Why Imagination is important and how to use it?

Imagination

There are many things in life that we miss as we climb up the age ladder. Many among us wish to have remained children perpetually so we can escape experiencing the discomforts life forces on us. We humans love to enjoy every moment of our life in the way we want to. As adults, we experience life more as a bed of thorns than one filled with colourful soft petalled flowers. It surprises us how children experience life as a bed of roses all through their childhood. One of the main reasons why children are able to enjoy life at its best all the time is the way they see it. Children mostly live in an imaginary world that is filled with fantasies. They interact with characters which are usually overloaded with physical cuteness and protective mental attributes. For them, life means attractive colours, friendly characters and enjoyable moments. Their fertile imagination takes them to lands that are beyond human comprehension. Their boundless ability to imagine things makes life a happy phenomenon for them.

What exactly is imagination?

Imagination is basically the ability of human beings to explore ideas and concepts that are not present in their current life. Imagination can also be those things that human minds yearn to have in their possession. Imagination can many a times be running away to an unexplored land that is filled with everything that one longs to experience. Human minds have always been yearning for things that they desired for but could not get hold of. It is of two types, Synthetic and Creative. Synthetic Imagination is utilized by mixing life experiences and concepts that the individual has experienced. Creative Imagination is having a child like thinking and the ability to see something that doesn’t really exist at the moment.

As children we did not know the difference between being logical and illogical. This gave us mind boggling extent of freedom which we leveraged to our advantage. As adults, we tend to think logically to prove our intelligence or to remain one in the crowd so we do not get left out. This pressure chains our thinking levels imposing a huge control over our imagining abilities. We miss to understand that while logic makes us travel from one point to another in a sequential manner, imagination has no bounds. Imagination takes us anywhere in & around the globe , making the whole universe a canvas waiting to be painted in mesmerizing colours.

Why imagination is important?

Imagination is a very important aspect of life. We have distanced ourselves from this wonderful phenomenon blaming it on the rigors life forces on us. Every decision, every idea, every seed of opportunity begins with a thought in your mind. You and only you have the choice of recognizing and re-imagining it to let the opportunity or idea work in your favour. Without the faculty of imagination, we human beings are nothing more than work horses. Let us have a look at some of the reasons we attribute for having distanced ourselves from imagining in our day to day lives and ways to unchain ourselves from the same.

• Imagination is the door for our colourful future

All of us have a future. Irrespective of whether we are a pessimist or an optimist, all of us have a future. The main difference lies in the fact whether we are going to continue the present life as it is or change the same with our imagination. Pessimistic people get so immersed in their current life that the lack of imagination about their future forces them to continue living their current life in the future also. They continue to pay off their debts month on month, facing the same issues and troubles again and again every passing day. On the contrary, Optimistic people pull them out of the clutches of the present turmoil. They decide to live a better life and start working towards the same. This gets fuelled by their fertile imagination which makes them live the life they actually want to live.

• Being passionate is not being irresponsible

We humans have grown up witnessing our earlier generations live a life filled with concerns and problems. Our life experiences teach us the importance of being responsible. Our survival instincts are always on the alert mode. We strive hard to survive the challenges life continuously throws at us. Such a life steals the desire to be passionate about things, making survival our priority over the same. Due to the fear of failing in life we fail to imagine in life. Remember, being passionate about something and dedicating time to imagine about the success you could have is not a pointer to being irresponsible. Your passionate imagination can act as a source of fire for your better future making you more responsible in developing worthy habits and work ethic.

• Experience the magic

Allow a young child to sit in the bath tub and observe him staying away from his sight. You will be stunned to notice that he is sailing in a deep blue sea winning the many sea monsters that attack him. He will save his princess and enjoy the gentle sea breeze with her. Give him a dismantled cardboard box and you will see him launch a rocket in to the far away dark space. The scientist in him will make all the adjustments in an imaginary manner so the rocket reaches its target successfully. The imaginary joy that the child enjoys in these activities has no equivalence. This is what you have been missing as an adult. The child’s imagination changes his life moments into magical ones. He seems to have mastered the art of creating and enjoying this magic in all his activities. Is it mandatory to lose the child in you just because you have grown up? Is it not possible to bring back your childhood and enjoy the lighter side of life while still being responsible for your current life? Think and experience the magic.

• Imagination helps us to think out of the box

When is the last time we have done anything different in our life? We have been running the race every passing day to earn the much lauded money. We have been lamenting over the lack of money as we get near to most month-ends. We have continued to pay dues towards our responsibilities with the time wrapping up each chapter of our lives, repeating the experience every single day. Understand that growth is possible only when we evolve mentally. We who paid our bills manually till sometime back do the same through the Internet and Smart Phone Applications. The reason for this advancement is the creativity of ‘that someone’ who has imagined life from a futuristic angle. His imagination paved way to think about applications that would simplify the lives of millions of people around the globe. Thinking out of the box is a basic requisite to be creative in life. Being creative in life fosters boundless imagination which acts as the basic force to change our future towards positivity.

• Escape from the illusionary reality

Not all of us really enjoy the life we are currently living since life sucks many a times. Sexual harassments, crimes, violence, poverty, politics, child abuse and many such things disallow us to see life as a boon. However optimistic we are by nature, we tend to look at life as a negative space filled with vices. In the process, we just withdraw into our shell burying our creativity deep underneath inside us. This is how we lose our touch with imagination and tend to run a race that has no real value-adding goal to reach. Believe me, Imagination is an excellent tool that can help you escape from the gruesome reality. Elope with imagination escaping from the sickening reality whenever you can.

How to imagine anything?

Imagining in reality is a natural process. When the mind is allowed to relax, it tends to indulge in thoughts that are pleasant and soothing in nature. Imagining can be done in a conscious manner too. Let us have a look at some ways imagining can be done with complete attentiveness.

1. Daydream – Day dreaming is one of the best ways to enjoy all that you desire for. Day Dreaming is highly effective when it does not get disturbed with the modern electronic devices like mobile phones and computers. Dream about anything you want to in the time you have scheduled for this activity. Fixing a time for day dreaming is one of the easiest ways to get closer to your exciting future.
2. Choose new avenues – Pull yourself out of your monotonous routine and plug yourself in new activities. The new activity can even be joining cookery or painting classes. This exposure will give wings to your thought, paving way to a fertile and unfathomable imagination.
3. Observe the world around you – Imagination does not require a person to physically travel into the wilderness. Human mind by itself has the ability to travel through the Milky Way if given the appropriate opportunity. Just observe the happenings around you. The behaviour of people around you, the wind in your hair, the sound of your doorbell, the smell of that morning coffee, all these experiences will feed your imagination to the maximum extent possible opening a new world in front of your eyes.
4. Get involved in Art forms – Art forms are great sources for kindling your imagination and bringing out the best of your creativity. Get in to learning or creating some sort of art. Right from dancing to painting, the focussed manner in which you perform the same will take you deeper in to the same. This will make you travel to a new world which will unfold many magical things in your life.
5. Distance yourself from modern gadgets – Modern technological gadgets are the worst enemies of creativity and imagination. They occupy so much of human mind and its valuable time that life stagnates for a long period in the same state of affairs. Keep yourself away from electronic goodies like Mobile Phone, Tablets and Laptops whenever you can. Try to find 2 hours daily where you don't touch any digital products. Being with yourself, friends & family can provide the much needed relaxation to think creatively and enliven your imagination.

How can we use our imagination to construct or transmute our ideas into reality?

Mind is a very powerful tool. Being a strong platform for imagination, human mind acts as a tool to transform our ideas into reality. We can consciously make our imaginations come true by working on certain aspects of our thinking process.

• When you are bogged down by real time issues, you will not be able to focus in day dreaming or constructive imagination. Address your current problems by finding out creative solutions to the same.
• Imagine what you want to achieve as frequently as possible. The more you imagine about a thing, the clearer the picture becomes.
• Learn to imagine what you want to happen in reality. This technique is called Visualization. As you master this technique, you will feel positive towards achieving what you see in your imagination.
• Exhibit consistency in visualizing the same thoughts again and again till they become the reality.
• Ensure that your visualization gets stronger every passing day since even an iota of doubt about the possibility will push you away from your end goal.
• Take into account your positive attributes/work ethic and base your imagination on the same. This will make the present and the future complement each other in a mutually cohesive manner.
• Interact with your subconscious as frequently as possible. Such open interactions will emphasize your priorities to your subconscious which will automatically pull you towards your goal. Practice Transcendental meditation for the same.
• During the process of imagination or visualization, never get bogged down looking at the challenges that obstruct your way. Your faith in your dreams will help you surmount all challenges which might have appeared impossible at one point of time.
• Avoid getting afraid of crossing limits and doing things that you have not ventured out to so far. Remember, travelling that extra mile might require you to cross borders.
• Visualize again and again increasing your focus on the minute things that fill your mental picture. Feel it through all your senses so you know you are already there.
• Unleash the child in you freely without any inhibitions since your mental world is out of all criticisms. This will inject high level of confidence in you to imagine what you really want to achieve without any compromise or withdrawal.

Why imagination plays a vital role in our life?

The concept of imagination plays a crucial role in our day to day life. The reasons given below will substantiate why Imagination is an important aspect in every human being’s life.

• Imagination provides wings to humans who are otherwise chained for many reasons that are social, economical and cultural in nature
• Imagination unleashes the leadership qualities in every human being. These are the qualities that has been buried deep inside us due to the subservient attitude demanded by the society around us.
• Imagination teaches us to start everything keeping the end in the mind
• Imagination fosters creativity making fresh blood flow in our nerves every time we feel the originality in our actions.
• Imagination pulls people out of depression and other such kinds of psychological conditions since it removes the fear factor from people’s minds and changes our view of life.
• Imagination fosters positive attitude in people due to the freedom of expression experienced in the dream world.
• Imagination supports education since children learn to look at things differently right from a very young age.
• Imagination promotes socializing skills. For instance, children who play the role of a teacher realize the responsibility of that particular role. This creates the practice & habits in them to understand the various roles played by people in a typical real life scenario.
• Imagination is capable of eliminating fear since we do everything to win over our virtual enemy in the imaginary world. This tends to have an impact on our subconscious which learns to be in fearless mode during real time events.
• Imagination generates self assurance. By solving the problems in the imaginary world, we get surer about our own capabilities. This develops a sense of satisfaction and self respect within us. When we start respecting ourselves, we are assuring us of all the wonderful things we want to experience in life and the possibility that they all are achievable.

Imagination, thus, is associated with all the vital attributes required to live a successful life. Albert Einstein said “Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world”. When you have a fertile imagination you have the whole world in your hand. Remember, we are what we think about ourselves. Whatever we are capable of imagining, has the probability of becoming a reality one day. As they say, dreamers are those blessed souls who experience the dawn before the whole world realize it . Be a dreamer and allow your imagination to take you into worlds that are out of the purview of the common eyes. Let your imagination fly high in the sky while you remain its shadow on the earth.

God bless!!