Extending Active Imagination for Creative Formulation: A Depth Psychological Approach

Abstract

This arts based hermeneutic phenomenological dissertation is a self-case study that explores extending the use of C. G. Jung’s active imagination from an adjunct to therapy to the role it can play in assisting in a creative formulation. This research explores the way in which active imagination can assist in initiating, navigating, and understanding not only the creative expression, but the creative process itself… what I call the creative journey. Using active imagination in this way enabled me to engage in the process of personifying, a natural means of communication for the imagination and with the characters in the story. This provided “peace of mind” to help overcome blocks and emotional states that can impede the creative process. The research illustrated how active imagination when used with material that emerges from what Jung called psychological art can both facilitate greater self-understanding while simultaneously aiding in the creative expression. The research enabled me to see how creative expression can sometimes be born out of wounds in our personal history which can be infused into the protagonist of the story with a sense of agency and heroism. Giving voice to the material as a story can be cathartic enabling one to see how the stages of the creative process and the journey of the protagonist in the story can be a parallel experience.