Active imagination is not a reductive method for understanding mental images from the unconscious; instead, it requires a patient to go beyond superficial understanding and experience the transcendent power within the image. The key is restraining the conscious mind from influencing internal images as they unfold, resonating with the archetypal atmosphere of the unconscious. It involves challenging oneself by conveying a message of humanity overflowing with images, beyond merely fulfilling repressed impulses. Active imagination intentionally relates to unconscious contents, starting from an image and requiring uncritical consciousness, amplification, constructive interpretation, and contact with the transcendent function inherent in the symbol.
A temple stay program incorporating Seon Buddhist meditation improved mindfulness, self-compassion, and quality of life. In a quasi-experimental design with 27 adults in the experimental group and 29 in the control group, the 3-day, 2-night program led to gains on all three measures compared to the control group. The findings provide empirical support for the program's effectiveness.
Pilgrimage meditation, as practiced by pilgrims at Buddhist holy sites, encompasses experiences in five areas: the pilgrimage itself, the self, others, the world, and walking. Fourteen categories of meditation experience were identified across these areas. Seven categories of elements that should define pilgrimage meditation were also identified, spanning motivation and purpose, content, method, results, and other considerations. A final definition of pilgrimage meditation was derived through expert verification. These findings provide basic data for the sustainable development of pilgrimage sites by clarifying the meditation experiences of pilgrims.