Juliet Rohde-Brown

Welcome to our Website.

I invite you to spend some time browsing here to learn as much as you can about our organization and the healing powers of the imagination. When we use the word “imagery” we honor the definition put forth by one of our dearly missed mentors, Dr. Jeanne Achterberg, who recently passed away. She stated it well by saying that when we refer to “imagery,” we mean

 “the thought process that invokes the senses: vision, audition, smell, taste, the sense of movement, position, and touch. It is the communication mechanism between perception, emotion, and bodily change.  A major cause of both health and sickness, the image is the world’s greatest healing resource. Imagery, or the stuff of the imagination, affects the body intimately on both seemingly mundane and profound levels” (Imagery and Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine, p. 3 – Jeanne Achterberg, 1985)

Imagery reaches into the deepest layers of consciousness. When we embark on a mission to enter into the inquiry and engage these layers, we are met with a plethora of resources to ground us in our bodies and to guide us into what is authentically present each moment. In addition, we foster an “awakeness” to actually notice what may be newly emerging in our personal and collective conscious evolution.  In this way, working seriously with imagery can allow us to own back our projections, find meaning in suffering, and to live by core heart-centered values. Mindfulness meditative practices combined with imagery work, something many in the organization have done for years is now embraced by mainstream evidence-based practices, with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and CBT, among others.  Currently, with more advanced technology, particularly in the realm of neuroscience, we know that this work we do touches virtually all modalities in healthcare, personal growth, and creativity.

We share a tremendous diversity in our international membership with many practitioners who are both trainers and who have trained in Imagery Schools. Please look in our directory for a practitioner in your area and/or join our list of providers if you are already a practitioner engaged in this work.

Our 2011 annual conference was a rousing success (please see the highlights on the past events page). We have reserved the beautiful Mercy Center in Burlingame, California (near San Francisco) for our 2012 conference venue. The theme for our 2012 conference, which will take place October 5^th through the 7^th, is Imagery and the Soul. The conference is, once again, co-sponsored by Beyond Ordinary Nursing. We are all looking forward to hearing who Jann Frederickson-Ramus and her conference committee will choose as presenters. Our silent auction last year allowed us the possibility to offer a couple of scholarships to the conference this year. You are welcome to receive email alerts on our conference updates by subscribing to Conference updates. Mark your calendars early so that you can attend.

You will be able to read details about the conference and much more in our quarterly e-journal which you will find here—ImagiNews—in beautiful sparking color with some wonderful art images. Many of our members opt to pay a little extra in order to receive a printed copy in the mail. The theme for our March issue is Enlightenment. I am confident that you will be moved and inspired by the articles featuring the theme. The theme for the next issue is Ritual. Our co-editors, Bev Hollander and Judith Ewing, tell us that they are very excited about the submissions. Bev and Judith do such a tremendous job of bringing all of the pieces together each quarter so that we may enjoy the benefits of their hard work and creativity. This year Bev Hollander was awarded Imagery Person of the Year, not only for her selfless service for ImagiNews, but for many other blessings she has given our organization.

We continue to offer Podcasts of interviews with visionaries from the Imagery healing community. Those interviews are available for podcast listening at any time.

Our blog is a wonderful place to read about various Imagery applications, research, CDs. Videos, topics of interest to our related fields, etc. Imagery International programs and activities are announced there.

If you are interested in participating or supporting the work our association is doing please join us.  Find out more about options such as the cost of membership and how to purchase a paper version of our newsletter HERE. You can apply online with credit card by clicking HERE.  If you wish to be listed in our online directory please fill out the online form which allows you to add your information to your directory listing. The online membership form will allow you to pay by credit card or check.

In closing, I would like to leave you with a quote from C.G. Jung that speaks to the depth we refer to when we engage in imagery practices

“Imagination is the active evocation of (inner) images secondum naturam, an authentic feat of thought or ideation, which does not spin aimless and groundless fantasies ‘into the blue’—does not, that is to say, just play with its objects, but tries to grasp the inner facts and portray them in images true to their nature. This activity is an opus, a work.” (Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works, Vol. 12, p. 219)

 Much Lovingkindness to you,

Juliet

Juliet Rohde-Brown, PhD
President