Active imagination is a therapeutic process of communication between the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. Often invoked in meditation, it can be a powerful tool of self-awareness. Everyone has an active imagination. Now is the time to use it.
Booklet: World of Alchemy: Spiritual Alchemy
Active Imagination forms a mystic arc between the conscious and unconscious segments of the human psyche or personality. The personality based on the Jungian concept is created by the interaction of:
ego (the conscious self)
personal unconscious (repressed or forgotten memories or facets of Self)
collective unconscious (compendium of human understanding and knowledge shared by all)
A depth therapy technique, active imagination translates contents of the unconscious mind into images, stories, or giving them human-like qualities. It functions as a connection between the conscious "ego" and the unconscious mind.
Booklet: World of Alchemy: A Little History
Prize-winning chemist August Kekulé discovers the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing its own tail, or ouroboros, an ancient protective or alchemical symbol. Alchemy is the predecessor of modern chemistry.
It's important to chronicle the experience afterward, especially if it's done in a trance, meditation or vision quest. Images are vivid and memorable. Dreams can be interpreted through the active imagination, in auto writing or depth therapy.
Use of imagination and fantasy nurture creativity. The essence of active imagination lies in freedom of the unconscious from the conscious mind's control of manifested internal images. This is why lucid dreaming cannot work as an active imagination technique.
Meditation (speaking from experience) is an excellent way to tap into this vibrant communication medium. The practitioner simply gets into deep meditation state and allows the mind to wander, while also assuming the role of objective observer.
Meditation is only one of several techniques for deciphering unconscious issues by letting them act themselves out. Active imagination can be experienced by visualization (a method used by Jung), which can be similar in technique to shamanic journeying.
Active imagination can also be practiced through automatic writing or other artistic expression like dance, music, painting, sculpting, ceramics, crafts and mathematics. Using these methods, the practitioner achieves creative independence from the overthinking ego.
The process allows the unconscious thought forms, or inner "self", as well as the entirety of the psyche, to express the messages they're trying to convey to the conscious mind. It provides an opening for communication.
For instance, if someone describes a visualized scene or object from a dream, the method encourages the individual to simply observe the scene, note any changes, and describe them without imposing deliberate alterations. This is also a good exercise for writers.
The individual reacts authentically ie intuitively to the changes and documents any subsequent developments in the scene. This approach ensures that the unconscious content can manifest itself without interference from the conscious mind.
Nonetheless, Jung emphasizes the necessity of engaging actively in the process of active imagination, stating
"You yourself must enter into the process with your personal reactions: ... as if the drama unfolding before your eyes were real."
Jung associates active imagination with alchemical processes, as both aim to achieve unity and interconnectedness among fragmented and disconnected elements. Jung's exploration of this process is documented in his Red Book.
Active imagination promotes communication between conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche or personality. The multi-tiered psyche is continually busy with inter-dynamics of the personal and collective unconscious.
Jung acknowledges potential pitfalls of active imagination:
"... the method is not entirely without danger, because it may carry the patient too far away from reality".
Jung describes his imaginative or visionary endeavors in the early 20th century as "the most challenging experiment" he undertook. This experiment involves a deliberate encounter with the unconscious.
Starting December 1913, he continues with the same method: intentionally conjuring up a fantasy ("fancy") while awake and then immersing himself in it as if it were a stage play. These fantasies are a form of thinking portrayed in visual images.
Jung initially records his activities, which he calls visions, fantasies, or imaginations in a series of private journals. In a dream or visionary state, he questions people he encounters, and doesn't let a person leave his sphere of being until he learns why that person is there.
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