"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." ~Carl Jung
Imagination is a word that is often spoken too little of, and somewhat forgotten. The psychology of our existence lives not only on the surface of what we can see or understand cognitively, but there is alot going on in our unconscious. Alike a tall, robust tree. We may only see the top part of it being lush, strong, and magnanimous, but the years it took and the process it underwent to grow the deepest and dense roots, that is the part that most people do not see. But these deep seated roots are the foundation that allow the tree to stand tall and unwaver in nature. What we cannot see, sometimes is even more essential to our healing. And that is darkness.
I am fascinated with the concept of the opposites. When I look at life, I realize how everything is created in opposites. There is heaven and hell. The sky and the ground. Top and bottom. Left and right. Inside and outside. Dark and light. Day and night. Good and bad. Cold and hot. Hard and soft. Tangible and intangible. Good and evil. Joy and sadness. Sane and insane. The list goes on. But the most interesting part is not to recognize the opposites as itself, but the invisible space that unites the "inbetween", and understand that we should not categorize or define ourselves as one side or the other, but that both can coexist, and both are equally important for us to become whole. To unite the opposites is to create a space where the opposites itself can communicate and have a dialogue. One should not oppose the other, but rather see each other with fresh eyes and intention to communicate.
Darkness is not necessarily malicious, but it is our unconscious. It is not only repressions or shadows per se, it is all of that and more. It is the fountainhead of our creativity, it is the unknown, unforeseen part of who we are. And darkness is the wellspring of our imagination. It is the key to healing. And healing is to be able to let go of who we thought we were, and accept ourselves for exactly who we are. Our life consists of the outer and the inner, and the process of cycling in and out or out and in is through our senses. Most of us uses our brain, our mind to comprehend and process information. Our intelligence is utilized, but somehow something is missing and is creating a lopsided effect, where we may find ourself always travelling back to the same beginning. That is because we have neglected the roots, the unknown, the part where we cannot see, but only can be felt and expressed through our imagination.
Imagination comes from the latin word "imaginari", which means "to picture oneself". It is an innate function of our soul that helps us to create out of nothing. Imagination does not form images of reality, it forms images that goes beyond reality. It helps to invent a new life, a new spirit, and it creates a new type of vision that is never seen before.
Imagination helps integrate the faculty of our cognition and creativity. It balances and brings forth the whole picture, instead of just one sided. It shows you both opposites of your experience. When we process our experiences through our imagination, something miraculous happens, it interplays between boundaries that are often highly separated in our education system and society. (e.g you are either good or bad.) But in fact, imagination opens the door to bridge the gap between our mind and our heart. Imagination functions differently, as it asks one of the most important questions, "Does it have to be this way?" When this question is asked, the creator creates a new reality, preceding our experience, and go beyond the objective world.
Imagination and creativity are the bests of friends. Art, no matter what form, cannot be separated from our imagination. Imagination, and its innate calling of our soul (soul-making) makes itself visible through the physical experience of art. And the arts help to discipline and sharper the faculties of imagintaion. So instead of just activating our intelligence, we are also activating our emotional intelligence, which helps to unite the right and left side of our brain.
To conclude, when our emotions indicate the rough patches in life, or when we are experiencing suffering and pain that we cannot seem to work through, it is perhaps our soul calling us to learn to heal our relationship with our imagination.