Monday, September 13, 2010

See More, Be More!

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein

Fall in New York is an interesting time for someone from California. I am anticipating the great show of leaves – changing colors, dying and then falling resulting in the sad loss of the beautiful green foliage. Instead of the mountains, NY has the glorious green trees. There will be merely “twigs” for 4 or 5 months. By February, I will begin to imagine the leaves coming back and within a few weeks, all the green leaves are miraculously returned in abundance. What in the trees creates the next wave of abundance? The trees have a pattern of creating and destroying and then creating again. There is an organized plan that keeps systems running and then shuts them down. What is the key to getting the system up and running again? I know I am sending pictures to the trees but what is inside the trees that envision their next awakening? Do we also have something in us that takes us to our next higher level?

Imaginal Cells
Lately, there have been new discoveries about these natural processes. A biologist, Bruce Lipton has discussed “Imaginal Cells” as a key in evolutionary processes. He describes these specialized cells as having the ability to imagine and believes they are actually responsible for the natural evolutionary process in nature. He claims this phenomenon is part of “spontaneous evolution” and extends it into an explanation of our own lives and civilization. These Imaginal Cells have the intention to take the organism to its highest potential, to create something that is entirely different from its surroundings or what it has been before. He gives the example of a healthy, hungry caterpillar with its bodily systems highly functioning. Suddenly the caterpillar stops eating which starts the breakdown of its digestive and the circulatory systems. It is at this point that new cells begin to form called “Imaginal Cells.” These cells begin to take over to re-organize the next phase of the butterfly, which is just in its imaginary form. What appears to be dying or shutting down is actually a profound new creation –first found in the Imaginal Cells and then realized as the butterfly.

The Imaginal Cells are already working in our bodies.
In the same way as the caterpillar, our own lives are being transformed. The chaos of our surroundings is a time for the old systems that no longer serve to break down and the Imaginal Cells in our bodies to take over. They are already doing their job – it is our opportunity to have faith in them and to recognize this movement into the next phase. We often have no idea what this next phase in our lives will look like. (The caterpillar looks nothing like the butterfly). Through clairvoyant meditation, we can connect and nurture this new creation or phase of ourselves. We can begin to see and be excited for what is next. Doubt, uncertainty and fear often delay the process. (Imagine if the caterpillar doubted what was happening and resisted!)

Tune-in to these Imaginal Cells
The Imaginal Cells are part of the divine plan to assist the trees and the butterflies in expressing themselves to their highest unique potential and serve the planet by providing oxygen and pollination. I believe these Imaginal Cells work the same way in us, helping to create our ideal selves. We can tune in to our next potential easier through opening up to our clairvoyance in meditation and by consciously releasing old habits, relationships and areas in our lives that no longer serve. Your highest potential self is naturally being created inside you, pulling you to it.


Try this: Imagine Your Ideal Self

*Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet on the floor.

*Close your eyes and imagine a full-length mirror out in front of you.

*Intend to see your ideal self smiling back at you.

*Notice what you are wearing and how you are holding your body with confidence,

*Notice the place behind you in the mirror - a beautiful living room, a hotel lobby in Hawaii…and who is in the scene behind you.

*As you look at yourself in this scene really know and take on the feeling of that vision as you. (It is you – your Imaginal Cells are bringing it forward.)

*Next, see yourself leaving the mirror and going to speak to people as your ideal self.

*What are you saying, how does your voice sound- note the smile in your voice and on your face. You are confident, amused and neutral. You may not know where you are or it just may be a feeling. Continue enjoying this vision, extending it into your ideal day. Walk yourself through your ideal day until you feel you are that person when you stand up from your chair.

The key to change is to imagine yourself a different person from the one you were when you sat down in the chair.
You are nurturing these Imaginal Cells – working with them rather than against them. Throughout the day, you will notice when you are not being your ideal self. The more you do this, the more your actions and feelings resemble your intentions.

You may broaden this concept of the Imaginal Cells to our civilization, which is showing signs of breaking down. Be an Imaginal Cell for the organism of our civilization – holding a vision and ushering in the next evolution of our planet. We are all microcosms of the whole.