The 2026 Zurich Lecture Series
ISAPZURICH and CHIRON PUBLICATIONS
present
Leslie de Galbert, B.A., D.E.S.S.
The Alchemical Mind:
Carl Jung, Tibetan Buddhism, and Francisco Varela
In The Alchemical Mind: Carl Jung, Tibetan Buddhism, and Francisco Varela, Jungian analyst Leslie de Galbert brings a new perspective to the relationship between Jung and Buddhism by introducing the work of Chilean scientist and philosopher Francisco Varela (1946–2001). Jung stressed the importance of remaining faithful to one’s own cultural origins and found that Westerners were too rooted in Cartesian mind-body dualism to be able to experience the nondualism of Eastern contemplative practices. Yet he also posited that the archetypes of the collective unconscious are universal. Can this paradox be resolved?
When His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Francisco Varela co-founded the Mind and Life Institute in 1987, they did so in the belief that interdisciplinary dialogues between Western scientists and Eastern contemplatives might offer new insights into the mind and consciousness. Varela brought not just neurobiology but also his concept of embodied enactive cognition into dialogue with the Buddhist epistemologies of Tibetan monastics.
Galbert shows how analytical psychology resonates deeply with this idea of openness and dialogue as a means to building a bridge between different viewpoints and different cultures. The Alchemical Mind lays down a path where an encounter between analytical psychology, Tibetan Buddhism, and the ideas of Francisco Varela enriches and deepens our understanding of mind.
Date & Venue
7–10 October 2026 | Zurich, Switzerland
Reception, Apéro, Lecture 1 & Dinner:
Jung, Mind and Life
Setting the Stage – Building a Bridge
Zunfthaus zur Schmiden
Marktgasse 20, 8001 Zurich
The first lecture and dinner on Wednesday, 7 October will be held at the “Zunfthaus zur Schmiden” (Guild House for Blacksmiths), a beautiful city palace located since 1412 at Marktgasse 20, close to the Limmat River in the heart of old Zurich. The sumptuous late-Gothic Guildhall and the historic rooms with style, warm hospitality and tradition will make you feel welcome. It is a special privilege to celebrate the Zurich Lecture Series at this grand location.
More lectures will follow on Thursday, 8 October at ISAPZURICH.
Stampfenbachstrasse 115, 8006 Zürich
Tram 17, 50 or 51 to Beckenhof
Lectures:
2. The Mind is Not in the Brain: Autopoiesis and Enaction
Depth Psychology and the Cognitive Sciences
3. Analytical Psychology, Enaction, and Buddhist Epistemology
Triangulation
4. Buddhism and Psychology, Buddhism and Science
Dialoguing in Dharamsala
5. What Bridge for Analytical Psychology and Enactive Cognition?
Imaginary, Ephemeral or Perennial?
2026 ZLS Speaker
Leslie de Galbert, B.A., D.E.S.S.
Leslie de Galbert, B.A. in Philosophy, Hollins University, D.E.S.S. in Clinical Psychology, University of Paris 7. Leslie is a member of the International Association of Analytical Psychology and of the Association of Graduate Analytical Psychologists, Zürich. She was born and raised in the United States, and has lived in Paris, France since 1972. As a clinical psychologist, Leslie worked in the public hospital system in Paris, in geriatrics and palliative care. As a psychoanalyst in private practice in Paris, she was a member of the Société Française de Psychologie Analytique. For the IAAP, she supervised the training of psychoanalysts in Tbilisi, Georgia for a number of years.
Leslie has published articles in the Cahiers jungiens de psychanalyse and the Revue de Psychologie Analytique, and enjoys translating articles on philosophy and psychoanalysis from French into English. She has followed Mind and Life Institute dialogues since their beginnings in the 1980s, and has been an Association member of Mind & Life Europe since 2018 and a Board member since 2022.
Event Schedule
Wednesday, 7 October (Zunfthaus zur Schmiden)
17:30–18:15
Reception & Apéro
18:15–19:15
Lecture 1: Jung, Mind and Life
Setting the Stage - Building a Bridge
19:30–21:30
Dinner
Thursday, 8 October (ISAPZURICH)
10:00–12:00
Lecture 2: The Mind is Not in the Brain: Autopoiesis and Enaction
Depth Psychology and the Cognitive Sciences
Lecture 3: Analytical Psychology, Enaction, and Buddhist Epistemology
Triangulation
12:00–13:30
Light Lunch
13:30–15:30
Lecture 4: Buddhism and Psychology, Buddhism and Science
Dialoguing in Dharamsala
Lecture 5: What Bridge for Analytical Psychology and Enactive Cognition?
Imaginary, Ephemeral or Perennial?
Cost & Registration
Package Registration
ZLS 2026 (7–10 October), including:
• Apéro, Gala Dinner and Lecture 1
• Lectures 2–5
• Postlude Lecture Series
• Excursion (free to first 10 registrants)
Single Attendee: CHF 380 (after 1 June, CHF 420)
DUO-ticket for two people: CHF 600 (after 1 June, CHF 680)
Final Registration Deadline: 30 September 2026
ISAP Participants and Students, please contact the Front Office to register: [email protected]
About the Zurich Lecture Series
The ZLS was established in 2009 for the purpose of presenting annually a significant new work by a selected Jungian psychoanalyst or scholar who has previously offered innovative contributions to the field of Analytical Psychology by either: bringing analytical a psychology into meaningful dialogue with other scientific, artistic, and academic disciplines; showing how analytical psychology can lead to a better understanding of contemporary global concerns relating to the environment, politics, religion; or expanding the concepts of analytical psychology as they are applied clinically. For the Series the selected lecturer delivers lectures over a two-day period in Zürich based on a previously unpublished book-length work, which is then published by Chiron Publications.
Postlude to the Zurich Lecture Series 2026
You are invited to participate in a day of Postlude lectures following ZLS at the International School of Analytical Psychology in Zurich.
Postlude Lectures
Friday, 9 October 2026
Stampfenbachstr. 115, 8006 Zürich
Tram 11 or 14 to Beckenhof
10:00-12:00
To be announced.
13:00-14:45
To be announced.
15:00-16:45
To be announced.
ZLS Postlude Package (includes all lectures)
General Entry, including Confirmation of Attendance – CHF 150
General Entry – CHF 120
ZLS Postlude Per Lecture
General Entry, including Confirmation of Attendance – CHF 60
General Entry – CHF 50
Students & Over 65 on-site, including Confirmation of Attendance – CHF 50*
Students & Over 65 on-site – CHF 40*
Refugees attending on-site – CHF 10*
* Official proof of student status, age, or refugee status must be shown on-site for discount.
Gratis for ISAP Students and Analysts
ISAP Students will receive credit for on-site lecture attendance.
For questions please contact [email protected]
Excursion: Guided Tour of the (Tibetan) Buddhist Art Collection at the Rietberg Museum
Excursion Coordinator: Kathrin Schaeppi
Collection of the Museum Rietberg, Himalaya © Photo: Museum Rietberg
Saturday 10 October 2026, 10:00–11:15
Meeting place:
Rietberg Museum Welcome Desk
Museum Rietberg, Gablerstrasse 15, 8002 Zürich
How to get there: https://rietberg.ch/en/information
This guided tour at the Rietberg Museum brings Leslie de Galbert’s lectures to life through a curated selection of exceptional Buddhist—especially Tibetan—objects. Discover how these works open a vivid window onto non-Western artistic traditions, cultural exchange, and lived Buddhist wisdom.
Arrival time: 10:00, deposit coats and bags in the cloak room.
Guided Tour: 10:15–11:15
Cost: CHF 25 (pre-paid and non-refundable) including entrance fee and guided tour
Maximum 25 people
Tour is in English.
Registration deadline is 30 September 2026.
Excursion Coordinator
Excursion Leader
Rietberg Expert Tour Guide to be Announced
Postlude Speakers
To be announced.
Es gehört zum Wesen politischer Körper, dass sie das Böse immer bei anderen sehen, ebenso wie der Einzelne die fast unausrottbare Neigung hat, sich alles dessen, was er von sich nicht weiss und nicht wissen will, dadurch zu entledigen, dass er es dem anderen zuschiebt.
Uns finden
From 14 Dec 2025: Tram 17, 50 or 51 to Beckenhof
Ab 14. Dez 2025: Tram 17, 50 oder 51 nach Beckenhof