Up: [[Active Imagination]] Created: 2024-12-28 Updated: 2025-05-09 #### Select Your ego has to give consent for the active imagination to happen. The way to do this is by [[Choosing a Seed Image]] prior to engaging in the process. You don’t set an intention for an Active Imagination, other than the intention to be as open as possible to what is going to be given to you. That’s an important intention to set. #### Prepare Choose a quiet place where you feel safe and will not be disturbed. Set a soft timer, nothing jarring. Always put a time limit on an Active Imagination. See [[Active Imagination Warnings]]. Relax your body using whatever technique works for you: deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditation…. Clear your mind as much as possible, letting go of everyday concerns and focusing on your current emotional state and inner sensations. #### Invite Bring the seed image into your inner awareness. Favour it. See [[For a Week Before Trying Active Imagination]]. Don’t force anything. Simply allow other images of any modality to come in around the seed. #### Engage Once an image is very vivid, engage with it. The attitude to bring to an Active Imagination is that of interacting with another being. Ask it questions, talk to it, interact with it as if it were a real person or situation. If it is a location, explore the location. Allow the scene or the narrative to unfold as if in a dream. Attend to - people - other sentient beings, such as a talking rock - locations (look at settings, time elements, ambient light and sound aspects, temperature) - Objects - motifs or patterns (narrative, imagery) - Emotional states and shifts - Somatic responses. An itch on the side of your face? Talk to it, ask it if it has something to say. #### Express The goal here is to prevent the image from sinking back into unconsciousness. Begin with writing. Beginners should write after the Active Imagination is finished because prepositions and verbs encode spatial and temporal dimensions, potentially making your Active Imagination more linear than it truly is. Write after, and include what happened, how you felt, and any insights. As you get more comfortable, you can write during the Active Imagination with your eyes closed. You can dictate rather than write, but only try that with the first option of writing after the active imagination. Talking aloud during it won’t work. After writing, it’s a great idea to give other external form to the images or narratives through any means of creative expression, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, or writing in other forms such as poetry. #### Interpret and Integrate The image itself carries the healing power so there’s no need to rush to interpretation. But do reflect and try to interpret the images and interactions so that you can integrate the experiences you’ve had into your conscious understanding of yourself. Jung referred to this as the ethical imperative.