Excerpts From: Raff, Jeffrey. “Jung and the Alchemical Imagination”.
The first stage consists of preparing the mind to enter the imaginal space. The conscious mind must be quieted and centered, so that the ego has the opportunity to receive the message from the unconscious. Normal discursive thought must cease, and the ego must enter into a state of expectant quiet. This state of mind can be achieved by physical movement, such as yoga, or by meditation exercises, such as counting the breath or focusing on a single point. The actual method is not important, but should be one that is comfortable to the person doing the active. The only requirement is that one quiets one's mind and enters a state of inner repose.
Once this state has been achieved, the ego invites the unconscious to communicate with it. I have discovered over the years that the best way to do this is for the ego to have a particular image in mind, or at least a particular question it wishes to address. Simply opening to the unconscious often produces a plethora of confusing and conflicting images. If, however, the ego has in mind a particular inner figure that it wishes to contact, or returns to a particular dream scene or encounter, this intentionality serves to focus the unconscious in a definite way.
One may safely ignore any images that arise that do not feel related to the one in question. I call this stage of the work the period of evocation, or intention. Having quieted down, the ego holds its intent firmly in mind and waits. If an individual is able to visualize inner figures with ease, at this stage of the process one may simply visualize the figure one wishes to contact. Hold that figure in the mind's eye until it moves or acts of its own accord. For those who do not visualize readily, it is only necessary to keep the intent in mind until something begins to occur.
The third phase begins when the unconscious comes alive in some way. This is the phase of unconscious activation and it takes many forms. One may experience an affect, a bodily sensation, a voice, or a strange thought. In the model I am using, an inner figure would make its appearance at this point. In whatever way the unconscious appears, the ego must now respond to it.
The response begins the phase of active imagination I call interaction and refers to the shuttling back and forth that Jung described. Using the example of the inner figure in the phase of activation, the inner figure appears and may speak, say hello, or offer some kind of greeting. It may ask what the ego wants, or how it is doing. The ego must reply. In turn, it may ask how the inner figure is doing, and then spell out the reason it wishes to speak with it. In the interactive phase, there is a dialogue between the inner figure and the ego that should be allowed to follow whatever direction it spontaneously takes.
The interactive phase of active imagination may go on for a long time, sometimes weeks or even months. This should be coupled with a stage of the work that actually occurs outside of the active.
Reflection refers to the necessity on the part of the ego to think carefully about the experiences that it has had. As I discussed earlier, the ego must not give up its position, but should hold to it while it considers all that the inner figure has shown it. During this reflection, the intellect has an important role to play, for the ego must seriously think about all that it has experienced.
At the same time it needs to feel deeply into the experience to evaluate it from the feeling perspective. Did what the inner figure say feel good? Did it make rational sense? By allowing a period of reflection, the ego protects itself from naively falling into an unconscious position, or simply accepting at face value what an inner figure is telling it. During this stage, the ego might choose to share its experience with an analyst, a therapist, or just a good friend, in order to get some objective feedback. When the ego has reached some conclusions, it may return to the active imagination and re-engage with the inner figure.
Interaction and reflection may continue for some time but, sooner or later, the active imagination enters into a phase I call resolution, when the original intent or question with which the active began is resolved in some way. For example, I may desire to understand how to cultivate my own feminine nature. I ask an inner figure of a wise woman to appear and teach me about this part of the self. She appears and begins teaching me about feelings and relationships. I resist, struggle, have questions, and we deal with each of these as they appear. I begin to understand intellectually what the feminine looks like, but I still don't “get it.” Then one day, during the active, I feel in my body and in my being what relationship really means, and I have an msight that is so real it becomes part of my awareness from then on. The resolution has occurred, and the transcendent function has clicked in, forever altering my consciousness and creating a new state of the manifest self.
During the interactive phase, I am likely to experience different degrees of tension and discomfort, as I unite my own position with that of the inner figure. The tension that is sometimes experienced in interacting with an inner figure can be very distressing, even physical, in its manifestation. Some people find it difficult to continue the actives when the tension reaches a level of great intensity. Yet it is important to keep going with the active, despite the discomfort, for if the tension is resolved inappropriately, the transcendent function will not occur. When the resolution occurs naturally, however, that tension is resolved in the insight that presents itself.
Finally comes integration, the last stage of active imagination. At the point at which the ego gains an insight, it must make a total effort to integrate that insight into its outer life. If I have gained deep understanding into the nature of relationships, for example, then I must work to bring that perceptiveness into all my relationships with the people that I know and love. If I am unable or unwilling to practice my new wisdom in the outer world, then the active has failed.