Up: [[Active Imagination]] Created: 2025-05-06 Updated: 2025-05-08 ### Desiring Control The Ego wants to be able to control so the Active Imagination arrives at a desired result. Jung refers to this as [[Conscious Cramp]]. When control doesn’t work, the ego will question the process and try to dismiss it as nonsense. ### Desiring Understanding Certainly we have to understand enough of the process to be able to do Active Imagination. But some of us, like me, want a deep and nuanced understanding of every single aspect, hence we read all of the books (Barbara Hannah’s *Encounters with the Soul* is the seminal one) and take all of the courses (*Active Imagination* with Ken James for the Jung Platform is superb). That’s all fine as long as we remember that [[Active Imagination is a Skill]] that can’t be learned from a book, and that the attitude we’re trying to foster is trust in the unconscious images. ### Letting What Happens Happen This is another tough one for the [[Ego]], which really does want to believe it runs the whole show. We will have engaged in [[Choosing a Seed Image]], but in all likelihood that image is going to change from one thing to another and then another. Do your best to find out the message that each image brings, but your primary role is to follow the image. Respect that each image means something but don’t leap to interpretation. Let things take their own course. ### Enduring Silence There are times when an Active Imagination process will yield absolutely nothing. Jungian analyst [[Ken James]] warns that it’s not like turning on the television or the dishwasher. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been practicing. Sometimes there’s crickets. Ken makes the excellent point that persisting in a relationship even when it feels like there is nothing there is the very definition of and reason for faith. If we could count on unfailing communication, we wouldn’t need faith. If there’s silence, sit in the silence. ### Holding Our Own It’s essential that we respect the power of the unconscious and be open to anything that wants to make itself known. It’s equally essential that we recognize that an Active Imagination is a two-way conversation. You have to have a position and be ready to express it. Your Ego’s attitude or position has to be the same as if the imagined situation were real. ### Fighting Inflation Just because you’re communicating with a wise old woman or a goddess doesn’t mean you are one! Being given a gift during an Active Imagination doesn’t make you special. Ken James says these gifts are our birthright; that in our society we have become alienated from the core of our being and through Active Imagination we are trying to reconnect. Combating [[Inflation]] is a real challenge for everyone. ### Judging What Comes Up If you can’t accept your [[Shadow]], even a little bit, you won’t be able to hear what your unconscious is wishing to communicate. Don’t judge the images, narratives, or the figures of Active Imagination. Every single one of them is part of you.