From the author: This article was written for the popular encyclopedia of psychoanalysis in 1998 Active imagination - free fantasizing, daydreaming, “daydreaming”. One of the methods of working with a patient’s problem in analytical psychology. The purpose of active imagination is to get acquainted with those parts of the personality, thoughts and desires that are hidden in the unconscious and therefore inaccessible to a person in everyday experience. This method was first proposed by C. G. Jung in 1935, when he lectured at one of the London clinics and talked about different types of imagination: dreams, reveries, fantasies, etc. A.v. differs from ordinary dreams, well known to every person. The main difference is that in a.v. combines the work of consciousness and the unconscious. Therefore a.v. differs both from aimless fantasies and from conscious fiction. The psychotherapist asks his patient to focus on something specific - an event that has excited him, or on his feelings, or on a picture that interests him, or the plot of a work of art... One of the important advantages of this method is that the “starting point” for a. V. Anything can happen, you just need to be attentive to your experiences and make the right choice. The patient then talks about all the fantasies, images and feelings that arise when he is focused on the chosen topic. These images take on their own life, line up into a certain plot with their own internal logic. Fictions and fantasies, previously unrelated, suddenly reveal unexpected similarities and become more distinct. So in this experience, a person becomes acquainted with the previously hidden parts of his soul, which in analytical psychology are called the shadow, anima, animus, as well as with the world of his archetypes. It is very important that this new knowledge gained in the experience of a.v. does not disappear without a trace, so that a person can remember it well and thereby expand his real capabilities. To do this, at the end of such work, the psychotherapist usually invites his patient to draw a picture, write a poem or a short story about this new experience in order to better remember and comprehend it. Moreover, even if this work is not interpreted in any way, it still has a special “healing” power for the patient. After all, it becomes a special kind of symbol, reminding him of this meeting with previously unknown internal characters, a kind of “door” to this new experience. Method A.V. includes two stages. At first, the person seems to be “daydreaming,” telling the psychotherapist about all his visions and experiences, and then they discuss this experience together. At the first stage, according to C. G. Jung, “a new situation is created in which unconscious contents are visible in the waking state” of the patient. This is different from ordinary dreams. And then the patient reflects on these images, what they can mean, why they appeared in his today's experience. For example, in a.v. a man tells his fantasy about a brave hunter who fearlessly fights wild animals. Such a plot, of course, is archetypal, so you can recall myths and fairy tales on this topic to better understand what the images of a hunter, wild animals, etc. mean. in a certain culture, in the collective unconscious of all humanity. But in addition, this plot is also related to the purely personal experiences of the patient, speaks about his difficulties and problems, and also indicates possible ways to solve them. Talking with a psychotherapist, he discovers the relationship between these images and this plot with his own life conflicts, he himself evaluates their significance and finds in them his own, unique meaning. K.G. Jung used a.v. as a rule, at the final stage of his work with the patient, when he was already quite familiar with the world of his images from working with his dreams. A.v. It turned out to be an effective method in the treatment of neuroses, but only in combination with conscious interpretations and conversations. He.