Replies

  • Willene Jaqua August 23, 2014 at 7:06pm

    Hi Douglas,

    I keep waiting for someone to answer your question here, so thought it better be me. Wanted you to know I really enjoyed your reflection on seeing the apocalyptic film with your two young friends. I laughed so much upon reading your special delight in watching images of the destruction of NYC. What's that about, for all of us? The whole disaster film genre is like a guilty pleasure.

    Anyway, what are you asking about here. When you say "the" active imagination exercises, are you referring to something particular? Are you familiar with Jung's Red Book?

    I look forward to sharing this class with you, Douglas. And learning more about your experiences and work in Costa Rica.

    best,

    Willene

    • Douglas F. Williamson > Willene Jaqua August 24, 2014 at 8:04am

      Hi Willene,


      Thanks for the reply. The active imagination exercises were mentioned by Craig in the webinar on Friday and I was hoping to have a bit more concrete direction for exercises.

      I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing the Red Book, but I've been hearing a lot about it. I'll be in NYC next month and I'll see if I can get a hold of a copy. I have read a bit about it and have some idea, but I'm sure the real experience will be more meaningful. What about it floats your boat?

      As for the disaster film pleasure, it is interesting that we derive so much enjoyment about the fantasy of destruction. For me, when I see my hometown being destroyed by meteors, or tidal waves, or monsters, there's a certain amount of satisfaction in seeing that the visual identity of my place on the planet is worthy of evoking emotions from all people that relate to the downfall of our species. The visual of the death of our society is of my place being destroyed, and that affords my place a high place in the global identity of our species. Everyone who's seen American TV and Hollywood movies can identify with the visual of NYC and those visuals represent, in my mind, a collective image of humanity's identity. NYC is THE world city. This is known. Its destruction represents the destruction of all cities. There's another aspect of watching destruction that I like, as long as it remains a fantasy, which is a feeling of solidity and stability. The imagining of the destruction of the world city reinforces for me the feeling that the city is invulnerable. Its destruction is only possible in a fantasy and that fantasy makes the reality (false) of its stability and eternity more real. It tickles every time to see the fantasy of the destruction. There was a sharp contrast for me in emotion on 9/11 and although I couldn't stop watching the images of the destruction of the Twin Towers, the feeling I had was not pleasurable, it was an attack on the integrity of my identity by attacking a part of the imagery of my identity. In the years following, my sense of the identity of NYC hasn't changed much and I know more deeply that the identity of the city and my identity with it have much less to do with its imagery than with its character. But, still, the loss of those buildings did provoke an emotional reaction that had a lot to do with my sense of identity from a visual perspective. I lost no one and I only know one person who knew someone who died that day in the attacks.

      That's all for now. Looking forward to getting to know you more too.

      Douglas

    • Willene Jaqua > Douglas F. Williamson August 24, 2014 at 11:14am

      Hey Douglas!

      How great to be in a conversation with you. Thanks so much!

      I don't recall a mention of Active Imagination exercises. I plan to listen again to Webinar #2 soon, so I'll try to pay better attention!

      For me, the whole world of Active Imagination is very similar to lucid dreamwork - all of it is about relationship with Psyche, however you think of that. I am not sure about the ontological status of the archetypes, but it has helped me to think of them as beings that want a relationship with me, like I want to relate to you and other living things. For me, mostly my contact with the Unconscious is through dreams, but I am learning to pay more attention to synchronicity in my daily life, especially unusual coincidences that relate to my dream images, but also other synchronicities. And then the fantasies of imagination that just emerge in my waking life. In all three cases, dreams, fantasies, and sychronicities, the phenomenon is image-based. Over the last four years or so, I have come to feel more and more strongly that these images are the language of the soul and that the soul (again, I am not sure what I mean by this word, but it is a way of talking about some other level of identity than ego or the pronoun "I") really cares about communicating with me, really is trying to guide me, really does understand something more about where meaning and purpose is for my individual life. I also have had the experience of archetypal possession, where it is such a strong force and it doesn't feel like it cares about "me" at all. So I am not sure what we are dealing with here. When I became a step-mother, it felt like the invasion of the bodysnatchers. I could not believe the maternal force that came through me that felt like NOT-ME and it really scared me...I was trying to be "myself" with my new family and I found it almost impossible not to channel this other "thing" which I later started to feel was DEMETER which is a great short-hand way the Greeks have given me to name that force and what it feels like.

      Somewhere along the line I got interested in being in a real relationship with these psychic forces that had powerfully made themselves known, in different ways, since childhood. Making friends with them is usually how I think of it, but sometimes it is drawing boundaries. Saying no as well as saying yes. Like any other relationship. What the RED BOOK means to me is two things: 1. It is an amazing record of one human being's approach to taking psychic forces' reality very seriously and it encourages me that yes...one can have a real relationship to the imaginal. I take to heart Jung's warning NOT TO IMITATE HIM. I try to find my own way. I am a terrible painter. My background is in dance. So I try to make dances and movement that image the encounters that I have had.

      2. On the level of art, I think Jung's paintings are thrilling. I love his paintings in a purely aesthetic sense. You might too. Here's a link for fun:

      http://www.theredbookprints.com

      Also, in case it's helpful, my favorite discussion of Active Imagination is a DVD available from Depth Video. It is a video of a 3-hour lecture given by James Hillman about the Red Book and Active Imagination practices. It is truly one of the most useful and brilliant lectures I have ever experienced. So much so, that I gave this DVD to most of the adults that I care about for Christmas one year. Here is a link for more info:

      http://www.depthvideo.com/store/Video_Hillman02.html

      I meant to say in your earlier post that I really admired your bringing into the discussion the apocalyptic tales in the Old Testament - Sodom and Gomorrah and the Destruction of the Flood. I have been thinking ever since about The FLOOD in so many traditions and how destruction by atmosphere (carbon) feels so different than destruction by flood (H2O). Why? Water is associated with purification I guess. Being heated up by carbon feels more like the Hell archetype. On Earth as It Is in Hell. It's really hard to make myself write that sentence. I liked what Craig said about finding real Hope instead of false Hope. I agree that being willing to face the possibility of Archonic takeover is actually a step toward real hope. I want to face the dark side and I want to really let myself feel its possibility. To feel it. And out of that feeling place then maybe some powerful hope can emerge. I find that if I try to jump into solution too quickly, I short-circuit the energy and power of emotional reality.

      You mentioned September 11th. Wow, that is one of the most powerful examples of literalized archetypal experience I can think of.  And the loss of life on September 11 in the Twin Towers felt so universally personal. We all died that day, I think. Craig's opening slide of Ragnarok imaged by the TOWER CARD of the Tarot is such a strong reminder that 9/11 was a day when that archetype was globally literalized. I think we all jumped out of that burning tower and fell to our death that day. We all experienced that, very personally, very literally. Our attitudes about its meaning are very different, but we all experienced it. You can't look at the Tarot card now and NOT think of September 11th. But I imagine you have some other level of experience as well, since NYC is your home. That would be very different than what I mean here. Like watching your house get burned down. Something personal to you, and not universally shared.

      I am very thrilled to get to have these conversations with others. It is especially fun to realize you are in Costa Rica right now, while I am in Seattle, but we both are trying to make sense of all of this.

      take care! I hope you are having a pleasant Sunday afternoon!

      best,

      Willene

       

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