Check Out This Recovery-Oriented Movie Review by Dr. Robert Weathers

Recovery Movie Review: “My Name Is Bill W.” | Dr. Bob Weathers

See a New Article by Dr. Bob Weathers on Integral Recovery from Addiction, Including Spiritual Resources

Integral Recovery, Ken Wilber, and Integral Life Practice | Dr. Bob Weathers

Active Imagination: Exercise Instructions

On the heels of a presentation to graduate students in psychology at HIS University in Corona, California, I promised to post instructions for an exercise in active imagination which we discussed as one helpful resource in working with recovery:

Spiritual Resources for Counseling Addicted Individuals in Recovery

HIS University

August 8, 2013

 

Active Imagination Exercise

1)      Images: 

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2)      Emotions:

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3)      Dialogue (yourself [lower case] +  IMAGE [upper case])

• Negative shadow: “The worst part about you is...” 

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• Positive shadow: “What is it that you want from me?” 

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4)      Images as metaphors ---

• Negative shadow: “The part of me that...” 

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• Positive shadow: “The part of me that...”

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5)      Waking context:
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6)      Integration (incorporating shift):

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Resources:

Johnson, R.A. (2009). Inner work: Using dreams and active imagination for personal growth [Kindle version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/kindle-store/dp/B002SVQCUG

Weathers, R.S. (1990).  Dream theory and research. In R. J. Hunter (Ed.), Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling.  Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press. (copy available at Dr. Weathers’ website: http://www.drbobweathers.com [under “Books and Publications”])

Goethe, Jung, and Babe Ruth: On Safety as Dangerous

“The dangers of life are many, and safety is one of those dangers.”

--- Goethe

It is ironic, wouldn't you agree, that one of the greatest obstacles to a truly creative life is too overpowering a yearning for safety?

Carl Jung spoke of the creative life, one in tune with art, spirituality, and the present moment, as requiring the opus contra naturam.  Literally, it is indeed "a work against nature," going upstream, to resist the entropy toward the familiar, and to choose for bringing two or more previously unlinked ideas into a single space.  (This is what Harvard psychiatrist, Albert Rothenberg, calls "homospatial process," or more simply, creativity.)

Years ago, out of a dream, the following words came to me: "Sometimes a brilliant mistake is preferable to a more mediocre correctness."  Here then is to risking safety, even risking to make a mistake, in order to invite in the creative act...

Babe Ruth may have said it most clearly: "Never let fear of striking out get in your way."

Regarding the New Subtitle to This Blog

Why "The Present Moment in Art, Spirituality, and Everyday Life"?

My goal is to draw together reflections on the creative process (art), spiritual practice, and their applications to everyday life.  "The present moment" refers to my appreciating the contributions of contemporary spiritual author, Eckhart Tolle; his intellectual forefather (and namesake), German theologian Meister Eckhart; and the innovative work (on vitality and the present moment) by leading developmental psychologist, Dr. Daniel Stern.

Enjoy, and please feel free to participate!

Dr. Robert Weathers Quotes Integral Recovery Pioneer, John DuPuy

I like how this quote points toward the inextricable link between our bodies, our minds, the creative soul, and spiritual fulfillment:

"As an old Quaker man once wrote, the key to lifelong happiness is to be a lifelong athlete."

from Dupuy, John (2013). Integral Recovery (Suny Series in Integral Theory).  Excelsior Editions/State University of New York. Kindle Edition.

Creative Block and the Ego’s Death

Have you ever noticed that creativity may not come naturally --- or as a friend of mine says, “through the front door”?  For example, why is it when I have an open hour or two (or occasionally, longer) to compose new music (a lifelong hobby) that I oftentimes will find myself resorting to mundane or repetitive tasks instead; which cut into my available time for creative projects?  I’ve even mentioned to friends, with befuddlement: “It’s amazing how interesting vacuuming all the floors can be when faced with wide-open time for creative purposes?”

Just Say "Yes"

One rule of improvisational theater is to mentally say "Yes" to any creative impulse. This allows for stories to develop, for life to bloom. In relationships, similarly open-minded imagination allows for love to bloom. (The Center for Healthy Sex)