The Doors of Imagination

I had an epiphany recently: Imagination is neutral. It's the way we direct imagination that affects us. Most of us don't realize that we can use imagination to help decrease our suffering. 

Developing Awareness for Directing Imagination

Without developing awareness, many of us tend to let our imagination lead us down the path of anxiety and depression. We're unconscious of this process, so we let the part of the brain involved in the flight, fight or freeze response take over. The problem is that without direction our imagination flows down the path of least resistance, which can unfortunately be the road to anxiety and possibly depression. This may be more frequent if we have experienced trauma in our life because the brain and the body become more alert to potential future danger.  

I believe, however, through strengthening awareness that it is possible to direct our imagination to lead us down the path of relaxation and even happiness. We can use our imagination for spiritual growth and healing as well; for compassion and self-compassion. Our senses are bombarded by external stimuli that excite our nervous system, and our imagination responds to it like a cat chasing a laser light! If, however, we observe it and practice in leading our imagination toward wanted emotions, a bit like a the rider learning to direct his elephant on the chosen path, then we can yield far more positive results.

How do we lead our imagination? 

One strategy I used with a client who was suffering in a life situation over which she had little control, was to ask her to remember a beautiful memory from the past. It can be from childhood or from last night. I asked her to imagine the memory beyond where it naturally ended and do that every time she felt she needed it. The intent was simply to use a distraction in a situation over which she had little control, a bit like in the movie Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.

Other practices that I found helpful for me is Active Dreaming. Playing the Lightning Dreamwork game also helps. In the game, a person shares a dream they had (or a story or memory) with others. Then, the listeners share their feedback with the dreamer in a non-obtrusive way. My experience of this game is fabulous. The imagination and dreams of others enriches my own imagination!

Imagination is not only an activity, it's a world and a conduit. Of course when we reflect or tell a story, we imagine. Telling a story and listening to one engages our imagination. The medical world discovered its value and calls it narrative medicine.

There is also a world of imagination. In my Master Dreaming class, we went to a city of dreams, known to some people as Anamnesis. It has been constructed over centuries if not millennia by people either dreaming, astral traveling or dying. In one of his channelled books, the Brazilian Chico Xavier talks about such a city and calls it Nosso Lar. Ibn Arabi, a muslim scholar of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries mentions it. Over the past year, I've been facilitating journeys to a retreat centre in the dream world that one of our members saw in a dream. It is part of and adjacent to that city of dreams. A nursing colleague and dreamer suggested that I set a healing centre of my own in the dream world and offer healing to beings requesting it. The more people visit these places, the stronger their reality in the non-physical world.

Imagination is also a key into channeling. The spirit will use the images in the channeler's mind to convey information. It's as if imagination is the frequency required for the transmission and translation of information. One day, I was asking a painter what inspired him. He answered that when painting, he feels as if he is channelling his parents, that they are guiding what he imagines and paints on the canvas.

Embracing Imagination

We all imagine but, likely, we dismiss our imagination because we've been socialized to only value what we observe with our physical senses. We get bombarded by the internet and the numerous media. That is not, however, imagination. Those stimuli may trigger our imagination, many a time in the fear direction but it doesn't come from within.

To open the doors of imagination, I suggest reading a book, reminiscing, listening to music, meditating on a question, practicing visualization, (many athletes use it to increase their performance), walking in nature and talking to trees, birds and animals and the unseen beings. My favourite is going on a dream journey or a shamanic one.

Avoid mind altering drugs. I believe that we can achieve spiritual experiences without them. Don't make the mistake that I made which was to dismiss my experience because my senses were not overwhelmed or I was feeling emotionally neutral. With practice, I became aware of the nuances of the imaginal realm, and I gradually appreciated more of my imagination and its benefits to my life.

These are some of my suggestions but there may be many other strategies that you can propose. A warning though, when you open the doors of imagination, you may discover the biggest wonder out there: your Self!

Luc Therrien