The first power that meets us at the threshold of the soul's domain is the power of imagination." —Dr. Franz Hartmann
Imagination and Creativity. The twin flame of well being, often overwhelmed if not extinguished by the challenges and chasms of life. A sudden tragedy, deep pain or even regular intervals of disappointments can tighten the mind and narrow the gaze until it is difficult to see the possibility for real change and transformation. Without the ability to see things as we would have them to be, through the lens of the eternal, there is no alchemical means to move up, through and out of a crisis- with grace. And the connective tissue between mind and body, hope and destiny, dream and reality that holds the fulcrum of our aspirations in place, is severed, putting us at precarious odds with the whole notion of being fully alive.
Why is there so much difficulty and pain in the world? I think it's because we haven't learned how to imagine life without it. And so 'the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune', becomes a part of the human condition, just by living life every day. There is a suite of tools though that we can use to learn to live with joy or learn to respond to suffering from a place of enlightenment and empowerment, until we do. My tendency til now has been to withdraw. To build a web of emotional skin around the points of pain in my life, like a protective, impenetrable barrier from further injury. And withdraw from it, from others, from self. Now, I realize that in doing so, I was also impeding the healing processes I needed and prayed for. As I journey, more and more, I am seeing every moment as a teachable one, and every thing that comes along, a teacher.
When I was a little girl, growing up in Tennessee, I'd watch Flip Wilson on TV. He was one of the greatest comedians of his time. He played this flamboyant character named Geraldine who with hands on hip, always used the phrase "What You See Is What You Get". Back then it was just hilarious and while it later inspired the acronym WYSIWYG, it was otherwise long forgotten by me. Today, while contemplating Neville Goddard's essay 'Imagination Creates Reality', that 'What you see is what you get' phrase came immediately back to mind. In the essay I am noodling over he writes, "Imagination is the very gateway to reality"... "your imagination automatically creates a change in your outer world"... By imagination we have the power to be anything we desire to be. Through imagination we disarm and transform the violence of the world..." Neville's whole body of work is concerned with, what you see,'imagine', is what you get, 'reality', raising the immortal brow in terms of WYSIWYG. Though entertaining, Geraldine's view is comedic and through the eyes of man. Neville's is esoteric and through the eyes of God.
"Your own wonderful human imagination is the actual creative power of God within you", Neville Goddard, "Imagination Creates Reality"
A lot of the chaotic stuff that push and pull us along the guardrails of daily life can lead us down a path to the positive, albeit sometimes radical, change we need. The process is not always glamorous, it is not always elegant, explainable, and can be particularly unpleasant. But I have discovered this, that whenever I divest myself of outside voices and explanations and make the decision to accept the intimacy of change, even in small increments at first, there's an instant shift in my body, perspective and outcomes toward more peace, harmony and luminosity.
The imagination is the eyes of the invisible - John O’Donohue
It is possible for us to learn from everything in this life including the pain that would shadow over the Oversoul, or diminish its imaginative impulses. And we can use those lessons as a catalyst to fuel new growth, and as an opportunity to nourish and enrich the power of our imaginations from the creative marrow of the Divine, and so, assist this gradual coaxing of the heavy heart, the broken spirit, or despondent soul, with all its mystical potentials, back up towards higher gateways of light, rejuvenation and God's ineffable hospitality of hope.
"I lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help" Psalm 121:1.
Believe that ye receive and ye shall receive." Mark 11:24
Word of the Day: Imagination
1 : the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality
2 a : creative ability b : ability to confront and deal with a problem : resourcefulness <use your imagination and get us out of here> c : the thinking or active mind : interest <stories that fired the imagination>
3 a : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation b : fanciful or empty assumption http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imagination?show=0&t=1306769259
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