The screen you are reading this on, the internet to access it, the chair you sit on, the walls around you or the open sky where airplanes fly below the satelites connecting free floating information to the waves we ride day by day are all products of the human imagination.

Why ‘human’ imagination‘? Because we seem to be the only species on this planet that use it to such an extend that we are literally becoming the gods we once imagined. We changed the entire planet, replaced the gods of nature with the invention of agriculture and play with the fabrics of the universe to clone animals, print organs and make bombs that can end it all.

Like Terence Mckenna said, ‘there is a third eye, and that eye is the imagination‘. To navigate through the infinite inner worlds we use imagination as an invicible, yet practical vehicle. Like a universal portal that acts as the bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind.

The role of language

Our spoken languages allow us to talk about the past and our possible future. The written word allows for the preservation of information. We stepped out of the eternal moment, and so history was born. Without the use of the human imagination to see into the past and envision possible futures, and our languages to communicate and preserve these visions there would be no history. It is a collective invention created by our ancestors.

This ‘human enterprise’ or ‘artificial human world’ is a product of the imagination. It is that powetful. On top of that, the source of the force is invicible. We only know where it has been used and witness the creations that make us wonder…. How can it be that it doesn’t get the credit it deserves and maybe even needs? Why aren’t people talking about it? What is it? How does it work? Why are some people more in tune with it than others?

Pretending

The first seven years of your life you are in a very suggestive state. Your subconscious is being molded by outer forces and your ego is developing to the point that the powers of the subconscious mind are slowly being forgotten. In these years anything can be anything. A grass field can be a warzone, your fingers can be people and invicible friends are as real as real friends. You go from infinity to one. From infinite possibilities of the imagination which you use to explore inner landscapes you conform to the external world, where things have one, often boring function. In this process most people sacrafice their inner wealth to survive in the outer world. I call this the second universal trauma. The first being birth. The third getting old, and the fourth is the great transition. I will dedicate one article to this subject in the future.

Children basically fake it till they make it. Before their personality is shaped and locked in by the ego they pretend. As we get older there is less and less space for this theatrical, dramatic and creative game. Adults often take things literally. Their playfulness is lost. Seriousness becomes the norm. The trick is to remember this process. We need the imagination to stand out, to be authentic and truly successful. We all used it when we were kids. Just looking at children growing up can trigger your own memories. Seeing my little brother growing up helped me to remember my own personal process of pretending. I also learned how my personality was formed.

Fake it till you make it! It’s not just a childrens game. To become something you have to act like it, look like it, talk like it, think like it, feel it, and finally be it.

See it, feel it, be it!

Visions in Fire

Looking at a fire can open up portals and take you places. It’s a great tool to get in a suggestive trance state. Almost like a remote control to change the channel of you inner television. When wood is burning, it looks like a whole story is unfolding. I feel as if the history of the living tree that it once was is eminating out of the burning wood. Fire consumes and destroys. At the same time it makes the earth more fertile. A sacrafice in the purest sense of the word.

Flow

In a previous article I wrote about flow, which is a state of optimal performance that feels good. In this state people are much more creative. Everything feels effortless, because you let go of conscious control for the subconscous to take the wheel. You step out of yourself. One thing that came to me recently is that we have a lower self opposing the higher self. In flow we are strongly connected to the higher self. What you generally don’t read or hear about is the possibility of giving full control to the lower self. I experienced this a few times. Only bad things happen. The ego is somewhere inbetween the higher and lower self. It doesn’t like the outer edges and prefers to be in the comfortable and familiar middle.

People with more flow in their lives are more productive and creative (see article about Flow).

A risky game

To imagine means to take risks. To think what you’ve never thought, feel what you’ve never felt, and to do what you’ve never done before takes courage. This is often misunderstood. True artists are very brave. They go beyond the pale, risk their mental and emotional stability, all to get a vision. This vision can be an idea or piece of knowledge that when the artist brings it to life it pulls people towards a better future. Well, that all changed when the big corporations artificially replaced this archaic path of artists. People are much less pulled towards handmade art and spend their time and energy online. You want to know the next big thing? Just google it. The problem with that is that artists don’t get an equal chance of being found.

The new generation of artists need to use these technologies in order to spread their potentially life changing message. That’s part of the reason why I started this blog. Since people spend so much time online, it’s a good place to meet and reach your audience.

Field of Energy

When more people get together to create something, a field of energy hangs around them. This field is now local and you can easily tap into it. Sometimes just being there does the trick. Most people have experienced this. It can happen when people train together, make music or whatever activity that takes effort, passion and a common goal. If you resonate with the activity it just takes you for a ride. In one tricking session I did a spinning kick so high it seemed impossible. I used this ‘field of energy‘ to overcome my normally rigid beliefs of what I can do. Pretending was also part of this incredible feat. One of the guys stood on a box, held his hand up as high as he could and said to me; ok Leslie, now you. I never even landed the 540 kick before and he was clearly joking. I looked at him and told him ‘for sure I can do it‘. Of course I was just messing around. What happened next was really amazing. I jumped so high that he had to raise his hand, and I landed my best 540 kick ever. The thing is that we did it together. Eveyone was amazed by my sudden improvent, but in fact I used this ‘field of energy’ that was generated by many people in the gym.

Catalysts

To end the article I have one last message. We need catalysts to trigger and expand our imagination. Especially now true art is dying out, doing it alone makes no sense. Find like minded people, start a blog, make videos, take pictures of your work, write about it, look for communities and share it.

And when you can handle it,

Take psychedelics!