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David Scott Rogo - Leaving the Body: A Complete Guide to Astral Projection

The most systematic research on specific techniques for guided imagery were developed in France at the turn of the century. The pioneer was Eugene Caslant, who would darken his consulting room and teach his patients to travel up and down an imaginary ladder or staircase-  symbolizing levels of the patient's unconscious mind. lt was almost a form of hypnosis, although no specific suggestions for trance-induction were used.

Caslant's basic technique evolved into what is today called the "directed daydream." The procedure was formally proposed by Robert Desoille, who believed that a patient could be cured of neurotic adaptations by learning to interact with his or her inner mental life. Desoille induced specific imagery in his patients, so that they could learn to confront, evoke, and eventually control even the most threatening images, which were specially chosen to symbolically represent the patient's problems.

Desoille took his patients on fantastic journeys in which they travelled down into the ocean or confronted menacing dragons. These symbols, rich in archetypal meaning, are potentially threatening to a great many people. Desoille worked with his patients until they could confront these psychoactive symbols without fear or anxiety. More than any other researcher before him, with the exception of C. G. Jung, Desoille realized that images and symbols are the virtual language of the unconscious-  symbols that can be used to implement psychological change.