Enrichment Session for Spiritual Directors: Use of Active Imagination and Spiritual Senses

Online Enrichment Sessions for Spiritual Directors

Sundays, 1:00-4:00pm EST – Zoom

November 12: Leigh Murray

How the Use of Active Imagination and Spiritual Senses Invites Deeper Transformation in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises

Saint Ignatius believed that the imagination is a “faculty of the soul” and a way for God to communicate with us. Thus, in the Spiritual Exercises, he guides us to use these aspects of ourselves, telling us: “By the imagination, the soul can render an object present and, as it were, see it, hear it, taste it and so on. So that to apply this faculty of the soul and the five senses to a truth of religion (according as it is susceptible of it), or to a mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ, is what is called application of the senses” (Salai, 119).

It is through this encouragement to use our active imagination and “spiritual senses” that Saint Ignatius invites us to a deeper understanding of who and what we are. We are invited to see in new ways and to take off the blinders that we may have been wearing, allowing us to find healing and restoration, thus becoming integrated, wholesome human beings.

In this enrichment session we will explore the importance of the imagination and spiritual senses in healing and transformation as Spiritual Directors. We will learn how St. Ignatius’ use of imagination inspired Carl Jung to study The Exercises and create a deep body of work around Active Imagination and how it is useful in personal transformation. We will have a look at how to invite our retreatants into using their active imagination and spiritual senses with a deeper sense for what we are doing, and why.

We will also check in with our own experiences with our imagination and spiritual senses through practices and small group discussion. We will take some time to gather the experiences of the group and generate some best practices around how to best invite and encourage our retreatants into their own imaginations and spiritual senses, in ways that are accessible and allow for deeper spiritual transformation on their individual journeys.

Content for this enrichment session will be curated from Leigh’s article, published in the December, 2022 issue of Presence. If you would like to read the article before participating in the session, please email director@straphaelacenter.org for a copy of the article.