ABSTRACT
In 1916, Jung described the entry point for active imagination as a turbulent emotional state: <disp-quote> He must make the emotional state the basis or starting point of the procedure. Active imagination may also be seen as a form of ritual, akin to the focused states of religious contemplation found in the kavvanah or 'directed attention' of the Jewish Kabbalah, in certain forms of Sufi meditation, in Ignatius Loyola's 'spiritual exercises', and in Neoplatonic theurgy. A number of works have described active imagination in practical therapeutic terms, and are intended to provide insights for the psychotherapist. The traditions of theurgy from late antiquity not only offered ample food for Jung's hunger for a philosophical framework in which to embed his psychological insights; they also provided explicit instructions on how to avoid the disintegration of the personality that can accompany a confrontation with the divine.</disp-quote>.
