Imaginal Practice

Drop into a living, breathing portrait of your inner world — where emotions, sensations, and thoughts become vibrant landscapes waiting to be explored. In this guided Imaginal Practice, you'll learn to receive whatever is present inside of you not as a problem to solve, but as a piece of cosmic art expressing itself through you. Through gentle visualization and somatic awareness, you'll paint a watercolor of your current inner experience and let your intuition guide you through it. This practice draws on the Jungian tradition of Active Imagination held in mindful awareness. Leave with a message from your own depths and a sense of belonging to something much larger than yourself.

Transcript

Thank you for joining me today. I'm going to lead you through a warm up for the imagination, Accessing the natural ways that the imagination can show up for you. So to begin, You can find a comfortable posture, Either seated or lying down. And as you settle into your posture, You can lower your eyes to the floor or you can close them. And if you're seating, Feel the floor under your feet, Feel the chair or the furniture underneath your body. If you're lying down, Feel the floor or the bed underneath you. And just let the shape of your body hold you here as we start to drop inwards. And just take a few deep belly breaths all the way down into the lower abdomen with some nice and gentle exhales. Feeling how your breath moves your body where your breath is moving your body. And as you let your breath become normal, You start to notice what is present for you right now. What is it like to be you right now? What's your energy level? What's your mood? What's the state or the attitude of your mind? And begin to consider what if everything in our experience is a piece of cosmic art? What if every whatever is already happening inside your body is a creative expression of the universe? And in your particular creative expression of the universe, Notice what the energetic tone is right now. Could be one cohesive tone, It could be glimmers here and there. For example, You might experience your energy as a shimmering field or a sad blob. There might be a knot in the belly or a flower blossoming in the heart. And just begin to notice what the energetic tone is for you right now. And as you tune into what is present for you, Let it turn into something. Let it turn into a picture, An image, A vibration, A texture. For example, If I see or feel a knot in my belly, I might take a look at that knot from every angle. Or if you're feeling a heart, A flower blossoming in the heart space, Noticing the petals, How it's opening. So whatever you're noticing, Get closer to it, Get curious about it. And begin to paint a gentle watercolor of whatever is present for you right now. Begin to let the landscape of your inner world unfold. Notice if there are any colors, Shapes, Feelings present. What type of landscape are you finding? It could be very sense-based, Very dark and internal and full of textures, Feelings, Sensations. Or it could be a literal landscape, A field with trees. It could be an abstract landscape, A surreal place. Let the landscape of your inner world reveal itself. And you can ask whatever is present for you right now to see if there's anything it wants you to know. A figure or a person, Someone might appear to share a message or you might see an object or a symbol arise. Or you could just experience an inner knowing of what the message is you need to receive. It could be a subtle impression that you get, A feeling tone. Try not to overthink it, Just see what shows up, What feels important about this experience to remember. And once you receive that information, You can begin to relax your focus and just give yourself a little bit of time to do nothing. You can start to feel the edges of your body and deepen your breath. And when you're ready, You can begin to flutter your eyes open, Take a look around the space, And you can feel free to grab a journal and write down what you discovered.

Reviews

Thanks for this guiding, Kristen. I found that the wind of my breath could carry the light, color & openness from one side of my body to the other — from the side that felt more free and expansive to the side that felt brambled and darker. I felt loosening and settling as wind moved from clavicle to clavicle, shoulder blade to shoulder blade, lung to lung, hip to hip.