I use the term guided imagistic thinking here to distinguish Ignatian meditation from the kind of unguided personal meditation that Dr. Jung engaged in in his dangerous self-experiments in which he deliberately tried to bypass, as it were, his ego-consciousness and call up fantasy images from his collective unconscious in his psyche. He came to refer to this practice of unguided imagistic thinking as involve what he referred to as active imagination. Jung not only practiced the use of active imagination in his own dangerous experiments, but he also taught his psychoanalytic trainees to engage in this dangerous practice. Fortunately, Jung's followers today no longer practice the use of active imagination.
You see, even the practice of guided imagistic meditation in Ignatian meditation can, at times, involve forces in a person's unconscious to overthrow the person's ego-consciousness, resulting in a psychotic episode.
Yes, it is a wonder that Dr. Jung himself did not experience the overthrow of his ego-consciousness in a psychotic episode during the years of his dangerous self-experiment.
In any event, Dr. Jung had a somewhat elaborate way of processing his own fantasy images during his dangerous experiments with active imaginations. He not only recorded what he heard, but he also painted what he saw in the fantasy images.
Ah, but what about Nietzsche? Yes, to be sure, he did eventually experience a debilitating mental breakdown. No doubt about that. However, as we consider his ego-consciousness with Robert Hassan, we should also note that Nietzsche uses striking images in Thus Spake Zarathustra - which Jung discusses in his seminar on it from 1934 to 1939.
Now, in 2009, W. W. Norton published Jung's record in The Red Book: Liber Novus, edited by Sonu Shamdasani, translated by John Peck, Mark Kyburz and Sonu Shamdasani.
For further discussion, see the Wikipedia entry "The Red Book (Jung)":
In 2020, W. W. Norton also published The Black Books of C. G. Jung (1913-1932), edited by Sonu Shamdasani, translated by Martin Liebscher, John Peck, and Sonu Shamdasani. Please note that dates of Jung's Black Books: 1913-1932. Jung entered the last record in 1932. Jung's seminar on Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra did not begin until 1934 and did not end until 1939.
For further discussion, see the Wikipedia entry "Black Books (Jung)":
In 1997, Joan Chodorow edited the collection of passages in which Jung discusses active imagination in the volume titled Jung on Active Imagination (Princeton University Press).
According to the Wikipedia entry "Carl Jung publications," Princeton University Press plans to publish in 2025 The Active Imagination: Notes from the Seminar Given in 1931:
In addition, Princeton University Press plans to publish in 2025 Jung's Life and Work: Interviews for Memories, Dreams, Reflections with Aniela Jaffe.
According to the same entry, Princeton University Press published in 2023 Jung on Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises : Lectures Delivered at ETH Zurich, Volume 7: 1939-1940.
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