Note on Jungian Active Imagination

Just quickly finished reading Von Franz’s accounts on Active Imagination Techniques based on C.G. Jung.

Objectives:

1. Learning, hearing, understanding the unconscious content.

2. Influencing unconscious elements.

3. Develop deep relationship with the unconscious in bringing changes in personality much more intensively compared to Dream Analysis method.

Cautions:

1. Dangerous , possible neurosis. as Jung called it something like ‘voluntary neurosis’.

2. Differ from other imagination & day dreaming methods. Focus on working with emerging unconscious symbols and contents.

Stages:

1. Clear up the ego mind, of conscious thoughts and images.

2. Allow unconscious content to emerge, could use previous dream content or archetypal images as triggers. The important thing is to take these content seriously rather than pure fantasy in order to form working relationship with the unconscious. Allow the content to develop spontaneously.

3. Bring those content through material stage, i.e. writing, painting, dancing and other art or creative forms. The trick is to act without forcing , or to allow the movement without striving conscious interventions. Also not to massively elaborate the content nor spending too little time on it, the point is to learn the content deeply.

4. Morally confront those content and learn from them as important psychic messages and content rather than senseless or wishful fantasy. Look for development, meanings and even psycho-somatic symptoms.

Repeat.

#NOTE: thinking that this method can be used as ways to sense situations and its deep meanings, in gaining insights for innovation design as well.