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Jung
on the Active Imagination Experience
Memories, Dreams, Reflections pulled together
Jung's autobiographical recollections from his lectures,
letters, and conversations. Published after his death,
this book provides an inside view of Jung's own experience
with Active Imagination. In Chapter 6, "Confrontation
With The Unconscious," we learn how Jung is thrown
into his inner world when he finds himself out of his
mentors world. In his mid-thirties, he has a falling
out with Freud and finds himself out on his own without
the professional connections he enjoyed through Freud's
connections. With time on his hands and with enough
understanding of the inner world, Jung decides to go
as deeply as possible. Here, in very summary format,
is what he experiences (to get the long version of Jung's
experience, see his easily obtainable, Memories,
Dreams, Reflections).
- First
Recorded Active Imagination Experience - December
12, 1913
-
- Jung
sits at his desk and decides to "just let himself
drop." He finds having the sensation that the
ground has literally given out under his feet. He
plunges into the dark depths. Not too long in his
fall he lands on soft ground, actually a "sticky
mass." Once his eyes adjusts he begins to see
some details in the near darkness. Before him is
an entrance to a cave, in which stood a dwarf with
leathery skin. Jung squeezes past this person and
soon begins to wade through icy water which is knee
deep. At the other end of the cave he sees, on a
projecting rock, a glowing red crystal.
-
- Lifting
the crystal he sees that that there is a hole in
the ground allowing him to see down to a river.
He soon sees a corpse floating by (a boy with blonde
hair). He is followed by a gigantic black scarab
and then by a red, newborn sun, rising up out of
the depths of the water. Blinded by the sun, Jung
wants to replace the crystal in the hole to block
the sun's rays but a fluid starts to pour out of
the whole. It is blood. Blood pours out and Jung
feels nauseated. On it pours until finally, it comes
to an end. Jung's Active Imagination ends.
-
- (p.
179, Vintage edition of Memories, Dreams, Reflections)
-
-
- Second
Recorded Active Imagination Experience - No Date
Given
-
- Jung
uses a visual technique that he has found helps
him go deeper into Active Imagination. This technique
is a realistic visualization of descending a great
distance. In this experience he figures that he
has descended about a 1000 feet. There he discovers
a "cosmic abyss." Next he sees something
like a moon crater and then he has the feeling that
he is in the land of the dead. Near the steep slope
of a rock he catches the sight of two people, one
an old man and the other, a beautiful young girl.
He summons up his courage and approaches them. He
listens carefully to what they say. The old man
turns out to be the biblical figure Elijah and the
girl, Salome. "What a strange couple,"
he muses. But Elijah tells Jung that he and Salome
belong together for all eternity. Along with the
two is a third, a large black snake. Jung sticks
close to Elijah and keeps his distance from Salome.
-
- (p.
181-182, Vintage edition of Memories, Dreams,
Reflections)
-
- Over
time, Jung holds conversation with Elijah who eventually
changes into another figure, Philemon. Philemon
teaches Jung about the nature of human consciousness.
Jung begins to see how autonomous inner figures
can act. It is the inner figure that seems to hold
this knowledge, not Jung. (p.183). Again, Jung's
inner figure changes. This time it alters to take
on the form of the Egyptian notion of spirit, Ka.
(p.184-185)
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