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 Two

I've already talked about how I believe we all have an incredible Imagination from the time that we're born. Something has to keep a child entertained when it's in utero. The mind can't live in darkness. It would drive anyone mad. So, we're born with our fantastic Imagination. There's nothing you can't do when you're a child. 

My theory on this next thing is hard to discuss, because it's so personal, but I think it's worth looking at. It has helped me to understand and heal. I was sexually abused when I was a kid. I'm not sure by whom or how often. My whole life it's something I had always thought may have happened, but I wasn't able to accept it as fact until recently. Medication for depression, therapy and the love of my wife and family helped get me there. But the initial impetus was my thinking on Imagination and how it works. How is my mind/Imagination so strong that it can block entire pieces of time in my life? That blows my mind.

Could the people who suffer severe mental and physical abuse go somewhere safe, until the abuse is over. 

As I've thought over my past, my Imagination helped make clear to me that the past is the past and it could be replayed a million times, a trillion times over and the outcome would always be the same. That there was nothing that I could do to stop the abuse. That the abuse was not my fault. That I am not damaged. That I have the confidence to tell people and not feel judged. That I am exactly me and don't have to be anything more than that. That I accept and love myself, every part and forgive myself for any past moments of weakness. 

Once you're able to forgive yourself, forgive yourself for everything, a magical thing happens. You're able to forgive everyone else for their shortcomings. It's beautiful. Nearly indescribable. 

I have forgiven my abuser/abusers, whomever they may be. I am by no means thankful for being abused, but I am very thankful for what it has made me. I wouldn't change a moment of my life. Even the awful shit. There is no shame or guilt if you have been abused. None. And I know it's hard to think about and face, but if you can see how bright the light is on the other side, it is worth it. But everyone in their time. It took me forty years of life to be able o accept and admit to myself what had happened when I was a kid. Love you all! We're all in this together and we need to help each other. Don't stay in that darkness alone. Come into the light and beauty where everyone will welcome you with open arms. Like Q-Tip said, 'Come spread your arms if you really need a hug.'

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 Eight

I have spent most of my forty years trying to make sure my Imagination was always growing. But like everyone, I am full of contradictions and as I was working on growth and learning with my Imagination, I was also trying to kill it. Had a twenty year uncivil war with alcohol. Forty year struggle with societal norms trying to oppress and crush my individuality and self. And 22 years battling depression and sedentariness. All fights that are hard to win and my Imagination emerged victorious every time, always stronger on the other side. Not that any of those battles are over, they rage on every day, but most days it's a skirmish or propaganda, nothing that can't be subdued quickly and with little to no collateral damage. My Imagination has it handled and grows more powerful each day. It's bursting and exploding like a piñata of light and I'm trying to catch every last drop of it on to paper or any surface, making it shine.

Make sure you're catching everything your Imagination is throwing into reality, create and share it with the World! Everyday! Even if it's a doodle or a journal entry or a hug. Make it count!

Art comes in many forms and all you need is one fan of your work. It's best if you are the first most avid one. Love yourself! Love everyone! Love shortcomings more than assets, they're far more interesting and universal.

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Seven

Who are you? Who who? Who who? It's a great question. Who are you? Not what you want. Not what you do for a job. Not where you live. Not your age. Not your gender. Not your color. Not how you dress. Who are you? Inside? The stuff that can't be seen. 

What do you believe? What are your morals and values? What is your philosophy on life? How do you treat people? Your family? Yourself? And if you're not who you are yet, who do you want to be?

THIS IS WHAT MATTERS MOST. However, you ask most these people and they don't have answers to these basic, simple questions. People have no idea who they are and what they stand for -- which doesn't include shit you don't like. We constantly make decisions based on what we DON'T want, instead of what we DO want. The lesser of two evils (Election 2016...). People are conforming, fitting in, two scared to go out on their own and be themselves. It's crippling. Their Imaginations have withered to nothing. They can no longer Imagine who they are, so they look around to see what they should do, the exact opposite of how you should be thinking and living. Never without, always within.

Who are you?

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Six

I struggle with a lot. A lot. But one of my biggest issues is listening. I am so packed full of opinions, I can't wait to interject or give advice, pushing my agenda. Problem is, no one gives a shit, besides me. Why do you think I'm writing these posts? I justify this, because it's written and people can come to my website to read it only if they want to. Otherwise they can ignore me. I'm fine with that. 

I'm certainly not alone in my deficiency. Most of us suck at listening. It really does take practice. A lot of it. I'm good at being quiet while people talk, looking on, attentive, sometimes with my brow knitted or the slow head nod in agreement with what is being spoken, but am I really listening? No. I'm taking it in, but I'm urgent to use my modicum of wisdom to help them solve their problem. 'Here's what you should do...' Bullshit. I'm making them my audience.

Have you ever cleared your mind, leaned in and only, really, truly just listened? Until a week ago, my answer was 'no'. Big, granite sculpted 'no'. But I've been trying to be aware. Cognizant. Clear-mind. No retorts or opinions on deck. Listening. It is crazy how much more you can absorb. It lands and feels different. So weird! But it is hard to remember to do all the time. I'm gonna keep working on it.

Listening is another key to growing your Imagination. Listening, empathy and Imagination are aligned. To really know people, to Imagine yourself in their shoes, to empathize, you have to listen like that. Forget yourself for a few minutes and listen. You're with yourself all the time. You have the floor for 24 hours out of the 24 hour day. You can handle sharing it for an hour or so every day. 

One of my favorite quotes ever is;
'You can't say anything you don't already know.' -- Unknown

Listen. Be curious. Expand your mind and Imagination. We are pliable. Nothing is certain, it's our best guess. Take in all the information you can, from both sides and think about it. Turn it over, look at it from every angle. We should be proud that we change our minds. That's evolution. Growing and maturing. Those are the people that survive. People who are stuck in their ways, will stay stuck, like mammoths in the tar. Not many mammoths around any more.

Truly listen. Erase you for a minute and listen. 

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Five

I think we can agree that the best things in life are the hardest to attain. To get them, there a lot of work, sacrifice and pain involved. Why is that? Why are the best things in the Universe, the hardest to get? Are they the best in our minds, because they are hard to get? Because of the scarcity? Or is it more natural? It has to be hard to gain a reward? To feel the joy and adulation, you have to struggle? No easy answers?

Let's break down some examples to get a lay of the land. We'll start simple. Walking on a beach. It's easy, sure and at sunset, there might not be a better place to be. But is it easy? When you were a baby, you had to learn how to walk. Definitely not easy. Probably one of the hardest concepts to learn. There is so  much balance and adjustment happening, billions of synapses firing, muscle cells, memory and on and on. Walking is fucking difficult, but we take it for granted once we know how. Sure, you could lay on the beach like a slug and still get some of the ambiance, but you need someone to carry you there and pick you back up once the tide comes in. That's a big favor. Someone that loved you would surely do it, but love is incredibly hard to come by. Way harder than walking. There are so many intricate emotions, coupled with a lifetime of experience, the lens in which we see the World, any of which can trip up love and are willingness to engage in it. And all of that complication is doubled, because it takes two people to love. So you're on the beach, walking or slugging it, but you had to get to the beach. If you live near the coast, you have a small advantage, you may only be a few miles away. However, if you live in Kansas, you have to earn the money and pay for a plane ticket. You have to fly there, pay for a cab. Once you're there, you have to be present, patient, in the moment. You're on the beach, feeling the waves tickling your toes and the sand compressing under your feet, smelling the salt and seaweed. You must have focus to be truly present. Our minds want to wander, thinking about the baby screaming on your flight or the fact that you couldn't get anyone else to come with you or that you overpaid for the cab. Taking a walk on the beach isn't as easy as it sounds.

Next let's look at drugs. Drugs are fun. They make you feel amazing when you're doing them. Life of the party, being yourself, you can't lose! Until the drugs wear off. The you gotta get more. Drugs are expensive, so you have to earn the money. Or steal it, which has an enormous price, because if you get caught, you go to jail and your freedom and independence is stripped away, far outweighing any benefit you've received from using the drug. That goes for the using of the drug, too. If you are caught using, possessing or selling, straight to the slammer. Freedom gone. That is steep. Even if you have the money and you don't get caught, you still have the hangover, depression, the need for more drugs to keep your high and then it really starts to affect your life. Job, family, living become second priority to the drugs. You waste everything, health, happiness, life, to keep that fleeting drug high going. The cost far outweighs any pleasure. Therefore, it cannot even be counted as something good.

Nothing good is free. It all comes at a high cost. We have to keep moving and working hard and growing as individuals. Movement is life. Having a great life involves a lot of movement. In the right directions. We have to keep trying to get what is great, what is blowed and sought after. 

If movement is life, can you sit still? Of course, but you have to be engaging your Imagination and soul while you sit. If I go into my backyard and plop down on the grass, if I let myself think about anything in my life, except for the backyard, I'll get bored fast. But, if I am thinking about the backyard, listening to the birds, looking at the clouds, feeling the grass, smelling the fig tree, watching the bugs and the birds, fueling my brain with the present, I can sit there for hours. I am sitting still, but I am still moving a lot. If you sit places and stew about all your problems and place in the Universe, you're living in the past and what's the only thing in this World that we can't change? The past. Get out of there! Forward is the way! The present is the way! If you only live in those two places, think about how much movement you will have. Think of the life you will have! 

But why do we have to move to have a great life? I'll interject one of my theories, that all good things, on or below the surface, have more gravity. The beauty, charisma, confidence or even just an object. Matter and particles, just like people, want to be part of something. The better and more sought after that thing is, the more gravity it has. Gravity draws us in, mentally, physically and spiritually. So why don't we get sucked in to what is great in this World? Why aren't we bouncing in between gravities of the beautiful and amazing in life? Why are we attracted to them, but are held at arms length? Is it movement alone? If we don't have enough movement in ourselves (or the particles that make us up), the lack of excitement pushes us back. 

So do great/beautiful/awesome things have gravity that draw people/particles in, but there is another force pushing away with equal power/pressure? If you don't have enough movement/excitement, you get left in the cold? What would this anti-gravity, pushing force be? Dark energy? Which is the opposite of light/Imagination? Is it our inability to leave behind ourselves, our past, our opinions and judgements? Our inability to leave it all at the door and exist with something new? Until we are able to drop our guard and the armor we've created around us, encumbering us always (we think it is helping, but it is holding us back and creating unwarranted pressure), can we not move enough to see things for what they are? Is that the force pushing back? Our perceptions of life? Would relieving ourselves of these perceptions allow our Imagination to run wild, to move, with no impediments? Untethering your held beliefs/life experience/opinions and allowing them to drift off, would allow your Imagination to show you exactly what you are capable of? That you can proceed without fear? If we can say we know nothing and drop all preconceptions, will we see all things for what they truly are? Is fear/racism/hate/stereotypes/past experience the force that is pushing away, even as gravity pulls? Anti-Imagination? If you let anti-Imagination rule, you will move further and further away from yourself, from who you really are, because you're letting the past and outside forces/opinions/people Imagine for you? 

But jobs and big houses and fame don't have opinions. They are inanimate. But the people who control jobs, real estate and fame do. Are these people with power the ones creating the anti-Imagination/dark energy/pushing force? Is that why space is black, because it is constantly growing? Movement creates light? And you need a lot of it, working three times as hard to make it punch through the dark? Does movement create light? Does lack of movement create darkness? 

Does relinquishing all fear and secrets and preconception allow you to create great art, or run a business well or raising children? Does it make you more accessible through personal interactions or interactions with things that you Imagination has created? Does it create more light in you that people are drawn to, because you've made it more accessible? Made yourself, your true self more accessible? Putting yourself and movement and hard work into something will draw people in. You're increasing your light/gravity and letting the dark energy/opinions/ego/secrets go? You're letting yourself go and saying, 'we're in this together', let me share with you everything I've learned so far, which isn't much. Like Socrates said, the only thing I know for sure, is that I don't know -- that's a paraphrase. 

I think I might only know three things for certain.
1. BE KIND to everyone and everything.
2. LOVE YOURSELF. Especially the warts.
3. IMAGINE and WORK HARD to catch it!!!

Everything else is a theory, waiting to be disproved by a more simple idea. 

Darkness can never catch light? It is faster and stronger, but not by much, than darkness? If the Universe weren't expanding/moving, it would be contracting, collapsing in on itself? If light is leading the way into the infinite and darkness is always too slow to catch it, then light will always exist? Is movement time, too?

Movement is life.
Life is light.
Be yourself and you will be the light.
Be the light.
Shine bright for everyone to see!!!

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Four

We were discussing the five things we would rescue from a fire. Not counting family/friends. Here are mine; 1. Our dogs, Bean and Gracie -- 2. Journals -- 3. Photos -- 4. All my writing and notes -- 5. Computer and Hard Drives

What were yours?

I have some tangible things on my list, as I'm sure you do too, but what are the tangible items? What do they represent? Why are they important? The answer invariably comes back, 'Things that can't be replaced or reproduced.' These are all items with a tremendous amount of sentimental value. Things that don't have a price. My computer and hard drives(cell phone falls here) are important, because they contain photos and writing that I've done. These physical things hold the sentiment. The memories. The irreplaceable beauty created by your Imagination. 

There will always be a few outliers, maybe those jet skis are your babies, but almost everyone's list will be similar to mine, with some small derivations, all rife with sentiment, all things that we didn't have to buy with money. All things that live in our heart and Imagination.

When faced with losing everything, we save things that cost (almost) no money. We save memories and our Imagination creations. That's what matters. So, why do we spend 90% of our time chasing money. Sure, everyone has to work and have money to survive, but why do we sacrifice our time working, trying to get ahead, at the expense of family and friends? At the expense of ourselves and our mental well-being? Why do we chase cash to buy that new car, when your time and money could be used to create memories, those irreplaceable memories that we rescue from the fire? Why are our priorities so skewed?

You have got to recognize what is most important to you and throw 90% of your time and hard work behind it. Try it for a week, see how it feels, see how clear your mind will become. Imagine what kind of person you want to be and be it.

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Three

I want you to sit for an hour, alone, no TV, no music and most definitely no phone. You by yourself, with a notepad and a pencil/pen, thinking about you. Imagine away. As always, let it take you wherever it wants. By the end of the hour, you need to have written down the five most important things to you in the whole Universe.

Good luck! Don't be freaked out. You're amazing! You're gonna have a great time!

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*Thirty

How do you capture someone's Imagination? Is it capturing? Or is it a stimulant? It starts first with being in touch with yourself. Being so good, that you can crawl inside your own skin and having all the tools to navigate anywhere you wanna go. You have topographic maps of your brain and heart and soul and the Moral Compass. But if your Imagination is fantastic, you don't need any of the gear to find every part of your being. Snap your fingers and you're there. Every place you go you love, even if it's long buried shame and guilt. You love that, too, because it's part of you. It made you you. Embrace it all. Fear nothing. 

You get there and your Imagination has so much more time to explore and concern itself with so many other things. It can take flight, no longer weighed down by self doubt and fear and anger. You shed your shell and fly into the infinite. There you will find the extraordinary and it's all yours. It will manifest itself in confidence, possibly even charisma. That is the ability, The Force, the Super Power to capture Imaginations. But it is not capturing. Imaginations are too fast and we can only see our own, unless the person uses art or kindness to show you their true inner selves. Imagination is quick. It's hard to catch, even when it's your own and no outsider is capable of it. 

When we say 'capturing Imagination', what is really happening is that a person with an amazing Imagination/confidence/charisma (this could be you if it's not already) has a dream/vision/plan/art that is so powerful and resonant, it transports you to the same Imagination place within your own mind. Like when you look at a painting hanging in a museum, or reading a spectacular novel, or watching an amazing movie, or listening to a speech or someone tell an awesome story. Your Imagination springs to life and begins to whir. Therefore, it's not so much capturing, which we discussed is impossible, but stimulating and growing the Imagination of the listeners and onlookers. 

Know yourself. Love yourself--even all the dog shit and ugliness that's congealed and buried in us all. Love it all! You're beautiful. Then you will unleash the full potential of your Imagination and it will stimulate others to do the same. We are well short on Dreamers and Imagineers and we need all of you to keep the lights on bright.

Imagine! Dream! Share yourself with the World--especially the buried you, the one even you haven't seen maybe ever and share it with the World!

You're awesome! Pass it on!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Nine

I am an Imagination Salesman.

I sell the greatest and most powerful thing in the Universe. It's beautiful and sexy and exciting and I love sharing it with the World. I will be a great Imagination Salesman, one of the best ever. I'll sell happiness, empathy and oneness. 

I am not afraid of showing the Universe exactly who I am. I am not afraid of being told no. I am not afraid of rejection. I am not afraid to jump. I am not afraid to fall. I am not afraid of the unknown. I am not afraid to look silly. I am not afraid to chase. I am not afraid of being obnoxious. I am not afraid of money. I am not afraid of success. I am not afraid to work hard. I am not afraid to have a lotta people counting on me. I am not afraid of failure, because it doesn't exist if I keep trying. I am not afraid of fame and all of its trappings. I'm not afraid to be persistent. I'm not afraid to talk to anyone. I am not afraid to walk away if they're fucking with my vision. I am not afraid to walk away if they wanna go against my morals and values and life philosophy. I am not afraid to make people upset and angry. I am not afraid to have people hate me. I am not afraid to ask for help. I am not afraid to give much of myself to help the World. I am not afraid of pressure. I am not afraid to be broke in pursuit of writing and filmmaking. I am not afraid of pain. I am not afraid of darkness. I am not afraid of evil. I am not afraid of secrets. I am not afraid of power. I am not afraid of being super weird. I am not afraid to be ME!!!

I am an Imagination Salesman!!!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Eight

Imagination is amazing. Probably the best in the Universe as all feelings and emotion and consciousness are born of it. The physical World and the people, animals and nature are the only thing that out-cools Imagination.

As with everything in the Universe, Imagination is half light and dark. Your Imagination can conjure greatness beyond compare. Love, hope, happiness, films, paintings, architecture, physics, biology, saving planets, saving lives, science fiction, spaceships, unicorns, unicorns that fly spaceships, ii(that's my new acronym for 'Into Infinite'--meaning I could keep listing things forever). 

Your Imagination can conjure fear, hate and darkness in equal measure. Murder, betrayal, car crashes, gossip, the World against you, hate, demons, blood, evil, failure, worthlessness, loneliness, apathy, ego, racism, hopelessness, ii.

The key is to keep as much focus as you can on the Light. The darkness needs to be there for balance, but it can sit way in the back in the obstructed view seats. Fear doesn't have to be part of your daily life. And shouldn't be. Bad things happen all the time, every second of every day to someone in the World, but that doesn't mean we have to live in fear of it. It becomes crippling. We deal with bad situations as they come. They will make you sad and scared and fearful, but when those emotions come, if you have a strong Imagination of the light, the one that you cultivate every day, you will be able to push those dark Images away and see a future of light, of overcoming all evil/fear/hardships that life throws at you.

Imagine that you get a call from the police. Your brother/sister has been in a car accident. As you rush to the hospital, you are scared and fearful. For most of us, our Imagination takes us to the worst outcome. Paralyzed. Disfigured. Brain damage. Death. This is normal, but if you can also Imagine the light alongside it. It's a fender bender. A few broken bones. It will be hard at first, but they will make a full recovery. The stronger the light side of your Imagination, the easier it is to nullify or even ignore fear.

If we can ignore fear, we will reach out further, we will try new things, things we've been putting off, go places, meet people -- live! We will live a fuller life, devoid of fear. Even the small fears we have, like what are people are thinking of me? Do I look good? Am I doing a good job at work? Will this old yogurt give me food poisoning? You will go and do without thinking about or being hindered by fear. You can be your beautiful self. 

Imagine how much more you will do and get done if you don't have to ponder the fear and uncertainty of every choice and decision that you make. Sure, you should still be cautious, but there is a huge difference between fear and caution. Caution is being safe, taking into account things that may likely go wrong and taking measures to mitigate problems. Fear is mostly unfounded events. Like being murdered if you go for a walk at night. Fear makes you stay inside and watch TV instead of getting exercise, enjoying fresh air and talking with people you come across. See how much fear can negatively affect even a very small decision, small decisions that we make thousands of a day. You see how much fear plays into our everyday.

Imagine light. Imagine how much fun you will have. Imagine the experience you will have and the stories you can tell for the rest of your life. No one tells stories about watching TV. 

Get out and live! Don't let fear cripple you. Think on why certain things make you scared and fearful. See if they are caution or rational fear. If they aren't, dismiss the fear and plunge ahead. Imagining the light will get you there. The only thing you want to blow out of proportion is how much fun you will have!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Seven

You're amazing. We know that. Sure, you can occasionally be rude, dismissive, judgmental, petty, caddy, fussy, whiny, obsessive, manipulative, cold, bitchy, an asshole, lame, dumb, unpleasant, smelly, old, loud, annoying, obnoxious, stupid, moronic, unrealistic, vapid, vitriolic, bombastic, quiet, self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic, clumsy, hacky, copy cat, clingy, needy, co-dependent, angry, violent, racist, stereotyper, ugly, gross, greasy, unctuous, overbearing, hamfisted, pussy-footed, scared, frightened, cloying, mendacious, dick, pussy, fuckhead, fuckwad, prick, prat, dipshit, cock, bollocks, hermit, non-communicative, introvert, extrovert, slow, too fast, insufferable and a nincompoop. You're never these things for long. Fleeting bursts of obnoxious. Usually, you're a beautiful human being.

All other people are occasionally rude, dismissive, judgmental, petty, caddy, fussy, whiny, obsessive, manipulative, cold, bitchy, an asshole, lame, dumb, unpleasant, smelly, old, loud, annoying, obnoxious, stupid, moronic, unrealistic, vapid, vitriolic, bombastic, quiet, self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic, clumsy, hacky, copy cat, clingy, needy, co-dependent, angry, violent, racist, stereotyper, ugly, gross, greasy, unctuous, overbearing, hamfisted, pussy-footed, scared, frightened, cloying, mendacious, dick, pussy, fuckhead, fuckwad, prick, prat, dipshit, cock, bollocks, hermit, non-communicative, introvert, extrovert, slow, fast, insufferable and a nincompoop. Other people are never these things for long. Fleeting bursts of obnoxious. Usually, they're beautiful human beings.

If we can recognize this and forgive ourselves and others for their foibles and missteps, then we can know true empathy. If we can learn to see it all the time, then we won't get angry at ourselves or others, because they (and you) are doing the best that they can.

If we can do that, Imagine ourselves in all people and things, see you in them, then our World will immediately become more beautiful. Empathy needs a great Imagination. Practice Imagining. Practice always and like  magic, everything is you -- Amazing!!!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Six

I am a writer and a filmmaker. They are my first love and occupation. With this writing, I am leaning into philosophy. I think, therefore I am kinda shit. Love that, too. 

What I am not is a degreed scientist or physicist. I love both of those things too, but at present, I am a dilettante, working toward novice status and eventually I hope to be a knowledgable practitioner. Until then, I claim nothing of my writing other than they are my theories on the Universe and life. That is all. I am a curious human and I want to share my Imagination and ideas with whoever wants to read them (so far only me and maybe my Auntie Farah). 

I believe my theories to be more than fanciful ideas. I think they have merit and as my life goes on, I hope to be able to prove their worth through study and the scientific method and lotsa math. If you know any mathematicians, send them my way. Some of the greatest ideas in the World come from people on the outside, who aren't bound by years of structure and study of how things are. I'm fresh eyes. I'm an optimist. I'm a dreamer. In my eyes, that more than qualifies me. My wife probably thinks I'm edging towards weird and crazy and she may be right. History shows you gotta be kinda nuts to dynamite the foundation of common knowledge.

Let's keep exploring and talking the unknown and bring new knowledge and ideas to the Public!!!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Five

Imagine you are a particle. The You Particle is at present part of the skin on a humpback whale's dorsal fin (but any object in the Universe will do, pick something you like, that you would want to be a part of. Anything. Use your Imagination). If you decided you were getting bored of this humpback whale business and you decided to check some shit out.

You Particle blasts off, headed straight up like a tiny Superman, flying as fast as you can. you would pass and see a lot of things as you burn across our galaxy and into the darkness, seeing more galaxies, planetary bodies, brilliant clouds of gas that are as big as planets and stars for days. 

You Particle keeps flying until it hits the end of the known Universe and you can fly so fast, you outpace its growth. Clean out of the Universe You Particle goes, but as soon as you hit the end, you end up right back where you started. On the humpback whale's dorsal fin. Huh? Quantum Mechanics at work. A particle, the You Particle can be in two places at once.

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Four

Let us Imagine that all particles, even the smallest tiny ones (Higgs-Boson, Neutrino, Tachyon and so many others that we haven't found or perceived of yet) all have memory. They all know where they are now and where they have been, but like us, have no idea where they're going. If they have memory, then they also have Imagination and so at some level, conscious, subconscious or something else, they have a desire to be somewhere desirable in their future. With memory and Imagination, even a single particle, the smallest we can conceive of, has dreams.

Like people and everything else in the Universe, it has dark and light, the two forces wrestling for dominance in any Universal body, from macro to quantum. The particles memory keeps track of this ebb and flow and is drawn to other like particles. That is the Imagination/gravity of the particle at work. They don't have complete control and so there is plenty of randomness and particles hitting everything that comes in their way, even if that particle wanted to run into other light-dominated particles, often it runs into a dark body of particles and it will do its best to turn the others it runs afoul of, into light. Same goes for the dark particles. It's the back and forth, the yin and yang, the good and the bad, the ebb and flow, the highs and lows that make up life and the Universe. 

All of these particles are flying around in every direction in our Universe. Running in to each other, some times bouncing off, sometimes being absorbed by a large body of particles, sometimes being broken apart into smaller particles. They are always moving, always flowing and always becoming part of something else. 

One day a particle may be part of a camel, the next day it's sand, the next day it's more sand -- there's a lotta sand in deserts -- then two years from then it's a man in China, then ten years from then it's a fish in the Atlantic, then a 100 years from then it's rock in Amsterdam, then six days from then it's a spoon in Luxembourg and on and on and on into the Infinite.

Eventually, all particles become everyone and everything else and everything is connected. We are the Universe. We are Imagination. We are a camel. Everything we do, does effect everything else in the Universe. You matter very much. You have a hand in everything, whether you like it or not.

This does not mean you have to be an amalgam lump. Or that you have to do what others are doing, or believing or saying. Be yourself. That is very important. Your unique Imagination is what will continue to make the World great! Do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, or impede with someone else's self being. Keep yourself light. Don't let the darkness extinguish your beauty. Do that and you will help the Universe survive. Live a good life and you will make the entire Universe a better place for everyone, now and for Infinity. 

Particles are swirling and flowing and smashing into each other always, they become you and me and oceans and your friends and your enemies and then you again. Send as many particles back out into the Universe with as much light and Imagination as you can pack into them!