Aproximately 6 minute read
There is something rather wonderful about the human capacity to imagine.
We can close our eyes and find ourselves standing in a forest we have never visited, encounter someone we haven't seen in years, or experience an entire world that seems to exist beyond the ordinary boundaries of time and place.
We do this every night when we dream, often without giving it much thought. Yet when we consciously enter the landscape of imagination, we can become surprisingly quick to dismiss what we experience as just our imagination.
I've always found that phrase interesting.
Just our imagination.
As though imagination were somehow less valuable than our other ways of knowing and experiencing the world.
And yet, imagination is woven into so much of what makes us human. It is how we create, anticipate, remember, envision possibilities, connect with stories and begin to make sense of experiences that don't always lend themselves to logical explanation.
It is also one of the ways we encounter our inner lives.
The Imaginal World
In depth psychology, particularly within the Jungian tradition, we encounter the concept of the imaginal.
The imaginal is not simply another word for fantasy, nor does it necessarily refer to something literally existing outside of ourselves. Rather, it offers a way of approaching the images, symbols and experiences that arise within the psyche as meaningful experiences worthy of our attention.
Think about a particularly vivid dream.
Perhaps you encountered an animal that seemed to know something you didn't. Maybe you found yourself in a house with unfamiliar rooms, or standing at the edge of a vast body of water. Perhaps someone appeared who has been absent from your life for many years.
You wake, and the dream stays with you.
You know that you were asleep, and yet something about the experience feels remarkably alive. The emotion remains. The image continues to occupy your thoughts. You may even find yourself relating to the experience as though something significant has occurred.
And perhaps it has.
Not necessarily because the dream is predicting an event or revealing some objective truth, but because the experience itself has touched something meaningful within you.
This is where I think our relationship with imagination becomes especially interesting.
We don't have to decide that every image is a literal message, nor do we have to reduce it to something meaningless because it occurred within the imagination.
There is another possibility.
We can become curious.
When Images Have a Life of Their Own
One of the things I love about working with dreams and guided visualization is that we don't always know what will appear.
We might begin with an intention or a question, but the imagery that unfolds can surprise us.
A familiar landscape changes. An unexpected figure arrives. A doorway appears where there wasn't one before. Something seemingly insignificant captures our attention.
I think this element of surprise is important.
It reminds us that imagination is not always something we consciously direct or control. Sometimes it seems to have a movement of its own.
Carl Jung explored this through his work with active imagination, engaging with images and figures arising from the unconscious rather than simply analyzing them from a distance.
What interests me most is the possibility of relationship.
What happens when we approach an image rather than immediately interpret it?
What changes when we allow ourselves to wonder what an animal, a place, a figure or an object might evoke within us?
We may discover associations, memories, emotions or possibilities that were not immediately apparent. We may find ourselves looking at a familiar situation differently.
And sometimes we may simply be left with a sense of mystery.
I don't think that is necessarily a problem.
Not everything meaningful needs to be fully understood.
Living Symbolically
Our imaginal lives don't end when we wake from a dream or open our eyes after a guided visualization.
Images and symbols are woven into our waking experiences as well.
A particular song catches our attention at an unexpected moment. An encounter with an animal stirs something within us. A passage in a book seems to speak directly to a question we've been carrying. We find ourselves repeatedly drawn to a colour, an image, a story or a place without entirely knowing why.
We can notice these experiences without needing to assign them a predetermined meaning.
To live symbolically, as I understand it, is not to assume that everything is a sign or that every coincidence contains a hidden message.
It is to recognize that we are meaning-making beings, and that our experiences often carry personal associations and emotional resonances beyond their immediate practical significance.
It is a willingness to remain in conversation with life.
And perhaps that is where the imaginal becomes especially valuable.
It gives us permission to approach experience with curiosity, imagination and openness, while remaining grounded in the realities of our lives.
Dreams, Tarot and the Language of Images
This is also one of the reasons I enjoy bringing dreams and Tarot into conversation.
Both invite us into a world of imagery, symbolism, story and association.
When we encounter a Tarot card, we are presented with an image. We may recognize something familiar, feel drawn toward a particular detail, or notice an emotional response that surprises us.
When we bring that image alongside a dream, new possibilities for reflection can emerge.
I don't approach Tarot as a way of declaring what a dream definitively means. Instead, I see it as another imaginative doorway, one that can help us explore our associations, ask different questions and consider perspectives we might otherwise overlook.
The value is not necessarily in arriving at the correct answer.
It is in what becomes possible through the conversation.
Making Room for Wonder
I sometimes wonder what we lose when we become too quick to dismiss imagination.
Perhaps we lose opportunities for creativity, play, discovery and a more intimate relationship with our inner lives.
Perhaps we become so concerned with determining what is real, useful or explainable that we forget there are experiences worth exploring simply because they move us.
We can honour the imaginal without abandoning discernment. We can remain open to mystery without insisting that everything mysterious must be literally true.
And we can allow our dreams, images and creative experiences to enrich our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
The imaginal is not imaginary in the sense of being inconsequential.
Its experiences can have very real emotional, psychological and creative significance.
Perhaps the invitation is not to believe everything our imagination presents, nor to dismiss it.
Perhaps it is to enter into relationship with it.
And see what begins to unfold.
A few questions to sit with:
Is there an image from a dream, story or experience that has stayed with me?
What happens when I approach that image with curiosity rather than trying to explain it?
Where might I make more room for imagination, wonder and symbolic awareness in my everyday life?
Every dream holds a key. Every key opens a story.
