Active Imagination

by Richard Reeve on January 7, 2009

in AziMuth

ready for the ride
Image by jimpg2 via Flickr

Along with exploring dream contents, Jung shared another process, not as well known, for getting in touch with the contents of the Collective Unconscious.  Active Imagination is a meditation technique that leads to a quasi-dream state encounter with the same types of images and experiences we have while dreaming.

His own references to this process are scattered through a variety of works, but this search page offers a variety of great resources to explore this most effective of alchemical procedures.

I’m introducing this theme to begin building a frame of reference for when future posts refer to active imagination.

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  • Looking forward to the future posts referring to "active imagination."

    <abbr>Demian Farnworth´s last blog post..How to Read a 291-Page Book in Two Hours</abbr>

  • Hey Demian,
    I'm going to be visiting some petroglyphs out in the desert this weekend, and thinking I'll build those experiences into some posts about Active Imagination. Thanks for the encouragement.

  • Thank you Richard, for introducing me to Active Imagination. I am interested in concepts of inner psychic mediation and translation. Following your link to Wikipedia the works of Gertrude Stein come to my mind.

    I have tried to circumvent my inner censor with creative tasks to accomplish within a certain frame of time: one tweet every 20 seconds for 5 minutes or a song for the new year within 30 minutes. To let it write out of me.

    Or do I get Active Imagination totally wrong?

  • Hey Detlef,
    By Active Imagination, Jung is pointing to a very specific experience, whereby we enter into dream imagery while awake. Sometimes these experiences are aided by creative expression, such as sand play, painting, movement, music...

  • pegmulligan

    Helping define and set the stage for some of these terms would be very helpful, for at least someone like myself to participate and provide more meaningful comments here. Your posts always make me think, but it's been quite awhile since I studied Jungian psychology, and it wasn't my first calling at the time (literature, not psychology was).

    On your serendipity article, I spent time looking up the concepts, so your post had an impact, and made me think. I just am not in a position yet to add a lot of value to the conversation. I think your approach here is a great inclusive, blogging strategy to build, educate, and eventually invite to participate some of your more lay followers, who enjoy your posts.

  • Peg,
    It means a great deal to me that you are finding entry into the content I'm sharing. In the end, what I'm doing here is precisely realized if it helps you find the thread of your journey. You participate just as much going out in search of your interests, spured on by something you read here, as by leaving a comment...but comments are always appreciated.

  • Whenever I'm exposed to it, I'm fascinated by Jung's work. I haven't heard of Active Imagination but will check it out. It resonates w/ the idea of prefigurative politics.

    Are there any books or writings you would recommend for a solid introduction to his work?

    <abbr>ninjaclectic´s last blog post..Interview with David Hartwell</abbr>

  • Jung's opus is huge and add to that what the Jungian's have produced and you have a small library (they are a creative lot...) So finding your thread into the labyrinth means identifying where your interest lies. That said, the most engaging intro to me is actually in comic book form called Introducing Jung. I would also recommend his autobiography Memories Dream and Reflections, to get the measure of the man. Let me know if you have a targeted interest and I'll steer you in that direction...

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