Barbara Hanna, Encounters with the Soul : Active Imagination Sigo Press (1981)
Then I opened my mouth to my Ba, in order to answer what he had said!
[In the conversation between the world-weary man and his Ba, the man] allows the unconscious to penetrate his own statements, as we can see in the extraordinary meaningfulness of the similes which he employs, similes which took thousands of years to mature and which are still relatively unknown today. If this speech were a part of our own active imagination, it would take us a long time to digest it, for it comes from both the conscious and the unconscious. It is a classic example of active imagination as it should be done.
In this advanced stage of active imagination, the conscious attitude keeps its line; he wishes to tell the Ba that he has realized his sins toward him, not toward collectivity, and that he is completely ashamed of himself. This attitude is actively and undeviatingly retained. Every sentence begins with it. But when he searches in his mind for new comparisons to explain his horror, it is clear that he allows the unconscious to pour in, for the conscious could never find such meaningful parallels that had taken thousands of years to mature.
If this were an active imagination produced by us, we would have to think very carefully about it before we could begin to understand it. It is excellent material with which to lay the foundation of the transcendent function, for it comes from both conscious and unconscious. The world-weary man has assimilated something of the Ba here, for his style has become more like the latter's; he lets meaningful analogies pour out in a sort of parable form. Moreover, he has gained something of the objective spirit of the Ba, and the transcendent function is clearly forming between the two.
The fact that he explains his outer conditions to the Ba is very important to us, for we still find ourselves obliged to tell the unconscious about our outer conditions, and in extremity, to explain that we have reached the limits of our endurance. If we say this too soon, woe betide us, but if we are really at limits of our endurance, the unconscious will hear us and often change its course. We must never forget the active imagination is a give-and-take; we must both listen to our unconscious - "Behold, it is good when men listen" - and give it the necessary information from our conscious side...In our efforts to see the reality of the unconscious, we must never forget to help it to see ours.
Now listen to me! Behold, it is good when men listen. Follow the beautiful day and forget your sorrow!