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UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young
Imagination is a powerful tool. To imagine means to form an image in our minds. A young child sees an intriguing object, imagines having it in his hands, and then crawls towards it. We imagine what we might like for dinner before we begin preparing it or calling to make a restaurant reservation.
In the early stages of a love relationship, the partners imagine what it would be like to have a romantic connection with each other, and then one asks the other out.
We all come into this world with a built-in ability to imagine.
Prior to the overwhelming influence of television and video games, childhood play was all about imagination. Children would practise different adult roles by imagining themselves living that role. In the process they would imagine not just scenarios, but also the thoughts, emotions and sense of power that came with those roles.
Children also have a natural ability to use their imagination to create brand new things, be it with blocks, crayons or ideas. They are not afraid to pretend, nor inhibited about doing so. Because this ability comes so easily and naturally, it is clearly a fundamental and universal aspect of being human.
By the time we reach adulthood, somehow the connection between imagination and reality can become corrupted. It is no longer seen as a basic human attribute. We often hear people say, “I’m not very creative.” Creativity is seen as a special gift, most frequently associated with the artistic, or the highly intelligent. It is associated with producing something material, be it a painting, a symphony or a building. It is generally not seen as a process readily available for all to create outcomes in our lives. Rather than seeing imagination as a preliminary sketch of what we will create, we often see it as an entirely different realm of thought, unrelated to reality.
Thus, we may spend a lot of time imagining what we might like in life. These imaginings may take the form of dreams, but in our culture there is a tendency to denigrate dreams, rather than seeing them as blueprints. We say, “I’m only dreaming” or “It’s just a dream.” Others may reflect their doubt about our imaginings by saying: “Dream on.” Even changing the world has been as a dream, or something existing only in imagination. I remember a folksong about putting an end to war. It began with the words, “Last night I had the strangest dream...” John Lennon’s Imagine similarly seems like something we can only dream about.
What I want to suggest to you is that if you can dream or imagine something for yourself, it is because you do have the power to create it. That is how the power of creation works in humans: we first dream it, and then we build it.
This can happen seamlessly if we only focus on the how, and forget about if or but. Even if you think what you want is impossible, ask yourself if it were possible, what would be the first steps. Then, figure out how you can accomplish that first step.
You may be amazed at how rapidly and easily dreams begin to become reality when you let yourself step into that stream of allowing. It is almost like pretending you are really creating what you want, and before you know it, you have created it.
Granted, it is more challenging to do this on a world scale, but what is true in the microcosm must also hold in the macrocosm. If enough of us hold the vision, seeing peace and conscious evolution as already happening, we can bring that, too, into form.
It is often said that we only use 10 percent of our brains. I truly believe some of the other 90 percent has been allocated to the creation of dreams, and giving us the lift we need to allow those dreams to take flight.
Gwen Randall-Young is an author and psychotherapist in private practice. Her books, tapes, and new Healing With Hypnosis CDs are available through her website www.gwen.ca, or gwendall@shaw.ca. They may also be ordered through Banyen Books.
Gwen Randall-Young is an author and psychotherapist in private practice and a feature columnist for Common Ground magazine. Her books, tapes and CDs are available at www.gwen.ca, or contact her at gwendall@shaw.ca. They may also be ordered through Banyen Books.
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