The new developments in depth psychology have made it possible to approach the realm

of the unconscious from an inherently affirmative and constructive point of view. The
new holistic sense of depths is not conceived in terms of the malfunctioning of
personality, but rather in terms of what mans nature requires him to become.
--Ira Progoff: (Depth Psychology and Modern Man, Julian Press, NY,
1969.)
ANSWERS FROM THE UNCONSCIOUS
This monograph is taken from Synthesis Journal Volume 2 (pp 140-152) 1975-1978
By Martha Crampton
Recent decades have witnessed a revaluation of the human unconscious and the
development of new methods for an expanded use of its processes. The purposeful use of
the imagination is a most effective and fruitful means to explore the unconscious. It is of
particular interest to psychotherapists, educators and all persons who, in their lives, seek
to make use of the positive potential of unconscious processes.
In recent years numerous techniques utilizing mental imagery have been
developed. They can be considered to be methods for exploring the unconscious by using
the imagination under the direction of the conscious intellect and the will.
When used in such a disciplined way (as opposed to mere daydreaming or
unproductive fantasy) mental imagery offers the possibility of exploring new realms of
the unconscious while maintaining contact with our rational faculties. We are able to
shift gears back and forth, at will, between the direct experience of our inner world
including its affective components and a more rational, analytic framework from which
to consider such experience. This has an advantage over the imagery of nocturnal dreams
as it permits us to work directly with the imaginal material, extracting its meaning and
moving towards conflict resolution.
Mental imagery techniques can play a valuable, integrative role by bridging the
conscious and unconscious as well as the rational and affective dimensions of our
personality.
There is a broad range of techniques available. Some are best used with an
experienced person who can serve as a guide, while others can be employed effectively
with or without such help. Among the latter, one technique with many varied
applications is the method known as answers from the unconscious. (M.Crampton,
The Use of Mental Imagery in Psychosynthesis, Synthesis Graduate School, S.F., CA.)
This method is generally used to acquire information, obtain guidance and gain better
understanding of our inner processes. The basic idea is to formulate a question,
addressing it to ones unconscious and allowing the answer to emerge in the form of a
mental image. Such an answer will emerge spontaneously, in most cases with surprising
facility. It is important not to reject images that may seem irrelevant. Usually, given
sufficient attention, their significance will become clear. And if a sequence of unrelated
images emerges, often the very first one turns out to be the most meaningful.
The question posed need not be held continuously in the foreground of ones
awareness. Once it has been clearly formulated we can turn our attention to the answer
that is about to emerge. Thus the mind takes an expectant attitude one which is
simultaneously receptive, relaxed, and yet goal-directed much like listening for a faint
sound, or being in a movie theatre and waiting for the film images to appear on the
screen.
Often, people can do this spontaneously at the first try. But sometimes a beginner
in the use of this method will try too hard, or attempt to make something happen, and
this blocks the process of spontaneous emergence. Or one may become anxious that
nothing will happen, that there will be no images. This anxiety can be allayed if one
knows that the unconscious is a vast storehouse of imagery accessible at all times, if one
is reasonably relaxed and trust the process to occur.
Many kinds of questions may be fruitfully explored, provided they are vital,
authentic, existential questions for the asker. For example, you may choose to ask a
question related to your personal growth, or your relationship with others. This can be
illustrated by the case of a woman who closed her eyes and asked, What is it about my
behavior that makes my husband angry? The image that emerged was that of herself
playing the role of a martyr. When she had analyzed its meaning, this image helped her
to understand how her behavior provoked her husbands anger. As another example, a
man asked, What is the cause of my headache? He saw himself hitting his head with a
hammer, and later hitting his mother. He realized that the severe headache stemmed from
turning back on himself the childhood anger he had felt toward her. Having realized this,
and ventilated his anger in harmless cathartic ways, his headache disappeared.
Answers from the unconscious may also be used to get in touch with the meaning
of a dream image, a drawing, or other symbolic material. Simply ask for an image that
expresses the meaning of that symbol. The technique may be used as well for the initial
phase of grounding, the relating of symbolic material to everyday life. For this
purpose, you can ask for an image showing you how the message conveyed by the
symbol applies to your life. In answer to such a question, you will probably see yourself
in a concrete life situation. A woman who first used the answers from the unconscious
technique to ask about the next obstacle to her development saw an image in the form of
hooks, and got a feeling of wanting to clutch or grab something. She could not
understand what this meant, so she then asked for an image of a real-life situation in
which she had experienced that same feeling. She then saw herself clutching her
husband, playing a dependent role with him and refusing to accept responsibility for her
own actions.
This last example shows that it is quite possible and very productive to ask for
an image that expresses, or that is related to, a particular feeling one is experiencing.
This procedure enables us to further understand the meaning and causes of our feelings,
to get in touch with those that are repressed and to respond to the needs and urges that
generated them. It is especially powerful when the feeling is a recurrent one. This
approach is also quite useful, in a therapeutic situation, when the client is not aware of
anything specific to work on and a productive starting point is needed.
Answers from the unconscious are also useful for finding out more constructive
ways of being or acting the next phase of grounding. One might ask, for example,
How could I act in a class so that my students would be more involved in their work?
or What do I need to develop to overcome my fear of what others will think? Often the
answer suggests the development of a particular inner attitude or transpersonal quality
such as joy, courage, self-acceptance, etc. which can be purposefully cultivated.
Sometimes when using the answers from the unconscious method, it is necessary
to go through several steps in order to find a response that is really useful and
meaningful. In this way, the answer to one question is used as a starting point to
formulate another more precise question, and so on until one feels satisfied with the final
answer. One woman who had asked, What do I need to work on? saw a wall. The wall
seemed to be too vague and general to be very useful to her, so she then asked, What is
the specific meaning of the wall for me? This time she saw a jagged-toothed saw, which
after some reflection, put her in touch with a cutting quality within herself. Then, in
order to more fully ground the experience, she asked her unconscious to show her how
she was being cutting with people in everyday life. She then saw herself in various
relationships expressing critical attitudes towards certain people. She took some time to
understand how her overly critical tendencies were creating a wall between herself and
others. Finally, in order to end on a constructive note, she asked what she needed to
develop within herself in order to overcome this tendency. The answer she received was
an image of an enclosure that seemed to include both herself and another person. Unlike
the original wall that served to separate her from others, this image pointed the way
toward taking others within her own boundary. She began to sense a way of identifying
herself empathically with the needs of other people, so that she could experience others
from the inside, rather than from the outside as a critical judge. As she continued to
concentrate on this image, the sense of oneness with others grew in intensity and
generality. She had a peak experience, realizing the great joy and love that could come
through this kind of blending.
This example illustrates the importance of taking sufficient time to reflect on the
meaning and implications of each image so that its full impact and message is felt. It also
illustrates the principle of ending on a constructive and positive note, so that one is not
simply left with an awareness of blockage and limitation. Taking the process to a
positive ending has a generally encouraging and vitalizing effect: it allows the person to
see his positive potentials and to realize that he can turn an apparent obstacle into a
stepping stone in his growth, by mobilizing the will to overcome it.
A further way of extracting meaning from the images that appear is to make a
thorough rational and intuitive interpretation of their nature and function. An example is
given below.
A client saw an image of himself carrying a plank with five lamps on it,
connected by a cord to the East Indian shop where he had obtained it. It reminded him of
a Jewish menorah or candlestick used for religious purposes, though the number of lights
was five rather than the traditional seven, and the lights were table lamps rather than
candles. His association to five lamps was five working days. The lamps were seen as
something used in a living room where one might have a social gathering. In other
words, they were lights used for a profane rather than religious purpose. The image of
East Indians, he said, was associated with oriental spirituality or mysticism and ideas of
inner light, but to him they were also great talkers and tended to talk things to death
rather than act. This corresponded to his feeling of pride in carrying the light and a wish
to display what seemed to be a sort of trophy he had won. He was then able to see that
this image expressed his own spiritual pride. He had been so concerned with talking
about his experience, with displaying his accomplishment, he said, that he dispersed its
energy, profaning a sacred experience in making it the object of living room
conversation, a product of the five working days, a personal achievement rather than a
gift form the Lord on the day of the Sabbath. (Op.cit, pp. 147-148.)
Another valuable mental imagery technique is that of identifying with the person
or other element one is visualizing, by becoming it in ones imagination. This approach
has been used extensively by Perls (F.S. Perls, R.F. Hefferline and P. Goodman: Gestalt
Therapy, Julian Press, NY, 1951.) and has been discussed with Gerard (R.Gerard:
Symbolic Identification, paper presented to the 5
th
International Conference on
Psychosynthesis, Rome, 1967.) with the name of symbolic identification. With this
approach, one is able to better understand the various elements in a dream or
visualization. The elements of such symbolic productions usually represent tendencies or
characteristics of our own personality. By identifying ourselves with them in our
imagination, we can sense their quality and own these previously unacknowledged
aspects of ourselves. This will enable us to begin the process of transmutation and
integration of these internal elements. It will also help us develop empathy, and avoid
distorting our perception of other people by projecting erroneous aspects onto them.
Symbolic identification may also be used to expand our consciousness and to gain
a deeper sense of participation in, and oneness with the universe. Becoming such
natural symbols as a flower, a tree, a rock, a river, the ocean, the sun, or even the galaxy,
can be particularly valuable for this purpose. This is especially effective and appropriate
after personal work which has resulted in the elimination of some obstacle. It is possible
to attempt this type of symbolic identification on ones own, though people can generally
enter into the experience more fully when some sort of guided visualization is used.
In addition to the basic visualization technique of allowing an image to appear on
the mind screen, other techniques utilizing visual imagery may be employed for obtaining
answers from the unconscious. One may, for example, ask to see a word or phrase
written on a chalkboard instead of the more pictorial symbols that have been discussed to
this point. Or it is possible to combine visual and auditory techniques, by entering into
dialogue with an image after it appears. While most people tend to receive answers as
visual images, some who are not strongly visual will more commonly experience
auditory imagery as though hearing an inner voice, or will even experience a
kinesthetic form of imagery. Thus a variety of channels either singly or in
combination may be used in obtaining the answer: in fact, what we call mental
imagery can include the full range of our senses. (Exercises to develop all sensory
modalities of our imagination can be found in Assagioli, Psychosynthesis, A Manual of
Principles and Techniques, pp. 152-163.)
In exploring the elements of our imagery we may notice that some appear to be in
conflict with others. This is a sign that some integrative work needs to be done. One
way to begin this is to set up an inner dialogue between the elements involved, and
gradually work toward greater mutual understanding. One can thus achieve greater
coordination, and possibly the integration of the conflicting aspects. This process is
usually deeper and more meaningful if at some point we actually become, in our
imagination, first one and then the other element. In this way, we sense more accurately
what the true needs of each part are and what message it can give us.
Integration of the warring factions is usually achieved most effectively by
evoking a symbol of the fair witness. On occasion, especially when there is a strong
need to encourage self-nurturing tendencies, we may think of it as a wise and
compassionate Person representing the Higher Self. My own experience suggests that
this designation tends to evoke more love, while the fair witness descriptor tends to evoke
clarity of perception and insight into the problems involved. With the mediation of this
objective element of our consciousness, we are generally able to understand more clearly
what the true picture is and how the dysfunctional patterns can be corrected.
Evoking the image of a sage or other symbol of inner wisdom and entering into
dialogue with it is a particularly powerful technique. It may bring about very meaningful
insights and most valuable guidance applicable to almost any inner or outer situation.
There are a variety of symbols of inner wisdom such as a Wise Old Man, a Wise Old
Woman, a phoenix, eagle or dove, a gem, a spring, fountain, flame, sun, star, or light.
Sometimes these symbols emerge spontaneously, or they can be evoked intentionally.
Each symbol has its own particular value, its own kind of wisdom. For example, the
masculine and feminine archetypes of wisdom are often complementary, with the male
symbol tending to give insights of a more guiding, affirming nature and the female
symbol tending to play a more nurturing role. So it is worthwhile to experiment with
several of these symbols, or allow our unconscious to choose the one most appropriate to
meet our particular need at the time.
In the communication with the symbol of inner wisdom, sometimes the verbal
dialogue is the most important aspect. Other times, the visual imagery plays the central
role. At other times still, the experience takes place largely at intuitive levels. There is
then a direct realization of certain realities without much verbal or visual exchange, and
the experience can become one of contemplation, of absorption in the awareness
communicated.
PRECAUTIONS
In evoking answers form the unconscious there are certain precautions to be
observed, because as with any other effective approach it is not without pitfalls or
limitations. It can open up to us a wealth of knowledge but it can also land us in trouble
if we do not use it wisely. For example, once we are convinced of its validity, we must
be prepared to apply in our everyday life the knowledge we have received. Too much
unused knowledge undermines the will and dissipates energy, delaying our growth.
We must also pay attention to our own rhythm of unfoldment what is a realistic
step for ourselves for if we attempt to move too fast we risk defeating our purpose. In
other words, we need to be sensitive to the scope of the material we are dealing with.
This is particularly important for people with a present or past history of serious
emotional difficulties, or for those who are on their first steps along the path of personal
growth. In general, we must use our common sense to avoid biting off more than we
can chew at any one time, especially if we are not working with the support of a
counselor, therapist or other guide or be prepared to seek such help if this becomes
indicated by the nature of the material that emerges.
In order to obtain the best answer, it is worthwhile to ask for it with our
consciousness as much as possible in a centered place. This means detaching our
selves from the issues involved, seeing them at a distance, by disidentifying from them,
and if we have learned how, identifying with the I or personal self.
Another important and more subtle consideration in seeking answers from our
unconscious has to do with whom to ask for an answer. The woman who wanted to
know what it was about her behavior that made her husband angry could have addressed
her question to her unconscious in general, or to have a specific element in it. This
element could have been an image of her husband, or that of a wise old man. The
husband would likely have answered according to his own subjective perspective,
while the Wise Old Man would have given a more objective response, and probably
advice on improving the situation. Thus the two answers would have been different, but
complementary. One would have given her a valuable insight into her husbands point of
view (whether right or wrong) and helped her develop understanding and empathy for
him. The other would have been more inclusive, reaching closer to the roots of the
problem, and pointing to its solution.
In general, our unconscious has many levels, and as we have seen, different kinds
of answers can come from different levels. If one chooses to address elements at
different levels, such as, for example, the subpersonalities involved as well as the Wise
Old Man, it is best to work with the higher element last, as it will have a more inclusive
and synthetic quality and thus will help to integrate all the previous material.
But in most cases and especially when first using this technique it is sufficient,
at least as a first step, to address the unconscious generally. In this case, it is important
to deal with the answer on its own merits. In other words, one needs to use appropriate
caution before accepting any answer from the unconscious or any other message in life
at face value, and then acting on it. The answer may be coming from a source different
from the one that was addressed, and thus be more or less objective and more or less
appropriate. Therefore, we can best deal with all answers with common sense,
discernment and objectivity, as we would with any advice given to us. But even when
the answer comes from a subpersonality, or other element in the middle or lower
unconscious, it can be of great value, not necessarily as something to follow, but
definitely as a source of understanding of that element, of how it acts, and what it needs.
OTHER APPLICATIONS
These techniques for obtaining answers from the unconscious have been used
effectively not only for personal growth and psychotherapy, but also in such fields as
education, creative problem solving and work with groups. They offer an effective
method that can complement the purely rational approach by shedding fresh light on a
situation and opening up new possibilities to examine. Mental imagery often functions
with a rapidity, depth and vividness that can replace many hours of merely talking
about something.
As a group technique, the method is effective for exploring a question of general
interest or for generating personal material which can later be discussed in small groups.
(Specific symbols that can be used for group visualizations as well as individual therapy
have been suggested by R. Desoille (R. Desoille: the directed Daydream, Synthesis
Graduate School, San Francisco, CA) and H.K. Leuner (H. Leuner: Guided Affective
Imagery, American Journal of Psychotherapy, January). Some of these are the meadow,
the mountain, the river, the cup, the sword, the house, etc.)
Mental imagery techniques are also being used in research and in educational and
industrial settings for group problem solving. The Synectics method developed by
Gordon (W.J.J.Gordon: Synectics, Harper, NY, 1961.) uses metaphors and analogies
drawn from fields other than the problem under investigation to open up new ways of
seeing things. In one of the steps in synectics called personal analogy, the group
members imagine what it feels like to actually be whatever object they are considering
whether it is a bird, a windmill, or an octopus. This is essentially the same technique as
symbolic identification.
In the field of education, Gordon (W.J.J. Gordon: The Metaphorical Way of
Learning and Knowing, Porpoise Books, Cambridge, 1966.) has also applied the
synectics principles of using personally experienced metaphor and analogy as a tool in
concept formation. In a lesson on Boyles Law, children were asked to imagine what it
would feel like if they were inside a cylinder and a piston was pushed down on top of
them. In coming to understand experientially the principle that as volume goes down,
pressure, goes up, they came up with such statements as, Like if you were a molecule
and youre getting more and more squished between the cylinder walls and all the other
molecules, you get crowded and squished and As things close in on me, I hit more
things.more often. Gordon holds that such ways of learning are more effective as
they permit the child to grasp a concept from inside rather than by simply memorizing a
formula. Also, there is very valuable indirect learning for the students in that they are
being told implicitly that their inner worlds, feelings and experiences are important.
There are many other rich possibilities in the field of education. Techniques of
visualization can be of great value in helping children as well as adults to express their
creative resources. Guided imagination exercises can help people to enter a rich world of
inner experience that can be expressed in many ways, including writing, drama, music
and art. The Method school of acting and the creative drama approach utilize such
techniques to develop dramatic imagination. Morgan (F. Morgan, Here and Now: An
Approach to Writing through Perception, Viking, NY, 1972.) has used techniques based
on imaginative evocation of sensory experiences is a way of evoking material in teaching
creative writing. He suggests, for example, that students recall a childhood scene,
concentrating on sensory data such as colors, textures, sounds, smells, bodily sensations,
etc.
Work in the filed of confluent education (G. Brown: Human Teaching for Human
Learning: An Introduction to Confluent Education, Viking, NY, 1971.) is concerned with
integration of the cognitive and affective domains. Mental imagery techniques could
contribute to this process by helping students to get in touch experientially with material
from various disciplines. The symbolic identification technique could be used, for
example, to help bring about empathy with people in diverse cultural contexts or with
other life forms. Fantasy could be extended by the use of dramatic techniques.
Projective imagery of the answers from the unconscious type could be used to explore
students attitudes toward various issues (e.g. Allow an image to come that reflects your
perception of the role of government: or the way you perceive Black people).
A course offered at the University of Vermont on Myth, Symbol and Ritual
utilizes mental imagery exercises to add an experiential dimension to the theoretical
material. De Mille (R. De Mille: Put Your Mother On The Ceiling, Walker, NY, 1955.)
has developed a set of guided fantasies for younger children, designed to set free the
imagination, to ventilate feelings and to open up new ways of looking at things. In the
field of creative problem-solving and creativity development, the writer has worked with
a number of clients to help them solve problems in a variety of disciplines, from
mathematics and engineering to art and philosophy. Several people who had reached an
impasse in working on research problems of a theoretical or practical nature were enabled
to break through to a creative solution with the aid of this method. Objectives of working
in this manner are twofold: to help people remove obstacles in the personality which
block clear perception of the problem or solution, and to help them get in touch, through
mental imagery, with the creative sources in the higher unconscious.
In summary, the imaginal world offers a vast field to explore, of endless
fascination and great potential usefulness. The imagination, or image-making faculty,
is a precious toll that we can learn to harness for human betterment and delight. Like all
tools, it can be used for good or evil. It was Coue who said that when imagination and
will are in conflict, imagination will win out. So we have the choice of bringing our
imagination into harmony with our will or allowing it to function in a chaotic and
negative way. It is a challenge to all who seek to realize their highest potentials to learn
to use imagination wisely and intelligently, so that it can play its part in our growth
toward wholeness.
Martha Crampton is a faculty member of the Synthesis Graduate School for the Study
of Man at its London and Rotterdam campuses, a Director of the Psychosynthesis
Institute, London, and a Senior Member of the Professional Corporation of Psychologists
of the Province of Quebec. She underwent Didactic Training in psychosynthesis with
Roberto Assagioli and founded the Canadian Institute of Psychosynthesis, Montreal, in
1972. She was Assistant Professor at Sir George Williams University, Montreal, clinical
psychologist at Hospital St. Justine, Montreal, consultant to the Ministry of Education in
Quebec, and a founding member of the International Society of Mental Imagery
Techniques. She has authored a number of articles on mental imagery and a monograph
on its methods and the history of its use in psychotherapy, and has contributed to several
books, including Four Psychologies Applied to Education and Les Nouvelle
Psychotherapies.