reading

We would like to thank Robert Wicks, our editor; for his unobtrusive and persistent support.

We are grateful to Rosannah Cole for her skill and graciousness in the typing of our manuscript.

Excerpt from Four Quartets, copyright 1943 by T.S. Eliot and renewed 1971 by Esme Valerie Eliot, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.; excerpts from The Family Reunion, copyright 1939 by T.S. Eliot and renewed 1967 by Esme Valerie Eliot, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Cover painting by Barry Ulanov

ISBN 978-3-85630-920-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Foreword

Images of fabulous originality rise up out of our psyche continuously. How we greet them does not determine their power; they always have power. But it does affect whether this constant force in our lives is a source of positive or negative development.

In their book The Healing Imagination, Ann and Barry Ulanov effectively plunge us into this often misunderstood, ignored, and misappropriated area of energy deep within: the area of imagination. In this work they encourage us to “let the images be there,” to open ourselves to the primordial truths which images may carry and not to avoid this God-given source of potential knowledge and healing.

As with anything that contains truth, images can deliver a sense of dread as well as possibilities of hope at the same time, in the same space. The Ulanovs encourage us to have respect for, deep interest in, and strong involvement with, the vast archetypal world that our imagination opens up to us. They rightly appreciate that “our refusal to use our imagination costs not only our imagination but reality. For unacknowledged, unreceived fantasies invade reality all the more demandingly and eventually usurp its place.”

The Healing Imagination is a clearly-written book on the tapestry and complexity of imagination. In approaching the topic, it draws upon numerous sources and honestly describes how imagination can both harm as well as heal. It argues convincingly that we must appreciate the value within all imagery while avoiding the danger of being simplistic in our interpretation and acquiescence to their apparent messages. In essence, the call that is made in this marvelously descriptive little book is to put aside undue fear and accept what God offers us afresh each day through the psyche in the healing possibilities of our imagination.

Imagination, if we embrace it, offers us the chance to – in the imagery of sacred scriptures – leave the “ninety-nine” (those consciously acceptable parts of ourselves) and to reach out to what appears alien in our relationship with ourselves, others, and God. In other words, imagination is one of the essences of creative solidarity. And in this book the Ulanovs help us to recognize this point.

The Healing Imagination also discusses the essential role played by our sexuality in being open to the vitality of the imaginative process. Rich imagery without sexuality is a bit like trying to describe a colorful gray photograph. One wonders whether it is possible. In addition, special attention is given to the topic: “Who Feeds the Feeder?” This chapter, in particular, offers such a creatively helpful appreciation of why and how one needs to be educated in the ways of the unconscious that even standing alone it makes the Ulanov book an innovative resource for people called to leadership positions in their church. In it the authors show us that with imagination we can travel to the heart of our motivations and sit in this space with God. From there we can see both the challenges and the compulsions of ministerial approaches to helping others with emotional needs and spiritual hunger.

This little volume of ideas and reflections on the subject of imagination is drawn to a close by chapters entitled “Prayer and Politics” and “Resurrection.” In these chapters as in the entire book, we are treated not only to an appreciation of the topic of imagination in general, but to the gifts that Barry and Ann Ulanov themselves have as imaginative people. Consequently, in reading The Healing Imagination, you not only learn about the subject, but you experience it with them. I found this book to be both enlightening and healing, and for this I thank them professionally … and personally.

Robert J. Wicks

Series Editor