Carl Jung’s “Active Imagination”

[dmt-constellation]

I’ve been interested in meditation and breathing exercises (holotropic, wim hof, etc.) for a number of years, but have never had a consistent practice for more than a few months at a time.

Recently, i’ve been really diving into Carl Jung’s work and have been practicing “Active Imagination”. For anyone who wants to get started with this, I’d recommend searching for “The digging method” and there are quite a few guided meditations.

Essentially, you visualize yourself digging a hole, deeper and deeper, until you enter a meditative state. At first, random thoughts will pop up, but instead of releasing them as you would in traditional meditation, you are invited to step into them for a moment and explore/consider why they are coming up. Then you visualize yourself stepping back into the hole and digging deeper. For me at least, after about 15-20 minutes, I enter this really trance-like state that almost feels akin to lucid dreaming. At this point, the thoughts that come up chain themselves together effortlessly and I’m also able to interact with people or the situation. It feels very similar to the few moments after you wake up from a dream

It has been incredibly helpful for recalling long lost memories and often brings up unusual memories and emotions. The experience is also surprisingly vivid and leaves me with a really positive feeling afterwards. While traditional meditation and trying to let go of thoughts is also very helpful, this kind of a practice offers a really nice contrast and I personally find easier to get into especially if quieting the mind is more challenging for you.

Anyone else ever tried or have more info on the topic?

 

[northape]

While traditional meditation and trying to let go of thoughts is also very helpful, this kind of a practice offers a really nice contrast and I personally find easier to get into especially if quieting the mind is more challenging for you.

Trying to let go of thoughts is like trying to fall asleep; that is not how it works. The method is simple: relax and let go. Thoughts are not the problem either - they are simply manifestations of your own energy. Do not confuse meditation with methods used to train focus by attending to an object. We train attention to build the capacity to remain with anything we wish for a prolonged period. It is similar to going to the gym; what you do with your fine physique afterward is where the quest actually begins.

The Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi said that when we attend to the external world, it leads to delusion, but when we attend to our own mind, it leads to liberation. You can find similar reasoning in other wisdom traditions. You dig a hole into yourself, which is a method of self-investigation aided by imagination. I find this covers most of the points meditation does. You should remain present and see what comes up. I feel that your return to digging the hole after each encounter is an exercise in awareness.

Next time you reach a sufficient depth in your session, see who is digging the hole

 

[Panpsychic]

I’ve been interested in meditation and breathing exercises (holotropic, wim hof, etc.) for a number of years, but have never had a consistent practice for more than a few months at a time.

Recently, i’ve been really diving into Carl Jung’s work and have been practicing “Active Imagination”. For anyone who wants to get started with this, I’d recommend searching for “The digging method” and there are quite a few guided meditations.

Thanks, I have long considered Jung to have played a pivotal role in laying the groundwork and providing one of the best maps of the terrain for psychedelic work. The active imagination method I had also long wondered about but I will have to look into it in more depth now.

It has been incredibly helpful for recalling long lost memories and often brings up unusual memories and emotions. The experience is also surprisingly vivid and leaves me with a really positive feeling afterwards. While traditional meditation and trying to let go of thoughts is also very helpful, this kind of a practice offers a really nice contrast and I personally find easier to get into especially if quieting the mind is more challenging for you.

Yes, I agree they would seem to be very complementary practices.

Anyone else ever tried or have more info on the topic?

I wonder have you every tried doing the active imagination method while on psychedelics? It would seem a very suitable means for uncovering even deeper layers.

Trying to let go of thoughts is like trying to fall asleep; that is not how it works. The method is simple: relax and let go.

Maybe if you were less keen on trying to immediately dish out advice you would perhaps see that it is a manner of speaking. Its well understood and common knowledge that most forms of meditation are based around letting go of thoughts, which can also be phrased as an intention or trying to let go of thoughts as a broad goal. There is nothing wrong with putting it like that and it is correct.

Thoughts are not the problem either - they are simply manifestations of your own energy.

Again, your opinions - or more like opinions of people you have read, really need to be prefaced as such. Thoughts frequently are a problem for many people- calling them a 'manifestation of energy' or some other new agey sounding jingo doesn't help people beset by the thinking mind who want release.

Do not confuse meditation with methods used to train focus by attending to an object.

These are called concentration based meditation practices.

We train attention to build the capacity to remain with anything we wish for a prolonged period. It is similar to going to the gym; what you do with your fine physique afterward is where the quest actually begins.

Not necessarily either. The can quest begin before, during the meditation and after. The Buddha and many sages attained awakening while in deep meditation. Sometimes that is the place where deepest work is done and the culmination of the quest is realized.

 

[northape]

Maybe if you were less keen on trying to immediately dish out advice you would perhaps see that it is a manner of speaking.

My dear "I know it all" friend, my advice is just that. I never said that it is the ultimate truth or anything. All I'm giving is my own perspective and experience.
Don't put so much emphasis on my words, but rather see the meaning behind them. I post with the best of intentions, never trying to diss anyone, yourself included.
Sure, you have some prejudice against me, but that is your own stuff to deal with. I'd develop my thoughts and give further clarifications, but I have lost interest.
Communication and relationships with people are skills. Perhaps you should question your own attitude someday. Anyhow, much love to you.

 

[Panpsychic]

My dear "I know it all" friend, my advice is just that. I never said that it is the ultimate truth or anything. All I'm giving is my own perspective and experience.
Don't put so much emphasis on my words, but rather see the meaning behind them. I post with the best of intentions, never trying to diss anyone, yourself included.
Sure, you have some prejudice against me, but that is your own stuff to deal with. I'd develop my thoughts and give further clarifications, but I have lost interest.
Communication and relationships with people are skills. Perhaps you should question your own attitude someday. Anyhow, much love to you.

I have no prejudice against you, in fact I have barely had too much dealings with you (no loss, don't take that as a diss but just my sentiment) thats your projection and your issue to deal with. I'm simply calling out your frequent tendency to do as I stated in the above post, apparently with little awareness.

The 'know it all' would probably be the most apt pseudonym for the persona you project here also, especially so named as the 'custard of wisdom'. Some of it though is simply correcting blanket staments you had made which don't hold up thus need to be addressed.
Anyway, aside from that I wish you well in your path and maybe take on board some of the feedback in a constructive light.

 

[northape]

I have no prejudice against you, in fact I have barely had too much dealings with you (no loss, don't take that as a diss but just my sentiment) thats your projection and your issue to deal with. I'm simply calling out your frequent tendency to do as I stated in the above post, apparently with little awareness.

The 'know it all' would probably be the most apt pseudonym for the persona you project here also, especially so named as the 'custard of wisdom'. Some of it though is simply correcting blanket staments you had made which don't hold up thus need to be addressed.
Anyway, aside from that I wish you well in your path and maybe take on board some of the feedback in a constructive light.

You are a funny guy. I have no idea who gave me the title "Custodian of Wisdom," but I would describe myself as a fool. That would be much closer to the truth.
There is no need to derail a fine thread. Let us agree to disagree and go our own ways. All the best to you on your path. Peace.

 

[dmt-constellation]

Trying to let go of thoughts is like trying to fall asleep; that is not how it works. The method is simple: relax and let go. Thoughts are not the problem either - they are simply manifestations of your own energy. Do not confuse meditation with methods used to train focus by attending to an object. We train attention to build the capacity to remain with anything we wish for a prolonged period. It is similar to going to the gym; what you do with your fine physique afterward is where the quest actually begins.

The Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi said that when we attend to the external world, it leads to delusion, but when we attend to our own mind, it leads to liberation. You can find similar reasoning in other wisdom traditions. You dig a hole into yourself, which is a method of self-investigation aided by imagination. I find this covers most of the points meditation does. You should remain present and see what comes up. I feel that your return to digging the hole after each encounter is an exercise in awareness.

Next time you reach a sufficient depth in your session, see who is digging the hole

Thanks for the words. I realize my phrasing could have been more precise. The distinction I meant is that with active imagination you are invited to consciously engage with the thoughts that arise in a very active sense vs my understanding of meditation where you recognize them, but then let them go. “noticing” but not in an active sense. Certainly two sides of the same coin but a different approach overall.

For this reason I feel the two practices complement each other quite well and at least in my limited experience lend themselves to very different experiences.

In either case, this is definitely a reminder to get back to meditating as well.

 

[dmt-constellation]

I wonder have you every tried doing the active imagination method while on psychedelics? It would seem a very suitable means for uncovering even deeper layers.

I have not actually… but hope that is soon to change. I’m considering a low dose salvia quid when I have some free time on my hands and I’ll be sure to try it and report back.

I have done active imagination in a very hot sauna after a few rounds of breath work, which I do feel helps facilitate getting into the space faster.

This is the guided meditation I’ve used FYI:

 

[northape]

Thanks for the words. I realize my phrasing could have been more precise. The distinction I meant is that with active imagination you are invited to consciously engage with the thoughts that arise in a very active sense vs my understanding of meditation where you recognize them, but then let them go. “noticing” but not in an active sense. Certainly two sides of the same coin but a different approach overall.

For this reason I feel the two practices complement each other quite well and at least in my limited experience lend themselves to very different experiences.

In either case, this is definitely a reminder to get back to meditating as well.

There are two main approaches to meditation: shamatha and vipashyana. In the second one, you actually investigate your mind, whereas the first one is used to build the capacity to stay with any chosen object of investigation. There are schools of shamatha-vipashyana, such as Zen or Dzogchen (self-investigation falls here too), where you combine the two from the beginning.

Spoiler: Sri Ramana described the difference like this:

Carl Jung was very close to liberation, and quite a few people think that he would have achieved it if he had met Ramana Maharshi. However, his life went in another direction.

Do not just rely on the replies of strangers. People want to be right and often assume a position of knowledge and superiority. There are enough written sources about any method, and there are living followers of these traditions for any needed clarification. Here is a nice read about Jung and Ramana.

Do your own research and base everything on personal experience. As they say in wisdom traditions, asking a non-realized being for advice is like asking a blind man for directions. There are enough other resources to draw from. Yes, books are limited, but there is power hidden in the words of a liberated soul.