Philosophy of Imagination*Forty Four

The Collective Conscious. What is it? Theories abound, so I will pull the pieces I believe to be the most valid to create my own theory. The most popular idea is that the collective conscious is, we'll call it Air, because it can be and permeate everywhere. Air is everywhere, except for in a vacuum, but there is still something there, the ether, is made up of something, we're just not sure what yet. Probably really tiny particles. Digression done.

The collective conscious is the Air that exists everywhere, that connects everything. The Air/Collective Conscious/Force, since it is everywhere contains ideas, morality, values -- floating around and a Imagination/sharp conscious is one that is better able to connect itself to this Air all around. There is no true form to all these things floating around. It's chaos. That's where your Imagination comes in. It's like your space suit for going out to explore this Air, to pull things from it and bring them back in to  your mind. There, in your own Imagination, separate from the Air is where you put together the things that you found. Just like I'm doing with this theory. Your Imagination creates order of the disparate pieces. That's the magic of you.

We're not pulling fully formed ideas from the Air. We're grabbing pieces, words, images, colors as they zip around. How we catch them and put them together is what makes each one of us (and our Imaginations) unique. After procuring the bits, our Imagination creates something beautiful out of the chaos. Being connected to your own Imagination and the Air/World around you is how you get better at  tuning into it all. It takes a lot of practice and time to get there, save the rare few geniuses who get spit out into this World. There are plenty of people who thing clear ideas and stories and art are flying around whole, but I believe that to be bullshit. Without our individual Imaginations, it's just chaotic stuff. You must learn how to harness and control the air and I don't mean superpowers or making objects move or some shit. Being receptive. Being present. Being you.

As a Public, as humanity, we try to capture as much of the collective conscious as we can and write it down into books, magazines, online articles, blogs, paintings, sculptures, architecture, speeches, so we can create understanding and discussion. This is what makes us people. Curiosity about the World. The desire to have it make sense. You can go as deep or as shallow as you want. I hope everyone wants to go deep, but that is not for me to decide. Everyone does that on their own and there should be no outside pressure. There are not many absolute truths in the Universe. Very few. But we must be open minded and empathetic, as to see the truths of others. Everyone has their own truths and we must respect that.

The trouble comes in lies. Where people say things they know to be untrue, even to themselves. This misinformation poisons and hurts all that it touches, to varying degrees. I recently heard a nice parable in the movie DOUBT. A woman confesses to her pastor that she has gossiped. She wanted forgiveness. The pastor said, first, take a feather pillow to the roof of your building and tear it open. The woman did and the wind began to catch the feathers. When she returned to the pastor, she told him that she had done what he told her to do. Now can I be forgiven. One more thing, he said. Now I need you to go gather up all the feathers that came out of the pillow. That's impossible -- they flew everywhere. That's gossip and lies. When these lies get repeated, they begin to look a lot like truth. We gotta be careful. We gotta be careful. Lies are poison and they can destroy even more completely and accurately than a missile. 

The Air is full of lies and we must learn to avoid them. It's hard, but we all have the ability and Imaginative power to stop, think and pull things apart. We all have the wherewithal to extract the truth. Don't forget you have that power. It is strong. You also have to have the courage to go into the Air and pull things out. There is a lot of scary, dark, evil shit out there and you will have to withstand it to find goodness and life. Often times, goodness and knowledge reside inside the evil and you have to be absurdly brave to go inside of it and extract the light.

We need as many Air/Collective Conscious explorers as we can get. We need the brave, courageous and intrepid. Find that in your true self and let's go journeying into the unknown!

Philosophy of Imagination*Forty Three

I've talked about charisma in my other posts, but haven't devoted a lotta time. Now I will. What is charisma? What does it do? How does it work? Can you see it? Can you get it? Are you born with it? Is it the same as confidence? 

Charisma is the ability of a person, a single person, to have and hold people's attention regardless of what they're doing and saying. It seems that whatever is happening, grating cheese or mowing a lawn or telling a story, we want to know what they're doing, why they're doing it like they're doing it. Can we help? Can we listen? Can we be close? The story could be one of the most pedestrian, long-winded tales and we still wanna sit in front of them, legs crossed in front of us, hands under our chins, waiting for the next word to tumble from their lips. If someone without charisma tells s shit story, we zone out quick. Try to get away. To look for a place to interject so we don't have to hear another asinine sentence poison the air. What is this power. Super power really. Anything not readily available, possessed by a few and sought after by all, that's a super power. They're like giant people magnets, these charismatic characters. Why them? Why do we listen? Why do we flock? Why do we try to make ourselves in their image?

I believe some people are born with charisma, that is innate in their make-up. I've been around kids who haven't had time to earn anything and they hold a room of children and adults wrapt as they muck about and be silly. They're magnets already! They haven't had time to learn a skill like that. Kids are good at manipulation, but this is beyond manipulation. We often just do what they say, without much question. Charismatic people are able to make us feel great about ourselves. They lift us up, make us levitate (there's that superpower again) and become powerful like them. While we're near. But we can still get knocked down easily. Charismatic people seem to have a force field around them. Impervious to what is happening around them. Like a pitcher alone with the ball on the mound, while 50,000 screaming opposition fans yell at him to fuck it up. Charisma can shut that off. Stick, stone, names calling, hate -- it bounces off harmlessly and thuds to the ground. The charismatic person standing there like Superman/Superwoman with their hands on their hips, chest out, chin in the air. It's a sight. They lift us up, so we flock and listen and try to be like them, hoping it'll rub off. But it doesn't. At all. When the person leaves, all the charisma leaves with them.

I used to believe that you either had charisma or you didn't. That is how most charisma exists. But, if you can work on yourself, slowly build your confidence, up, up, up, over a long period of time, you can begin to gain some. Earned charisma. This is not easy. You have to be willing to go deep inside yourself, all the way to the bottom. Love yourself unconditionally, forgive yourself and the others around you for any shortcomings or misdeeds. You have to have an amazing Imagination and the courage to be yourself always and everywhere. Do that and the seed of charisma can begin to grow. True charisma that cannot fade. I don't see confidence and charisma as the same thing, but they have a very close relationship. A cause and effect relationship. Like building a house. Confidence is all the lumber and nails and materials and labor that go in to building a house. Each alone have some confidence, but put together in a careful, thoughtful way will give you the house that will be there as long as any of us are alive. The house is charisma. And the materials to build it are hard to come by, despite being inside of all of us. We can all become charismatic, we only have to be willing to take the journey fraught with danger and things most of us would rather see stay hidden.

Charismatic people hold almost all the positions of power in our society. Which sounds great! But charisma is the ability to get people to do what you want them to do. That power is dangerous. Very dangerous. And even well meaning people can get sucked into it and themselves and begin to see people as things instead of human beings. Things, robots, sheep that will follow and wait on you, no matter how much of a prick/cunt you may be to them. That ugliness is everywhere around powerful people. We need to begin to see these people for sho they are. The people blessed with charisma, who are using their superpowers for evil. We need to extricate ourselves from them and move on, to people who care about us. People who will help us build our own true confidence and then charisma. If people are not treating you as an equal, get the fuck outta there. Get outta their tractor beam. We don't need them to be amazing. We all can be amazing if we focus on ourselves and our interior growth and acceptance. We could have a Universe filled with beautiful charismatic people, who use their superpowers to lift up those around them.

Look at yourself and the people in your life and if there are charismatic people or any people who are making you feel bad about yourself, treating you as a lesser person, being obstacles in your dreams and destiny, let them go. Let them go. It doesn't have to be an ugly divorce, but step away. Everyone deserves happiness, confidence and charisma of their own. Go find yours!

Philosophy of Imagination*Forty One

I would say that Imagination knows no time. It doesn't exist. When you close your eyes, or leave them open, to Imagine, you can be anywhere at anytime. You can be in the desert riding a snake, dive underground, come back up and you're in a swamp filled with dinosaurs. You can rewind, fast forward, jump up and down, back and forth, conjure a piece of gum or a whale chewing 100,000 pieces of Trident. You can build a house with your bare hands in a couple seconds. Dig a pool with a soup spoon in milliseconds. Anything. Everything and time has no bearing.

Why does time not exist in our Imagination and mind? Why does it mean nothing in our interior? Why does it mean so much in our exterior? Can you grow your Imagination so much, that you can make time non-existent in life? Or would it be better described as being able to go anywhere at anytime and it feels real, because your Imagination is that amazing? Transcending time, but not exactly space?

Why is time our greatest asset and our worst enemy? 

We seem to share time with everyone else, but is that true? Does everyone have their own time? We talk about it like that often. Does time move differently for different people? I know when I was a kid, time seemed slooooooow. Church on Sunday felt like a year and some change. Now, a week goes by in a blink. Years clip past, you've wondered where they've gone. Me and most adults are always saying 'where did the time go -- I can't believe it's already Christmas again!' Why does time feel close and far away at the same time? High school felt like eons ago, but when I really think about specific memories it feels like it happened recently. 

It's hard to square time, because in life, it is everything. But in our minds, it doesn't exist. It's irrelevant.

Philosophy of Imagination*Forty

I'm forty now and I've never felt so young. It's like a drug, that I've waited for on-line, for twenty years. Worth the wait, bet your ass. I didn't know so many neurons could fire so much goodness at once. Imagination is my drug, my juice, my love--trumped only by my wife and family and dogs. Imagination has given me everything and I can't wait to keep feeding it daily.

I read a recent article about 'Simulation Theory'. It's basically the plot of THE MATRIX, minus the evil human battery overtones. The theory posits that our whole Universe and existence is a computer simulation, a real life Sims. It's interesting to think about. After writing all the code, doing all the math, tinkering with algorithms, did they push the button (The Big Bang) and let us go? Are they constantly manipulating things? Who is it?

I find the theory interesting and fascinating to think about, as do most. The Matrix blew almost all minds and it's remained popular, because WOW! What the fuck? That could be true? Are we in a simulation? Well done Wachowskis! Nailed the jump, didn't stick the landing and I think for good reason. Because when they tried to explain the start and continued existence of us and our Universe, the theory gets too confusing and stupid. I believe mostly, because it's a fun theory, but untrue.

Computers want perfection. Without it, they don't work very well. Ever get a virus on your computer or run outta memory? Shit starts to go bad quick and fast. You're computer becomes a miracle to a pile of junk in no time. Complicated systems have lots of complicated problems and our Universe is most certainly complicated and the most complicated thing in this complex Universe is our complicated brains. 

If we lived in a computer simulation, things would be breaking down all the time. We would see behind the curtain, the wires, the smoke and mirrors of our creation. We would see the fuck ups. They'd be all over, all the time. But not one person has witnessed one or has any proof it. Kinda like God. God as computer programmer--I think not.

Our Universe is imperfection. That's what makes it beautiful. Computers work on perfection and perfection is dull and boring. We aren't a computer simulation. We are a fucked up, disorganized, cluttered mess of beautiful being.

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Nine

Did you know that the odds of being part of the matter/particles that make a conscious human being are 1 in 400 trillion. 1 in 400 trillion. 1 in 400 fucking trillion! Imagine that for a moment. Imagine how big the Universe is and how much matter it holds and you are here on Earth as a living, sentient being. 1 in 400 trillion. Holy shit! We are lucky fucking miracles. 

It's hard to Imagine numbers that big, no matter how magnificent your Imagination is getting. There's another great Buddhist metaphor about it that makes it easier to visualize and digest. Pretend that you have a round ring life preserver. The hole in the middle is about three feet wide. You have this one life preserver and you have to place it in one spot in the oceans, any spot in all the oceans on Earth. In all those oceans, pretend that their is only one sea turtle and you have no idea where in the oceans that turtle is. So, you place your life preserver somewhere in Earth's oceans and that turtle has to surface, on the first try, inside the ring of your life preserver. Same odds as being a sentient human on Earth. 1 in 400 trillion!

We aren't just miracles, we're lucky miracles. You have to be a miracle and then be lucky on top of that to be a human. Let that settle in for a while. Let it nestle down into your Imagination. What are you going to do with your lucky miracle? Who are you going to be? Where are you going to go?

Congratulations! You're human! Go live! Make the most out of your Lucky Miracle!

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty One

I was reading an article that said elite athletes and chess grandmasters live roughly 8 years longer than the general population. Chess grandmasters aren't pinnacles of health and exercise. So why the correlation? Their theory is the mind, it's a sharp mind that is often pushed to the limits and is continually learning and growing. I would agree. And since I believe strongly that Imagination is the engine of the mind, then it is one of the biggest reasons for great mental health and longevity.

Any athlete will tell you that performing well is probably 90% mental. Confidence. The movement that Imagination creates. I haven't seen any studies on artists or musicians or other groups that use a significant amount of Imagination in their everyday, but I'm sure they would find they live longer, too.

Imagining always and using it to help you achieve and learn will help you live longer. Once you enter your twilight years, that same Imagination will help you to visualize the Infinite possibilities that still remain for you, even if your 80 or older. That optimism and vision, in another study I read, will also help you live longer. When people lose hope and feel that they have nothing left to contribute on this Earth, pessimism, sadness and eventually death follow. I posit that is also why so many elderly couples die within a few years of each other. 

Think about how much you could do in 8 or more extra years! Imagine and live longer! Eighty is the new twenty!

Philosophy of Imagination*Fifteen

The dreams you create for yourself with your Imagination are the most precious resource in this World. They are what keeps our Earth spinning and the Universe Universing (it's so grandiose and awe inspiring, it's hard to distill exactly what it's doing -- because it's everything really). Your dreams need to be kept safe, nurtured and growing. Your dreams will always be in your head. Always. When they first emerge, they are so big and sublime that they could fill every last corner of the Universe. They are born from so many different places. Perhaps it's a film that you see (that's my favorite one -- mine was Fargo), or a parent that is great at their dream/profession or seeing deficiency in the World. Whatever exterior things your dreams are born from, you're Imagination takes it and turns it in to palpable inspiration and it grows almost too big to fathom.

Then, it's time for you to start turning those massive dreams into reality! What we call the 'work' or the 'hard part'. We get moving and immediately begin to face resistance, from every direction. The work is hard and time consuming. You begin to get tired. The realization of the dream seems so far off, that apathy and despair set in. You must believe in yourself, your Imagination and your dreams and keep moving ahead. You will be the biggest thing you have to overcome, but the outside World is great at reiterating your doubt. Almost everyone, and there is no hyperbole in that statement, nearly 99% of people will tell you that your entire dream or part of your dream are unattainable, that you should give up. Most of this isn't from malice or anger or jealousy, it's from their perception of reality and how the World works. As soon as we're born, the World begins to atrophy your Imagination. The hard work and the people and the obstacles you encounter tell you 'No' with such frequency, that it is hard to keep your Imagination from shrinking, forget not growing, it disintegrates fast.

You will have to be your teacher, your cheerleader, your guru. Sure you will meet a few people along the way who say 'yes you can' and some who will put you on their shoulders for a while and make sure you stay as close to those people as you can. That you reciprocate their kindness and optimism and remain loyal and true, but most of the work will have to come from within. From your Imagination, even while it is facing a constant barrage of naysayers and pessimists. One of the hardest parts about this is that much of your Imagination has been decimated by the time you reach school age, before you have a real grasp on who you are and what you want. So while your battling the outside forces that want to to disable your Imagination, you will also have to be rebuilding it. It's like trying to build your castle in the middle of an enemy attack. Trying to build a house while the rain pummels you. That's the hard work. 

So many give up. It's fucking really hard and the path to 'no' is easier. We can easily exist in this World even if we're not doing what we want. Lives can be lived and even be fulfilling in other ways. But there will always be that huge emptiness, that empty space (darkness, ether, dark energy, vacuum) in the Universe of your Imagination that can never be filled*.

You can realize everything you can Imagine. Fuck the people who say no. Fuck the people who say you'll never make it. Fuck the people who say you're crazy and are suffering from grandiose delusions. If everyone listened to it, we will still be pounding rocks and living in caves. I don't give a shit who you are and where you came from, you can realize your dream if you continually tell yourself yes in the face of all diversity, if you're willing to keep moving ahead when most sane people would turn back (You can't kill that dragon! Are you fucking crazy!). Greatness lives at the edge of crazy (Stay true to yourself and never hurt anyone and you'll never fall over the edge).

Also, make sure to realize that as you make this epic journey to wrangle your dreams, you're not doing it alone. Your inspirations, all the people that came before you that didn't listen to the 'no's' or the pain in their bodies. We are beholden to them and their Imaginations and the Universe. Without them, you wouldn't be able to live your dreams. And the people that come after you will owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude. Imagine if no one said no? If the World didn't inadvertently destroy our Imagination? If the hard work became a little easier, because everyone else believed in you and you believed in them and everyone helped everyone else on their quest for ultimate fulfillment? If we believed that everyone deserves something, instead of believing we deserve everything for our hard work? Imaginations. The most powerful forces in the Universe, working together for goodness and light? How many questions could we answer? How many lives could we save? How much pain could we alleviate? What if we all asked ourselves these questions daily? If we believed in ourselves and each other?

Keep running. Fuel your Imagination. And help everyone you can to do the same. What a beautiful Light we will make!!!

*If our Imagination is infinite, like the Universe, like time and space, will we begin to understand everything around us better as we grow our Imagination? Will those dark spaces and vacuums and things unknown start to make sense if we believe in ourselves and our Imaginations? That they truly can accomplish anything if we're willing to work hard and maintain our morals and values? Will the mysteries be solved? What is empty space? What is dark matter? What is the dark force? Can we catch light? Do we have to Imagine a solution first before we can prove the theory through math and science? Does something exist before we are able to prove it? Does proving it finally bring the theory into reality? If we all make our Imaginations stronger through hard work and belief in ourselves, will the great mysteries come more readily? Through the strengthening of the collective conscious? Does the collective conscious exist? Certainly there will always be more mysteries to solve, as the Universe/Time/Space is infinite. Surely more questions will arise? Without mystery, without the unknown, how will our Imaginations continue to grow? Knowing everything is fucking boring.

Philosophy of Imagination*Seven

Cells begin to change and form more complex organisms. Evolution is the mutation of pieces of DNA, which over thousands of generations, beget a new organism/species. The traits that the mutations create that are most suited for the organisms environment proliferate. These are the good mutations. The mutations of Life. The mutations of Light. Like The Force!

Could The Force be Imagination? 'The Force is what gives a Jedi(You) their power.  It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.' That sounds a lot like Imagination. 

Could Imagination be a particle as yet discovered? Gravity? A glue particle that is too tiny for us to find(so far)? We still don't know what the fuck gravity is, why couldn't it be Imagination? We always speak of Imagination as if it's this ethereal thing, an idea about how are brain works, but what if Imagination does have a physical form? A tiny particle that envelops all other particles, that dead space in an atom between the neutrons and electrons? That would be a Galaxy/Universe binder. The eggs of the Universe. 

The Force is Imagination and we all have it! And just like The Force, through time and practice and study, you can strengthen your Imagination to do anything! Anything.

Get out their and practice your Force/Imagination!!!

Philosophy of Imagination*Six

I am not a scientist, obviously, so if I get facts wrong or whatever, I apologize. I am a curious person and writing about things I don't quite understand (which is Philosophy) so I can study and learn and eventually know the subject better. I don't want to go too deep into evolution, it's dense and I only know the basics. We'll use basics. Evolution is survival of the fittest. The animal, human, insect and plant (and their offspring) will live on if they have the characteristics that make their survival more certain in the ecosystem in which they live. A stronger, longer tail will make a monkey better at holding on and they're less apt to fall out of the tree and die. But if a monkey lived where there were no trees, the monkey with the strongest and fastest legs would survive and the monkeys with the long tails will get eaten, because it's easier for a tiger to munch down on that long tail. So the monkeys who live in trees will get stronger and longer tails as millions of years go by and the plains monkeys will get faster legs and shorter tails as millions of years go by. 

But cyanobacteria is only one cell. It doesn't have differing traits from the rest of the cyanobacteria. How did one unicellular life turn into multicellular? Scientists still don't know for sure, but their thought was some kind of mutation? An abnormality that made that cell better than the rest. More Imagination in that cell? Perhaps. Maybe they were mutating all the time and it took a long time before one of them stumbled on to the right mutation? The other theory is that cells began working in groups, helping each other to achieve something greater than the self. That's awesome! Even on the cellular level, we need others and cells are willing to help out, even if they get nothing in return. The cyanobacteria, the first life, showed up 3.5 billion years ago. More complex multicellular organisms didn't appear until 600 million years ago. That's like 3 billion years the cyanobacteria was all alone, pumping out oxygen, creating our atmosphere, trying to Imagine how to be better, how to make the World around them great. 3 billion years! That is a patient motherfucker. Motivated. No giveup. 

The cyanobacteria mutated and branched off in millions of ways. It is the father of bacteria and viruses and all other unicellular organism in the World, but once it became multicellular, it never regressed back to unicellular. That's fascinating, because once it made some progress after 3 billion years, it didn't kick its feet up too long. It Imagined being three cells, then four, then five, always optimistic that a better future lie ahead. A future that would eventually allow the offspring of the cyanobacteria to understand and enjoy the Universe in which it lived. If that ain't Imagination, I don't know what is.

There is no laziness in nature. It is always trying to grow and procreate and climb upward.

Philosophy of Imagination*Five

When last we spoke, we were talking about cyanobacteria (pictured above -- beautiful yeah?). The first single-celled organism. Life! How did it become an organism? How did it decide to change? How did it change? Why did it change? To survive? It was the only organism, so it didn't have any predators. The elements. The atmosphere and liquids and solids that also existed. It asked the question, in some abstract way, 'how do I make this Earth a better place?' What made that happen? Pure chemistry? Imagination? Can Imagination exist outside of an organism? I think yes. It could be a particle we haven't discovered yet? Could it be gravity? Perhaps. Dark matter? Perhaps. Something makes cells and living things change, so they can go on living and make the World a better place.

Why not Imagination? 

Philosophy of Imagination *Four

A few posts ago, before a tangent took over, I was discussing the origins of Imagination. All the way to the beginning of time -- or maybe to the beginning of life. That scope is easier to hold and look at. Especially because time is relative and obscure and may not exist at all (but that's an entirely different discussion).

We start at the beginning of life on Earth. That we can get our arms around. We have a lot of data and science of life on Earth, hard facts and truths. Give it up for scientists, the unsung heroes of our Universe! Them and teachers. Slaving away to make our World a better place and not asking for acclaim or notoriety beyond the science magazines and 'Teacher of the Month' awards. 

Life on Earth started with a single-celled organism called 'Cyanobacteria'. You get capitalized if you're the first living thing on Earth. Well done! Thanks for figuring it out so I can be here now, typing this thought. It is an aquatic and photosynthetic. It lives in water and makes its own food. It's growth and proliferation is what created our atmosphere. The oxygen we breathe is a byproduct of the photosynthesis of this blue-green algae, floating on top of the Earth's water. We have fossils of Cyanobacteria and they date to roughly 3.5 billion years ago.

The beginning of life on Earth. Cyanobacteria. It created an atmosphere that would allow it to evolve into everything else. That's fucking awesome! If its byproduct from food production had been helium, who knows what the hell our Earth would look like?

Cyanobacteria did not have a consciousness or feelings or Imagination yet, at least I don't believe it did. All this was further down the evolutionary road. It did have one important directive -- multiply -- multiply as much as possible so you will live on. So a part of you will always be here on Earth and in this Universe. 

That's crazy that a single-celled bacteria wants to be remembered. That is why life goes on. We all feel that very strongly. It is what motivates us every day to get out of bed. To be remembered and revered. To stay on Earth forever. We want to survive and procreate (most of us anyhow) so we will never be forgotten. 

Maybe the Cyanobacteria did have an Imagination? It was just waiting for a chance to grow. It needed legs to further explore its Imagination, to understand what it was capable of. Are we here because Cyanobacteria had Imagination and fortitude to be remembered forever? Is it okay to be remembered as a group? As People? As Human Beings? Is that enough? I don't think so. And I think most living beings would agree with me. But no one will be remembered forever and that's okay, because the matter and particles we're made of will be around into the infinite. And if we live a good, happy life, all that matter and particles that make up us, will live on to infinity, spreading that goodness and happiness that you created. Do matter/particles have thought and memory? I believe they do.

We should build statues to Cyanobacteria in every city on this Earth! None of us would be here without it! Cyanobacteria forever!

Philosophy of Imagination

Where did Imagination come from? Why did it come? Did it come all at once? Did the first animal that got Imagination look out into the World it inhabited and say 'I think I can make this a better place', in whatever animal language they spoke? Or did he Imagine saying that to himself? And did it freak him out that his own voice was suddenly in his head? Or did it happen gradually to species of animals? One step at a time as the generations moved down the line of time? It seems that it would have had to come gradually, as the brain is the most complex known thing in our Universe. That it needed time to grow and mature. If you just handed someone/something Imagination (and therefore consciousness as I believe the ability to have a 'me', to know that you exist, to ask questions, to have feelings, to create, to learn is all born of Imagination *which is why it gets capitalized) it would wig them out. They would have no idea of the self and suddenly it's upon them -- they would think they were crazy bananas. But crazy is an abstraction, too. Maybe they would freeze? Their instinct for survival being drowned out by all this amazing Imagination? I believe it came on slow. Like life. Like geology. Like the coalescing of the Galaxies and Solar Systems and Planets. It.                     Takes.                                            A.                                           Long.                                                                                                                      Time. But who were the first animals/beings with full Imaginations? Where they could feel/know a self? Where they could feel emotion? What was the first emotion? Have to be fear? The instinct of survival that just goes. Is Imagination contagious? Are animals like dogs more likely to have Imaginations (or more acute Imaginations) because they're around people more? Is the process of evolution sped up when animals, insects, human beings are around more Imagination? Imagination is everything, but at its core, where Imagination gets its heart and power and kindness is that it looks at the World as it is and says 'I can make this place, this mind, this life better.' 

If we can grow everyone's Imagination, this World will be a better place for everyone.

Imagine How?

How do you Imagine? Most of it happens naturally, without even thinking about it, because Imagination powers our brain, so most of it is subconscious and often involuntary. When you're reading a book, watching a movie or when you get excited -- your Imagination goes, faster than the speed of light. We want to continue to let this happen as much as possible. Bask in it. Let your Imagination flow.

We also need to have focused times of Imagination. That's when you help it grow the most, exploring its infinite limits.

Lots of books have been written about this and they're all great in their own way, but I'm not sure you need a whole book to tell you how to Imagine your future. I like to keep everything as simple as possible.

Mine is similar to meditation. I like to lay in my backyard, in the grass underneath our Mighty Ash tree. I keep my eyes open at first, taken in the sights and sounds of our World. Then I close my eyes and begin to Imagine my future. The key for me has been to Imagine in great detail. To be very specific.

If you see a new house in the future, what color is it? What street? How many rooms? If you see a new job, what is a full day in your new job look like? Where is your office and what's in it? Who do you work with and why? If you see kids, what are their names? What do they like to eat? What is their favorite thing to do? 

Be as specific as possible! I usually lay out in my grass for about 10 minutes every day, but you can do it for as long as you want, wherever you want. Standing, sitting, floating?

I would encourage you to do it every day. It will begin to make your Imagination more real and tangible. 

How we Imagine our World in the present and the future, will create strong feelings.

Imagine and make what you see happy and beautiful!

Every Day Imagination

You should set time aside every day to Imagine.

It is as important as learning and work and relationships. Imagination informs these things and everything else in your life and the more you Imagine, the more confident you will become in every facet of your being.

If people tell you that Imagination is for hobbies and daydreaming and kids, in the most polite way possible, tell them to fuck off.

Get out your pencils! Get out your guitar! Get out of the daily slog and create!

Your Imagination and the Universe will thank you!!!

Imagine an Earth...

Imagine, explore and learn about the Earth, Galaxy and Universe around You

Your Whole Life

Because it is You

And You are It.