imagine that...
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"The world is but a canvas to the imagination..." -Henry David
Thoreau |
"In my dream the angel shrugged and said if we fail this time it will
be a failure of the imagination. And then she placed the world gently in
the palm of my hand..." -Brian Andreas
In the cosmic continuum, there are no clocks, calendars, dates, pasts,
futures, beginnings or endings. All there is is the eternal now.
In the real life world of human affairs and experience, there is time
and its relentless march, marked by seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and
years. And so we've arrived at a significant mark: the end of the old
year, the beginning of the new.
Farewell and hello.
As you reflect upon the year ending and celebrate the arrival of this new
year, the word that comes to me to share with you is imagination.
Oh, what a vital word!
Did you exercise your imagination well in 2006? What can you imagine
for 2007? For your life and for our world?
Like a child, I love imagination. Imagination is like a shot of WD-40
on a rusty bolt or a squeaky hinge. It doesn't cost much and it doesn't
necessarily involve a lot of hard work. Just spray some on, give it time
to work its way in (don't force it!), and the bolt loosens and turns or the
hinge swings smooth and silent.
The ways to tap into your imagination are...well...limited only by your
imagination. I'll offer up five simple suggestions to consider as you
start the new year:
- Ask questions. "How does...?" "What if...?" "What might
happen when...?" and "Could I...?" are excellent imagination starters.
Open ended questions are air bellows directed at and dry kindling placed on
a hot bed of coals. Flame on.
- Keep your mind open. Let it roam. Step into the
mystery. Fuzzy up and soften the edges of your knowledge.
Cogitate. Contrary to the "pay strict attention" edict of many a
school teacher, allow yourself the luxury of occasional daydreaming.
- Suspend judgment. Nothing stifles imagination like an
authoritative inner or outer voice proclaiming, "That'll never work..." "The
rules are..." "But its always been done..." or "Are you nuts?" If life
is a court of law, then phooey on Judge Squelcher.
- Play. Recess time! Lighten up. Amuse
yourself with possibilities. Be outlandish, silly, even.
Something might stick and evolve, or a previously hidden passageway might
unexpectedly reveal itself. You can narrow down or discard anything or
everything at anytime.
- Give it a go. Personally, I would rather "fail" in an
attempt at something new or different than succeed in staying stuck in a
situation or experience that doesn't serve me well. There is no such
thing as "failure," anyway. Only learning experiences.
There are five suggestions for your consideration. I imagine you can
imagine many more ways to access your imagination.
Imagination is creative power. Imagination is a problem solver.
Imagination sheds new light on any situation. Imagination facilitates
learning. Conjure up some imagination in your relationships.
Practice on little issues and challenges and work your way up to "the big ones."
The more you exercise your imagination, the more abundant will be the creative
ideas that flow into your experience.
It's a brand new year. As I consider time on a global scale, and in
particular, the six full years since the turn of the century with its many
problems, struggles and disheartening conflicts, I imagine two things for 2007:
- Collectively: Love rather than fear based imagination active in
our world for the greater good. In my imagination, I see that as
daybreak revealing simultaneous sunshine and rain, illuminating and
cleansing the bodies and souls of all humanity. In our spiritual and
political leaders, a scarcity of positive imagination is transformed to an
abundance, a cornucopia overflowing with goodness.
- Individually: Greater awareness and expression of my own
imagination. This is my resolution for the new year, not as a
struggle, but as a flow into more expansive and Divine expression of my
being. I imagine myself filled with and surrounded by Light.
Einstein said, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but
imagination."
You're intelligent. Imaginative. Brighten your life. Have
fun. Change your world.
Unleash your imagination in 2007.
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"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination." -John Lennon |
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