The Imagination May Be the Greatest Life Hack There Is. Here’s Why.
It takes only one social gathering spent catching up on the lives of friends and family to realize that we all must reckon with the choices we make. The reckoning is usually most evident in the litany of life and health challenges we report to one another: heart disease, stroke, auto-immune disorders, cancer, mental illness, brokenness, apathy, anxiety. And that’s only to name the first 100 characters of the never-ending list.
As we sink into the distress of all the bad news, we may start to wonder, “Isn’t there another way?” “Must we be ravaged by the aging process?” “What about the ailing youth? Shouldn’t it be easier for them?”
Our first response is usually passive, and we blame the aging process. Or aggressively, we shun our diets. Suddenly, we might see the relevance of 19th-century German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach’s statement, “You are what you eat.” But not only might we come to deduce that we co-create our condition based on our food choices, the Buddha’s teaching of “what you think you become” suddenly becomes more relevant, too. So, we start to get our attitudes in check. We could even decide to believe medical intuitive and spiritual teacher Caroline Myss’ contemporary message that “your biography becomes your biology.” We learn to make better choices. And, it’s a good start, accepting that we are a product of our thinking, perceiving, doing, and being. Yet clearly, it’s not a new message, as these little snippets pack a powerful punch of age-old wisdom that has been sitting around waiting for us to embrace it. And, it’s high time we do. However, there is another truth ripe for discovery.
Here it is: There is more to each of us than the eye can see. We are not just a physical body. We have no idea who we are. And, our lack of self-knowledge is killing us from the inside out.
On its face, this message is bleak; yes, and it’s also a beacon of light. As humanity is trekking through unprecedented times, perhaps it’s right on the money. In fact, our ability to survive the spiritual, cultural, and environmental evolution we’re currently facing may depend on our ability to adapt to an expanded identity. We no longer have the liberty to believe and act as if we are only physical bodies distinct from our spiritual natures and separate from one another because we need to acknowledge our energetic nature enough to care for it.
What I am getting at is this: because everything is energy, we are energy. Our thoughts, feelings, and experiences are energy. The food we eat is energy. Our words, like the notes of a song, invisible but audible, are energy. And, just like the different notes, everything contains its own frequency (or vibrational speed) and density (space between the particles/waves).
In fact, in 1992, this part of us — which the eye cannot see — was even given a name. The US Department of Health and Human Services brought together a committee of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) researchers and practitioners at a conference in Chantilly, Virginia. One of the goals for the event was to establish the priorities of the newly formed Office of Alternative Medicine (now called the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). Another one was to decide that they would call this invisible part of us the biofield. It has a ring to it, yes? You, I mean, the biofield was defined as “a massless field, not necessarily electromagnetic, that surrounds and permeates living bodies and affects the body.” I suspect this is the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a clue to who we are.
Why does this matter? Because despite what we have come to imagine, our body is not separate from our energetic or spiritual nature. It’s a different frequency and density, sure, but it’s all on a continuum. It’s an aspect of the energy that comes before it — and runs through it and around it. When this part of us is robust and supported, the rest of us is strong and supported. In other words, though we haven’t recognized that we are a biofield, there is no us without it. And the first step is to know this. So, for now, let’s hack our minds to see ourselves in this new way.
Imagine that your body is enveloped in and permeated by an egg-shaped cloud of different colors vibrating at different speeds. And imagine that the different vibrations correspond to various aspects of your body, plus your thoughts, feelings, memories, etc. Further, imagine a vital life force pouring in and exiting through multiple portals of your biofield (top, bottom, front, and back). Also, imagine the life force traveling along vein-like pathways throughout the field as a majestic light show. Imagine that this vital life force, as it travels, is what nourishes and supports your body and your experiences. Imagine that everywhere the life force flows freely represents the healthiest aspects of your life. But then imagine that impeded flow represents challenges in the form of illness, disorder, deficient behavioral patterns, stagnation, etc. Imagine, lastly, that where there is an impediment, you have the power to create change — and that the first step to creating change is to be open to knowing who you really are.
Punny enough, that’s an image that has legs. But seriously, it’s also one that can provide us with the expanded identity for which our evolving world is calling. We are co-creators by design but attempting to manage all this creative power from the seat of our pants is like trying to drive a car while sitting on top of the hood, blindfolded. Again, there’s more to you than the eye can see. The call to action is simple: imagine that.
The Imagination May Be the Greatest Life Hack There Is. Here’s Why. was originally published in Creative Enlightenment on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.