The Spiritual Practice of Imagination

Have you ever found yourself thinking about something that has not been in your mind for years?  Maybe it was a moment from your childhood or the face of a friend you haven’t seen in a long time.  Maybe it was a moment of joy or a moment of terror.  Maybe it was a simple moment from an ordinary day.

When you realize this memory is there, it is not unusual for the next thought to be, “Well, why am I thinking about that?  Where did that come from?”  If you stay with those questions long enough and try to answer them, guess what happens?  The memory fades or goes away.  You are no longer experiencing the memory; you are experiencing thoughts about it.

But what would it be like to stay with and enter into the memory?  To go back to that time and place and person and be there for a while?  More than just recalling an event from the past, you are, as much as you can, putting yourself back in that moment.  What would you experience?  What would you bring back with you into your life right now?

This response to an uninvited memory from the past is an example of using your imagination. 

Clearly, you are here in the present moment, but you have this ability to take this self into this moment from the past.  This self can relive and be present again to this moment.  In fact, this self can change the order of these past events.  It can alter these events; it can even create new events that didn’t happen.  And with all that the imagination is doing to this moment from the past, this self can be touched and changed as it returns to the present moment.

Imagination is the ability to form mental images of things that are not present to the senses or not considered to be real.  The imagination is something that is so much a part of us that we do not realize just how amazing it is.

It is not just amazing; it is essential.  Children learn and grow and develop with their imaginations.  In fact, the name we give to this developmental task is imaginative play.  We don’t teach children how to do everything they do in the world.  We don’t say to a child: Ok, this is a toy truck.  Now get down on the floor and play with it.  They just do it and can do it for hours.  And while you don’t know what they are, you can tell they are creating scenarios that we haven’t taught them.  

Imagination allows children to try on different roles.  With imagination, they can be a momma or a daddy.  They can be a cowboy riding on a broomstick horse, or they could host an elaborate tea party.  Their imaginations allow them to create elaborate stories about these different roles.  In many ways, we develop our identity and sense of self with our imagination.

But how is imagination a spiritual practice?  Quite simply, we are in a relationship with an imaginative God. 

In the Genesis stories of creation, before God spoke creation into existence, God imagined the creation that was about to come to life.  God was not a technician putting something together.  God looked at the dirt of the earth.  What could be more plain and boring than dirt?  But if we are to believe all this talk of “image of God,” from this dirt, God created a self-portrait…humankind in all their wonder and glory.

Imagination as a spiritual practice involves looking, really looking at the world through God’s eyes.  Looking at the dirt, the trees, the bridges, the bodies of others through the eyes of the Great Imaginer.  And then, choosing our actions and behaviors from that perspective.

Sadly, the power of imagination can give way to the power of reason and rationalism.  Logic and analytical thought can become the primary way that we obtain truth and make sense of the world. Imagination is set aside as something we can indulge in when we aren’t busy with figuring out and solving the problems of life.

It is easy for this to happen in our spiritual journey as well.  The experience of God’s presence in our lives can give way to our beliefs and ideas and doctrines about God.  The wonder of everyday life can give way to living on autopilot, going through the motions of life.

We need some ways to reintroduce the practice of imagination in our lives.  Here are just a few ideas.

What if we join the White Queen from Alice in Wonderland and “believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” 

Pick a day and notice how many times you say or think things like this: I don’t think so.  Probably not.  No way.  It can’t be done.  I doubt it.  That’s not possible.  What are you responding to when you say these words?  Is it an idea or belief or stance shared by another?  Or perhaps it came from inside of you.  Did the “no way” come quickly, almost without thinking? 

Stop for a moment and give space to this idea or belief or stance.  See if you can imagine a way, imagine many ways, that it could happen, that it could be possible.  You still may choose not to act on it, but that is different than deciding immediately it is impossible and setting it aside.

Pick moments during the day where you practice looking at the world through a beginner’s mind. 

With a beginner’s mind, you look at something as if you are seeing it for the first time.  You have no preconceived ideas or rules about what you are seeing or hearing or thinking or feeling.  You do not name it or categorize or label it.  You are open and receptive to it.  

For example, practice your beginner’s mind with the food sitting in front of you.  What is the first thing you do when you look at it?  Most likely, you pick it up and start eating, because you have to get back to work or go on to your next task.  If you do have any thought about it, you give it a name.  It’s a hamburger.  Already you have limited your experience of it with these actions and descriptions.

But set the label aside and look at what is in front of you as if you are seeing it for the first time.  You wonder.  You are curious.  You take in the aromas; you feel the heat when you place your face close to it.  You feel the texture of the bread.  You take a bite and enjoy this explosion of flavors.

What would it be like to use your beginner’s mind when you look at the objects around you?  Or more importantly, the people around you?

Look up from where you are and pick out the first three objects that grab your attention.  Let your eyes move back and forth among them.  Just notice them and take them in.  Now, make up a story about these three objects.  It is not a story about what you would do with these three objects.  It is a story where they are the main characters.  They move.  They speak.  Imagine the story unfolding from beginning to end.  What does it feel like to do this?  Do you feel the urge to dismiss this idea and say it is silly?  Can you be playful and enjoy the story?

In my next blog, I will offer a couple more ways to practice your imagination.  But for now, I invite you to share what you experience as you believe six impossible things and use your beginner’s mind.