Man consists of body, mind and imagination. His body is faulty, his mind is untrustworthy, but his imagination has made his life on this planet an intense practice of all the loveliest energies. – John Mansfield Imagination is the unique gift that sets man above animals and launches him on his greatest adventures.
Imagination is a powerful gift given only to man. As a result, man has been enchanted, moved and perplexed by his own imagination. The mind of man has the capacity to imagine anything he wishes.
Imagination is not something possessed only by poets, painters and scientists. Sometimes we see how animals are trained to perform certain tasks. In the past, people thought that animals also have imagination.
Walter Hunter performed a classical experiment way back in 1910 to determine whether animals had imagination. At the time, Ivan Pavlov had succeeded in forming and changing the reflex actions of dogs. Hunter too taught some animals to select one tunnel leading out of their cage by using a light.
The animals that performed well in the experiment were rewarded with food. Walter Hunter added a new dimension by not allowing the animals to go to the tunnel at once. He put out the light and kept the animals waiting for a little longer.
He wanted to find out whether animals could remember where they had seen the light signal on their escape route. His experiment confirmed that dogs and rats forgot everything within seconds. They could not remember which tunnel had been lighted up.
In another experiment, he found out that dogs could remember certain facts for about five minutes. Extraordinary skills Hunter’s experiment had certain faults, but it confirmed that an animal could not recall a signal from the past although a child could do so. Although animals have no such capacity to imagine, nature has gifted them with other extraordinary skills.
A homing pigeon can find its way home, but man cannot do so. In fact, animals have a practical memory that man cannot match. Animals do various activities as a habit.
They also have the instinct which reproduces a train of known responses. During the tsunami disaster, most wild animals ran for safety. Even untethered domestic animals ran away when they felt the approaching disaster.
To imagine means to make images and to move them about inside your head in new arrangements. Most of us can recall the past events quite easily. In fact, that is a major part of imagination.
Man’s memory lasts longer because he fixes it in images. The most important images, however, are words. Animals do not know words as there is no specific centre for language in their brains.
During the evolutionary process which lasted for more than two million years, the frontal lobe in the human brain has enlarged to a great extent. This part of the brain governs the sense of the past and the future. The frontal lobe is the seat of other images as well.
Although man can think of his past and future easily, animals cannot do so. As a result, man can use his power of imagination which is sadly denied to animals. Mind’s eye Without the faculty of imagination you cannot write an essay, poem or even cross the road safely.
Before we do something, we look at it first with our mind’s eye. Unlike an animal that has only one life, a man has many lives. A man can imagine events that may not happen.
Similarly, he dies a thousand deaths. That is the price he pays for living a thousand lives. Man has his own fantasies, but an animal does not have them.
Many years ago, man wanted to fly like birds. Sometimes, he wanted to visit the moon. He realised his fantasies by dint of hard work.
Today, man travels by air, and he has made a trip to the distant moon. The 17th century is known to be an important era when people had a lot of dreams. Your imagination plays a big role in whatever you do.
By using your imagination, you develop your visualising forces to generate new ideas. Your judgment holds your imagination in check so that you will not be carried away by fantasies. Your imagination opens not only ways of action, but also ways to unusual and enlightening decisions.
Imagination is prominent in art, music, poetry, literature, invention and research. Daydreaming Sometimes, we tend to think that daydreaming is an unproductive task. Psychologists have said that daydreaming is a crucial part of toning your brain since it allows your imagination to take over and flex its creative muscles.
Your imagination plays a key role in helping you to remember whatever you choose. Here is a 15-minute daydreaming exercise. Dream about what you would like to experience in ten years.
Think about all the aspects of what you would like to experience. This will include people you would like to meet, places you would like to visit and new skills you would like to practise. Let your brain take you in a vivid imaginary adventure.
Can anyone become a painter, poet or novelist overnight? Of course they cannot do so. In Zen Buddhism, they say that if you want to be a painter, you have to learn how to paint for 12 years and forget everything about painting during the next 12 years. Thereafter you have to meditate, chop wood and draw water from the well for another 12 years.
And then you will be ready to paint! By now, the technique of painting has become part of your system. This is the time to produce your masterpiece. Although man has been endowed with imagination, only a very few people have made use of it.
Michelangelo has brought something from the unknown. His paintings and sculpture were unique as he was full of imagination. Something immensely valuable descends from Beethoven.
By listening to his music, you will be transported into a wonderful world. Only Leo Tolstoy could have written the marvellous novels such as ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Anna Karenina.’ Not to be outdone, Dostoevsky wrote three brilliant novels ‘The Idiot’, ‘Crime and Punishment’ and ‘The Brothers Karamazov.
’ We are living in an age where people have been taught to be factual and empirical. If you are imaginative, however, you can dream like a child and remain ecstatic all the time. We should be able to create and enjoy euphoria.
Look at the world. Isn’t it wonderful to live in a world full of colourful birds, green vegetation, cascading waterfalls, sun-kissed beaches and beautiful women? To reap the full benefits of your short stay on this planet, you have to be imaginative. [email protected].
