The importance of imagination is well recognized. Imagination is said to be the starting point of all achievement, the world but its canvas and the human race is governed by it. However, one important key aspect of imagination – the interplay of imagination with time – is generally overlooked. As a result, many peoples’ power of imagination ends up greatly diminished.
Understanding the interplay of imagination with time is of key importance because there are three dimensions of time, but only one imagination. The three dimensions of time are: the past, the present and the future. It is little understood, yet imagination works only in one of the three dimensions. Put differently, to access the three dimensions of time, we have been given three keys. The three keys are memory, knowledge and imagination. Most people tend to look at memory and knowledge as well-behaved children, while imagination carries the air of the unruly one who engages in daydreaming and acting foolish. Everybody knows how dangerous that can be. Something bad could happen, heavens forbid. Let’s not judge a book by its cover, and take a closer look at how the three dimensions of time interact with the three dimensions of human thought. You will quickly see there are no good or bad children. They’re simply kids and each has its role.
Memory = The Past. Memory interacts with and is the key to the past. Memory works highly selective, sometimes excellent, sometimes bleeping awful. You remember things you want to remember, but not all the things. You remember things you don’t want to remember (things you’d rather forget). You forget what you had for lunch last week, and remember in a foul mood kicking the family dog eons ago when no-one was watching. If you write things down in a journal, you discover your memory can fail you in big ways.
Knowledge = The Present. Knowledge operates only in the present. It cannot escape the boundaries of present time (any more than you can). As an example, take breathing. You KNOW you are breathing right now, in the present. You REMEMBER you were breathing yesterday, in the past. You IMAGINE you’d still be breathing tomorrow, in the future. Knowledge is extremely limited in time, so to speak. They – whoever they may be – want you to believe they have knowledge of the past and the future, too. Bullpoop. As a simple test, challenge them to lift their arm tomorrow, or try it for yourself. (Can’t do it. By the time you get to tomorrow it’s the present, again).
Imagination = The Future. Last and so very famously not least, imagination. It’s your key to the future. The only one. Don’t lose or discard it. Else you’d have to give up on the future altogether, or seeing it would depend on somebody else’s imagination. Imagine that! Before you consider whether it might actually be a good deal, remember the people who are all for change provided it doesn’t disturb their status quo. Without imagination you’d be without a future and without a self-image, too. Self-image, the word says it all, the product of your imagination – or of someone else’s, if you let them. How do you see yourself a year from now and five years from now? Memory and knowledge can be useful in creating your future, but grounded in past experience rather than future possibilities, they’ll mostly hold you back. When used freely and responsibly, imagination will give you wings. Practically speaking, you may want to imagine having just received a call from your favorite movie director. She or he wants to make a movie with you. The topic of the movie is your life from here onwards. You’re cast in the leading role. You are also to submit the script. Imagine writing the script of the movie of your life, with you in the leading role. Wishing you great fun, and passion.
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