In a recent dream, I visited my parents. New neighbors had moved in and they were looking for trouble, especially in their relationship to my parents. After I woke up, I went back into the dream – using active imagination – and replayed it. This time, I took the role of the mediator and there was a sense of warmth, simplicity and playfulness in how I related to the characters in the dream – since I knew it was just a dream.
So I thought, why not bring this into daily life? Why not relate to daily life as if it was active imagination, or a lucid dream?
When I look, I find that my experience of all of those – daily life, active imagination and dreams – is the same. It is all happening within and as awakeness. All living its own life, on its own schedule.
For me right now, it is especially interesting to notice the felt-sense of all as awakeness and imagination in active imagination, and then notice the same felt-sense in daily life, the felt-sense of all as God.
There is one possible difference, though. Sometimes, early on when I explored active imagination, I would do things I wouldn’t do in daily life just to see what would happen. (Not much interest in that now.) And in daily life, I aim at acting with as much integrity – as much kindness and insight – that is available to me.
……………
When I use active imagination to work with dreams, there is often a sense of playfulness, warmth and intimacy there, knowing that all the elements of the dream is me, representing different dynamics of the psyche.
And as I explore a felt sense of all as God, the same happens. Here too, there is a sense of a freedom to act.
…..
Initial outline…
- active imagination
- free to act
- felt sense of all as God, similar to as it is in active imagination