Updated August 2021
Sitting watching kids at play in the park I was struck by their use of imagination. Imagination is the heart of who they are…and truth be told it’s the heart of who you are…who I am.
But for young children it’s a smooth easy flowing experience that’s as natural as breathing. One minute they’re pirates afloat on a stormy sea, the next super heroes, rescuing the world from it’s latest peril.
They float between the worlds of imagination and reality with ease. Us grownups, not so much.
Whatever happened? Wherever did all that creative imagination go? For some of us it was stifled, and ended up in a power suit and sent into the world of ‘serious business’. But mostly, at some point we simply stopped seeing ourselves as imaginative, creative beings.
In a longintudal study created by NASA they found that out of 1,600 children aged 4–5 years old, 89 percent scored at ‘creative genius’ levels. Another 5 years on this number dropped to 30 percent and after another 5 years it was down to 12 per cent.
As for us adults sadly only two percent scored at this level.
Ouch!
What’s up with that? How did that happen?
According to this study our education diminishes our creative imaginative capacity and then we become out of practice at using it.
Without the purposeful use of imagination everything is so much harder
William Blake called imagination “the very gateway of reality.”
And when it becomes stilted and a little lost to us for whatever reason, our progress also becomes stilted and slower and harder and our reality isn’t what we might like it to be.
Through the use of deliberate and controlled imagination we have the power to transform our life.
Life is made more difficult because all the old stuff we’ve imagined, that we no longer want, that no longer brings us a happy fulfilled life, is still there, like a magnet, attracting life.
That’s what imagination does. It attracts life experiences.
Nothing is impossible to your imagination, how can it be…it’s unlimited. Well unless it falls into the unnatural category. It couldn’t help you become six foot two if you’re five foot eight!
But for the most part, whatever your goals or desires are, if you harness your imagination to them you’ll be amazed at the heights you can reach. But it requires a disciplined imagination to succeed.
It works like this
You have an idea, a desire to be experienced. Something you want to be or to have.
You pay attention to this idea and imagine what it would feel like to experience it.
It isn’t delivered to you as you sit in your chair imagining it!
Sorry.
What does happen is that you will find yourself taking different actions than the ones you’ve taken before. This is because you are in a new state of consciousness.
And it’s that new state that stirs you into new and positive action towards your desires.
Imagine from the outcome
We must imagine ourselves right into the experience we desire.
Imagination is the golden key that unlocks the door to prosperity, success, love, in fact everything our heart’s desire.
If we want a better attitude we can imagine we have one. If we want to be more productive we can imagine that we are.
If we want to be better organized ~ hmmm this one is for me ~ we can imagine we are.
We can experience our heart’s desire through the use of our imagination.
If you want a new and different life the first thing to be done is to live it in imagination. Not how it happened, but right at the end of the experience.
As you use your imagination, make sure that you are actually performing the action, hearing the words, touching the object, or smelling the fragrance, whatever is natural for your desired experience.
Use as many senses as feel normal.
It’s much more than seeing something with your mind’s eye, like a daydream.
You must enter the dream as if you were actually there, seeing it as something happening right now.
Whether it be for a new home, successful career, greater health, financial freedom, your last and best romance — any and all of these desires can be lived in as though they were yours right now.
Inside every adult there’s still a child that lingers. We’re happiness merchants — giving people the opportunity to dream like children. – Guy Laliberte.
Imagination, the activator of reality
Your imagination is one of the greatest if not the greatest activator of your ability to manifest a brilliant life.
And once you begin to operate it purposefully and deliberately, it won’t be long until you experience different conditions and circumstances in your life.
In the world of our senses, we see what we have to see; in the world of our imagination, we can see what we want to see.
This is the secret to tapping into your creative self. First desiring, then imagining, then believing or feeling that your desires have been realized.
To be imaginative…
We must be like those seven year olds and believe we are. To be creative, we must believe that’s who we are. Everything we currently are is because we believe it to be true. Doesn’t have to be true, we just have to believe it. I love imagination it’s so full of…anything I want. Sadly mine has some stuff in it that I really don’t want anymore. Does yours?
Imagination creates reality. ~ Richard Wagner
Picasso said:
Everything you can imagine is real.
Sounds to me as if the man knew a little something about creative imagination. He knew that a picture, sustained in our imagination would have to manifest in our outer physical world. That’s what made him Picasso.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle.
xoxo
18 Comments
Elle,
I really needed this today as I’m trying to be creative! I’m also working on a post about 5 year olds. Can I reference you on that post? Love your quotes, too!!
Thanks!
xoxo
Betsy
Go right ahead Betsy. Can’t wait to read your post, I always love to read your wise words. 🙂
This is so true. Our subconscious minds don’t know what to go after without a vision. It’s up to our conscious minds to create the vision we want and plant it in our subconscious. If we don’t do this consciously, our subconscious mind grabs onto the old visions and patterns that are already there and keeps delivering what we already have.
I love watching how creative and imaginative my little kids can get!
Absolutely Paige. You know how this stuff works in spades. 🙂
Imagination is always a key ingredient to full living…thanks Elle
be good to yourself
David
I like that David, a key ingredient to full living. Yes, and yes again. 🙂
Hi Elle,
Well you are exactly right. And since everything is ending over here, and there is many a good dream to be dreamt, I’d better get to it, hadn’t I?
Imagination is the most powerful substance in this world (and probably many others as well). Without it, nothing was made that was not made – to paraphrase the “Good Book”.
Another excellent article, thank you !
Write on, Elle !
Love your take on it Joseph…as always. 🙂
As far as where adults lose their imagination, I think it can be strongly attributed to our education system. Sir Ken Robinson covers the topic pretty well. Our education system is left brain designed and creates left brain thinking. With all our education through at least 21, we have pretty much unschooled ourselves of the natural creativity we have.
I read that too Wendy and find it really great that as we become aware that our imagination is still available to us, we can tap back into what is at the heart of us. Love this conversation. 🙂
that’s so right
sometimes i get solutions to tough problems after i spend some time alone visualizing the problem
Thanks for contributing to the conversation Farouk, lovely to have you stop by. It’s so true how when we let go of how or what we need to do, everything begins to flow so much more easily. More on that in a post coming soon!
Elle….As always, such a thoughtful and ‘common sense’ post…which is all too common. I just finished reading Anita Moorjani’s book on her near death experience and how learning to surrender was what brought her back to this life….and living a rich, creative, conscious, and non-fearful existence.
xxoo-Fran
I use visualization almost every day. As you say, it’s an easy way to use our imagination to help us. Our life follows our mind and if we take control of and guide our mind, life gets much better. Thank you for the reminder and helpful info.
I love that phrase Debbie, our life follows our mind. It’s so true. Glad you enjoyed the article.
Elle, I love this line, “We must imagine ourselves right into the experience we desire.” I do think visualization can help. I’ve been using it more lately. It is unfortunate that we lose our imagination and creativity as we grow older. There is nothing better than the open curiosity and imagination of a child.
Hi Cathy – I’m glad you enjoyed the article. And you are so right, it is unfortunate we lose our imagination and creativity as we grow older, but it’s good to know we can begin to retrieve it.