Ever feel like you’ve hit a dead end in your recovery journey? Like you’re the one person destined to remain stuck in cycles of trauma, self-sabotage, and doubt? What if the answers you’re seeking are already within you, waiting to be accessed? In this transformative episode, we explore the healing power of imagination, creativity, and inner wisdom. Dr. Stephen Aizenstat, a pioneer in the field of depth psychology, joins me to guide us through reconnecting with our deeper selves. By tapping into this “core matrix” of imagination, we can access a greater intelligence that not only heals but also empowers us to become the agents of change our world needs.

Dr. Aizenstat, founder of Pacifica Graduate Institute and Dream Tending, has collaborated with leading minds in psychology, mythology, and indigenous wisdom to explore the profound role of dreams and imagination in healing. His decades-long work offers practical insights for those ready to step beyond the limitations of rational thinking and embrace a more holistic, creative approach to growth and self-discovery.

Topics Covered and Questions Answered in This Episode:

• The Role of Imagination in Healing: How reclaiming creativity and imagination in adulthood can provide us with transformative insights often overlooked by rational thinking.
• Why Modern Culture Disregards Intuition: Exploring the Western preference for logic over intuition and the cultural shift that suppressed our imaginative faculties.
• Active Imagination as a Tool for Self-Discovery: Using imagination to connect with our inner "parts" or "subpersonalities" and integrate them into a more harmonious self.
• Reframing Suicidal Thoughts as a Call for Transformation: Understanding deep emotional pain as a signal for psychic initiation or change.
• Grief Rituals and Healing: The role of intentional rituals in processing grief and fostering emotional resilience.
• Projection and Relational Pain: Why we often project unresolved pain onto others and how to reclaim ownership of these feelings.
• Facing Ambivalence about Death: Acknowledging and exploring our fears around mortality as part of a holistic healing journey.
• Tuning into the Inner Self: Practical ways to connect with the deeper self, whether seen as True Nature, Higher Self, Buddha-nature, or Christ-consciousness.
• The Life-Changing Power of Curiosity: How cultivating a curious approach toward life can shift our mental state and open us to new possibilities.
• Healing Emptiness by Engaging with Your “Inner Council”: Developing a relationship with your inner guides and mentors to navigate chronic feelings of emptiness.

Resources:

✧ Click here to purchase Stephen’s new book “The Imagination Matrix”

✧ Visit https://dreamtending.com/ to learn more about Stephen’s Dream Tending programs

Craving more? Become a Premium Submarine. Join an exclusive community and unlock hundreds of hours of members-only content: full-length episodes, deep-dive series, guided meditations, and more—all for the cost of a couple of coffees a month. Start exploring at backfromtheborderline.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.