Imagination Explorations

Patanjali, author of The Yoga Sutras, shares that there are five states of mental activity; understanding, misunderstanding, memory, sleeping, and imagination.  Imagination seems to be a challenging mental activity for those of us raised and living in our current cultural, social, educational, and economic system.  Or so we remember.  How often do we as adults imagine, like we did as a child? I remember my childhood imagination explorations including faeries, castles, mythical creatures, dances, romances, flying, time traveling, body swapping, etc.

Why and when did we agree with what we were told, by elders of authority, such as to stop day dreaming in the make believe?  Why is it that socially we were threatened out of our imaginations to avoid the risks of being labeled as strange, childish, or unacceptable?

Imagination sparks creative thought, and receptivity to new insights into the infinite possibilities for the expansion of our being.  How can we reclaim our ability to imagine?  The Yoga Sutras offers several exercises of technique to inspire the merging of consciousness and nature.  Just like the physical body needs exercise and movement to stay healthy, so does the mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies.  Imagination needs to be exercised.

Where do we start when there is fear and insecurity to explore our imaginations?  We can start with accepting that our memories of imagination being unacceptable for adulthood may have been misunderstandings.  We can begin again to cultivate our imaginations with creative actions we are attracted to, such as playing an instrument, creating an art or design project, writing, dancing, preparation of a meal, performing a standup comedy act for friends, etc.  When we start to imagine our art and our dreams, it becomes a sacred mission towards creation.

Instead of dwelling in fear and challenges of life, start to use your imagination and mental activity for great adventures, peaceful communities, and the most desirable and wondrous things!  Imagination allows for our spirits to sync with our passions creating beauty and belief.  Making the unimaginable, imaginable, and the impossible, “I’m Possible.”