Imaginal Practice opens doors to new ways of being and relating that can radically shift how you relate to yourself, your experience and others.
It can fundamentally change how you work, play, relate, understand and feel; creating richness, flow, aliveness, honesty and depth.
It’s quite a mysterious practice – if you are just starting out, you may be looking for the thing that will help it ‘click’ into place; for the imaginal realm to open up to you. The practice is wide-ranging, but when it’s flowing it can be a bit like psychedelics, or dreaming while you are awake. Ultimately, it is the door to a mystical connection with yourself and the Universe.
Rather than being a library of static information, all the content here is designed to help nudge you towards getting directly, or more deeply, in touch with the imaginal realm in your experience. To give you the pointers that will help guide your own intuitive explorations.
Jhana meditation, heartfulness and mindfulness practices will all help you access meaningful imaginal practices, but it also works the other way – imaginal practice can help you deepen all these practices.
Some of the key imaginal practices and cultures that I am building upon include Jung’s Active Imagination, Rob Burbea’s Soul-Making Dharma, Tantric Buddhism, Shamanic Journeying, Cliff Barry’s Shadow Work Therapy and George Lakoff’s Metaphors We Live By.
Writing
Some key information to orient you and some suggested practices to try.
Videos
Here is a playlist of videos about Imaginal Practice – from introductory talks to recorded practice guidance.
Recorded Retreat
This retreat was designed to give people all the skills, knowledge and experience they need to become imaginal practitioners. Listen to all the recorded talks.
Podcasts
Nouveau Shamanic Cinema Podcast, with Joost Vervoort
An entire podcast series where we watch films as if they are dreams or imaginal practice and use this to discuss dharma and the nature of reality
Interview on Deconstructing Yourself
I talk about imaginal practice, incorporating the darkness and more.
Meditation, Meaning, Myth and Magic, with Daniel M. Ingram – Part VI
We discuss creativity, journeying, imagination, and the richness of practice
Video Interview Series with Imaginal Practitioners
I chat with a wide range of practitioners about how they use imaginal practice
Explore Further
- One-to-one guidance and journeying
- Descriptions of Shared Imaginal Practice
- Imaginal Practice Moodboard (Pinterest)
- ‘The Journey That Opens The World’ is a project exploring how the imaginal realm can be propagated for the benefit of humanity. Find out more about this and the other practitioners involved