(This article is a follow-on to the article “Deep in the Forest” which asks you to take an imaginal journey to find three images. You may want to read it before continuing.)

Now you’ve experimented with Deep Forest---and you’ve also gone into it with a real question. Presumably, you found some images, behind the doors, or somewhere else in the forest to answer your question. What on earth do you do with those images?

Very few of us know how to see meaning in symbols and images. We simply aren’t trained to do this. It’s an entirely intuitive art. Cartooning is a method that helps many people and requires no drawing skill. While the three images from Deep Forest are fresh in mind, use those to draw a cartoon strip. For three images, draw three squares. Then, draw a little cartoon of each image in a square. There aren’t going to be any art prizes here. You’re the only one who needs to recognize what you’ve drawn. I’m at a “stick figure” level and it works fine for me.

The next step may sound a bit silly---but it’s OK to be silly. No one else has to know! Mentally ask each cartoon square--each panel--a question as if it is a person who could speak to you. It should be something simple like, “What do you mean--in English please?, or “Why did you come in answer to my question?. The trick here is to write down the first phrase that comes to mind. I like to write it just below that square. Don’t second guess it or try to make sense of it at first. Just write down whatever pops into mind. Do this for each cartoon panel. For the curious, this is a lot like doing dialogs in Active Imagination--if you happen to be familiar with Carl Jung. (Refs.1,2,3)

Now that you have a phrase, or a sentence or two for each cartoon panel, reflect on them. They tell a story. You may, however, have to let it bounce around in your mind a little for it to become clear. Persistence pays! As with all cartoon strips, there is also a theme that summarizes everything. You may find this as another image, behind another door. Or, you could view the entire strip you’ve drawn as a picture and ask it mentally, “What’s the point here?, or “What’s the overall meaning?”.

Just to show how it works, I’ll go through a set of images I got while preparing to write this article. My question was a simple one, “What images and example will be helpful to people reading this?’. I chose this question or "problem", because I know few of the people who might read this. I don’t know intellectually what is most helpful or useful. But, my unconscious mind knows a lot about business, our culture, day-to-day events, parental concerns--and more. It synthesizes everything I’ve ever experienced or learned. So, I asked for an example that is helpful to readers--to you.

On my journey, I “found” (1) a shiny, red apple (spinning on a tabletop),
(2) a huge wave cresting and crashing on a beach, and
(3) a gigantic, fierce, fire breathing dragon.

When I asked what these images---cartoon panels if you like--meant, I got in order: (1) Hidden knowledge and wisdom bring stability to work life. (2) Wisdom from the depths surfaces with great power. And, (3) inner wisdom frees instinctive passion. I also looked for an image that sums up the other images and found a butterfly. To me this meant surprising and totally unanticipated insights. I can now "see" how the other three synthesize to this. Those “meanings” are unique to me. You would get different ones. You might even try it for these images.

Surprising insights almost always arise with this method. When you try this, you’ll get images and meanings that are unique to you and your issues. How many images are enough? When they’re done, they’re done. You’ll open another door in the forest and there just won’t be anything behind it. Or, you’ll simply have an inner sense of completeness. I’ve never had more than about 12 images using this technique. The method, though, is a gateway to journeys and conversations in infinite imaginal lands (a little like Middle Earth and the Hobbit). The deepest questions imaginable yield new insights for us there.

I’ve used this method to write introductions and entire sections in books. (See Ref. 4 below where I also give examples of the method.) I have a rule of thumb that five minutes in the forest is worth 3,000 words. Try it. I’ve used it solve complex space physics problems. I’ve also used it to relate better to my kids, wife, co-workers, and people in general. The list of uses is as long as the list of questions we might ask.


1. Taylor, Jeremy, “Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious” , Warner Books, 1993

2. Johnson, Robert A., “Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination for Personal Growth”, Harper Collins, New York, 1986

3. Kast, Verena, “Imagination as space of Freedom: Dialogue Between the Ego and the Unconscious”, Fromm, New York, 1993

4. Munn, Michael W., “Beyond Business as Usual: Practical Lessons in Accessing New Dimensions”, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, 1998

© InnovationNetwork, 2002