BOOK PROPOSAL
The User’s Guide
to the Collective Unconscious
In April 2010, esteemed Jungian scholars James Hillman and Sonu Shamdasani presented
a two hour dialogue concerning Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung’s Red Book at the Hammer
Museum in Westwood. Jung’s posthumously published private journal, rendered in elegant
calligraphy and adorned with dazzling art work, contains transcripts of conversations with the
ancient inner figures who arose spontaneously from the depths of Jung’s imagination.
Characterized by Shamdasani as nothing less than a new cosmology, museum exhibits and
creative discussions on Jung’s Red Book, have drawn unprecedented crowds, each person
lured by a premonition that the massive Red Book is somehow a landmark for their own path of
spiritual discovery.
Shamdasani explained quietly to Hillman that all of the respected academic concepts that
formed the basis for Jungian analytical psychology, as contained in the massive eight volume
Collected Works, were taught to Jung through his private conversations with these inner
figures. I felt like I was sitting in a Nevada desert watching the testing of the atomic bomb. I
could feel the shock waves, as Hillman did on the stage ahead of me. Hillman’s body appeared
to grow limp in his chair, as if he was becoming increasingly deflated by the sheer power of
revelation and his blatantly obvious inner reeling. The Red Book, characterized by some as the
most important book ever published in the field, has shaken our most essential assumptions
about the nature of human psychology.
As Hillman considered the future of psychotherapy in light of The Red Book, he wondered
aloud, “What do we do now? How would we practice a psychology based on the Red Book?”
Shamdasani explained Jung’s conclusions about the nature of the inner figures, and what
our ultimate, incredibly urgent responsibility is to them and to ourselves. Jung’s dialogues were
with the entire weight of human history and the symbolic figures who carry that awareness.
Actress Helen Hunt, who joined Hillman during one of the dialogues, emphasized that the Red
Book was Jung’s own, very personal experience, and his message is that each of us needs to
embark upon our own inner journey. Jung himself advised his patients to record their inner
journeys, including dialogues with the deceased, in their own precious Red Book. “If anyone
tells you that it is morbid or neurotic and you listen to them—then you will lose your soul. For in
that book is your soul,” Jung said.
When Hillman mused aloud that the four hundred page Red Book was so cumbersome it
should come with a “User’s Guide,” I jumped in my seat. At home, I was busy polishing the final
chapters of The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious, a vehicle that encourages, enables
and empowers the layperson to begin their own intimate forays into the collective unconscious,
universal wisdom inherent to all mankind, to retrieve practical solutions to problems of daily
living, and awareness that adds depth and meaning to our existence.
The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious is a self-help book, but not a typical one.
Self-help books are written with underlying assumptions; first that there’s a separate self and
second, that it needs to be different. It needs to change, to be bigger, better, faster, more
powerful, to do and achieve more. This book is a guide that will appeal to the self-help and
spirituality markets, and especially to those in the depths of a personal crisis. But the book is
more like a rucksack full of hiker’s essentials, a bag of carefully selected tools, a map to follow, a
compass, and a flashlight, essentials for the trail on a stormy afternoon. Those who use the
tools presented in the guide to embark up on a personal journey will likely find that the little self
that they thought needed help isn’t really there at all. And, next, that the help that is sought is
completely unnecessary. Because the work of reordering the self and its world is already done.
Things are perfect just as they are. The world that we can access through the imaginary figures
generated by the brain’s right hemisphere is one of bliss and perfection. The irony is that the
only way to glimpse this perfection is for individuals to have the courage to dive head first into
their most agonizing personal muck, and then, allow a beam of light to rest gently above the
grief, dread and worry. Wait and see who comes. Watch what happens. Listen to what is told
to you. The resulting lessons may be less about taking massive action than about experiencing
the peace of complete acceptance.
Jung's own massive writings are widely available, as well as endless additional volumes of
works by scholars who anthologized, collated, and analyzed the juiciest and most telling
passages of Jung's work. But, these academic works, written mostly for other academics, can
be consternating and impenetrable to the layperson. The User’s Guide to the Collective
Unconscious is not another academic volume, it is a humble, simple little guide. The collective
unconscious does not belong only among scholars, the collective unconscious is part of each of
us. It is universal wisdom, inherited and inherent within all mankind. It is the right and privilege
of each individual to be a “User” of the collective unconscious, someone who has confidence
navigating through the archetypal dreamscapes to benefit from the wisdom that illuminates
them. The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious provides condensed theory and ample
citation referencing clinical research, luminaries in the field of bodymind medicine, and C.G.
Jung himself, to convince each reader that they can embark upon and benefit from a direct
experience with universal wisdom, but within an easily readable, highly useable self-help format.
Each of us can become a confident journeyer within our personal subconscious and the
collective unconscious that lies beyond.
Does dialoguing with inner figures from the imagination or experiencing streams of spontaneous
inner visions make us completely nuts? The earliest written account of one man’s dialogue with
an inner figure comes from Egypt in 2200 B.C., as described by Helmuth Jacobsohn in “The
World Weary Man and his Ba.” When a suicidal man cried out for guidance, he was surprised to
“hear” an answer from his Ba, a figure with a human body and a bird’s head that represented
the soul in Egyptian culture. The Ba proceeded to dispense practical, wise advice that
penetrated beyond the rigid cultural dogma of the day, as well as a much needed psychological
kick in the butt. The Ba demanded that the suicidal man forget his sorrow and enjoy the
beautiful day, and informed him that the elaborate funeral rituals of Egyptian culture would do
nothing to serve his soul after his death. In fact, he would be no better off than a pauper who
died on a river bank.
C.G. Jung’s contemporaries denounced his work as “rubbish” and even today his fantasies
are sometimes misunderstood and mislabeled as a schizophrenic breakdown. However, Jung’s
experiences during the period of his life when he scientifically examined his inner stream of
fantasies and dialogued with his own guide, Philemon, are closely aligned with the historical and
cross-cultural practice of shamanism. A 2004 study of Bhutanese shamans, a population where
high rates of mental illness would be expected due to their experience as refugees subjected to
torture, found less mental illness among the 7% of community members who self-identified as
shamans than in the general population. In another culture at another time, Jung would have
been recognized as a powerful shaman. Used carefully with common sense and ethical analysis,
dialogues with the inner figures from the imagination can have immense immediate practical
value for all of us.
The thesis of the book is that an image experienced in the mind’s eye—awareness
processed throughout the bodymind system using visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic and
emotionally laden information—connects us to the intuitive perception of the right hemisphere of
the brain. Because the subconscious mind “speaks” in imagery and symbolism, the mental
image also connects us to the personal subconscious, emotionally charged material containing
memory, cognition and beliefs held by an individual. The image becomes a gateway to active
participation in the bodymind dialogue, information that flows instantaneously and
simultaneously through the psychosomatic network. Use of tools called portals, conduits, veils
and guides, open insight further, connecting us to the collective unconscious, innate, inherited
wisdom shared cross-culturally throughout history by all mankind.
When “problems” from the personal subconscious are connected to the wisdom of the
collective, unique insight, universal awareness and practical solutions emerge. The guide
provides settings that serve as points of departure and encourage the spontaneous flow of
internal imagery, as well as rules of the road, transcripts of individual experiences, and a few
words of caution. The guide emphasizes that material from the collective unconscious must
undergo a process of ethical analysis, where material from the realms of the personal and
collective unconscious is carefully assessed to form practical, moral, relevant solutions, before
applying them to daily life.
The central process is the “imagery dream” an experience that is like being in a dream while
wide awake, where the conscious mind remains active but subconscious contents are allowed to
arise and flow freely. Any “problem” can be used as a portal or an entry point into the psyche,
from the merely irritating and mundane to the most wrenching dilemmas of life, health, love and
death. The annoyance that erupts when the upstairs neighbor’s furniture grates against the
floor above becomes a portal into the collective, as important to the development of the soul as
devastating grief or trauma. In the realm of the collective, one issue is not more important than
another. Interaction with images representing divergent points of view brings a process that C.
G. Jung called transcendent function into play, which brings forth a fresh solution that
encompasses both points of view, thereby uniting opposing positions in a conflict. Finally, The
User’s Guide asserts that anyone can do this. All of us have the capacity to become a “User” of
the Collective Unconscious.
How is this approach different from “guided imagery?” The User’s Guide to the Collective
Unconscious is not about guided imagery as it has been described by numerous popular
authors. Guided imagery is known most frequently as a method of using the imagination to
entertain pre-determined images. The intention is to visualize specific events or goals created
by the left, logical hemisphere of the brain, such as career or relationship success, or the
healing of cancer, thereby setting real world or physiological events in motion and gaining the
inner drive or physiological ability to achieve those pre-determined goals. The guided imagery
script gives detailed and verbose instructions that direct the individual to imagine pre-
determined images to reach pre-determined goals. This type of guided imagery can be lovely,
inspiring and useful. For example, an imagery script used to induce anesthesia, “Desert
Scene” directs chronic pain patients to imagine a specific experience as well as specific
emotional responses: “Lie down in the sand. A soft, high-pitched wind begins blowing over you.
Feel the ever increasing pressure as the sand covers you, layer by layer. You feel safe,
secure, protected in a warm cocoon of sand under the desert sky.”
However, the imagery dream setting employed in The User’s Guide is not a guided imagery
script. The imagery dream setting provides an easy starting point that activates the right
hemisphere of the brain, the center of emotion and intuition. The setting facilitates opening of
the subconscious by beginning a drama, like beginning an improvisational play by simply putting
actors and props on a stage. For example, a setting called “Four Souls” from The User’s Guide
to the Collective Unconscious begins this way. “Imagine that you are walking in a vast desert.
The sun is setting. As the sun goes down, prepare for the evening ahead by building a fire for
light and warmth. The flames of your fire rise higher until the sky is dark. Next to the fire you’ll
find a torch. Light the torch and go out into the darkness, until you hear the footsteps of
another person. It is a soul, possibly your own soul, a relative or a luminary in history, someone
that you have always longed to talk to. Invite the soul back to the fire. Do this three more times,
until you have found four souls to be with you at the campfire. Talk to each one in turn, and let
each one talk to each other. When the sun rises, the souls are gone and the fire has burned
down. But, each soul has left a gift for you to keep. Now, begin by walking in the desert…”
Notice that there are no directives regarding what will happen. The elements of the setting are
carefully staged to ignite the subconscious material that lies beyond them and allow this
information to flow freely.
Does the idea of taking this journey excite you? Maybe it scares you a little bit. This is not
a casual party game; it is an exploration of the personal subconscious and what lies beyond.
Excitement or fear are the precursors to important discoveries. The imagery dream process
does not pursue a preconceived goal or outcome. Instead, dreamers begin with a question, a
problem, a difficult emotion, a dilemma that seems unsolvable, or a random setting to allow the
most urgent subconscious issues to emerge. The “User” is taught to allow streams of images to
arise and then to explore, interact, dialogue and ask questions of the inner figures that emerge,
until a new perspective or solution is revealed. Tools are given to engage with images that may
be startling or even superficially disturbing, and Users are encouraged to ride the process
through to completion. Because of its inherent nature as an open ended exploration, the
“imagery dream” process is most closely aligned with the shamanic journey and with “active
imagination” as described by C.G. Jung than with the forms of guided imagery that are currently
common in medical and psychological mainstream practice. The waking imagery dream is not
better than guided imagery or vice versa; they are dramatically different. While the chronic pain
patient might learn important pain relieving skills from a guided imagery script, the same patient
embarking on an imagery dream could release grief concealed by the physical pain, gain a new
perspective on the state of the physical body, find new possibilities for the future, or more.
The User’s Guide is accompanied by a “Pocket Guide” which contains the most important
guidelines and tips for successful journeying, and twelve imagery dream settings. The pocket
guide will encourage readers to put it in their rucksack to bring on a day hike, or to a gathering
of friends, as a companion for many enlightening individual and group experiences.
How did I become a “user” of the collective unconscious? A health crisis provided the
perfect storm of opportunity, and my studies and experiences earning a master degree in social
worker and practicing, teaching and lecturing regarding hypnotherapy for individuals living with
chronic illness gave me a unique vantage point to explore imagery as it relates to health and
healing.
As a Type 1 diabetic since childhood, I regularly experienced episodes of severe
hypoglycemia. I worried that one of these episodes would cause me to lose a job, or that
diabetes would eventually render me completely unemployable, and then, end my life early.
When red hot electric pains began to creep up my legs—the beginnings of diabetic
neuropathy—I felt powerless to prevent the damage from worsening. I was haunted by the
thought of amputation of one or both legs and plagued by irrational inner visions of surgeons
sneaking up on me with hacksaws. I aggressively pursued the most progressive advances in
medical technology. But, despite participation in endless educational conferences, research in
the library stacks at UCLA, rigid logging of blood glucose and food intake, and, diligent use of an
insulin pump, the harder I tried, the rockier my glucose control became. Every day was a roller
coaster of recurrent lows where I would shake and sweat, followed by high blood glucose
episodes when I knew that more damage was being done to my body. I was desperate. I had
the most advanced technology to manage my disease, but something much more important was
missing; hope, purposefulness, and the spirit to sustain me.
When I visited Marielle Fuller, a pioneer in the use of the imagery dream, Marielle simply
asked me to close my eyes, and ask a jester figure—representing wisdom and humor—to take
me to three places to teach me about hope. Despite my initial skepticism and the feeling that a
journey with a jester was bound to be ridiculous, I abruptly found myself on a mountaintop,
having climbed to the summit of a peak with my son beside me. I heard a clock ticking. I
suddenly knew, with absolute certainty, that not only would I climb mountains with my son; I had
a great deal of time left to live. Next, I found myself walking down a corridor, carrying my
hypnotist's briefcase. “I'm in a hospital,” I said to Marielle, “But, I'm not sick! I'm here to help
other people.” Last the jester took me inside a prison. I was puzzled as to why.
Twelve years later, all three visions have come true. I have climbed mountains in Yosemite
and the Eastern Sierra with my son, taught workshops in hospitals to help others, and I have
walked down a hospital corridor with my hypnotist's briefcase in hand, on my way to a patient
room in real life, exactly as I did in the imagery dream world. As a social worker since 2008, I
now frequently work with incarcerated clients. Whenever my work day takes me inside a prison,
I wait for my client to arrive at the double glass window, smiling inwardly and knowing I am living
a moment that was meant to be. The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious can be the
vehicle which gives readers the same sense of hope, purpose, destiny, and awareness that we
are always more than our current circumstances. I learned that I wasn’t only a body ravaged by
diabetes and its complications. I was connected to the Collective Unconscious. I had access to
miraculous solutions to personal dilemmas and universal wisdom. I was instantly, profoundly
certain that beneath the superficial drama of my health crises, everything was really okay.
The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious began as a stack of notes inherited from
my mentors and passed along to students at the school of hypnotherapy where I was a teacher,
which I continuously expanded as I taught, worked and learned. When I studied with Marielle
Fuller, a renowned pioneer in the use of imagery, I was startled by even greater revelation: The
highly structured way that guided imagery had been taught to me was only a meager beginning;
the greatest benefits came when images were allowed to arise in spontaneous streams. As I
developed a practice focusing on imagery for medical conditions, working with hundreds of
individuals at hospitals and conferences, I saw again and again that each of us is connected to
the vast source of wisdom that psychiatrist C.G. Jung referred to as the collective unconscious.
I became a devoted facilitator, someone who has complete confidence that any individual, no
matter how traumatic or emotionally wrenching their current dilemmas might be, can explore
within the brain’s right hemisphere to reveal beautiful, practical solutions, born from the
universal wisdom that we all share.
How can anyone find peace amid mind-bending horror? Or, faced with a painful medical
procedure, quickly change from a state of fear and tension to blissful surrender, avoiding pain
completely? The introduction gives examples of two individuals who made dramatic shifts in
perception and actual physiological responses. Anisa’s uncle was beheaded by the Ayatollah
Khomeini. The grief of loss was compounded by the reality that only part of his body was
recovered for burial. While participating in an imagery dream, Anisa was able to speak to her
uncle, and hear him tell her that while his physical remains are in pieces; his spirit remains
present and whole. Anisa emerged from her experience with tears of joy. Required to undergo
repeated venous punctures as part of participation in a medical trial, Eriko became so tense that
her blood would not flow into the test tubes. As Eriko focused on the image of a lotus flower—
representing trust and openness—she was able to relax so deeply that her vein rose under the
nurse’s fingers to meet the needle willingly. The rest of the medical trial proceeded free from
pain.
Direct contact with the collective unconscious can be startling. New users often want to
understand the underlying processes based on common models so they can better ground and
apply their imagery experiences within their daily lives. Chapter Two gives concise definitions of
basic concepts to form a platform for understanding. A discussion defining the bodymind
connection as instantaneous, simultaneous activity effecting the brain and body in an integrated
psychosomatic network references the work of Candace Pert, Carl Simonton and a study in
“Advances in Mind-Body” medicine that defines imagery. Herbert Benson’s “Relaxation
Response,” is used to explain the physiological impact of stress responses and fight or flight on
the body, and the alternate response of the parasympathetic nervous system to bring
relaxation. Because imagery happens in the right hemisphere of the brain, theories behind the
processing of information in right and left hemispheres of the brain are presented, with quick
reference charts that further define these disparate functions. Together, all of the models form
a foundation for understanding how and why an imagery dream seems “quasi-real.”
Productive imagery dream experiences require a facilitator who understands that their role
is not to direct or to control the experience, but to accompany and empower the User while the
imagery dream unfolds. A facilitator can be a professional clinician, a lay person, or a character
created within the self so that the individual can embark upon an imagery dream on their own.
Chapter Three shows the successful facilitator how to set up an initial scenario, refrain from
trying to solve the problem at hand with information from their personal experience, and remain
open to new learning and to connecting with the Collective, staying committed to the unfolding
process regardless of what happens. Most of all, the facilitator must have confidence that the
wisdom of the Collective can and will provide a powerful answer for any personal dilemma, no
matter how seemingly difficult or emotionally wrenching. Facilitators must also be able to utilize
specific tools to overcome obstacles that Users are likely to encounter along the way. This
chapter explains the seven specific tasks of the facilitator and gives general guidelines as well
as specific language to use when assuming the role of facilitator.
Facilitators must also be aware that users will respond differently to the imagery dream, and
require different styles of facilitation, depending on whether they are in an introvert or an
extrovert. Introverts need space and privacy as they want to come up with their own solutions in
their own time, while extroverts want to be pounded on with direct instructions, intense
experience, and may seem to get “better” results. Chapter Three details the differences in
these personality styles and how to accommodate them.
Chapter Four explains the mechanisms that drive the success of the imagery dream
experience, including use of the inner guide. The example of “Louise” shows how her guide
helped her transcend feelings of self-deprivation to see possibilities for a new, happier self.
Types of inner guides, how to determine if an image can function as a guide, managing an
encounter with an inner critic, and appropriate questions for guides are presented. How do we
encourage information from the collective to surface without interference from the conscious
mind? Any image can become a conduit into collective wisdom, imagining objects concealed in
boxes, buried under the earth, pulled up from underwater, or hidden behind a veil will ensure
that the object the is uncovered is not from the conscious mind or the ego. An exercise called
“Let go and Let the Guides” gives an easy framework and specific verbiage for facilitators so an
inner guide can be used to address any type of issue. Typical obstacles that arise during the
imagery dream, with specific directions on what to do when the obstacles, an inner critic, a
disturbing image or “nothing,” is encountered. A simple method for finding a valid interpretation
for puzzling images, “word storming” is explained with examples and diagrams.
The archetypal imagery dream is a right brained method of addressing subconscious
conflicts, as the dream journey begins with an open ended setting that allows the most urgent
issues to arise spontaneously. Chapter Five provides lists of archetypal elements in nature
such as the woods, a mountain, a river, and a cave with a brief definition of the deeper meaning,
as well as manmade archetypal elements such as a map, a mirror, a house or a boat. Users are
encouraged to create their own archetypal settings randomly in a mix and match fashion, to
“trick” the conscious mind through the use of a juxtaposition of elements so that the
subconscious can reveal information that is more likely to be spontaneous and genuine.
Users often have specific urgent issues or dilemmas in the conscious mind and want a
direct route to uncover and illuminate the personal subconscious material behind these issues
for quick resolution. Chapter Six gives examples of how settings are created based on the
language that a User presents to describe a problem and its solution. Whenever a conflict
arises, two divergent parts of the self are at odds and the conscious mind keeps jumping back
and forth between extreme positions, unable to find or stick with a resolution. Transcendent
function, an inborn process recognized by Jung, can be actively engaged to find a new position
in the psyche that unites the divergent points of view. Additional methods to visit a time from the
past to bring forth solutions and to focus directly on a problematic and pervasive emotion to drill
into the subconscious issues behind the language that describes problem states are explained.
Transcripts of actual sessions reveal how transcendent function is ignited. “Jane” discovers
how to overcome procrastination, “Anna” finds the balance between creative messiness in her
studio and the opposing desire to be highly organized, and “John” discovers that believing in his
worth as a human being will be essential to overcoming his tendencies to be passive-aggressive
and self-sabotaging. “Anna” discovers that her episodes of uncontrollable binge eating are
linked to her childhood experiences when her alcoholic mother would fail to provide food in the
home. A personal session reveals how I discovered that a “black feeling” was due to my belief in
a world that encompasses only stress and responsibility, with no lightness or laughter. The
collective tells me that my world view is inside out and backwards.
Those who sensed intuitively that their personal inner work or their professional repertoire
needed a more soulful connection found their way to Marielle Fuller’s Laguna home. Marielle
was a pioneer and innovator in the field of imagery, who taught at UCLA for 33 years, ultimately
developing her own specific frameworks and figures to connect individuals with the collective.
The profound and special imagery dream settings that Marielle invented herself immediately
became favorites with imagery students. I found Marielle when she was in her mid-80’s, at a
time in her life when she was frail but still driven to share imagery with as many as she could in
the time that she had left to live. Chapter Seven passes on the legacy of Marielle’s work and
describes her background, philosophy and methods of working, and one of my most profound
personal sessions with her, where Marielle skillfully revealed a primary but deeply hidden truth
behind my relationship with my mother. A 1994 Los Angeles Times article, “Healing with the
Mind’s Eye,” about Marielle and her work, adds more information about her background, as well
as a personal interview I conducted with Santa Monica artist Patrisha Thomson, a former student
of Marielle’s.
Use of the imagery dream in relation to chronic or life threatening medical conditions
requires special finesse and an attitude from the facilitator of boundless caring and acceptance.
Both the User and the medical issue at hand must be accepted completely, without judgment.
Chapter Eight, “The Medicine Guide” discusses the imagery dream in relation to medical issue.
If Carl Jung were alive today, he would likely characterize the currently popular new age idea
that the individual causes their own illness with negative thoughts, and conversely, could cure
their illness with positive thoughts, as “a prejudice of relatively recent date.” This chapter
addresses the toxic effects of “new age guilt” and describes healing as a shift in awareness or
perception, rather than as physiological change, and cites the example from the Bible of Jesus’
healing of the lepers, as well as passages from Marlo Morgan’s “Mutant Message Down Under,”
where healing occurs through embracing the individual and their illness with love, acceptance
and an understanding that everything, even disease, has purpose. In the realm of the
collective, guilt, fear and isolation experienced because of illness are enemies greater than
illness itself.
Interwoven with my own intense struggle with diabetes, failed efforts to heal, and
questioning of my ability to recover from a chronic medical condition is the story of “Willow,” a
young woman who insisted that I could be the first to recover from Type 1 diabetes, if only I
wanted to badly enough. Despite a warning from her imagery dream about her impending
death, Willow refused medical treatment for a tumor, rejected western medical treatment, and
then died, when a simple surgery may have saved her life. The chapter asserts that meaningful
healing sometimes occur as a change of attitude and spirit, including radical acceptance of what
cannot be changed, rather than a change in the state of the body. This chapter gives four
imagery settings for medical condition and helps guide the facilitator and the User to have
appropriate expectations for healing.
Connecting physical medical complaints and psychological trauma with the wisdom of the
collective through use of the imagery dream can result in dramatic changes in how we
experience our physiology and our lives. Chapter Nine offers excerpts from the journals of
“Jane,” a woman who resolved chronic abdominal pain when “The Healer” lovingly tells her not
to fear being loved, and to allow herself to grieve and feel sorrow, instead of rage. Wise advice
for everyone comes straight from Jane’s healer. Rob, a man living with Type 1 diabetes on an
insulin pump, struggled with burn out in the face of the intense daily demands of diabetes
management, which include constant monitoring of food, insulin and blood glucose levels. Rob’s
imagery dream details the resulting dialogue between the burned out Rob, the part who still
cares for his diabetes, and the sacred Rob who helps reach a resolution about the importance
of remembering to enjoy life, despite diabetes. These examples illuminate the wide range of
experience that is possible through the imagery dream.
Finally, readers are encouraged to purposefully cultivate the ability of the right hemisphere
of the brain to provide quick answers in the form of images to assist with daily dilemmas as well
as personal crises, and to practice “flipping the switches” in the circuitry of the brain to
experience joy, hope, peace, bliss and gratitude on a regular basis.
The User’s Guide to the Collective Unconscious is therefore a radical shift in the self-help
marketplace. Rather than encouraging readers to take action toward behavioral change,
practicing the imagery dream as described in the “User’s Guide” encourages shifts in
perception. Bringing the intuitive world of the brain’s right hemisphere to the forefront of
awareness, rather than always trying to direct and control ourselves and our lives with the
logical left hemisphere, leads to acceptance, peace, and ultimately, joy.
THE COMPETITION
“The Case for Mental Imagery,” published by a university press in 2006 offers a collection
of essays that together form the academic foundation for the importance of mental imagery as a
primary way of processing information inherent to cognition. These discussions of
neurophysiology, memory, emotion and related cognitive processes demonstrate that mental
imagery is considered to be the process that is academically validated as central to advancing
our understanding of physical and mental health, and also shows how academics and
researchers continue to struggle with intensity and interest to define and understand imagery.
This type of book, of which there are a number, is of interest to professionals but leaves the
layperson with no guidelines as to how to embark upon a direct personal experience as part of
personal growth.
Several noteworthy figures in the New Age, self-help and spirituality book industries gained
massive popularity writing about guided imagery. Shakti Gawain, author of Creative
Visualization, advocates using imagery in a goal oriented way to reach specific results, while
giving a caveat that these results are unlikely to be realized unless they are in alignment with the
will of the Creator. Belleruth Naparstek, author of Staying Well with Guided Imagery, gives
verbose detailed guided imagery scripts, which are beautifully lyrical and certainly engender
relaxation and a positive outlook on health. “Creative Imagery,” by William Fetzer proclaims
enthusiastically that images have the power to heal and to take individuals to higher realms of
experience. Fetzer’s book, like Naparstek’s, gives predetermined images and detailed scripts,
rather than encouraging the spontaneous emergence of images. All of these authors used
imagery to achieve goals that were predetermined by the conscious mind, rather than allowing
the unconscious to emerge freely to provide unique perspectives. These methods of
approaching the subconscious can sometimes steamroller over urgent deep psychological
issues, rather than create an opening for them to emerge and seek resolution. While these
approaches to guided imagery were wildly popular, this is not what is described in The User’s
Guide to the Collective Unconscious, where readers are invited to just “drop” like a stone into an
immediate, rich personal experience with spontaneously arising imagery, without knowing where
it will lead, as C.G. Jung did.
Physician Martin Rossman and Psychologist David Bresler founded the Academy for
Guided Imagery in 1989. The Academy teaches an interactive style of guided imagery with an
emphasis on the effect of imagery on the brain and bodymind system combined with techniques
similar to neuro-linguistic programming. The basic premise, begun by oncologist Carl Simonton
MD in Getting Well Again, is that individuals facing serious health conditions can use imagery to
exert control over the course of their disease. Rossman’s book, Guided Imagery for Self-
Healing, and Rituals of Healing by Jeanne Achterberg, are both staples for anyone wishing to
use imagery specifically in the interest of improved health. However, this school of thought,
again, relies on scripted guided imagery rather than free flowing imagery. This type of imagery
is a valuable resource, but again, the experience is radically different than a more spontaneous
imagery dream akin to Jungian active imagination.
Jungian scholars have written a surprisingly small number of books on Jung’s active
imagination, the process that is most similar to the imagery dream. I’ve often wondered why no
simple user’s guide for achieving direct contact with the unconscious is available. This probably
because the Jungians felt that active imagery was a powerful tool, but that it required the
presence of a highly trained analyst to interpret the experience. The work of Marielle Fuller,
presented in this book, shows that this is not the case, that many of us are capable of
embarking upon a direct experience and benefiting from it whether we use it on our own or in an
informal group setting.
Jung on Active Imagination, by Joan Chodorow brings together a collection of Jung’s
writings on active imagination. Of tremendous interest to the Jungian scholar or clinician, this
book doesn’t give the layperson a program for self-discovery. Encounters with the Soul: Active
Imagination as Developed by C.G. Jung, by Barbara Hanna, presents historical and
contemporary case studies and as scholar Marie-Louise von Franz states on the book jacket, it
“promotes the understanding of ‘active imagination’ by illustrating through various examples the
steps, pitfalls and successes of this method.” I quote both of these authors in The User’s Guide.
What did Jung himself write as far as giving simple directives to his patients and a program
to follow? Almost nothing, which is why we are especially grateful that two of Jung’s personal
letters, written in 1947 to a “Mr. O.” are of great value. In these two letters, Jung gives “Mr. O.”
some nuts and bolts directives. These are also quoted in The User’s Guide.
There is only one book written for the layperson about how to use Jungian active
imagination, Inner Work, using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth, by Robert
Johnson, published in 1986. The bulk of this book focuses on night dreams and their
interpretation, with a small section at the end devoted to active imagination. I cite Johnson’s
work and mention the fourth step of his process as essential, however, Johnson give vague
starting points for the process and no guidelines to the reader about how to uncover answers
for urgent personal questions.
All of these books bring Jung’s work on active imagination into sharper focus, and were
relied upon heavily as a resource for The User’s Guide. While these make a case for the
profound importance of active imagination to mental health and spiritual growth, none of them is
written in a self-help format or a “how to” guide. None make use of an imagery dream setting as
a starting point, and none give tips and guidelines for what do during the dream when the User
gets stuck or afraid.
The most recent book on imagery, Healing and Transformation Through Guided Self-
Imagery, by Leslie Davenport in 2009, gives a method she calls “eyes open imagery.” Here the
layperson is encouraged to look at a landscape with open eyes and “hear” a message “from the
heart.” This book is lovely but likely to useful mostly to those who are already comfortable
calling upon their intuition as a resource.
The self-help and spirituality book markets increased dramatically after the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, as Americans reeled from the effects of the loss of human life and
economic disaster, and looked for a purpose to sustain them. Recently, a parallel and even
more massive upsurge has occurred as Americans practice yoga and meditation, showing that
there is a massive yearning to connect to the richness that is already within.
The User’s Guide remains original in that less than three books on active imagination or
guided imagery encourage free flowing encounters with the inner figures who arise
spontaneously from the subconscious, and none of these books gives practical tools to navigate
the journey.
Sham; How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless by Steve Salerno is an
important landmark in the self-help book market. While the tone of Salerno’s offering may be
unnecessarily vicious, his premise that the self-help market feeds on “a faithful core of
malcontents” who then become demoralized when they fail to reach the heights of achievement
that the self-help movement promises is often an unfortunate reality. The User’s Guide does not
make sweeping claims that readers can reach dramatic successes; conversely, The User’s
Guide states that to find lasting wisdom, users must drop their goal oriented agendas and learn
to follow the journey wherever it leads. The User’s Guide does promise that readers who
embark upon their own inner journeys will immediately find that they are connected to vast
depth, richness and resources. The User’s Guide will claim an important, emerging niche in the
evolution of the self-help and spirituality book markets, one that provides the means to find the
answer that, guess what? Everything is already ok just like it is, and this awareness might be
the most healing realization of all.
THE AUTHOR
I became certified as a Master Hypnotist at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 1997. During
the years when I promoted my hypnotherapy practice, I gave presentations to large and small
audiences across Southern California and worked interactively with these groups to improve well-
being, bring hope, build motivation for better self-care and uncover solutions for living well with
chronic and life threatening disease. These talks took me to Kaiser Permanente, The City of
Hope, St. John’s Hospital, Steven Edelman’s Taking Control of Your Diabetes and many others.
I have published numerous articles about guided imagery for health conditions in Diabetes Self-
Management, and Diabetes Interview. My work with hypnosis and imagery with individuals with
diabetes is cited in The Worst is Over; What to Say When Every Moment Counts by Judith
Prager and Judith Simon Acosta, and Alternatives for Managing Diabetes by David Drum.
I earned a Master of Social Work from California State University Northridge in 2008. I
currently work full-time as a social worker in child protective services for Los Angeles County
and I continue to utilize hypnosis, guided imagery, and the imagery dream with private clients
with a focus on recovery from grief and trauma, spiritual growth, and living well with chronic or
life threatening illness.
A table of contents, sample chapters and/or the entire manuscript are available upon
request. To contact Susan Shaw, please e-mail susanshaw@socal.rr.com.