COMMUNAL REVERIE

Introducing an Imaginally Inflected Presencing Approach

Abstract

Communal Reverie can be described as an emerging presencing approach (EPA) initiated at the beginning of 2021 (Gunnlaugson, 2023; Hinds, 2023). Its closest predecessor and influence amongst the presencing practice ecosystem is Baeck’s (2018) Collective Presencing, from which key elements in its original procedures and guiding protocols were sourced. Adding to the myriad streams of indigenous knowledges, wisdom traditions, and integral philosophies and life practices that have informed presencing up to date, Communal Reverie has incorporated influences from mystical streams and philosophical frames emphasizing engagement with the autonomous productions of the deep imagination (Anzladua, 1987; Bosnak, 2007; Bourgeault, 2020; Burbea, 2015, 2016, 2017; Corbin, 1969, 1977, 1999; Jung, 1966a, 1966b, 1969, 1980; Segall, 2023). My understanding of the potentials of Communal Reverie practice are informed, at the deepest level, by a variety of convergent visions set forth by philosophers contending that imaginal practice, in its most realized forms, enables conscious participation with transpersonal influences of a subtle nature (Barfield, 1988; Bernstein, 2005; Ferrer, 2017; Gebser, 1985, 2024; Tarnas, 1991). Communal Reverie, to my present knowledge, is distinct amongst EPAs insofar as it is framed explicitly as a collective imaginal practice and, likewise, distinct amongst imaginal practices insofar as it approaches the group field as a source of communal imaginal revelation. This article will introduce Communal Reverie with specific focus on the theme of presencing embodiment (Gunnlaugson, 2023).