IMAGINATION IS THE SERVANT OF THE WILL

Paint the Picture

 

You imagine what you desire,

you will what you imagine, and at

last you create what you will.

                -- George Bernard Shaw

I never realized how we can create abilities with our body by what we imagine. Think Yoga poses. I knew having a great imagination is an asset if you are an artist, a writer, but doing yoga? What a discovery.

It was years ago when Madonna was on the Oprah show and she was talking about how she had changed her exercise. She stopped intense exercise like the Stair Master and started doing Power Yoga. She said Yoga had changed her life. She didn't have to worry about her diet. That did it for me. I just couldn't get down to the Alexandria II Bookstore fast enough to rent a Yoga exercise video. However, I was in for a big surprise. At the book store I became more and more perplexed as I looked through all of the Yoga videos. There were at least twenty of them, and all different. There was Kundalini Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga and more. As I stared reading videos, the sales clerk told me the yoga instructor who taught classes downstairs, had just walked in the door. She introduced me to Naader Shagagi. Naader told me there would be a Yoga class that evening and invited me to come. Little did I know what I was in for, but I was game and primed especially after hearing Madonna extolling the virtues of Yoga. I just had to try it out.

That evening I showed up for class about ten minutes before 6 p.m. right after working. I didn't have time to eat dinner which turned out to be a good thing. Yoga is definitely something you best do on an empty stomach. As I watched students arrive for the class, I was glad to see the various shapes and sizes of the students. I wasn't exactly a petite princess, so seeing the other rounded bodies made me feel more comfortable.

The class started first with a brief dedication followed by a breathing exercise. Then we did the mountain pose. Ah, easy I thought, before I realized that the Mountain pose was the beginning of a series of flow poses called the Sun Salutation. Each Sun Salutation encompassed twelve different poses done in a flowing sequence.  That got me pumped. I trudged through wondering just how many of the Sun Salutations we would do because they went on and on. You can bet I was elated when the Sun Salutations ended. Then we got into other basic Yoga poses.

Naader was very patient and clear with his instructions. "Just do what you can and the pose will get better with practice." That made sense to me. I did the tree pose, only my foot wasn't all the way up to my crotch but on my knee as I balanced on one leg and smiled. Then Naader said something that really stuck in my brain. It was like a magic code I could apply to every aspect of my life. He said,

"Imagination is the servant of the will."

I repeated the phrase in my head, "Imagination is the servant of the will."  By the time we got to the seated poses I was more focused. Then, came the Camel pose. I was on my knees bending backwards and trying to reach back to put my hands on my heels. I was struggling. Normally, I would have been thinking, I will never be able to do this. Naader said to lift my heels. I did. It worked. I relaxed into the pose and then imagined myself doing the pose perfectly. Ninety minutes later, sweating and spent, the class ended. Whew! I actually completed my first Hatha Yoga class.

Surprisingly, just two weeks later, I was doing poses like the Camel, the Awkward pose and the Triangle much better. I even did the wide legged forward bend perfectly. It was true, "Imagination is the servant of the will." My progress was proof. 

My parents high school motto was, "Life is a picture so paint it well." How true. You imagine what you truly desire with emotion, and that compels you to take action while drawing to you everything that is needed to manifest what you imagined into its physical form.  That's the Law of Attraction in action alright. 

So, I hope you are taking the time to invest in your future success by painting pictures of your heart's desire, by seeing yourself doing what you desire, and being the person you desire to become. 

Many people use a "vision board" or "treasure map" of pictures of what they expect to accomplish. Of course, you can picture all you want but you do have to take action. If you really want to use this process to be happy and whole, decide what character traits you need to cultivate to be better, then create a plan of action to cultivate the new traits that will empower your life. (More on that in a later blog.)

The question you can ask yourself, is "Where do I want to be in three months or six months." As you envision what you desire, you are drawn to it and it is drawn to you. In fact, it seems like when you truly desire something, the universe conspires to help you have it.  That's why goals are so important.

Can you see yourself with that new job, the living room decorated, the garage cleaned out? If you smoke, can you see yourself a non-smoker? (Don't use the mantra, "I am a non-smoker." That will never work, but what might work is saying, "I am health." I used to smoke and stopped without help or aid of any kind. However, I got in a lot of practice stopping, starting, stopping and starting. One flash of insight enabled me to quit forever. I don't even have a desire to smoke and I loved smoking!

Remember, "Imagination is the servant of the will."  Paint the picture of a life well lived and you succeeding in all the ways that matter while making a difference. Welcome the gifts of you so they can emerge even more than they have. Your gifts are needed.

Know yourself, be yourself and welcome the treasure of all you are now. You are God's expression of love in physical form and you are here for a reason. That reason is to be who you are and enrich the world with the gifts that only you can give. Your gifts are needed.

If you want more information (gratis) about knowing yourself, check my website and the "Awareness Exercises" in PDFs. Go to creatingcamelot.net.