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Single Moms - Day to Day
Articles
Imagination Training
A Spirituality.com
commentary
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When the panel investigating the September 11,
2001 attacks announced its conclusion that a
“failure of imagination” prevented US officials
from understanding the urgency of the al Qaeda
threat, it seemed to exonerate everyone.
After all, imagination isn’t the first skill that
comes to mind for job descriptions at the CIA, the
FBI, and other protective agencies. Generally,
these groups are depended on to rely on facts, not
conjecture. And, while it might be a desirable
attribute of individuals working in those fields,
imagination is difficult to quantify and thus hard
to judge.
And yet, with the large-scale consequences of the
attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, it
would appear imagination belongs at the top of the
“essential skills” list in support of homeland
security—even more than sharper surveillance
procedures, better dissemination of information
and increased inter-departmental cooperation.
Useful as these are, true security needs more than
this. It requires the ability to detect a variety
of meaningful patterns in an ocean of seemingly
chaotic data—the essence of imagination.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge,”
said Einstein. The good news is that no one person
or group has a monopoly on imagination—it’s
available to all. Imagination is a form of
intelligence, the highest and most distinctive
trait of humanity. Spiritually viewed, we are each
the emanation of the supreme intelligence of the
universe, also known as the divine Mind, or God.
Intelligence and imagination are gifts to us from
this one infinite Mind, whose very thoughts shape
reality.
How can these traits be cultivated and
enhanced?
This view is described and explained by Mary Baker
Eddy in her comprehensive treatise on metaphysics,
Science and Health, the book that guides
this Web site. In this work she radically defines
“man” as the pure product of divine being:
“Immortal man was and is God's image or idea, even
the infinite expression of infinite Mind…”
As such, this innate ability to discern between
good and evil needs only to be raised to greater
prominence in the thoughts and affairs of men and
women everywhere. When it is, people become more
insightful and exhibit the highest form of
humanity. As Eddy says, “It raises the thinker
into his native air of insight and
perspicacity”—the latter another word for
acuteness of perception.
So how can these traits be cultivated and
enhanced, not only to protect society from hidden
dangers but to promote problem solving and
enhancing the quality of life? Is it necessary to
send the population to “imagination school? "
Well, yes and no. The kind of imagination that
deserves to be cultivated is innate in everyone.
And it comes with a focus on goodness, which is a
safeguard against unwise flights of fancy.
Imagination training can be found in the quiet
precincts of prayer.
Perhaps the major reason why this
refined intelligence sometimes seems diminished or
inactive is ignorance of its presence, or of the
method for bringing it into greater prominence.
The theory, for instance, that humanity is made up
of flawed creatures careening helplessly through a
fog of conflicting drives and emotions turns
attention away from the spiritual fact of our
native intelligence and makes us prey to fear and
bad judgment. For example, imagination
uncontrolled by wisdom can be as dangerous as
ignorance. It can lead to paranoia at one extreme
and delusion at the other. This kind of “imagining
the worst” does no one any good.
But when imagination is fueled by inspiration, the
opposite occurs. The best kind of imagination
training can be found in the quiet precincts of
prayer. In this “secret place,” as the Bible
describes it, the thrashings of conflicting
thoughts and fears settle down and the searching
heart discerns the presence and support of the
divine Mind. Thought acquires a holy tone and this
freshened “insight and perspicacity” leads to the
kind of practical intelligence essential to wise
decision-making.
Another benefit of silent, innermost prayer is
that the individual conviction gained about the
omnipresence of divine intelligence radiates out
to include all who are seeking wisdom. It affirms
each person’s innate, divinely-sourced
intelligence and sharpens their detection of evil,
thus enabling good to prosper.
A nation praying for its own—and everyone’s—safety
multiplies this awakening effect. With subtlety
being terrorism’s main mode of operation, a
citizenry united in energizing its own native
intelligence can help prevent a “failure of
imagination” and its dire consequences—and
increase the security of the entire world.
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