Imagination

Imagination is something all of us are born with but few of us retain past childhood to the degree necessary to accomplish anything with it. Unlike most of the natural talents that come to us as infants, like walking and talking, and that are sharpened with age and steady practice, the ability to imagine (pretend) is discouraged as being an escape from reality that must be left behind with childhood as we mature.

While the exact age when this happens may vary, virtually all of us have been admonished at one time or another to stop pretending and live in the real world.

 Unfortunately, it is exactly this talent to visualize and create with the mind that allows us to exist in a stressful world. That we can pretend that there is something better is the key to achieving it.

The first depictions of hunting rituals on cave walls that showed the desired result of a hunt yet to come, a quick kill and food for the tribe, are the product of Imagination, and the earliest humans held them to be just as important as any other skill in obtaining food.

This did not come about as a matter of faith, but from the observation of results. Early humans had no place in their lives for nonsense. What did not provide for survival was quickly discarded, and what worked was perfected through scientific methods virtually the same as those used by modern scientists.

Since Imagination is a universal human talent, not much effort is needed to rejuvenate it, and the exercises involved are most enjoyable.

Creativity is a function of Imagination, so those who are artists, musicians, poets, and the like may seem to have a slight advantage over the rest of us, but, in fact, creativity is not limited to artistic endeavors.

Architects, engineers, theoretical physicists, and daydreamers are equally well endowed with the creative spirit. The most difficult part in enhancing the Imagination to the point where it can be used as a magical tool is that the old admonitions to stop pretending and live in the real world die hard. Imagination is a most personal mental function.

One person’s fantasy is another’s fallacy.

Expect to be called crazy when you try to explain your most original thoughts. Come up with enough of these brainstorms and you may earn the label “eccentric” or “lunatic.” By current standards, which label you earn is directly proportional to how financially successful your idea may become. (Pet rocks: eccentric or crazy? Enough said!)

 The need for secrecy in your magical work should be becoming obvious to you by now. If for no other reason, it can prove impossibly difficult to help anyone when you are viewed as the friendly, neighborhood weirdo. Daydreaming is an act of Imagination that provides an escape from circumstances that the mind finds boring and tedious.

Listening to long, irrelevant speeches or performing repetitive physical chores lead the mind to look elsewhere for entertainment. This kind of imagining may be rooted in some activity you especially enjoy or may whisk you off to a fantasy land where all is as you like it. The latter is a reflection of the Macrocosm in your Microcosm.

You are God of your own world; you make all the rules and are responsible for its very existence. It is this part of the Imagination that must be strengthened to facilitate magical work. Your ability to visualize circumstances as you would have them be is key to not only to spellwork but to magically arranging your life as you wish it to be. The first exercise is to simply daydream.

The subject is unimportant, as long as it pleases you. Try to avoid daydreams with negative connotations, like imagining what’s going to happen when the police catch up to you for all those unpaid parking tickets.

Keep things light and simple. Imagination is best strengthened by adversity, so not only is it unnecessary to find a quiet place where you can meditate and cogitate in peace, it may prove more effective to daydream in spite of the noisy world around you.

 Do avoid daydreaming during activities that may require your full attention at a moment’s notice, like driving your car. Insurance companies frown on explanations for accidents that involve swerving to avoid hitting a dragon.

Perfect places for whisking yourself off to your own little world include political speeches, testimonials, and any time spent in a waiting room or line.

Allow your mind to drift from its awareness of your current surroundings to some place it finds more interesting. Add features to this landscape at will. There are no restrictions of color or form. It’s your world, and pigs may fly against a purple sky with two suns of different colors that shine brightly on a sea of chocolate.

There are no limits except those you impose, and you may change even these at your whim. Once you have become adept at imagining such a place, you should gradually increase the number of rules that apply to it. This does not mean to restrict your fantasy land with iron borders of reality. What rules exist are yours to choose, and the selection is best made by observing how your fantasy universe functions without your conscious attempts to restrict behavior.

Your landscape and the actions occurring within it may seem random, but they are actually the result of your mind doing its best to please itself. The restrictions you observe may have no equivalent in the “real” world, but this does not matter.

 What is important is that you make the rules for this universe you have created, and that once you have codified these laws, your universe and all its inhabitants obey them. In this way, your dream world will become more real to you. Soon you will find that you can produce many fantasy universes just by mentally running through the rules governing their existence. In such a way was the Universe created by the All.

Once the rules are put in place, the universe can function on its own without your constant input, and you can sit back and enjoy your creation without having to constantly interfere with it. Practice this as much as possible without arousing the suspicions of those around you about your mental well-being.

Just remember that you did not create THIS Universe, and you may be called upon to participate in one of its many activities, like making a living or staying focused during a business meeting. Another similar exercise involves creating a private space for yourself that serves to isolate you from the disturbances of the outside world and provide a place where you can feel at home with yourself without the need for physical barriers.

This place can be a subset of your imaginary universe or can exist as a whole separate entity, reserved for those times when you just need to be alone with your thoughts. The more detail you put into your private space, the more you will enjoy being there. It helps to remember when you were not quite old enough to decorate your own room or may have had to share a bedroom with a sibling or two. Try to recall those wonderful plans you had for YOUR OWN ROOM, where parents had no say and your word would be law. When you enter the room of your imagining, you should definitely have the feeling that the rest of the world has been shut out.

Training the Imagination entails learning to visualize to the point that your mental images take on a reality parallel to that of the physical universe. Just as with any exercise, it is easiest to start small by picturing a familiar object and endowing it with properties that appeal to you.

 Please note that although these exercises will dwell on pleasant scenarios and desirable circumstances and attributes, it is equally possible to create a Universe that is unappealing and has many negative qualities. Such imagining is extremely useful as a training ground for life’s more trying times. A warrior’s skills are not sharpened in an amusement park, nor can a witch prepare for magical work on the physical plane by practicing in Candyland.