Harnessing The Magic of Imagination

Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash

Does imagination have limits?  How can something with no tangible boundaries exist within our bodies?  Within our brains?  Where does our imagination come from?  Is imagination and the Mind the same thing?  Or does imagination come from the Mind? So many questions that we will probably never have answers to.  And yet we know there is so much power in our imagination.  All inventions, scientific discoveries, art, comedies, stories, poetry & plays, social reform & progress all started as ideas and dreams, and these individuals dared to listen to and enter their imagination to bring forth their ideas to share with the world.  Individuals, through their imaginations, have the power to touch and influence millions of people for centuries.  What a unique and magical gift we have as humans!

Unfortunately, many individuals are afraid of their imagination, only familiar with its darker aspects and fearing they might be overwhelmed by it. How many of us constantly seek distractions to avoid facing ourselves? We shy away from our inner world, avoiding solitude with our thoughts, fearing where they might lead us. We envision the worst-case scenarios before they occur. We develop irrational fears and creative strategies to avoid them. We repeatedly relive traumatic experiences. We criticize ourselves and dwell on past mistakes or embarrassments.

Many of us avoid these anxieties by immersing ourselves in the superficial material world - through shopping, browsing, and scrolling - filling our attention with endless short-form content.  Of course there is a valid fear here - our limitless imagination can become a black hole if we’re not careful. We’ve all witnessed or heard stories of poor souls lost in the depths of their psychosis, the black hole of the imagination, never to return to the rational realm.

Regardless of how much effort we put into avoiding it, eventually, we can no longer evade our symptoms. Our psychological and often our physiological symptoms are messages, gentle or abrasive nudges, pointing us in the direction of our suffering, where we need to grow, what needs to change, what we need to analyze, be honest about, acknowledge, feel, leave, grieve, etc.  Symptoms are like clues that we have to be willing to listen to. Listening requires going inwards - entering our inner world, listening to our dreams at night, visiting our imagination. 

Our imagination is a form of magic we all have to learn how to wield.  Some of us were taught from a very young age how to do so and can harness imagination in very healthy ways.  Many of us were raised by parents with underdeveloped imagination and we now carry the legacy of their own disconnection as disconnection within ourselves, often in the form of depression or a vague sense of discontentment with life.  Some of us were raised by neurotic or critical parents, and our inner worlds reflect their dysregulation or criticism.

As adults we are all called to action: to develop agency, empowerment, autonomy, self-determination, self-actualization - whatever term you prefer - we are all called to grow into a deep soulful existence of personal empowerment.  To have a soulful existence, we must befriend and listen to our inner worlds, connect with the guiding voice within us, learn how to harness all that imaginative energy in us and use it to create meaning and purpose, creative and playful self-expression and build connection not only within ourselves but also within our communities.

So, what is your relationship to your inner world and imagination?  Is it a place you enjoy visiting?  A place you fear?  A mixture of both?  Can you visit your inner world and imagination in your dreams at night?  What messages might your mind, unconscious or core self be trying to deliver to you through your imagination, dreams or symptoms?