Up: [[Active Imagination]] Created: 2025-05-03 Updated: 2025-05-09 [[Active Imagination Came from Jung]] not so he could amuse himself, but so he could heal himself. Jungian analyst [[Ken James]] says, *If you engage with active imagination sincerely, you will bring through material that will reorganize your understanding of your life.* And the more you engage in it, the more this will happen. How? Engaging in Active Imagination: - Convinces us that the Unconscious is real and autonomous. We can work with it, but we can’t control it. Being aware of this mystery is both humbling and empowering. - Teaches us about our unique psychic structure by showing us the figures and settings that recur over time. - Hones the Ego’s capacity to take us [[From Image to Symbol]]. Building our capacity to view things from a symbolic perspective is essential to [[Individuation]]. > [!Orbit] Alchemical wisdom > Habentibus symbolum facilis est transitus — For those who have the symbol, the passage is easy. - Solidifies our connection to the unconscious rather than to the illusions of the outer world and enables us to bring forth what we learn into action in the outer world - Improves our understanding of the world through the tension and interaction of the figures of the Unconscious and the Ego. - Shows us who we are, not what we have made ourselves into.