Imagination and expression are such unreal words in our real world. Take a trip through imagination accomplished visually through surreal based design, and mentally through drifted thought. It is and idea; it is a concept; it is an opinion, nothing more and nothing less. In this case it’s called “Imagination and the Expression of our Inner Self”. Life is a journey of learning, seeing, doing and even being, if you can make sense of that. If you are not learning, seeing and doing, then you are not being. For all that we are and for all that we will ever be is never more so pertinent than it is right here, right now.

by
Steve Shead

DEFINE IMAGINATION:

1. The imagine-making power of the mind; the power to create or reproduce ideally an object of sense previously perceived; the power to call up mental imagines. Our simple apprehension of corporeal objects, if present, is sense; if absent, is imagination. (Glanvill) Imagination is of three kinds: joined with belief of that which is to come; joined with memory of that which is past; and of things present, or as if they were present. (Bacon)

2. The representative power; the power to reconstruct or recombine the materials furnished by direct apprehension; the complex faculty usually termed the plastic or creative power; the fancy. The imagination of common language the productive imagination of philosophers is nothing but the representative process plus the process to which I would give the name of the comparative. (Sir W. Hamilton) The power of the mind to decompose its conceptions, and to recombine the elements of them at its pleasure, is called its faculty of imagination. (I. Taylor) The business of conception is to present us with an exact transcript of what we have felt or perceived. But we have moreover a power of modifying our conceptions, by combining the parts of different ones together, so as to form new wholes of our creation. I shall employ the word imagination to express this power. (Stewart)

3. The power to recombine the materials furnished by experience or memory, for the accomplishment of an elevated purpose; the power of conceiving and expressing the ideal. The lunatic, the lover, and the poet Are of imagination all compact . . . The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. (Shak)

4. A mental image formed by the action of the imagination as a faculty; a conception; a notion.
Synonym: Conception, idea, conceit, fancy, device, origination, invention, scheme, design, purpose, contrivance.

THE ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT

QUOTE: Littering a dark and dreary road lay the past relics of our lives, incompatible and broken by today’s standards, yet strong and resilient with the lessons of time. Today we must clear the mind of past practices. Enlightenment can be achieved with tireless efforts of mental growth and the fruit of imaginations running free, coupled with meditation and the knowing that all we see is not all there is. The invitation is to relax and meditate on the important lessons of the masters. Begin to see with clarity; learn to use the (yet to be) time-honored techniques in a new and invigorating fashion; become one with your inner self. UNQUOTE

There is clearly a need clarity in our own lives. The general status quo today is over and above the hum of every day life and that, in itself, presents issues. What I mean by that is that we live in our own insulated world by the rules we impose on ourselves through the society we are part of. That is the status quo and we do little to change that most of the time. Life then passes us by and we complain about this and that and how hard life is. You see where I am going with this? The hum of everyday life is the goings on around us that we don’t seem to notice, nor do we affect or effect, and some of those things are very special.

Where am I going with this? Well, having been some places and done some things I have a pretty unique view on the world around me and how much of an affect I have on it, as well as it has on me. What does that have to do with imagination and expression of your inner self? Profound as it may sound, it’s just another way of saying “how I think and dream and how I show that to the world”. We are all perceived in one way or another and there are those that like us, and those that don’t. The main point there is that, if you truly like yourself, does it really matter what others think? If you can truly trust that the majority of who you are and what you do is true to your life, then you know it doesn’t matter that you are not perfect and it doesn’t matter that you make mistakes. You know you are going to learn from the mistakes, so there is always the plus side.

What I have personally found is that, the more aware of your surroundings you are, the more alive you feel. If you take time to daydream even, you are, in a sense, almost in a state of meditation. You are controlling the thoughts and directing them to where you want to see yourself, doing what you want yourself to do, and you could actually use that experience to anchor a goal and strive towards it. If you know anything about goal setting you will know that if you can see yourself doing it, you can achieve it. So, therein lies the first key to imagination and expression. You can call it zoning, daydreaming or whatever word you like but, as long as you follow the basic principles of focus and concentration then you are on the right road. There isn’t really a predefined way, it’s all a matter of how we perceive it and that’s okay as long as it works for you.

So where do imagination and expression come into it? Well, to daydream you need imagination, so we all have that. Expression is how we show ourselves to the real world, and we all do that. That can mean in our actions, deeds and words so it can be quite all encompassing. The inner self is not to be confused with the inner child. The inner self is the part of us that only we know. There are elements to everyone’s lives that aren’t shared, and rightfully so! The inner self is the core of who we are and how we deal with ourselves, let alone the real world. If we can embrace our inner self as true to who we are and, again, accept that we are not perfect, then we are well on the way to self enlightenment. So, these terms that we hear all the time, such as inner child, inner self, enlightenment etc., are really other words for parts of us that we already know. Does that make sense?

So why do people want to use those terms instead of words we understand? Well, I think they want to set them aside from the norm because the norm to us is that hum-drum dreary road that we spoke about earlier. To make a change you have to break a habit and changing focus through words might just be a way of doing just that. I’m not saying I am ultimately right here, just that this is how I perceive it in my reality. What you should be looking to do is to incorporate the basic principles into your own life, in your own words, during your own time with your own thoughts and experiment to find what works for you. Like I said, there isn’t really a right way, more a way that works for you. You have to want to change, and that is another hurdle along the way. You may not be at a stage when you can accept enlightenment, even if you want to call it that. Conversely you may be looking for something that is missing in your life. This is then the best way to get started because it will lead you to a fuller, happier life. I’m not trying to preach here, just thinking out loud!

Why participate? For recognition, inspiration, success or for a sense of belonging? There isn’t really a set in stone answer to this. The rewards are personal to you. I know for myself that unlocking my inspiration allows me to write inspired music that others love to hear. The fact that the music I write can touch so many people in so many different ways is a fantastic reward to me, and it makes me feel like I have done something worthwhile. In writing my music I am expressing myself at an emotional level, in a sense bearing my soul with my music. It can reflect so many things, so may emotions, so many events that are turned into sounds that it’s almost un-limiting in it’s reach. Inspiration isn’t there all the time. What do we do when it’s not there? That’s when we sit and daydream or change our state in other ways. Meditation, if you choose that method, changes your state of being, your state of mind, your state period. That breaks cycles, habits, moods or whatever and leads to a refreshed, relaxed and calm inner feeling. From that point you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything. In reality you are the only limiting factor to what you can do! Try breaking a mood by changing your situation. Change your situation by going out, maybe to the gym or a long walk.

Strange as it may sound, the conclusion is that there is no conclusion. The limits are imposed by ourselves to ourselves and, every now and then, we try to impose those limiting beliefs, thoughts and emotions on those around us, be it knowingly or otherwise. You don’t need to understand how it works, just know that, with enough practice, it does work. How do I know? I have had some major successes and some stupendous downfalls. Each I look at in a separate light and ask myself “why did that happen?”, and I will find the reason, good or bad. Sometimes the way we are makes these things happen (remember habits?) and sometimes fate is telling us something. There will never be a perfect world and there will always be good times and bad times. The trick is in knowing how make good out of bad. Remember what I said earlier? There is always a lesson to be learnt, even from bad experiences. Just with that thought you can turn your world around!

Life is hard enough as it is without imposing our own limiting self beliefs on the world around us. It takes an open mind to truly see that we can change ourselves; that we can effect and affect those around us; that we create what we perceive to be and that we are deserving.

I was reading through some blogs that I like to follow and I came across an article about a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. It’s a testament to the times – a friend called it ‘priorities over passion’ on his blog. I’ll let you read it for yourself. Here it is. Let me know your thoughts once you’ve read it. It’s probably worthwhile checking out the article before reading the rest of this post, since the context would be missing otherwise.

I’ve always said that humanity is a strange crowd – yes I know the grammar is wrong but it kind of makes sense. Are we that conceited that we don’t realize how much we are denying ourselves by following what is fashionable or what is supposed to be right, as opposed to following our hearts or following what is real? Have we lost that spontaneity? I wonder how our self awareness comes into play, since the higher your awareness level the more attuned you are to yourself you should be – and does that work against you or for you? We can override the desire to fit in since that is definitely a learned bahviour.

Social acceptance plays a huge part in our lives – well, not mine but you get what I mean. Why do so many people feel they have to fit in with society? I dont ask that question is a judgemental way – it’s a genuine question of why there is the need. When we concentrate on the sheer beauty of the music, and not the fact that it’s being played on a street corner (for instance), we are appreciating the music, the artistry of the player – does it really matter where it is being played? There’s a woman in San Francisco that sings opera just off Union Square and, wow, what a voice. Would you not want to listen because she is a street artist? You don’t have to pay the person – you can even stand at a distance, but you have to be true to experience, don’t you? For me if the music is excellent I’m not too concerned about who it’s coming from. Really, why do we have to identify to the social norm – it’s overrated anyway!

“Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”
Edison

“Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.”
Benjamin Franklin

“Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.”
Joseph Joubert

“Genius is divine perseverance. Genius I cannot claim nor even extra brightness but perseverance all can have.”
Woodrow Wilson

“Genius does what it must, and talent does what it can.”
Bulwer-Lytton

“Every production of genius must be the production of enthusiasm.”
Benjamin Disraeli

“Talent is what you possess; genius is what possesses you.”
Malcolm Cowley

“One of the strongest characteristics of genius is the power of lighting its own fire.”
John W. Foster

“Genius is only great patience.”
Buffon

“Doing easily what others find is difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.”
Henri Frederic Amiel

“Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.”
Arthur Conan Doyle

“If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.”
Joseph Addison

“Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
Albert Einstein

“Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.”
Albert Einstein

“Highly developed spirits often encounter resistance from mediocre minds.”
Albert Einstein

“Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.”
Alexander Hamilton

“The failure of women to produce genius of the first rank in most of the supreme forms of human effort has been used to block the way of all women of talent and ambition for intellectual achievement in a manner that would be amusingly absurd were it not so monstrously unjust and socially harmful.”
Anna Garlin Spencer

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.”
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr

“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.”
Bruce Feirstein

“But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.”
Carl Sagan

“The kind of intelligence a genius has is a different sort of intelligence. The thinking of a genius does not proceed logically. It leaps with great ellipses. It pulls knowledge from God knows where.”
Dorothy Thompson

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”
Elbert Hubbard

“Since when was genius found respectable?”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.”
Fulton J. Sheen

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year. A real genius has his original ideas closer together.”
Georg C. Lichtenberg

“We are the leaves of one branch, the drops of one sea, the flowers of one garden.”
Jean Baptiste Henry Lacordaire

“The word “genius” isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”
Joe Theisman

“Society develops wit, but its contemplation alone forms genius.”
Madame de Stael

“There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”
Oscar Levant

“In the republic of mediocrity genius is dangerous.”
Robert G. Ingersoll

“There is no great genius without some touch of madness.”
Seneca

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
Thomas Alva Edison

“Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.”
William James

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart