Taming Ones Imagination

[LadyVictoria]

I've heard this same line/quote from many speakers and lecturers on the power of the mind including Alan Watts, Bob Proctor and David Foster Wallace. I don't know who originally stated it but it goes like this...

"The mind is an excellent servant but a terrible master."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9eAcHRpcho

Now you can contemplate this concept that's been put forth by many great thinkers 'til the cows come home but when it comes to mindfulness training I've come up with a better analogy.

The imagination is a wild horse that longs to be tamed.

From the onset our imaginations are like wild horses. A wild horse has not yet been subject to the training and discipline and it pretty much wanders around where ever it pleases and if you were to attempt to ride it it would buck and resist and do everything in it's power to get you to stop trying to control it.

For those of you that know about taming and ultimately training a horse to accept you as a rider and allow you to guide it where you want to go there are two methods - breaking the horse or gentling it.

When you break a horse you get the horse to accept a saddle, bridal and rider in a forceful manner. You battle the will of the horse until you exhaust the horse and it finally gives in and allows you to train it.

When you gentle a horse you slowly introduce to it's bridal so it can get used to it and then a saddle and then finally when the horse has become more comfortable with its trainer then you start to teach it how to accept a rider and his commands.

Breaking can be traumatic and painful for both horse and trainer but it can also be quicker and more effective.

Gentling is much less traumatic but results will be slow and may not even work with an stubborn obstinate horse.

If you observe the meanderings of your imagination operating without deliberate intent you will see it behaves much like a wild horse doing whatever it pleases and drifting off aimlessly here, there and everywhere and in some instances even places you don't want to go.

Would you ever attempt to ride a wild horse? If you did that it could throw you and kill you and this is exactly what our imaginations do to us when we don't tame and control it.

Our minds are very powerful things and untrained and undisciplined it can lead you into dangerous and treacherous territory. It can lead to sickness and bad health. It can lead to unhealthy relationships with other people. It can lead to a negative outlook and a really horrible experience of life. It may not necessarily lead to those thing but what is happening is that you are living a life at the mercy of an wild untamed animal mind.

So how do you go about taming your imagination?

There are many methods and ways you can do this but it starts with observation through meditation.

How you choose to meditate is up to you but what happens during mediation especially in the beginning is your imagination becomes active and your mind chit chats throughout the entire session. Now rather than try to forcibly stop the chit chat and "clear your mind", as if you could, what you should do is observe the chit chat. See where unabated your imagination leads you and begin examine that which it does.

As you become more familiar with the behavior of your imagination now you can start to guide it intentionally. You may find your imagination traveling down one avenue of thought and then you can stop it and direct it towards the mental road you actually want it to travel down. The more you practice this the better at it you will become and you will eventual come to a point where you can very easily and effectively quiet your mind.

Gaining control of one's imagination is vitally needed for spiritual development - agreed? Why or why not?

[inavalan]

I believe the issue isn't taming your imagination (or "mind" whatever that is), but mastering your emotions, and getting rid of your limiting beliefs.

[LadyVictoria]

Originally Posted by inavalan

I believe the issue isn't taming your imagination (or "mind" whatever that is), but mastering your emotions, and getting rid of your limiting beliefs.

How do you master your emotions without first learning to control your thoughts? Thoughts and emotions are tools that are invariably linked. Such as a drill and a drill bit.

A drill is useless without the bit and the drill bit is useless without the drill.

A belief is just a thought or idea that you think over and over again. It's much easier to master your imagination first. You have to succeed in that before you can begin to alter and reshape beliefs. At least this has been my experience.

[inavalan]

By becoming lucid-while-awake (similarly to becoming lucid-while-dreaming), and by identifying with your inner-self (similarly to identifying with the dreaming-you while you're dreaming).

That should be the focus.

By the way, per my use of those words, there are conscious and unconscious beliefs; they aren't thoughts, they are not-worded assumptions. Emotions aren't thoughts either; they may generate thoughts.

[LadyVictoria]

Originally Posted by inavalan

By becoming lucid-while-awake (similarly to becoming lucid-while-dreaming), and by identifying with your inner-self (similarly to identifying with the dreaming-you while you're dreaming).

That should be the focus.

By the way, per my use of those words, there are conscious and unconscious beliefs; they aren't thoughts, they are not-worded assumptions. Emotions aren't thoughts either; they may generate thoughts.

I'm still currently examining emotions but currently I haven't found too many emotions that generate thoughts but I have had many thoughts that generate emotions for sure. I'll have to look into that further and see if just having a feeling generates a thought.

I've have had emotions that seem to swell up outta nowhere, although now that I have become lucid in the waking state I find that to be less and less the case. I no longer feel strongly subjected to my body's hormones since the kundalini energy rose within me. I am very capable now of separating my thoughts from my emotions. Meaning I can trigger an emotion with a thought and then let go of the thought that triggered it and then just allow myself to experience the emotion without the thought behind it. This for me is a wonderful way of examining emotions.

I don't have any clue what a "unconscious belief" is. I guess I don't believe in unconscious beliefs. All beliefs in my opinion require consciousness. However I do no think that consciousness requires belief. And I'm still trying to figure out what an "unconscious thought" is, if there even is such a thing. Let me try to explain this in better way.

All thoughts, opinions and beliefs are a delusion. However there is a catch. The catch is that even though they are a delusion and in no way a requirement for experiencing reality we cannot help but have them. No more than we can help having a body and brain within to think with. My thoughts opinions and beliefs are no less delusion than anyone else's, but because I am aware of the deluded nature of my thoughts, opinions and beliefs I can now consciously, willingly and intentionally trade up. Meaning I can choose to instill within myself thoughts, opinions and beliefs that are healthier to my overall wellbeing, that are more productive, and simply of greater benefit.

If I cannot help having thoughts. If I cannot help imagining this that or the other thing I might as well use that ability for a greater and more beneficial purpose rather than use it to limit and degrade myself or others.

Our imaginations are unlimited. Our imagination is not bound by time, space or any type of physical law. We can do anything we want within the scope of our imaginations. This is HUGE!

There are wonderful people who put their imaginations to such great use! And then there are those who use their imaginations to reek havoc in their minds and their life.

When you combine your imagination with emotions with deliberate intent - well then - that's when the magic happens, but you don't have to take my word for it.

I'm really curious if you or anyone for that matter can give me an example of what an "unconscious belief" actually looks like. Thanks.

[inavalan]

A simple example of "unconscious belief" is when you consciously want to do something, but unconsciously you're afraid to.

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by LadyVictoria

I've heard this same line/quote from many speakers and lecturers on the power of the mind including Alan Watts, Bob Proctor and David Foster Wallace. I don't know who originally stated it but it goes like this...

"The mind is an excellent servant but a terrible master."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9eAcHRpcho

Now you can contemplate this concept that's been put forth by many great thinkers 'til the cows come home but when it comes to mindfulness training I've come up with a better analogy.

The imagination is a wild horse that longs to be tamed.

From the onset our imaginations are like wild horses. A wild horse has not yet been subject to the training and discipline and it pretty much wanders around where ever it pleases and if you were to attempt to ride it it would buck and resist and do everything in it's power to get you to stop trying to control it.

For those of you that know about taming and ultimately training a horse to accept you as a rider and allow you to guide it where you want to go there are two methods - breaking the horse or gentling it.

When you break a horse you get the horse to accept a saddle, bridal and rider in a forceful manner. You battle the will of the horse until you exhaust the horse and it finally gives in and allows you to train it.

When you gentle a horse you slowly introduce to it's bridal so it can get used to it and then a saddle and then finally when the horse has become more comfortable with its trainer then you start to teach it how to accept a rider and his commands.

Breaking can be traumatic and painful for both horse and trainer but it can also be quicker and more effective.

Gentling is much less traumatic but results will be slow and may not even work with an stubborn obstinate horse.

If you observe the meanderings of your imagination operating without deliberate intent you will see it behaves much like a wild horse doing whatever it pleases and drifting off aimlessly here, there and everywhere and in some instances even places you don't want to go.

Would you ever attempt to ride a wild horse? If you did that it could throw you and kill you and this is exactly what our imaginations do to us when we don't tame and control it.

Our minds are very powerful things and untrained and undisciplined it can lead you into dangerous and treacherous territory. It can lead to sickness and bad health. It can lead to unhealthy relationships with other people. It can lead to a negative outlook and a really horrible experience of life. It may not necessarily lead to those thing but what is happening is that you are living a life at the mercy of an wild untamed animal mind.

So how do you go about taming your imagination?

There are many methods and ways you can do this but it starts with observation through meditation.

How you choose to meditate is up to you but what happens during mediation especially in the beginning is your imagination becomes active and your mind chit chats throughout the entire session. Now rather than try to forcibly stop the chit chat and "clear your mind", as if you could, what you should do is observe the chit chat. See where unabated your imagination leads you and begin examine that which it does.

As you become more familiar with the behavior of your imagination now you can start to guide it intentionally. You may find your imagination traveling down one avenue of thought and then you can stop it and direct it towards the mental road you actually want it to travel down. The more you practice this the better at it you will become and you will eventual come to a point where you can very easily and effectively quiet your mind.

Gaining control of one's imagination is vitally needed for spiritual development - agreed? Why or why not?

This thread on what is soul has 2 links - 1 to plato's analogy of chariot and 2. ancient Katha Upnishad's verse - again an analogy to chariot .

While there is slight technical difference yet both have the same pointers to what you are pointing at - controlling/regulating / directing our mind-body apparatus (which includes imagination ) .Both these analogy are similar to your propositions in that all talks of unbridled uncontrolled horses leading havoc/chaos /anarchy in life.

So to answer your question whether there is need to control imagination for spiritual development - definitely yes .

Unconscious belief is something part of your belief storehouse which is either inborn or based on certain experiences . e.g. newborn mammal babies (be it human or animal ) know how to get nutrition /food from mother without any apparent prior experience. Same way in life we encounter various situations day in and day out . It sub-consciously stores its impressions/conclusions/inferences/judgements each and every day . It sub-consciously stores its impressions/conclusions/inferences/judgements each and every day . And that leads to creation & sustenance of your subconscious - a storehouse powered by your consciousness of your pre-formed conclusions/derivations/judgements. This subconscious helps u take lot of mundane decisions fast in a jiffy and is available to u in your decision making process as a support system for your decisions / conclusions / judgements / inferences / derivations .

If u see both the analogies 's sub-conscious development is integral part of spiritual development.

[hallow]

Imagination and emotions are different. Emotions should be controlled some of the time. There's Both positive and negative emotions. Imagination should be allowed to be free. Imagination allows us to dream, and to create. In times of emotional stress, imagination helps us to cope and free ourselves and our thoughts and our negative emotions. We're human not robot's. We need to feel "emotion", we need to dream "imagination" it's healthy to do both. We're like volcanos. If either one or both are completely restrained we're going to blow up and destroy everything around us. Maybe even ourselves.

[davidsun]

This may or may not relate to he issues you so thoughtfully raise and exquisitely/verbally explore here, LV, but since I imagine everyone's 'horse' has its own unique kind of 'wildness', my thought immediately went to how I started to become aware of, explore my and eventually more adeptly manage own process:

Simply, at first, while focusing, with eyes closed, on my breathing, watching the flow my own 'awareness' (in such 'meditative' mode) acknowledging where and how it flowed by way of conscious silent-verbal articulation - for example 'seeing' and 'saying' to myself: Now, I am aware of my breathing ... Now, I am aware of my scalp itching ... Now, am aware of how my hand scratches the itch ... Now, I am aware of how my scalp feels at the point where it once itched ... etc., etc., etc. ... for however long said 'meditation' lasted.

Eventually, this led to my becoming more and more able to be so became more and more (inwardly) involved in watching and acknowledging the flow of my 'awareness' even while engaged in 'normal' activities, including watchfully being aware of my 'thoughts' and 'emotions' in the course of my 'actiive' life.

Such 'self'-accompaniment eventually led to my 'befriending' myself as well as knowing and feeling that I was so 'befriended' (by my self!) - which, beyond being a mere 'observation' exercise, eventually led to me being able to sensitively-and-sensibly interject desirable thoughts and feelings, i.e. to beneficently 'intervene' in and guide my own thought-and-feeling flow-process.

Not very different than how one might approach and eventually befriend/tame a previously unknown/unfamiliar, hence 'wild' in its own way, 'animal' or other 'human', really.

[hallow]

Originally Posted by davidsun

This may or may not relate to he issues you so thoughtfully raise and exquisitely/verbally explore here, LV, but since I imagine everyone's 'horse' has its own unique kind of 'wildness', my thought immediately went to how I started to become aware of, explore my and eventually more adeptly manage own process:

Simply, at first, while focusing, with eyes closed, on my breathing, watching the flow my own 'awareness' (in such 'meditative' mode) acknowledging where and how it flowed by way of conscious silent-verbal articulation - for example 'seeing' and 'saying' to myself: Now, I am aware of my breathing ... Now, I am aware of my scalp itching ... Now, am aware of how my hand scratches the itch ... Now, I am aware of how my scalp feels at the point where it once itched ... etc., etc., etc. ... for however long said 'meditation' lasted.

Eventually, this led to my becoming more and more able to be so became more and more (inwardly) involved in watching and acknowledging the flow of my 'awareness' even while engaged in 'normal' activities, including watchfully being aware of my 'thoughts' and 'emotions' in the course of my 'actiive' life.

Such 'self'-accompaniment eventually led to my 'befriending' myself as well as knowing and feeling that I was so 'befriended' (by my self!) - which, beyond being a mere 'observation' exercise, eventually led to me being able to sensitively-and-sensibly interject desirable thoughts and feelings, i.e. to beneficently 'intervene' in and guide my own thought-and-feeling flow-process.

Not very different than how one might approach and eventually befriend/tame a previously unknown/unfamiliar, hence 'wild' in its own way, 'animal' or other 'human', really.

that is great and there's nothing wrong at all in what you are saying. But to truly understand Both sides of what we really are wouldn't one want to know and understand the "wild/animal" part of ourselves as well. I think a lot of people try and succed in repressing that side of ourselves often deleting that part all together. Losing a part of ourselves. Yes we may become more spiritual but the root of what is spiritual gets "deleted"
There's a survival T.V. show I like to watch. It's called "alone". 10 people are chosen dropped off in 10 separate remote areas alone with only the minimum survival tools. No food, water, shelter or any other people. They can push a button and go home at anytime. The last person standing wins a million dollars. After watching many seasons of this show. You see spiritually evolve in it's rawest form. You see it happen in some of the most hardcore toughest people you can imagine. I believe from what I seen that's where it all truly starts. It begins in our inner "beast" if it didn't start there your only going through the motions to keep up with what is trending. It's not real. Spiritually is definitely real but you cannot skip steps.