Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth
by Robert A. Johnson

The author is a Jungian psychologist and writes about how to use your personal images in dreams and active imagination to break through old barriers.

It’s one of the few books I’ve read that encourages a person to make their rituals or activities to ground the insights that they’ve gained. And it explains why that part is so necessary. Taking some action acknowledges to the subconscious that the person values the information.

This book has three sections. The first is an introduction to the subconscious (which he calls the unconscious) and its language.

The second part is devoted to dreams and dreamworking. This part gives some instructions on how to interpret your own dreams, then what to integrate the dream into your waking life. This is where the rituals come into play.

The third section addresses active imagination and how to do this on your own. Since imagery is the language of the subconscious, you allow the subconscious to dialogue with you in its own language.

I’ve used many of the processes from this book in my own life with great success. This is a wonderful book, and I wouldn’t let my copy out of my possession.