Active Imagination
Carl Jung, in
Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, described how
therapeutic it could be to translate his own emotions into
images (a process now referred to by Jungian
therapists as active imagination). At one point in
his life Jung described being visited by a "friend of
Gandhi's... a highly cultivated elderly Indian whose guru
was a 'commentator on the Vedas who died centuries ago.'"
Jung was a
bit embarrassed to talk about this, remarking on the irony
that a psychiatrist should discover within himself "the same
psychic material which is the stuff of psychosis." He was
relieved to realize he'd only experienced "the
sort of thing that could happen to others who make similar
efforts."
We all
talk to ourselves, but we sometimes do that as part of a negative cycle of worry, blame,
or guilt. Active imagination personifies the "parts" of us that
are talking – to create more clarity or even resolution that
might not be possible with ordinary linear problem-solving.
Anything
could stimulate active imagination. You might be
seeking clarity on a key decision, or puzzled by an emotional
reaction you've had to someone, or curious about a dream you've
had. Here's how one of my clients used
active imagination to help
resolve her performance anxiety.
Sue had always loved giving pep
talks to her own team, so when she was promoted to Vice President, she was surprised to
find herself "freezing" when required to give formal presentations in the
corporate Board Room.
While agonizing over this, she had
a dream in which her aging mother wanted
to die and asked Sue to kill her. Sue imagined herself talking to the mother
in her dream and wrote down the conversation below. This dialogue is fascinating
because it shows the creativity of active imagination – it can move in any direction if you just
let yourself go:
Sue
to Dream Mother: "Why are you here? What role are you playing in this
dream?"
Mother:
"Think of the pampas grass in your yard and how
you're attracted to it, the way it grows luxurious, seductive, how it feathers itself for attention, how
it says, 'Look at me! Look at me!'"
Sue:
"I know I want to be heard, I want to make a good impression. But why
are you showing up in my dream?"
Mother:
"I'm the mother in you who tells you your wishes and what you have to say
are unimportant. Everyone loves me because I'm nice, because I hide my critical
nature, because I'm not aggressive, because I have no voice."
Sue: "Why are you asking me to kill you?"
Mother:
"It's time for you to 'kill' your fear of speaking
out, your urge to be 'nice' at the expense of your own wishes and ideas. Meditate on
loving what's within, discover your voice is already there, you speak from it
every day of your life. Speak to the part of you who doesn't yet see that."
Sue: "It's hard to find that part, to give form to how
hard it is to speak out. I picture a murky cloud."
Cloud:
"I'm murky because the sun feels blinding. I'm not sure if I can
stand the excitement. I've covered the sun so long I've lowered my
tolerance for energy, for light, for seeing things clearly, and for saying things
clearly."
Sue: "So, how can I move past that?"
Cloud:
"Picture yourself in the space where you're anxious. Imagine the
light is set low on a dimmer. Slowly turn the dimmer up until your eyes get used to
the bright light."
This internal dialogue helped Sue
better understand the nature of her anxiety. She also used the visualization as she
prepared her next Board Room presentation. She was delighted (and a little surprised)
that her anxiety dimmed as she
allowed herself to
shine.
