Carrying the light forward

Honoring Nard Michals

Lifetime Recognition Award

Presented at the May 9, 2026, Gathering of the C. G. Jung Institute of San Diego

It is with deep gratitude and great joy that we honor our esteemed colleague, Nard Michals, with the Lifetime Recognition Award for Excellence in the Teaching and Practice of Jungian Analytical Psychology.

For more than thirty-five years, Nard has devoted himself to the living tradition of Jungian psychology — sharing his knowledge, insight, and passion with generations of students, candidates, colleagues, and members of the wider community. From the C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, to the C. G. Jung Study Center of Southern California, and now to the C. G. Jung Institute of San Diego, his teaching has touched and inspired countless individuals throughout California and beyond.

Nard is widely recognized as a master teacher of Jungian thought — one of the rare individuals capable of illuminating virtually any volume of Jung’s Collected Works with both intellectual rigor and living humanity. His love for the writings of Jung’s closest collaborators and successors — including Marie-Louise von Franz, Edward Edinger, Esther Harding, and especially Barbara Hannah, whom he once met personally in Zurich — has enriched the lives of many who have had the privilege to study with him.

This recognition also marks a meaningful full-circle journey. It was here in San Diego, in the 1980s, that Nard first began his own training as a Jungian Analyst with the Society of Jungian Analysts of San Diego (SJASD). Today, we welcome him home — honoring not only his extraordinary contributions to the field, but also the dedication, wisdom, and generosity of spirit that have shaped his lifelong path.

Nard, we are profoundly grateful for your presence among us and for all you have given to this community.

Nard’s wisdom extends far beyond the classroom and consulting room. Through his blog, he continues to share reflections shaped by decades of study, clinical experience, and deep engagement with Jungian thought. We warmly invite you to spend time with his writings and discover the insight, curiosity, and humanity that have made him such a beloved teacher and mentor within our community.

https://nardmichalsblog.wordpress.com/

As T. S. Eliot so beautifully wrote:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started,
And know the place for the first time.