Live more powerfully & more significantly - the journey begins today!

PURPOSE is what you're created for. MISSION is what you're meant to do about it. VISIONS are the evidence, and GOALS are the means of achievement.

It's a plain and simple truth that you will not have in reality what you cannot first create in your mind. Effective use of the incredible gift of imagination is the key.

Imagination is the vision birthed by the powerful union of the mind and the emotions.

Webster defines imagination as the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality; a creative ability. With this in mind, It's not difficult to see that utilizing this gift can be a worthwhile employment - - if it is harnessed. Einstein understood the power of the gift.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein

It is not necessary for imagination to run away with us. In fact, there are some very practical ways by which we can bring imagination to a place of serving us, and yet not lose any of its powerful creativity.

1. Schedule time to dream.

Understand that exercising your imagination is worthwhile employment. Make it a priority in your day, whatever it takes. Time is not going to magically appear on your schedule, obliged to free itself to your commitment to create Visions.

You will have to take this bull by the horns and push aside other less important occupations. There are still only 24 hours in a day, but if you make the creation of vibrant dreamscapes a priority, you will include it on your calendar as such.

2. Once scheduled, utilize your Vision sessions to the fullest.

Eliminate distractions. Assign a status of DO NOT DISTURB - hang out a sign if necessary. And then set aside a location for your sessions. To a degree, formalize the process in order to cement, in your own mind, the importance of the exercise.

Once you are clear in your own mind that giving sway to your imagination is one of the chief means of moving forward in any area where it is employed, others will come to understand that you are not to be disturbed.

3. Be completely present in the process.

Enter into your dreamscape and walk around in it. This concept may seem ridiculous to you at first, but it is one of the most powerful elements of the art of imagining. I urge you not to pass judgment until you have experienced the power of this step.

Take note of the emerging details and you will become more adept at directing your dream time. Use your senses and see, smell, touch and hear what's going on inside this Vision, the elements of your dream scene. In order for the Vision to manifest in reality, it must first be real to you. A major difference between dreamers and visionaries is the passion to see the dream manifest - this is a critical step in the process.

4. Reflect on and process the experience.

What did you see, feel and experience that was new or surprising or enlightening to you? Don't limit the power of the growing Vision by trying to fit it into past knowledge or experience. George Washington Carver had a Vision for revitalizing the economy of the south, a Vision to which he was dedicated. His experiments with the peanut, a crop known for its soil replenishing properties, resulted in over 300 discoveries, including rich jersey milk - from peanuts!

Certainly there was little or nothing in Carver's experience to lead him down this path. But he was open to new ways of thinking throughout his long career as a researcher and educator. Had he not been receptive to the new and unusual, he would not have achieved his unique place in history, nor would we have access to the wealth of his knowledge and the exciting way in which his mind worked.

5. Record the Vision.

Only when each scheduled dream session is complete and you have reflected on and processed your experience, should you carefully record the session. This part of the process will catalog it as a memory with snapshots you can refer to at any time, enabling you not only to access the data, but also serving as the jumping off point for your next scheduled session.

Take the process seriously and before long you will be working on bigger and better Visions. If you truly dedicate yourself to the process, you will begin to see great things coming to pass in your life in a way you never have thought possible before.

Copyright 2006 So-lu'shunz Management Services