I’m of the opinion that imagination is an unavoidable part of life.
There is always something in our mind. Our imagination is almost always engaged, drawing out images and ideas, memories and expectations. The imaginary world may be an escape from suffering; other times it is a gateway to ideas, dreams and celebration.
Even so, we can all think of a time when the imaginary world was a dangerous place. Who among us has not witnessed how the mind may become a breeding ground for temptation or hate? It can even be a place of despair, guilt and self-abuse. Just look at the world around us; we can all see the wicked fruit produced by unhealthy imaginations.
So how do we protect ourselves? Is this vast wilderness within us simply too treacherous to endure? Is it even possible to ensure our imagination is helpful, and not harmful?
I think the answer can be found in Meditation. Specifically, in the discipline of our imaginary world. Let’s look at an analogy.
Any exercise scientist will tell you that exercise is important. Exercise may look different from person to person or culture to culture, but it always has value. Most exercise specialists will also tell you that what is ideal for one person may not always be ideal for another. Exercise is both objectively good and healthy, and subjectively helpful. There are no cookie-cutter work out plans, because each person is experiencing different benefits, consequences, challenges and development. Meditation is comparable in nearly every respect.
Now, of course, let us look to the Scriptures.
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:2, NKJV
Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians may provide a good starting point to approach this idea. Looking at the first seventeen verses of chapter three, we get a glimpse into Christian ethics. The believer is summoned to seek the things of Christ; to pursue the heavenly behaviors that lead to the right hand of God. Action is tied to outcome. Saints Paul and Timothy connect the realm of action to the realm of the mind.
Now in my last post in this series, I suggested that the word mind in Romans 12:2 is the Greek word nous. I also mentioned that when the Eastern Christian tradition reads this verse, they associate this word with theoria; that is to say, contemplation.
But the word mind in Colossians 3 is not the same word. Phroneó describes thinking in a way which is connected to action, and is close to a pattern of thought. It is associated with an attitude, or even a consistent feeling-association. It involves opinions, tastes, preferences, habits and emotions.
It is this idea that I believe aligns with the imaginary world.
What else but the imagination turns ideas into opinions, preferences into investments, and emotions into habits? What else but the imagination takes these invisible impulses and gives them a shape, a taste or a feeling? And these patterns of thought inevitably transform our life!
Now let’s talk about discipline. Verse two suggests that we are supposed to “set our mind”, meaning that our preferences can be trained. Discipline is possible. And not only that, but if action is tied to outcome, and thought patterns are tied to action, then disciplining our mind is crucial. The imagination is a part of your self. It’s a part of who you are.
Another thing we might ask ourselves: Why is it so hard to act like a Christian?
To form a new habit may involve anywhere from 18 to 254 days of consistent repetition, varying from person to person. Like exercise, there is no one-size-fits-all method. Breaking an old habit can be much, much more difficult.
The Christian relationship with the sacred is fundamentally tied to the Christian life; and for most, life is a very long thing. Instant change, that modern demand we cultural Americans love so much, is an alien idea to how people really live. It takes patience, forgiveness and discipline. Three things that the immature and foolish cannot grasp (I would know - I’m still learning this myself).
Forming healthy habits ultimately requires work. It’s deadly work, in fact! Paul encourages the church to “put the old man to death”, and all his ways! This ‘putting to death’ of the old self is an important part of the Christian life. It means a changing of the mind, and a changing of the will; most of all, it means a changing of the daily habits of our life.
This progressive move from profanity to holiness is often called sanctification, though I personally prefer to use the eastern term: Theosis.
This transformation doesn’t happen overnight. For most of us, it takes a lifetime. A lifetime of striving, wrestling, choosing and intentionally living; decades of work to cultivate the treasured Christian virtues.
And what all-encompassing virtue pervades the Christian life? Paul lists a few symptoms of it: compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, and patience. They all point to one thing:
Love.
Return to our contents page, The Cruciform Prayer, here!