Activating Your Imagination

I have been rereading Inner Work by Robert Johnson.  This is one of the classics on how to engage with the energies from the unconscious realm which enter your consciousness through dreams and visions as well as drives and compulsions that can seem to be beyond our control at times.   Johnson is a Jungian i.e., he uses the concepts and approaches developed by Carl Jung to engage and relate to these images, thoughts, feelings and emotions which have a greater influence on our behaviour than we are often aware of.

The book Is divided into two parts.  The first gives a good introduction in working with material that is found in our dreams.  The second part explores the use of Active Imagination which introduces a process to engage consciously in active dialogue with images from the unconscious.  These can be people who appear in your dream as well as impulses and other energy which can be encouraged to take on personalities of their own.  This probably sounds a bit woo woo to someone who is new to this type of work but I hope I can make it make sense if you stay with me.

First, let me explain why we want to do this kind of work.  The goal of the work is to bring the conscious and unconscious parts of ourselves into balance so that we can become more fully the people we are intended to be.  I put this in terms of becoming the people God created us to be but if you are not comfortable with that language you might think of it as being able to reach more of your potential.  First, we have to realize that our lives are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by energy from the unconscious part of ourselves which we have no direct control over.  That energy is, in effect, autonomous and often beyond our conscious control, and even awareness.  As an example, you might think of a time when your reaction to meeting someone was all out of proportion to the encounter.  That could take the form of love at first sight at one extreme or instant hate or disdain at the other.  This is a sure sign that the energies from the unconscious are at work.

Johnson proposes that two important ways you can engage with these energies is through the dreams which come to you while asleep, and through what is called Active Imagination which is a conscious dialogue with personification of the energy either in dreams or inviting the energy which are impacting on your conscious life to take on a personality.  For instance, Johnson uses the example of worry.  He notes that worry is a form of passive fantasy.  Most people have things that they worry about and worry can consume our waking lives at times.  Johnson proposes that in Active Imagination it is possible to confront the worry and enter into dialogue with it and in this way find out what the worry energy will tell us about itself.  It is understandable that people might be skeptical about dialoguing with what might be considered yourself.  However, if you enter into the process the unconscious energy that is taking the form of worry will give you new information about the source of that worry. 

To be honest, I have not engaged in Active Imagination to a great extent.  I tend to work with my dreams and unconscious material in other ways.  However, in my experience it can be very effective.  I think I probably need to engage in Active Imagination to explore why I don’t do it more.  I have had the general idea that Active Imagination was to be used primary with people that occur in dreams.  I have not retained the information that it can be used for energy that manifests in forms such as worry.  When I think of the extent to which people experience significant worry and anxiety which keep them awake in the witching hours of the night, I believe that this can be a significant help. 

I would encourage you to read the book or find other sources that might help you engage with the unconscious energy in your life.  I intend to explore this subject further next week.  It can be a blessing on your journey.