Overview
In the grip of a mood, we set up a transitional containing space. Engaging with suitable creative material, we turn inwards with sincerity, we seek the inner other and give form to what wants to speak to us.
Often the hands know how to solve a riddle with which the intellect has wrestled in vain.
CG Jung, CW8:180
I discovered the creative process through my own inner work, and later found confirmation of my experience in Jung’s psychology.
The key aspects of this creative process seem to be a contained transitional space; the right attitude; projection; reflection. We relate to the content while we are projecting and in this way we fill the unknown spaces with psychic content; we reflect upon the image and its process. Images unfold meaningfully from one to the next, telling a story. One projects, interacts with the image by relating to it and is thus influenced by it. To read my discussion, please follow the links below.
Getting Started
I am available to host work sessions for small groups. Please contact me for more information.
- Take time to prepare your space and your attitude. Please see my section on The transitional creative space.
- Before starting, ask yourself a few questions. How do you experience yourself right now? What brought you to this space today? Make a note of this. It helps to bypass the inner critic.
- We start with what we have: a feeling or an idea, an image, a fantasy, or a dream fragment. This should be seen as the point of departure only. Be curious. Let it unfold.
- If it feels as if you have nothing, then you may start with that, with the feeling of nothing; stay with it, be curious about it. What does nothing look like? Give it a shape. Nothing is the seed of it all, like the void, or the space between the stars.
- To get over your initial hesitation it might help to start handling the material: what feels right?
- Seek it. Stay with it and allow it to unfold.
- After completion of your image it is helpful to write down how your work unfolded: a simple description of what you did first, what came next.
- Stray thoughts may drift past as you work; a memory, a dream, a story. Make a note of it. They are important when you return to find meaning.
The transitional creative space
The container and the unfolding process are inseparable. A fetus cannot be without a womb. In this section, we explore the transitional creative space as demonstrated in a Native American story.
In this section we look at Jung’s concept of the Transcendent Function: why and how inner equilibrium is restored through creative inner work, as demonstrated through an ancient Chinese tale.
This section deals with the meaningful content: the image and the emotions. By relating to the image in an authentic manner, we experience it and allow it to influence us. This is demonstrated through Ovid’s Pygmalion.
Further reading
Chodorow, Joan. (1997) Encountering Jung: Jung on Active Imagination. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 5 – 17; 43 – 60; 73 – 76; 91 – 96; 146 – 153
Hannah, Barbarah. (2000) The Inner Journey. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books. P. 34 – 45
Kalsched, Donald. (1996) The Inner World of Trauma. London, UK: Routledge. P. 197 – 200
Jacobi, J. (1959) Complex, Archetype, Symbol. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 74 – 88; 94 – 103
Jung, CG. (1969) Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York, USA. Random House Inc. P. 340
Jung, CG. (1968) Collective Works 12. 41 Princeton, NJ, US: Princeton University Press. Par. 322, 366.
Neumann, E. (1955). The Great Mother. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press. P. 120, 125, 128, 132, 136, 158.
Image credits
Top row, from left: Heather Hansen; San art by Cg’ose Ntcoxo.
Bottom row, from left: Marc Chagall, Study to Jacob’s Ladder; Basquiat exhibition.
You must be logged in to post a comment.