To do our inner work is to become familiar with the world within. It is to continue to grow and develop emotionally, psychologically, interpersonally, spiritually, and creatively. It is to tend to the wounds of the past, which are the inevitable result of living and loving, and to seek healing for them.
And it is to cultivate a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives and our work.
Inner Work and the Outer World
But isn't all this just self-indulgent navel gazing? Isn't it all just a distraction from the really important responsibilities of our lives? And what does any of this have to do with work?
As Jung points out in the video, everything that exists is an image in the imagination before it is ever realized in physical form. That means that the quality of our imagination determines the quality of whatever we produce. A healthy imagination leads to healthy work and healthy relationships. An unhealthy imagination leads to suffering.
And this is not just a matter of personal concern. This truth has important social and cultural implications.
Remember in the video Jung's statement that one man's fantasy could result in another man losing his life? We have no more devastating example of just this fact than the recent events in Boston. Our inner life impacts others and has concrete effects in and on the world.
The Imagination at Work
But we don't need to look to extreme events like the bombings to see this played out in our lives.
Our work lives provide plenty of illustration, from road rage on the daily commute to the malicious gossip of office politics to dealing with a tyrannical or an indifferent boss. Far more devastating, perhaps, is the way a deadened imagination at work comes home and infects the rest of one's life.
So many of my clients have described lives of boredom and clockwatching at work followed by boredom and TV watching at home.
The Transformative Power of Imagination
The good news to all of this is that the potential for change and for growth is not for away. It is as close as your own imagination. When you start to cultivate your inner life and do your inner work it can have powerful transformative effects in all areas of your life.
Have you been neglecting your inner work? What are some of your favorite ways to avoid doing your inner work?
What are the ways you tend your inner life? Here are some suggestions for ways that you can begin to do your inner work:
- Pay attention to your dreams
- Keep a journal
- Meditation or Prayer
- Paint, draw, sculpt, or dance
- Cultivate quiet and stillness
What are some of the ways you use? Leave me a comment and let me know.
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