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 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

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 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 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!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty Three

You only have to know one thing. One absolute truth. It is the seed, the seed that will grow into your love and beauty and happiness and knowledge and experience -- I could go on 'and-ing' forever, because that seed will make everything better. You have to know for sure, it must be unshakeable, a truth that is never lost, no matter how many naysayers and assholes and rules say 'no'. You must hang on to this 'SEED OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH'. Forever.

Everyone has an Imagination. No one can see or steal or corrupt it in any way. It is safe and sound. It is your seed and it is impossible to steal or destroy (even after you're dead and gone). Your Imagination is powerful and allows you to do anything you want. Whatever you can Imagine, you can make happen. That's it!

Albert Einstein said 'Imagination is more important than knowledge.' I agree, but I would go further. 'Imagination is more important than everything.' it is where everything lives and grows. It is love, feelings, fun, laughter, music--I'm and-ing again. So, with that said...

The only truth you absolutely need in life is that YOU/YOUR IMAGINATION allows you to do anything!!! Anything!!! So fucking cool! That is your Seed. Help it grow and you can make a beautiful World for yourself!!! Start with changing your World and when your ready, you will know how to help the rest of the World.

Imagine every day. Imagine yourself swallowing a whole watermelon and spitting the seeds out like a hose. Imagine bouncing up and down a power line. Imagine running and jumping over a mountain and having a chat with a crow on the way down. Imagine being happy every day. Imagine doing what you love for money. Imagine floating in a blue lakeland knowing that your future is love and beauty and happiness. Imagine eating a ice cream cone ten feet tall, that never melts. Imagine everything and your body will follow.

Philosophy of Imagination*Nineteen

I've talked a lot about dreams, the dreams of the future, the ones that we chase in our conscious minds. Where we want to go and be and do. 

But what about the other side of dreams? The ones from the subconscious (I believe we use our subconscious mind while we are awake, to put us in places we are scared to take ourselves) that happen while we sleep. What is their source? Why are they so fractured and weird? Why does the memory of them disappear so quickly?

Sleep dreams come in two flavors -- in the most macro of senses -- because dream flavors are really infinite, but for the sake of time and sanity, we'll stick with the main two. Normal and Scary (known by their more popular name, nightmares -- boo!). At their core, they are the same. A sleep dream is a dream is a dream, regardless of the content.

They can make you scream and tense up and sweat. They can make you grind your teeth and writhe and cum. They can make you talk and cry and pee. That's intense shit. What's happening? If the name of the blog and every other post may have tipped you, I believe it's all Imagination. Since that's where almost everything springs from. 

We all think weird shit. Gross shit. Dark shit. Shit that we don't want to admit to anyone, including ourselves. Sometimes the thoughts slip in to our conscious mind and most of us are quick to push them away and let them fall into our subconscious. Our brains are big and complex, but they can't hold Infinity all at once. We can Imagine Infinitely, but not all at once. Our brains would explode or implode or evaporate. It's too much and our brains are too smart to do that to us.

Therefore, as we Imagine through our day, both consciously and subconsciously, our minds begin to fill up with our Imaginative thoughts and ideas. It becomes heavy and sloppy, untenable for travel and woolgathering. We must sleep.

When we sleep, we dream. I believe those dreams are an 'Imagination dump'. We pull up our brain to the dreamfill and dump out the thoughts ideas that didn't make the cut. The ones that had a lazy eye, or a club foot, or were plain dumb. Let's not forget the creepy thoughts that we have, the kind that thankfully 99.9999% of us won't act upon. That shit gets the boot in the ass, too (nightmares or scary dreams). It rolls and tumbles into the dreamfill, never to return.

Sometimes our brain fucks up, dumps an idea or thought that is good. Those are those poignant dreams -- like a vision -- what was maybe a half conscious idea, placed in a dream, it fully forms and the importance of it becomes very apparent -- vision!

Our Imagination is always working, but we cannot hang on to everything (most of us anyway). Hence, we dream so we can dump. Rid ourselves of the junk. Spring cleaning for the mind. If we didn't, we'd get too cluttered in there. We would get crushed by a pile of bad TV shows, buried under crap advice from friends and family, lost in dark thoughts that will eat us from the inside out once we are incapable of fighting them off. It would get ugly*.

Pay attention to those dreams that stick. It may just be some sick, weirdo shit, but it may be one of the best ideas/dreams/thoughts that you've ever had. Something worth jumping into that filthy, unctuous, stinky Imagination dump and resurrecting.

Imagine. Dream. Imagine dump. Repeat.

*You know when you're really tired, you begin to get punchy. You begin to lose touch with reality, what is real and what is not. You see things, hear things, feel things that aren't there. You laugh your ass of at dumb shit. That's your mind and Imagination telling you to sleep. You're mind is being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the ideas and thoughts your Imagination is producing. It's got to dump. I would oblige**.

**But not always. Some of the greatest thoughts and ideas I've had have been while I was punchy. Standing on the edge of dreams and reality. Don't do it a lot, you could slip into madness, but occasionally, get punchy and your Imagination will show you some dope shit!

Philosophy of Imagination*Seventeen

I was reading a philosophy article that was making the argument for 'God'. He made some interesting points, but the foundation of his argument is the same one that religious people make again and again. Who created the Universe? There has to be a 'God', because someone created the Universe, or the matter that grew into the Universe. But the same argument can be made about 'God'.

If 'God created the Universe, who created God? It's a circular argument, that like all great philosophical discussions has no answer. Yet. 

My goal is to not impugn on anyone's beliefs, or morals or values or interests. Let people do anything they want, is what I believe, as long as they're not hurting anyone else, physically or emotionally. That's the only time I'll stand up and say 'hold the fuck on'. If people believe in God, great, believe in God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost. Or Muhammed. Or Ganesh. Or math and science. Or Mother Earth. Or Zeus. Vindictive creators are particularly interesting. Believe what you want and leave others to do the same. Where we run into problems is when we admonish and vilify those who believe differently from ourselves. If someone wants to believe 'flying spaghetti' (a real religion) to be the 'god', then let them. How is that hurting you? Let people be. 

I believe Imagination is the Creator. That it can exist with your other beliefs and ideas. Your Imagination is what allows you to believe in a 'God' of your choosing. Imagination allows you to close your eyes and see that 'God' if you want. Your Imagination knows right and wrong and helps you create your morals and values -- perhaps with the aid of your 'God'. And you live your life by these morals and values, or by a lack of them. Do what you want (as long as you're not hurting anyone).

We can all believe in Imagination. If I say 'star chasing cowboy pickle', something pops in to your head, an image. And everyone's image is different. 7.5 billion different images. So 7.5 billion different images of 'God'.

We all have our own 'God'. Created by our unique Imaginations. Let people be*.

*Unless they're hurting someone or something.

Philosophy of Imagination*Sixteen

In the great movie from 1984, NEVERENDING STORY, Atreju and Falkor go on a quest to save Fantasia. Sounds awesome, right? Because it is! (Although my wife would disagree -- sometimes if you don't see a certain type of movie when you were a kid and there is no nostalgia attached or patience for corniness and bad CGI, no matter how beloved, you'll think it's shit. Mine is HOOK. Sorry Hook fans, I still love you.)

We come to find that it's not a quest to save Fantasia, rather a quest to capture the Imagination of a kid. When the kid realizes that it's him that will save everything, all he needs is that seed of an idea, one particle of light to drop into his own Imagination and he can recreate Fantasia and make it even better than before. One kid's mind can make infinite Worlds. Sounds like that kid might be God? Spoiler, he is not God. He's is just a kid, but armed with his Imagination, he can do anything a God can (we are told that God has all these powers from religions and other sources, Bible, Book of Mormon, etc, but we're still waiting on some actual scientific proof -- I'm sure they'll let us know when they find it -- we'll wait.) If all he needs is an Imagination to have god-like powers, does that make us all gods? No. We shouldn't use the word god, because it implies something to be worshipped. We don't want to worship anyone. That implies that a God is more important or better than everyone else, which is not true. We are all the same. All equal. We all have Imaginations that give us great power, but we must believe in it and ourselves to unleash it. To spread goodness in our own way across the Universe. To express ourselves, to create our Fantasia for the rest of the Universe to enjoy.

It is the Imaginations quest for knowledge, otherwise known as Curiosity. This is the path of our evolution. To seek, to learn, to create a better understanding of the Universe and all the people and things in it. Without that Imagination Quest, we as a species would rot and wither away. First our minds and then our physical bodies. Without the Imaginations Quest/curiosity for knowledge and learning life would be shit. A big pile of shit. Even if you had billions of dollars, could buy anyone or anything that you wanted, if you got a blow job/cunnilingus from a different hot girl/guy every day, if you ate the finest foods for breakfast lunch and dinner, lived in a palace, could drink the day away and do nothing but have unalloyed pleasure day in and day out, if you were without curiosity and new knowledge, you would soon become miserable! Guaranteed.

We need our Imagination Quest to go on living. To be happy and fulfilled. To make a better World for the Imaginations (not gods) that will come after us. You must Quest for Imagination-Knowledge-Happiness, they have to be chased down and caught with great difficulty and hard work.

Vacuos pursuits, greed, idleness and pain are slugs. They chase you and fall into your arms. They have to be asked to leave and when they become belligerent you have to throw them out. Why do we revere what is so easy to attain? Questing for money and stuff. We spend most of our lives in these pursuits. Fuck that quest.

We're gonna be a tribe called Imagination Quest! Showing ourselves and others the beauty that lies on the Quest within!!!

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*Thirteen

I got looking back at my posts so far. I sound like I've never had a problem in the World. That my life has been sunshine, popsicles and rainbows. Like everyone else on this planet, that can't be further from the truth. Happiness is something that has to be worked at and I have worked hard to get happy. Although the gush of good vibes and positivity can seem cloying and obnoxious in abundance, I will make no apologies of it. I am not always happy. Sometimes I'm fucking pissed and sad and lost. My work to make happiness the largest part of my 'Feelings Pie' is what I'm celebrating. Imagination has got me here. No apologies.

Why do we want to be happy? Why is that the feeling that we're all chasing? How do we stay happy? These are questions that we need to answer for ourselves, I'm only hoping to spur thought, to awaken the conscious to think about such things. 

Everyone should be free to do whatever they want -- *as long as it's not hurting anyone else. ANYONE ELSE. The only rule, The Golden Rule. However, if you have never taken a deep dive into yourself and asked yourself a few of the existential questions, you should try it. A deep dive. Deep. A dive where shit starts to get scary and dark, but you don't turn back. I promise, as dark as it may seem, if you keep on diving, it will begin to get light again. More light than you've ever seen. It's beautiful -- there goes my inexhaustible happiness rearing it's smiling head. No apologies.

I hate rules. More than anything. I came up with the three. The only three that I follow. You are free to adopt them, hate them, be ambivalent toward them. That's up to you. I will never stand in the way of what you want to do and neither should anyone else (*as long as you're not hurting anyone). I wanted to share, though. They're pretty awesome.

1. Be good to everyone and everything.       

2. Always be in the now with an eye on the future.

3. Imagine always! Have fun! Create!

That last one kind of sounds like three, but I assure you, Imagination begets fun, which begets creativity. If you've got one you think I've missed, I'd love to hear it and why you think it's important?

Give it a shot. Apply these to all that you do. Be conscious. Dive deep. Unapologetic happiness may start to feel less cloying and obnoxious. Love you all!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twelve

Imagination creates reality.

What was the last thing you Imagined that became reality? How often do you do this? Consciously? Unconsciously? What are the things you Imagine most? 

Imagination happens without us even knowing. We will often subconsciously put ourselves into situations that will help us manifest our Imagination and to help our conscious mind eliminate impediments to creating the reality we desire. Do your best to recognize when you arrive in these situations , so you can take full advantage. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for your subconscious to help you out again and who knows how long that will take. Be in charge of the journey, be in touch with your Imagination and what you want will present itself faster and more often. No thumb twiddling, waiting for it to come.

If you work enough on your Imagination, you will begin to know yourself. As its strength builds, your Imagination starts to break the barrier between the conscious and subconscious mind. Knowing yourself, being truly honest with yourself and loving yourself (all functions of Imagination) will turn the barrier to dust and you will be free. Unencumbered by fear and hate and darkness.

You become the brightest Light. Then you can help others find their Light. And on and on and on, until the World has to squint it's so bright.