Imagination is a form of energy molded by the mind. It has power and can propel a life to move in a certain direction. The writer, who is an educator, then shares some techniques she has taught over the years with great results.
What if you were told that ‘what if’ is a mantra for a deep transformation of self and life? Once you learn about this mantra and realize its power and potential, you could change your life in remarkable ways by harnessing potential, the way a dam holds water channeling it in the direction where it is wanted. And, what if you were told it’s natural and easy? Too good to be true? Not at all.
Each human child born carries a seed of magical power. In some, this grows into a vast tree that gives shade and fruits to the world; in most, it sprouts a few leaves and wilts. It has a name – imagination. The irony of the human condition is that we keep begging in gold bowls we own. They get covered with dust and we forget the immense treasure that is naturally ours.
Imagination is a natural gift given to the human mind. Unfortunately, the way formal education and society are widely organized around the world, our natural creative or imaginative faculty is seldom harnessed. What’s tragic is that many, if not all, formal schools conspire to kill this beautiful gift that comes to children naturally. Children naturally imagine and role-play with intensity, belief, and power. A linear-minded societal mindset that is afraid of the wild, raw power of a fertile mind, does everything to make it barren, so no more flowers bloom in our being. Then we wonder why we are powerless and unhappy, lacking the fragrance and joy of life.
Let’s begin exploring imagination.
What is Imagination?
Imagination is a form of energy molded by the mind. It has power and can propel a life to move in a certain direction. It is strongly entwined with faith and belief. If we believe certain things, imagining them is natural, even easy. The artist’s depiction of religious figures in churches and temples is an example of how imagination can give form to an idea fueled by belief, devotion, and skill. It is a powerful tool that can be used to influence minds. Films, science fiction, computer games, and cartoons all come from the space of an inventive and imaginative mind. If you can imagine something vividly, chances are you can bring it about. That could make you a fortune or cause peril!
We’ve often heard terms like visualization, creativity, innovation, and yes, imagination, and often use them interchangeably. While visualization is the ability to ‘see’ in the mind’s eye, creativity means creating something new by combining known elements, and innovation is applied creativity in varied dimensions of life. All have a common unit that they build upon. That unit is ‘imagination’. It is the ability to think, to picture, to give birth to something that doesn’t exist in the immediate world around you. It is Macbeth’s dagger, Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Bach’s symphonies, Kalidasa’s Meghdoot, Wright Brothers’ airplane, the gramophone, television, the world wide web…
Why we need imagination
Unless we are robots, we need imagination to make life livable, creative, and interesting. We naturally and commonly use it at home and work in big or small ways like in decorating the house or coming up with unique recipes and dress designs! I remember when I was called to set up an innovative and holistic school in Bangalore, India. In my first meeting, I said we should have tree houses for classrooms instead of concrete buildings because the place had a lot of trees. This was not feasible as the trees were too weak to hold up such structures. So, we did the next best thing possible and built a couple of wall-less classrooms, where trees, birds, and squirrels could scamper in and join the classes! Further, instead of just having stairs, these open classrooms also had slides for children to slide down – and up! I had already dreamed of a tree-house school and my imagination led to innovation in a very practical way.
Imagination is a latent power harnessed and directed for healing and manifesting. Creative visualization when done properly is a powerful tool used in various types of inner work and meditative approaches. You can’t really imagine progress without imagination!
We often use terms like visualization, creativity, innovation, and imagination interchangeably. While visualization is the ability to ‘see’ in the mind’s eye, creativity means creating something new by combining known elements, and innovation is applied creativity in varied dimensions of life. All three build upon a common unit: imagination.
Imagination – projection or perception, yin or yang?
Is imagination a projection of the individual human mind, independent of multiple external influences? Is it a product of stimuli from the immediate world around us that is sensitive to our senses? Or is it a download from the subtle world we hardly understand?
Imagination is commonly regarded as a synthesis, a conjuring, a manifestation in the mind lab. Yet, imagination can also be seen as a cosmic download, tuning into a certain frequency and sensing the forms there. The creative process which is fired by the fuel of imagination has been regarded as an inspired phenomenon, something the creator perceives and then gives form to through his artistic skill.
Michelangelo’s famous sculpture ‘David’ was carved from a rejected block of marble that had been lying idle for 25 years because it was considered to have too many flaws. But Michelangelo powerfully visualized the figure of David in that block, almost as if it was asking him to liberate him by giving him a form. That is exactly what he did and conquered the flaws in the marble to create the masterpiece the world admires today.
Imagination-based ideas may well be downloads of sorts. The deciding factor would be the vibrational level of the person’s mind, the inner gear. So, when one is accused of ‘imagining things that are not there’ it is because possibly they are there in another dimension and the mind is tuning into those. In that sense, the mind that is not constantly churning (worrying?) is relatively free to have space for ‘downloads’ from non-physical realms. Creative imagination must have ‘yin’ moments where one’s mind is in a receiving space.
How you creatively use this perceived or ‘seen’ idea is where creativity comes when we work to give a tangible form to a construct.
Imagination – the bridge to other worlds
The creative dimension of imagination has made life move beyond caves and stones. No new human invention or creation has happened without a generous sprinkle of the gold dust of imagination. The immediate world of any individual is small. Yet the spirit within is vast and limitless. Imagination is a bridge between the seen and unseen, the now and what is to be, the question and the answer.
The human faculty of imagination is connected to the vaster matrix imbued with cosmic consciousness that forms the basis of all that is manifest. It’s like a submarine with a glass panel in the ocean, revealing the mysteries of the vast and deep, the fathomless and inexplicable. Yet it is up to us to prepare, propel and maneuver the submarine of the mind to different parts. Having said that, the vast beyond and its waves often toss this submarine to spaces beyond human control and comprehension. The Aha moments in creative imagination are gifts from the beyond.
The human’s role is to polish and develop the mind to hold the energy of a creative and healthy imagination.
Imagination – the dark side
When someone says, ‘a figment of your imagination’, it is usually used in an accusatory way to suggest something is a lie, unreal, baseless – a mere figment of imagination. Imagination is seen as dangerous, a mind’s lack of hold over immediate ‘reality’. It would be naïve to assume that imagination is all light and love. Imagination is an energy flow, where it flows and what it leads to can be seen as positive or negative from the human perspective.
Anxiety or worry is imagination that causes trouble in your life, often avoidable and unnecessary. The basic biological programming of the fear instinct as a survival tactic gets boosted with the steroids of imagination causing havoc to mind and body. Think about it, if you look at your boss’s face and see a fire-breathing dragon every time, that is imagination gone berserk! Ordinarily, we all experience states of anxiety, fired by a vivid imagination. We assume, if the boss is calling you, it is for a scolding; if there’s no communication from a friend it’s a red flag; if there’s a risky venture there’s doom lurking… the agonized mind has an agonized imagination. It is not unfounded or baseless, but it doesn’t mean the conjured ghosts of terror will necessarily dine with you at the next meal.
It’s a good idea to keep testing your imagination rubbing it on the granite of hard reality to see what shines and what breaks.
The ability to imagine needs honing and encouragement, especially if you have had a rational education that has almost never challenged you to think beyond the obvious or the ‘sensible’ (that’s about all of us!). If your mind hasn’t retained that childhood itch and spontaneity or come up with a holy strangeness, well then, try classes in developing this fundamental faculty and use it to change your mind and life. When a charged imagination gathers the power to manifest, we move into the realm of creative expression or invention.
Welcome, you have arrived!
The lead visual is a digital image the author created with AI. School photos also by Harvinder Kaur.
For part II of this article, go to:
How to boost your power of imagination
With suggestions and exercises on how to develop the faculty of imagination.
