Imagination

Thoughts become things. Everything you are today was actualised by first imagining it. We humans have the peculiar capacity to mentally explore the ‘not-yet-existent’ which allows us to deliberately create new things and shape the world around us. Unlike other living creatures (animals and plants) that have no self-awareness and are guided by their immediate environment, thereby existing in the realm of “what is”, humans in contrast can explore the realm of “what is not”. Scientifically known as counterfactual thinking, imagination is the ability to create a mental model of something that doesn’t exist yet. The ability to imagine a different or better state of being than the one we currently exist in is such a unique superpower, which begs the question, why don’t we use this ability more to our advantage?

For imagination to occur, it must first be inspired. Something needs to seduce us (se-ducere, to lead away) out of our routine way of perceiving things (factual thinking) into the realm of imagination (counterfactual thinking). As it appears in the general history of religions, inspiration (in spirit) may be defined very broadly as a spiritual influence that occurs spontaneously and renders a person capable of thinking, speaking, or acting in ways that transcend ordinary human capacities. Philosopher John Armstrong suggests that we humans are actually quite slow to notice new pieces of information. Over the course of life, we develop an internal resistance, of which we are unaware, but which has the effect of blocking out things that might potentially inspire us. We become so invested in the model/framework which we currently have and which works for us that our emotional familiarity with our current paradigm is something we are often very reluctant to give up. Despite the plethora of new surprises we encounter all the time, our minds are oftentimes ill-prepared for such surprises to inspire imagination and creativity.

Plenty of new information pass us by regularly, however, to take advantage of such new information, we need to notice them (the cognitive aspect) and we need to care (the emotional aspect) to spark imagination. Research shows that there are three types of surprises that inspire imagination: accidents - events or incidents that may be irrelevant to what we’re trying to achieve; anomalies - part(s) of a situation or story that are out of the ordinary; and analogies - parallels we see between concepts or experiences, which suggest new possibilities. The Bayesian theory of how the brain works hold true that our brains update themselves based on surprising new inputs. However, our brains do not simply register any or all sensory impressions. Neuroscientist Walter Freeman asserts that the pattern generated by the cortex is not a representation of the stimulus but constitutes the significance and value of the stimulus for the animal. Put simply, what impacts us is what matters to us. So whenever you notice patterns that deviate from the norm, care about them enough to let them seduce and inspire you.

When we encounter surprises - accidents, anomalies and analogies and take the time to see, comprehend and interpret such new information, we get inspired, and such inspiration prompts imagination. . Inspiration is the precursor to imagination, imagination is what births creation. Be inspired by the world around you, and let your imagination create the world you aspire for.

Remember - “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Logic may get you from A to B, but imagination will get you everywhere.” - Albert Einstein

Peace, Love & Light.