Inner Work Exercise: Active Imagination

Step-by-step Guide to Utilizing Active Imagination

Introduction

It’s no secret that your subconscious is constantly sending you information. Thoughts, memories, fantasies, and song lyrics will suddenly “drop in” to awareness. If you are particularly adept at using your imagination, you may notice certain trends and stories that you circle back to, living out full length scenarios in your head.

What is most shocking to learn is that these symbolic flashes and daydreams are often the psyche’s way of alerting you to unconscious material that is vying to be made conscious. Subpersonalities, complexes, repressed memories, and even insightful clues are making their presence known through an ancient language—symbolism.

The unconscious orients itself around the symbol. You can read about the inner workings of the unconscious here. This worksheet will be strictly devoted to walking you through the process of active imagination so you can learn to communicate with your own unconscious.

Active imagination is a very powerful tool for working with and integrating your subconscious material. It allows us to interpret the symbolism that is oozing from just below the surface. It is more efficient than dream work, as the symbols can be directly interacted with in a highly conscious way.

This worksheet will set you up with the basic outline for doing any kind of dialogue with your unconscious self. This can be applied to a multitude of “inner work systems,” as it teaches you the basic ritual for instigating, working with, integrating, and finally closing out the space.

Learning the art of active imagination will begin to open doorways you never knew existed. Once contact with the unconscious has been established, you may find your life completely changing. No longer will you be running up against your unconscious turmoil in the world around you. As you learn to integrate the opposing forces within, you may find your relationships will be smoother, people will receive you in a better light, and opportunities may suddenly present themselves.

If you are ready to open up to the workings of your powerful unconscious mind, proceed below.