The Importance of Imagination

Today I want to say a little more about "imagination." As I stated previously, much of what we experience, that cannot be explained by orthodox, consensus science is labeled, by ourselves and others as, "just our imagination," and ignored.

In the nonscientific world of the arts--music, visual arts, design, writing, etc.--having a good imagination is highly valued. Unfortunately, it is those subjects in school curriculums that have been the first to be jettisoned, under the pretext of budget constraints. While it is the case that schools have, regularly, experienced "budget constraints" in the past, as now, however, the arts have been generally been considered by mainstream education as "frills." In some school districts, however, parents have gone out of their way to provide extra funding so that a few of these subjects have been limping alongside the core curriculum. If parents want their children to pursue these activities, it really has come to be something that has to be arranged privately--music lessons is a prime example. Most often it is only actively pursued in higher educational institutions dedicated to the creative arts.

Those young people who have creative talents are among those who question the established consensus reality/Belief Systems. As they have something that they can produce to show the world that their time and efforts haven't been entirely wasted, they are generally given a provisional "pass" by those who promote "practical" education. That, and the fact that those who denigrate experiences that do not fit conventional reality, are consumers of the work of the creative people among us. It is, however, also true that these people frequently have a difficult time being accepted socially, probably because of the fact they generally do not participate in the "normal" pastimes of their peers.

When I was doing Art Therapy with adolescents in treatment facilities, I was impressed at how many of those who obviously had artistic talents had gained their skill in drawing in prisons. This goes to support my observation that those with creative abilities tend to be among the outcasts of conventional society.

We all have imaginations; it is one or our greatest, most useful gifts/tools at our disposal in all areas of our lives. Unfortunately, due to our conditioning to dismiss imagination in general, as well as our overall lack of awareness as to what the self is doing at any given time, it is generally an unconscious activity.

Another example of the use of imagination is the area of invention; being inventive. It is said that the American people are the most inventive in the world. One explanation for this is that it took people of imagination, as well as bravery, to leave their native lands, and venture out into the unknown. While this country does have a great number of inventors of both the practical and impractical kinds; we all have imaginations that can be used to make our lives easier.

In the past, children were "left to their own inventions," to entertain themselves. Such a non-regulated upbringing in areas of low population was extremely beneficial; with the advent of Television much of this creative play time was lost. Things have only gone downhill since then, to the present sorry state of affairs. Currently, most of our poor imaginations are having an even harder time of it, whether we are children or adults.

All this, however, is not addressing the underlying experiences people have, which have come to be labeled, "just your imagination." While acknowledging, as I have, the actuality and value of imagination, this is not what such individuals, children and adults, are experiencing. What is being experienced is fleeting glimpses into the unknown and unacknowledged nonphysical world which is intermingled with our physical world.

Something I have been saying lately, whenever I get an excuse, is that, "None of the physical sciences will begin to really understand and solve the actual nature of their sciences, until they acknowledge that everything physical arises out of the nonphysical." This subject has been called the "paranormal," and is generally relegated to the, so-called, pseudo-science of Parapsychology. This subject has come to be called by many individuals interested in such things, as "metaphysics." I define "metaphysics," however, as "everything behind and beyond the physical world." This definition takes in far more than what is meant by those who use the term, "metaphysics."

The reason any and all experiences of this underlying reality are denigrated and denied by the consensus Belief Systems, and conventional sciences Belief systems, is that to acknowledge the existence of metaphysical reality will require giving up the vast majority of the FACTS/beliefs underpinning those Systems. This is far more of a danger to them, and their reputations and livelihoods, than those scientists of the past, who propounded different explanations for discovered phenomenon. Those scientists who challenged the proponents of the current dominant theory, in whatever science, had their lives destroyed, by whatever means necessary, in order to remove them from the field of discussion.

So I leave you with that for today.

Shirley Gallup