Knowing Imagination

Want to try doing some imagery yourself? This is really not very difficult. In Dr. Martin L. Rossman’s book, Healing through Imagery (available through the Amazon links on the left of this post) there are described some imagery exercises anyone can do.  Here is another one using art that you can try on your own:

Make a scribble on an approximately 8.5 x 11 piece of paper using whatever is handy or some drawing medium that you prefer; pencil, pen, crayons, chalk, etc. Don’t overdo the scribble, just enough to be suggestive by the lines, spaces, and shapes that are formed. Put down your drawing material and hold up the page on which you have just drawn. Turn the page around, looking at the scribble from all angles, looking for a shape that emerges that was unintended but can be readily seen now that you have found it. If you like, shade in or outline this shape to make it easier to see. This object that has emerged from the drawing is a product of the interaction between your conscious, your unconscious and the art medium.

To engage in the imagery process from this point act as though the image that has emerged can communicate with you if you initiate the interaction. Greet the image and thank it for coming. Ask it what it has come to tell you or show you that you might need to know. Be open to the possibility that the image may communicate with you through language, through action, or through just knowing. The tricky part is merely to let the image be your guide, rather than you telling it what to do, or having expectations for it to do something. The way anything new can happen here is by letting the image guide you to whatever knowing is possible. Ask questions about you want of this image and about anything that seems unusual or draws your attention. Remember to thank the image before you end the process.

You may need some practice to sustain your interaction. You may need to suspend disbelief, even if just for a little while in order to engage the imagery. You may be surprised at the depth and clarity of the interaction.

Post your comments here and let the readers and me know how it went.