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Back From The Borderline
unlock the source code to your imagination matrix with stephen aizenstat, Ph.D
It’s common to find oneself at a point in any recovery journey that feels like a dead end. We convince ourselves that we’re the exception; that we’re the ONE screwed up case of human complexity that is destined to remain permanently stuck a perpetual cycle of re-traumatization and self-sabotaging patterns. What if I told you that the answers you are seeking are already inside of you, waiting to be acknowledged? What if we could tap into the core matrix of imagination and align ourselves with the fundamental source of healing and creativity? Doing so enables us – even when we feel overwhelmed as individuals – to allow a greater intelligence to animate and guide us. In doing so, we become more purposeful, resilient, and connected – and able to be the agents of change that our world so desperately needs.
About my guest: Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the founder of the Pacifica Graduate Institute, Dream Tending, and the Academy of the Imaginal Arts and Sciences. For more than 35 years, he has explored the power of dreams through depth psychology. He has collaborated with the likes of Joseph Campbell, Marion Woodman, Robert Johnson, James Hillman, and Native elders worldwide. He conducts dreamwork and imagination seminars through the US, Europe, and Asia.
Questions answered + topics discussed in this episode:
✧ The importance of creativity and imagination in child development
✧ How rationality replaced imagination
✧ Why are modern Western cultures so opposed to valuing intuitive insights
✧ How to use active imagination to discover our internal “parts” or “subpersonalities”
✧ Reframing suicidal ideation as a need for psychic initiation or transformation
✧ Grief rituals and the healing process
✧ Why we use psychological projection to thrust our pain onto others
✧ Fear and ambivalence about the concept of death
✧ How to begin to tune into your “inner Self” (also known as the True Nature, Higher Self, Buddha-nature, or Christ-consciousness)
✧ How cultivating a curiosity mindset can change your life
✧ How to move through chronic feelings of emptiness by cultivating a relationship with your “inner council”
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
✧ Click here to purchase “Suicide and the Soul” by James Hillman
Enjoyed this episode? Explore more as a Premium Submarine. Dive deep into hundreds of hours of ad-free exclusive content and full-length episodes on Patreon, including my original BPD recovery series, guided meditations, and much more. Click here to preview the premium collections you’ll unlock access to for as little as a couple of cups of coffee a month. Learn more and join at backfromtheborderline.com.
The information contained in this podcast episode is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment or consultation with a licensed mental health professional.
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