Elvis mean? Isn’t this the mythos of the
quest and eternal return? Elvis is pervasive in our global village. Looking
into the Elvis mirror and seeing ourselves is about facing our own soul’s
struggle for meaning. Dr. Rosen will discuss, with slides and music, Elvis’s
spiritual journey and the evolution of his myth.
The Book
The Tao of Elvis
From his early days as a burgeoning superstar to the drug-addled
haze of his final years, from “Love Me Tender” to “Suspicious
Minds,” from devoted father to estranged husband, Elvis Presley’s
life was one long quest to balance opposites. Yet no matter how
he was cast-- as a savior, a sinner, an idol, a has-been-- Elvis
was a deeply spiritual man. Published twenty-five years after his
death, The Tao of Elvis is the first work to illustrate Elvis’s
Taoist nature and to interpret his never-ending search for purpose
and meaning. Revealing his journey from light into dark and back
to light, Jungian expert and Elvis scholar David Rosen explores
and examines the king’s life through the structure of the
Tao Te Ching. In reflections on forty-two Taoist concepts-- one
for each year of Elvis’s life-- Rosen shows how the Tao,
a mysterious force, was and is operation through America’s
king. Like the Tao, Elvis is everywhere.
The Tao of Elvis, published by Harcourt in 2002, has
been featured in USA Today, The L.A. Times, The New York Post,
Modern Maturity (AARP), The Chronicle of Higher Education, The
Irish Times, and many other publications.
David Rosen is the author of seven other books,
including The Tao of Jung, Transforming Depression, and The Healing
Spirit of Haiku (co-authored with Joel Weishaus). A psychiatrist
and Jungian analyst who holds the only American full professorship
in Jungian psychology, Rosen teaches at Texas A&M University,
where he is also a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science
and of humanities in medicine. He lives in College Station, Texas.
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