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*Twenty Two

When we are kids, even too young to talk, we begin to express ourselves with art. We draw. We color. We paint. We make crafts. We cut shapes. We make music with pans and sticks. We build with blocks and legos. We use anything at the disposal of our little hands to let the World (but mostly our parents) know what we are all about. Besides crying, it is our first form of communication. Not only does it help us communicate, we also use it to learn about what we don't understand. Expression in its most simple form. These are our Imaginations at work! And as kids, our Imaginations are humming.

Then we begin to grow up. We watch more TV/films/internet videos, play video games and we use our Imaginations less and less. The art continues through grade school, but when we get to junior high, it's an elective. By the time we get to high school, only about 35% of kids are taking any type of artistic class, which includes art, wood shop, playing an instrument, singing in the choir and writing for the school paper. After high school, it drops to less than 10%. Funding for these endeavors is always the first to go. Most don't give a shit that they're taking away one of our most important assets for communication.

Studies have shown that when Imagination and creativity is used often in schools and classrooms, everything gets better. Literally everything! Grades in all subjects. Test scores in all subjects. Attendance. Attention. Behavior. Everything! Art should be the last to go. It's salt! It makes everything better! You would never make food without salt. Everything has salt in it. Even the sweets.

Quitting Imaginative/creative/artistic endeavors is debilitating for everyone. It extends to everything beyond school, too. When we are artistic, everything in life gets better. It's exercising our Imaginations. It's the salt. The elixir for all that ails us, but we use it so infrequently. Most often, we let others entertain us with their Imaginations, which is important, too, but we'll never recognize the importance of it until we do it ourselves. We're losing one of the most important aspects of communication, a highway into the individual Imagination, the greatest destination one can visit.

You wouldn't sew your mouth shut or paint your eyeballs black or stuff your ears with cotton, but that's what we're doing when we don't do anything artistic. We're ignoring one of our senses. The salt! The most sophisticated and complex of all the senses. Where all the other senses come to be made sense of. 

Use your Imagination! Write! Draw! Paint! Play music! Write music! Make films! Sculpt! Cook!(with salt). One of our first and most important forms of communication is being forgotten. Go back down the road to where you through it out, dust it off and make it new again. We're all artists. We just have to do art. It will make everything better!

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty One

Why do we live in cities? Why do we pack and stack ourselves into small parcels of land that are dirty and polluted? Why do we pay exorbitant rents to live like a caged animal? There is plenty of land and opportunity other places. Look at fucking Montana! Wide open. I think they may still be giving land away free there. Sure, there is a lot more to do in New York City or Chicago or Boston. A lot more to see, but you can always travel there and see and do in chunks. Then return home to your beautiful, unadulterated, clean land, where the only thing crowding you is the trees. Why do millions stay crammed in the vacuum of the metropolis?

The better your Imagination you have, the more you use it to create beauty and art, the more gravity you will create. When you pack all those Imaginative, creative, charismatic people into a geographically small place, then the place will also have more gravity. As the gravity of a city grows, it pulls in more Imaginative/creative people, until you have a place filled with culture and beauty the these amazing people have created. And more come to bask. 

Sure there are many other factors. People are born there. A lot of them. Their families are there, so they stick around. A lot of people means a lot of jobs, so you have opportunity (despite popular belief, job pay is not commiserate with the cost of living for most professions, because there is a glut of talented workforce, drawn in by the Imagination gravity). There are a lot of things to do (but no one but the very rich (or kids of the very rich) move somewhere based solely on the fact that there's lots of things to do). It's cool to say you live in a big city, so it's a status symbol, mostly for people stuck back in hometowns across the country.

Cities are where things are happening, but most of this is predicated on art and culture and Imagination. It's where the Collective Imagination is thickest and you can feel the ideas swirling and dancing through the air if stop to feel them. But since there is so much other shit going on, people often get lost or overwhelmed or begin to feel inferior, as they were the only interesting creative outsider weirdo in their town and these cities are filled with people much like them from all over the World. Competition is high. If you can manage to not get sidetracked by drugs, alcohol and beautiful people, as well as not getting squished by the pressure or lack of money (which happens to most people first--and then they are ejected back him or to seedier livelihoods or they find themselves living on Long Island selling carpet). 

Cities are some of the most Imaginative places in the Universe. They are great places to be for the Imagineer, but the distractions are immense. Stay focused, tap into the Collective Imagination that is everywhere, pluck it from the sky and carve a place for yourself in the zeitgeist. Otherwise, you may as well move to Montana.

Philosophy of Imagination*Twenty

We spend a lot of time, most of our time, thinking about what other people are Imagining about us. How we dress. How we look. What job we have. Who are friends are. Where we live. What movies we like. There are no shortage of opinions out there. You could probably call the internet 'Opinion' instead and it would make more logical sense. All this that I'm writing is my opinion on life. It's good in small doses, but almost none of us consume it in small doses. We grow up with social norms that we follow. Our parents have ideas on how we should look, act and behave. Our friends, too. And then we get roped into it, almost from the time we're able to understand the World around us.

All of us have a beautiful, infinite Imagination. One of the only things that's hard for us to imagine is what other people are thinking and Imagining. We can't see their Imagination and never will (we try and give people the best representation through art and action). So why do we spend most of our lives trying to figure it out, when we have our own brilliant Imagination that is aching to be explored. Explore it!

Your reality and how you view the World is different from everyone else's. So quit following their rules and follow your own. Learn about you. Think about you. Be you. And this is not a conceit or egotistical. It doesn't mean you stop helping people or think yourself to be better than those around you. It is simply taking the time to get to know yourself. You'll never understand a fucking thing until you really know and love yourself. Until you set others reality aside and live yours, with no apologies.

I know you're amazing and I've never met you. Now it's your turn to find your own reality and see the amazing light inside of yourself!

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*Eighteen

Where's happy?

Hopefully all of them. Throw a rock and you'll hit happy. Have you ever been to an amazing concert? The band is playing the best song they've ever written, an energy and vitality like it was the first time they played it and crowd is going apeshit like it's the first time they've heard this musical genius!

What is that special feeling that everyone (except maybe the drunk people barfing in the port-potties) is experiencing? That euphoric happiness that is so strong, if a bomb was dropped on top of all of you, everyone would be fine with it. What is that connectedness that makes you lock eyes with a total sweaty stranger three rows down, while you dance and sing the lyrics to each other? Invisible, but palpable. Free, but invaluable. Strong, but fleeting. What makes this happen?

This can be said of all events where groups of people come together to share a joyous experience. Sports, movies, parades. It can also evaporate quickly and leave sad, anxious, angry feelings if something goes wrong. Like when your football team is winning big and the other team slowly comes back and that moment when they take the lead, its as if everyone was struck with depression and insecurities. They always use the term 'the air got sucked out of the stadium'. What is that? What sucks the collective exuberance out of a crowd? 

Imagination. Our Collective Imagination gets condensed, concentrated when we're all together, sharing an experience. Our Imaginations are working together toward a common idea -- how awesome this concert/game is going to continue to be. The best fucking concert ever! That's what the Collective Imagination is doing and it's so powerful, it can suck in everyone. 

If something goes wrong, someone gets hurt, the music stops, your team goes down late in the game, the same Collective Imagination that created the happiness hysteria, turns to Imagining the worst. The ripples encompassing everyone. Is the person gonna die? That might have been the last note my favorite band ever plays? Our season is over.

Overwhelmingly these events stay positive, fueling our happiness and love for each other without a word being spoken. How can we create more events and coming together moments where we tap into the beauty and power of our Collective Imagination? We should have huge coming togethers for no other reason than coming together.

For love alone.

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*Fourteen

What's the greatest thing you've ever Imagined?

Mine looks pretty much like this -- but inside which you can't see is an awesome Lego set, huge bag of weed and my wife in a bikini! Oh! And that sunset stays like that for hours.

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.

Philosophy of Imagination*Eleven

Imagine every day.

Dream every day.

Love everyone every day.

Give every day.

Be you every day.

Imagine how good that will be every day.

Philosophy of Imagination*Ten

Today is V-E Day! Hooray! One of the greatest days in the history of our World. The day before, we were engaged in the biggest war the World has ever seen. People were dying everywhere. The families of soldiers were scared and fearful that their sons and husbands would never come home. Europe was drudging through the idea that their future lay under the thumb of Nazi rule.

Then the next day, that was all wiped away! Everyone could Imagine a big bright beautiful future! Even for Germany and the Nazis. All of that positivity and hope and dreams unleashed upon the Earth by millions of people at once. It had to have been palpable, the song of the collective Imagination rising up and making a rainbow that shown across the whole planet. I bet V-E Day set the record for most fucking in one day?

Propaganda can be a very effective tool in wartime. It can tap in to the darkness of the Imagination and foster feelings of dread and hopelessness. The psychological damage can be much more severe than the physical one. If that hopelessness spurred on by negative propaganda permeates a city or town or country, often times there is no coming back. 

It's best not to listen at all and only see the life in front of you. Keep your spirits up and hope alive for a brighter tomorrow. That spirit is what kept the Allies going. Despite overwhelming odds, they could still envision a great future with their collective Imagination. They were able to defeat an enemy that was unbeatable, because they believed they could do it and they didn't listen to the voices telling them that they were finished.

Recently I was feeling very anxious, angry and scared about our current political climate. Every day there was something in the news that reignited the fire that I had put out the day before. I got so caught up in the propaganda, I was having trouble focusing on anything else. So I quit the news. I haven't read or watched any news in almost two months and I feel amazing! My mind and Imagination are working better than ever! And it allows me to Imagine my World, how I truly see it, not how the news media and advertisers want me to see it. 

We need to think more for ourselves. I didn't realize how much power the media has until I turned them off. It is powerful! They are creating drama and your Imagination (usually the dark side of it) blows it even further out of proportion. We have to think for ourselves. Take back full control of our Imaginations and let it focus on making our lives happier and more fulfilling.

You're Imagination is your own. Make sure you're piloting it.

Philosophy of Imagination*Nine

When life was a single cell and even as it became multicellular, if we believe that Imagination always existed, I posit that it had a limited view and thus, the ability to use it. Those simple organisms did not have the power to conceive of infinite Imagination. Their view was like looking at the World and Universe through a super tiny straw. Millions of times smaller than looking through a hollow human hair. Straight ahead.

Organisms continued to evolve over millions of years. As they became more complex, they developed brains and senses that perceive the World around them better and better and their view of Imagination grew, until they could see all of it. Humans are able to perceive 360 degrees--the Infinite Imagination.

We can perceive and infer so much more about the World with our highly evolved brains. We use Imagination to create things that do not exist. With each new idea, invention, art that comes into existence, it enters the Public/Collective Conscious. That knowledge/art/invention has made the entire human race smarter. Someone figured out how to make a calculator and now we can all use it. We can take it apart and see how it works. We can figure out ways to improve the design or use it to make a completely new idea. As people continue to learn, we all get smarter and are continuing to evolve. What will we learn to perceive next? A World beyond ours? A World on top of ours? A 4th dimension where we can communicate in pictures without speaking?

I can't wait to find out! Growing and nurturing everyone's Imaginations will help us get there faster, but more importantly, I believe it will show us what is truly important. Not the physical stuff and money that we so desire and revere, but our within. People and happiness.

Every time you have a new idea or read a book or paint a picture, you are making the whole World a better place to be! Share it all!

Imagination will show us the way ahead, so exercise your Imagination every day! We will make the World smarter, more empathetic and loving place for everyone!

Philosophy of Imagination*Eight

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Battle of Puebla, when Napoleon's enormous army tried to invade and were pushed back and defeated by a much smaller, mostly untrained peasant force that was defending their own land and homes. The French had their lives on the line, but the Mexicans had their lives and the lives of their children and their children's children and so on and so on. Not to mention the future of their culture and traditions. Imagining the decimation of their future existence gave these humble people the power to destroy an army that had them outmatched in every capacity, save the size of their Imagination and will. That's fucking beautiful!

Imagination can be the darkness and the light. Most often, the light is where we want to reside, positive Imagination and vision drives us to better place, but Imagining a dark, hateful future can help people see a World in which they are unwilling to live and endure. Imagining that hell, juxtaposed with the bright, happy future that they also Imagined for themselves, gave them the will and the power to win.

Imagining and working and fighting together (like the evolving cyanobacteria) to see and create a better future for all. I'm sure the French were pretty fucking happy to be heading back to their families on the fleeing boats.

You don't need destruction for growth and new life. You don't send out armies to take what you want. You ask people to help. And then you ask them what you can do to help them. That's how the cyanobacteria became a multicellular organism, by working as a collective. As one. And if we ever hope to mature and evolve into something better than we are, then we must do the same.

Cowards create wars and destruction. Heroes end them. Like the amazing people of Puebla!

Philosophy of Imagination*Seven

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

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

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

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

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

Philosophy of Imagination*Six

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

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

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

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

Philosophy of Imagination*Five

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

Why not Imagination? 

Philosophy of Imagination *Four

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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