The Art of Active Imagination
I n a previous post I called you (and me) crazy. Today I wanna talk about dealing with the incessant voices in our heads.
Active Imagination
Dialoguing with the parts of ourselves in written form in order to understand and integrate all facets of our being.
We simply quiet and call upon those symbols, words and phrases that show up, asking what they have to say and we write what comes out.
I have to tell you, I felt more crazy when I first started the practice, but after reading about and trying it myself, feeling the emotions rise as I scribbled the words flowing through, it felt more real than anything physically here.
“Little Heather” had (and continues to have) a lot to say, and she’s helping me heal — and I’ve scoffed at ‘inner child’ work for years.
“Intentionally addressing what is unseen in us has a noble heritage: it is the vocation of poets, priests, artist, and seers. Active imagination consists of deliberately talking to yourself or, more precisely, talking to unlived aspects of ourself to alter the invisible patterns that shape your experience. In active imagination you observe the images and voices that rise up from your unconscious and create a dialogue with them. You examine their premises and intentions.” Living Our Unlived Life by Robert A. Johnson and Jerry M. Ruhl, Ph D.
This book and practice is radically transforming my thoughts, life, and the way I relate to everything. If you are struggling with ANYTHING, I urge you to read it. At the very least, you’ll learn something new — and at best you may become an entirely new individual altogether.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
*** T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
Thanks for reading! Connect with me online at heathersagechurch.me. Want to learn more about yoga philosophy, I’m offering a free e-book, Prelude to Yoga Prayers, the first 25 pages of a book I’m currently writing about the 8 limbs of yoga.
