Imagination As Creative Power

We have mostly received the message that our imagination is 'just pretend' and we shouldn't spend too much time there if we are sensible adults. It turns out that our imagination is a vast creative power that shapes our lives for good or ill.
In this practice we experience the power of our imagination, feel it in our body, and recognise that we have been using our imagination against ourselves. We can learn to take responsibility for our power.
Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

Transcript

And then we'll have a little fidget and become comfortable.

Find a place our body can rest and be at ease.

Lengthening our spine with our in-breath.

Softening into our seat with our out-breath.

We're going to relax our body first.

We'd like a relaxed body and still have an alert mind.

So let's start the crown of our head and let that wave of relaxation flow over the body.

Our scalp,

Our forehead softening,

Our cheeks,

Our jaw releasing.

We might like to extend the back of the neck by tucking in the chin a little bit.

If we're seated,

Having a tall spine and the head balanced on top of our spine.

Let's let our shoulders soften.

Sinking downwards a bit with our arms loose and heavy somewhere.

Chest and upper back softer.

Stomach area,

Mid-back softer.

Belly,

Lower back softer.

And just keeping that little bit of muscle tension so that we stay upright and a little bit alert.

Our hips,

Our thighs,

Our lower legs soft and heavy and comfortable.

Let's have our feet grounded if we can,

Feeling our connection to the earth beneath us.

Beneath us.

And taking a couple of deeper breaths as we settle our attention on our internal world.

So our first imagination practice is to calm our mind.

But before we do,

Let's notice how we feel now.

So we've got a baseline.

So without judgment,

Feeling our body.

We're collecting data to see if our practice changes how we feel.

Feeling what our mind is like.

Our emotions.

Our spirit,

Our motivation,

Our energy.

And then we'll do some practices with our hands.

Our energy.

And then we'll do some practices using our imagination to see how it affects how we feel.

So to start with,

We're going somewhere we love to be in our imagination.

Finding somewhere to visit that we love.

Somewhere we're familiar with or somewhere we'd love to go.

Maybe even an imaginary place.

And feeling how we feel when we're there.

Placing ourselves there.

Placing ourselves there to see what there is to see.

To feel the sounds that may be there.

Maybe there are other people with us,

Or maybe we're alone.

Physical sensations like the breeze.

Physical sensations like the breeze.

Warmth or coolness.

Noticing how our nervous system responds.

Probably feeling ourselves becoming calmer.

Hopefully.

So we've got one eye on this imagination,

The scene there.

And one eye on our body and the state of our body's systems.

Just for another moment,

Placing ourselves back in our imagination.

To smell the breeze.

Feeling our being respond.

So with that little practice,

We've created something in our mind.

And it's affected our body,

The nervous system,

The brain,

The brain cells.

The nervous system,

Which is really a very powerful control system in our body.

Our stress response has the power to draw all of our body's resources.

But if we're in that state of stress for a long time,

It gets too much of our body's resources.

So often we're needing to draw ourselves back into that rest and digest biology.

And our imagination is very powerful for that.

Our imagination can also be used for perception.

So we're going to do another practice where we're imagining what might be,

In this case,

The energy field around our body.

And when we imagine what our energy field might look like,

We're going to try out trusting it.

And that actually might be what our energy field is like in this moment.

So it becomes,

Imagination becomes,

A perception of something non-physical.

So,

Sensing our body once more.

Even that is our imagination.

Even that is our imagination.

We're holding an image in our mind of our body in this case.

Just the same way we're going to hold an image of our mind of our non-physical being,

Body,

Aura,

Energy field,

However you want to think of it.

Sometimes it gets dispersed out away from us,

Particularly if we're tired,

Stressed.

But also it can get drawn in tightly,

So it's only a few inches away from our body.

See if you can get some clues as to where you are now.

Try not to ignore any feedback you get from your imagination.

Try and trust it.

The more we accept what we're given,

The more we are able to trust,

Get used to that experience.

So we're going to move our aura,

Our energy field,

So that the edge of it is like an egg,

Just beyond our fingertips,

Where we just stretch out our arms around us.

We can do that any way you wish,

Using our imaginary arms,

To move and stretch.

Our energy field into an egg around us,

Maybe arm's length above our head and below our feet.

Moving it into position.

Imagine that any way you wish,

Any way that works for you.

It's got to feel real,

Or feel appropriate,

Genuine for you.

Authentic.

And now we're going to look at that film that defines an edge of our aura.

And now we're going to look at that film that defines an edge of our aura,

Like a bubble.

Are there any holes in it?

Tears?

Is it clearly around the back?

If we find any,

We're going to imagine some way of mending them.

Maybe we'd like to stitch them together,

With golden thread,

With light.

Maybe we're going to smooth them,

Or use some filler.

Smoothing the edges together.

Smoothing them over.

Can you feel that in your body?

Those changes we've made to this imaginary thing?

Does it,

In some sense,

Reflect a reality?

Could it?

I'm going to give this bubble around us a bit of a wash and brush up,

A polish.

So let's get out our imaginary duster.

And give that a clean,

Wiping away any dust and grime,

Cobwebs.

Until the energy field around us is gleaming,

Like clean glass.

All the way around,

At the back,

Beneath us,

Above us.

Can you feel that in your body?

Can you feel that in your body,

In your imagination?

It changes your posture,

Sensing,

Feeling.

Now,

We've got one more energy practice.

One more practice that is essentially something we're doing in our imagination.

And we're going to feel if it changes how we feel.

So,

Let's allow,

In our mind,

Finding,

Imagining,

A ball of light,

About a foot above our head.

You might call that the soul starting point.

You might call that the soul star chakra.

But it's like a mini sun,

About 12 inches,

30 centimeters above your head.

And imagine it there,

Shining,

Brilliant.

We're going to imagine light and energy flowing from it,

Down into our body.

So,

We're going to imagine light and energy flowing down our back,

Beneath our feet,

At the back of our body,

And up the front of our body.

Imagine that any way you wish.

At the front of our heart center,

It's going to divide.

It's going to flow down our arms,

Out of our palms,

And into the field around us.

Some of that energy is going to flow up through our central column,

And fountain out of the top of our head,

Into the space around us.

And we're going to continue with that loop in our imagination,

With some long,

Slow breaths.

So,

From that mini sun,

The star above our head,

Light and energy,

Prana,

Is flowing down our back.

Beneath our feet,

Up the front of our body.

Down our arms,

Out of our palms.

Some of it flowing up,

Through our central column,

And out the top of our head.

Around us.

We're going to continue that in silence for a few moments.

If your mind wanders,

Just return.

Let's pause for a moment,

To feel how that feels.

There may be physical sensations of the energy,

Or it may be less specific.

Whatever feels in your experience.

We've created that feeling in our imagination.

We're going to take it a little bit further.

So,

As that energy flows down our back,

It's starting to overflow,

Because there's so much of it,

Into the back of our body,

And to fill up the energy field behind us.

Beneath us,

As it flows beneath us,

Up the front of the body,

Up the front of the body,

To fill our legs.

Allow our heart centre to fill with light.

Our arms and our hands filling with light.

Energy pouring from our hands to fill the space around us.

Filling the top half of our body as it flows up.

Surrounding us as it fountains down from the top of our head.

Please continue for another moment or two.

Filled with light.

Surrounded by light.

Feel that.

We've created this experience,

This feeling,

With our imagination.

Please know that in this moment we've created a really good feeling,

Positive,

Beneficial,

With our imagination.

But we use it just as much for painful feelings,

Stress,

Either experiences we've had in the past and fear may reoccur,

Or just things we think might happen to us.

There's no need for blame or shame.

We have used our imagination unconsciously to cause stress,

Worry and anything negative.

Even if painful,

Difficult things happen,

We can always make them worse,

And often do.

With using our imagination to create what might happen,

Let's know we do that.

Our self-awareness is such a powerful tool for noticing that is what we are doing,

Deciding that's harming us,

That's sending us into fight and flight,

And deciding to do something else,

Deciding to reach the next highest thought.

And that might be not that great,

Depending on where our energy is in that moment.

Our energy is in that moment,

But we can turn and face that direction.

With practice,

Regular practice,

We can get really good at it,

And it becomes a very powerful force in our life.

Take some energy.

But what can we imagine?

How good can it get?

Resting in our light,

In our power of how good it might get.

For a few long smooth breaths,

Noticing how you feel.

And so,

Slowly we're going to begin to return to the external world,

But there's no hurry.

And I invite you to consider how your imagination might shape that external world.

Slowly mobilizing our body,

Giving the fingers and toes a little wiggle,

And a stretch.

And when you're ready,

Coming back to the external world.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Reviews

Thank you so much! I have been receiving the message that we need to band together as dreamers and creative imagineers that we may help heal the collective consciousness. This journey couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you with love and light.