Up: [[Intentions]] Related: [[Workflow Based on Image]], [[Symbols]] Created: 2026-09-14 Updated: 2026-07-19 To live a symbolic life is to live in communication with our inner world. Our soul, aka [[The Self]], communicates to us through [[Symbols]] which, by definition, are the bridge between the conscious and unconscious layers of our psyche. When we look at problems and situations in our lives from a symbolic perspective, we are able to access both the personal and collective layers of the unconscious. This broader perspective keeps our personal concerns in perspective. We are also more able to see the universal in the personal and the divine in the mundane, and this makes the everyday world more profound. We look at the world with new eyes. Symbols truly have the capacity to bring insight, healing, and meaning to our lives. > [!Orbit] [[Kikan Massara]] in *The 12 Steps: Symbols, Myths, and Archetypes of Recovery* > A symbolic perspective will bypass the constraints imposed by rationality and engage additional dimensions of the human psyche. When we look at a topic symbolically, it swiftly connects the dots of a fuller picture and brings forth an intuitive understanding of it. (p. 15) Adopting a symbolic perspective is very different from the life of rationality, practicality, and toxic productivity we currently endure. Psychotherapist [Kikan Massara](https://www.kikanmassara.com) makes the excellent point that we live in a world where people are making their living on taking things literally. Personal opinions are promoted relentlessly and blame and shame of others substitute for thoughtful commentary. *In the quest for our attention, the world is being interpreted for us and it is getting increasingly difficult to tell truth from fiction.* I’d add that with AI now on scene, that situation is only getting exponentially worse. Some aren’t bothered by this, but for me, the impact is a kind of psychic deadening which shows up as overwhelm, exhaustion, some compulsive behaviours, and a deep yearning for life to feel more meaningful than it does. My deepest desire in life’s third act is to feel fully alive every single day. I didn’t know what I meant by that, or how it could be achieved, until I attended Kikan Massara’s excellent presentation on [symbolic perception](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb88WAG3jU4) and realized that I have spent the last eight years turning ever so slowly towards this way of being in the world. ## Symbolic Perception Begins with Image Images are the currency of symbolic perception, the essential element of our psychological functioning, providing both information and feeling. They might start as external images, such as photographs, artworks, or objects. Or they might be inner images, such as described in Corbin’s depiction of the [[Mundus Imaginalis]]. Either way, as Jung says, > [!Orbit] [[C. G. Jung]] > To live a symbolic life, you must bring inner objects into conscious awareness and make them a significant part of your life. To live from this perspective does not require that you adopt a religious viewpoint or embrace life as a mystic. But it does demand that you be willing to turn inward at some point each day, and actively engage with your inner world/soul/[[The Self]]. Fortunately, engaging with your soul isn’t anywhere near as complicated or woo woo as it sounds, especially using the framework that is the organizing structure of this vault and that comes from the wonderful [[Mary Oliver's Poem]], *Instructions for Life* *Pay Attention. Be Amazed. Tell About It.* ## Pay Attention We need stillness, silence, and mindful awareness if we are to hear anything other than the noise of our world. There are so many ways to achieve this without having to retire to a monastery or a mountain cave. Some of the ways I’ve been exploring are: - [[Self-Compassion]] and [[Self-Acceptance]] to quiet the loud and aggressive voices of inner bullies like the Rule Follower. - [[Embodiment - Ground Curriculum]] actions from body scans to mindfulness, energy management to meditation. - Aligning my days to my [[Values]], such as my values of [[Inner Harmony]] and [[Appreciation of Beauty]]. A simple example is bundling external obligations into a day or two a week in order to protect the sanctity of commitment-free swaths of time. - Honouring the importance I give to [[Place]], and especially to creating and inhabiting my clutter-free and visually appealing home because I firmly believe that [[Environment Matters to Thought and Creativity]]. - [[Expressive Art]] ranging from the simplest action of meditatively drawing circles to more involved pieces such as [[Mandalas]] or Neurographics. I want to more deeply explore: - Giving plenty of time for silence and stillness - Appreciating emptiness - Allowing space for uncertainty - Returning again and again to my inner stillpoint - Allowing playfulness To live a symbolic life, we also need to be exquisitely attuned to our experiences. This is supported by [[Rituals]] and by deliberately [[Savour]]ing simple pleasures through our [[Senses]] and seeking out the world’s [[Beauty]]. Mindful reflectiveness on these experiences often takes the form of gratitude lists, although I admit that [[Gratitude Lists Make Me Squirm]]. I prefer [[Beam]]s; see, Tell About It below. ## Be Amazed It is a small and inevitable step from savouring the simple pleasures and beauties of life to opening to and engaging with mystery. > [!Orbit] [[Kikan Massara]] > A symbolic life is not a religious orientation, but you do have to be able to accept that there is something beyond yourself. And you need to be willing to tolerate the uncertainty, ambiguity, and paradox that comes with that recognition. As a student of depth psychology, and an analysand engaged in a Jungian analysis of eight years and counting, engaging with mystery is central to my daily life. There are many portals I have been exploring, all of them new to me in the past decade. - [[Dreams]] are the cornerstone of depth psychology because they already speak in the language of the unconscious. [[C. G. Jung]] claimed dreams were *the guiding words of the soul.* - [[Active Imagination Is]] a deliberate practice for learning from and deepening our relationship with the unconscious by activating inner images. - I have started paying attention to the [[Moon]] and various natural cycles including [[Seasons]] and significant seasonal events in the [[Wheel of the Year]]. - Various [[Contemplative Practice]]s bridge paying attention and being amazed, opening the door to a deeper understanding of [[Spirituality]]. - My [[Tarot]] practice is a ritual I engage in every day that never ceases to amaze me in the rich variety of meaningful symbolic images it brings forward for my reflection. And there are portals I haven’t yet explored very much, but intend to. - Sacred sites are made to be portals to symbolic perception. They are always places that were built on geomagnetic hot spots, using technologies that we still don’t understand. - I’d like to read a lot more [[Poetry]]. It’s a wonderful genre for symbolic perception through paradox and metaphor. - I’d also like to read more [[Mythology]], particularly Celtic mythology of the British Isles, especially Scotland. Kikan Massara explains that *there is no difference between looking at things through mythic lens and a symbolic lens*. And that *there is myth and a story in most predicaments that are known to us.* - The history and associations of [[Symbols]] significant to me. - Deeper understanding of archetypes such as the [[Divine Feminine]] and [[Muses]]. - Deeper understanding of the concepts in the [[Jungian Glossary]] - Look at art - [[Image]] processes such as [[BodySoul Technique]], [[Visio Divina]] and [[Lectio Divina]] ## Tell About It I have an uneasy relationship with Tell About It that has only recently started to improve. After a long career spent working to support others, first students and then teachers, I dashed too quickly in early retirement into writing a blog and turning that effort into a full time job. Although I finally gave that up, I was still casting about for the next book I was going to write. I stayed focused on trying to identify a need in the world I might be able to satisfy. Now, finally, my focus is on my satisfaction in the process. As I express in [[Sharing]] — Do I enjoy my day more when I write or create and communicate that in some form than the days when I don’t? Yes. That’s the only answer I need. After that everything else is detail and logistics. It’s also important to note that I have redefined sharing to very definitely include sharing with myself by living what I’ve learned, incorporating it into my daily life. Some of the “Tell About It” portals to living a symbolic life that I actively use include: - Honouring my [[Dreams]] by writing them down and, often, making art from them. Then sharing them with my analyst, Helen. - Seeking out symbolic objects that matter to me — carrying them with me, putting them where I’m going to notice them, creating altars or shrines. - Making [[Collage]]. I have hundreds of them. Two recent ones that I’ve published in Profound Journey are [[Vision Board, April 2026]] and [[Second Vision Board, April 2026]]. - Painting with acrylics, watercolours, gouache, and inks. - [[Expressive Art Ideas - Larger Processes]] - [[Introspective Writing]] And some of the portals I want to do a lot more with include not only more, more, more of the above but also - Writing and illustrating [[Poetry]]. See also [[Visual Poetry Notebook]] - [[Photography]] - [[Sketching]] - [[Personal Writing Genres - Essay, Memoir and Myth]] - Dance. This may seem unusual but Kikan explains that it *externalizes unconscious material and anchors it in lived experience.* - Writing [[Beam]]s, my alternative to the gratitude lists mentioned above in Pay Attention. ## Some Simple Ways to Begin These ideas come from [[Kikan Massara]]. - Actively choose to don symbolic glasses for a specific problem or situation. - Start with personal associations. For example, if a dream includes a dog, think about my current dog, Toffee, then dogs from my past. - Consider focusing on a single symbolic image each day. - Just tune inward once a day and check what’s going on. - Run a commentary on the present moment. “I am reading this book. I am drinking this water.” ## A Few Caveats > [!Orbit] [[Rumi]] > Work in the invisible world at least as hard as you do in the visible. - Take the work seriously. Don’t dismiss it as fantasy or just your imagination. - It’s easy to get distracted. Just keep returning. - Engage with what comes. Much like the counsel about active imagination, you don’t just passively receive and accept everything. Struggle is often necessary. - Don’t try to nail down and interpret every symbol. If you do, it’s no longer a symbol for you. Just sense the personal meaning it has for you. - Be willing to tolerate [[Tension of Opposites]]. Practice tolerating and being with the bodily sensations and emotions that come with polarities until the hidden unity that exists becomes visible.