The Power of Imagination

by Robert Stuberg

Charles Darwin wrote that reason is the greatest of all human faculties, but he also said, "The Imagination is one of the highest prerogatives of man." And of course, he was right, because we all are free to exercise our imaginations at any time and in any way we want.

Certainly, one of our greatest gifts as human beings is this ability to visualize or make pictures and images in our minds. And like all of our other abilities, the more we exercise our imagination the better it gets. The ability to increase the power of imagination and creativity is well within everyone's reach.

In his book, "Writer's Mind," Richard Cohen describes imagination and creative thinking as forms of daydreaming. He adds, " When writers are doing their most intense, creative work, they look like they're doing nothing."

Maybe this is why so many people don't try to improve their imaginations. Why give serious attention to something as frivolous as "daydreaming?" Well, the answer of course is, because the world's greatest achievements have resulted from individuals using their powers of imagination. Every achievement is the result of someone daydreaming about things that didn't yet exist but that could be brought to reality by the right combination of ideas, inspiration, and action.

I think it's important to emphasize that the kind of daydreaming we are talking about is not an idle reverie, a distracted absent-mindedness. Rather, it's a condition of mind Richard Cohen describes as "receptive, aware, and highly concentrated." It can be controlled at will. Cohen says, "You can train yourself to get inspired. You can get inspired as a habit."

But each of us will find inspiration in different ways. The conditions , settings or times of day that inspire you and get your creative juices flowing will be different than those that work for me. Perhaps you find early morning best. While most of the world is sleeping and quiet, you stare out the window, watching the sun rise and think about something you want to create, to change or improve. For others, late at night is the time when imagination soars to new horizons.
Actually, our imagination is at work for us all of the time, even when we sleep. But it's the time that we set aside for focused, highly concentrated daydreaming that is most important-time when you work on solving a specific problem by actively visualizing possible solutions. And be sure to have pencil and paper handy to jot down those ideas that come to mind.

The answers may not come to you during the actual "daydreaming" session, but could surprise you by popping into your head while you're driving the car, or taking the dog for a walk, or listening to some music. You might even have a dream that gives you just the information you're after.

While there's much about the human mind we've yet to discover, we do know that its power is unlimited when it comes to solving problems and reaching goals. Of course, we have to do our part by supplying our minds with problems to solve and goals to reach!

So find some time each day when you can work on improving your imagination. All you need to do is a little active daydreaming.

I know it's hard to accept the idea that anything is possible, but in the realm of the mind that's literally true. You can visualize anything. And it really is possible that with a little added inspiration and action, those things you've been daydreaming about will become reality.