Sufism: The Transformation of the Heart by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Author:Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee [Vaughan-Lee, Llewellyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Golden Sufi Center
Published: 2012-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

ACTIVE IMAGINATION

Another way of working with dream images is through “active imagination.” Active imagination is a technique that Jung developed from the alchemical tradition, in which the individual uses the imagination as a means of consciously exploring the inner symbolic world.5

Henry Corbin discovered a similar use of the imagination within the Sufi tradition.6 Central to the practice of active imagination is the understanding that the images of the unconscious belong to an interior dimension as real as that of the outer world of the senses.

Active imagination can be used to consciously reenter a dream when one is awake. It is particularly useful with dreams that appear unresolved or seem to carry a deeper meaning than one can grasp. To practice active imagination one needs to have time alone and undisturbed. Then, using the imagination, one goes back into the dream, in particular into the feeling quality of the dream. One can then ask questions of dream-figures, and the first thought that enters one’s mind is the answer. Do not censor the immediate response of the unconscious, however unusual or irrational it may seem. The conscious mind should not be allowed to interfere.

When one becomes practiced with this technique it is possible to have long conversations with dream-figures that can illuminate problems or reveal unexpected potential. One can discover why shadow-figures have been chained up, imprisoned, or starved, or ask inner guides for help. One can also explore parts of a dream landscape, enter closed rooms, meet with strange creatures.

Sometimes it is possible to change the outcome of a dream. One friend had a dream in which a fox had been tied up by some men. My friend realized the importance of this dream when the next day the image of the fox appeared three times in the outer world. In the early morning he saw a fox cross his garden. Then on his way to work he found himself behind a van with the name “Fox’s Removals.” Finally, as he was painting the outside of a house he found that he was using “Fox’s Paints.” Jung called such meaningful coincidences “synchronicity,” and said that if dream images are reflected in the outer world in this way then the dream is very important. My friend was able to go back into the dream and untie the fox, and thus help to free an imprisoned part of his own nature. But when he asked the fox if now that he had been freed he would remain cunning and sly, the fox simply answered, “A fox will be what a fox is.”

Active imagination is a valuable tool for consciously entering the inner world and working with its imaginal inhabitants. It needs to be stressed that active imagination is no idle fantasy but a real interaction with aspects of one’s inner self. It is important to have the correct attitude, and not to use active imagination for curiosity or personal gain. The literature of fairy tales is full of stories warning people not to enter the inner world for the wrong reasons.

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