The most powerful tool for revolution—personal and collective—has always been right within you: your imagination.
It's time to reclaim it.
We often hear the phrase, "everything you need is within you" in spiritual circles, but what if that everything includes our imagination, and we’ve forgotten this along the way?
What if the very key to our transformation and self-sovereignty lies in this often-dismissed-as-frivolous tool? And yet, we’ve been taught to disengage from it, told that imagination is for children, not for adults seeking to make real change.
As soon as we’re old enough to comprehend the difference between being a child and an adult, there’s a push to grow up.
But here's where my curiosity kicks in: Could this be a Western socialization? Perhaps the push to grow up being even more prevalent in consumer-driven cultures? I have a theory, that resulted in this curiosity of mine:
It's not profitable for large corporations when individuals freely use their imagination as a tool for change, healing, and bridging their inner and outer worlds. (This part is likely more fact, than theory…)
We’re not just discouraged from using our imagination, let alone using it as a tool for personal empowerment and transformation—we're actively steered away from it.
When imagination is diminished, people become disconnected from their inner worlds.
When people are disconnected from their inner world, they may experience a range of emotional, mental, and physical symptoms:
You might feel lost or directionless, you may lack of purpose or motivation, it could become difficult to access or understand your emotions, and you may feel restless or discontent.
When this disconnection persists, you might experience chronic stress, anxiety, overwhelm, fatigue, or burnout; disconnection from your body; and have an over-reliance on external validation (I’m looking at you IG like-counts!). This disconnection can also manifest as a lack of creativity, difficulty making decisions, negative self-talk, a lack of spiritual connection, and eventually disconnection from joy and playfulness, or escapism.
If that list of disconnection symptoms was a put a finger down TikTok challenge, how many fingers do you still have up?!
In short, this disconnection from our inner world benefits systems built on consumption, distraction, and control. An empowered individual who uses their imagination to create and heal becomes less reliant on external solutions.
Imagination invites self-sovereignty, allowing us to reclaim our power, connect with inner wisdom, and shape the reality we wish to live in. Corporations and institutions thrive on predictability and conformity. In this way, stifling imagination becomes a subtle tool of oppression, ensuring compliance and dependence.
This might sound like a pretty big claim, but let me show you some real-world ways imagination can be leveraged.
Imagination becomes a transformative ally in modalities that leverage the mind’s ability to create vivid internal experiences — hypnosis, visualizations, somatic experiencing, and parts work, to name a few. These practices allow us to access deeper layers of the subconscious or body-mind connection.
On a personal note, I’ve used imagination countless times in my own healing journey. For example, in hypnosis and Mindscaping, imagination serves as a gateway to unlock new perspectives and rewire old patterns. A hypnosis session with a peer helped me overcome my arachnophobia!
Not long after a single, hour-long session where we used imaginative elements, I was able to test the effects. When a spider descended down from the ceiling, landing on my cat, Monster, who was sitting on my lap at the time, I was able to react from a place of grounded composure, instead of fear-based panic. This marked a dramatic change in how I reacted to spiders—calmly, instead of with panic.
Using imagination in meditative visualizations, one can guide the body and mind toward a desired state of calm and healing.
Imagination can also be an agent of personal transformation. By visualizing new versions of ourselves, we begin to step into those roles. Some may even use it in personal manifestation practices.
Reclaiming imagination isn’t just for self-healing; it can be used in improving creativity and problem-solving, and breaking free from conventional thinking as well. (More on imagination vs creativity below!)
And in spiritual and mystical practices, it becomes something even more: a portal. A gateway to inner wisdom or subconscious insight. Many of my spiritual teachers encouraged leaning into imagination while building intuitive skills. I now see it as one of the most powerful tools and bridges for both transformation and magic.
And this isn’t just some abstract, mystical concept. Imagination has been scientifically proven to enhance performance in sports. Dr. Alan Richardson’s famous study with basketball players highlights this.
If you’re unfamiliar, here’s the gist: In the 60’s, Richardson divided study participants into three groups:
- Group 1: Practiced shooting free throws every day for 20 days.
- Group 2: Did no practice (control group).
- Group 3: Did not physically practice but spent time each day visualizing themselves successfully making free throws.
The results were striking. Group 1 improved their free throw shooting accuracy with consistent practice. Group 2 showed no improvement. And Group 3, who only visualized making free throws, showed almost as much improvement as Group 1—despite never physically touching a basketball.
What does this show us? Mental imagery, or visualization, activates neural pathways in the brain in much the same way as physical practice does. Imagination is a powerful tool for honing skills, even when there’s no physical movement involved.
So yes, imagination is real. It’s a tool for everything from spiritual practice to athletic development. Which is precisely why I imagine myself at the gym every day 😂
Okay… I’m only kidding on that one, but don’t think for a second that I haven’t considered this as an exercise plan option.
Now, I mentioned using the imagination as a tool to support creativity — so let’s clarify the difference.
Imagination is the raw ability to conjure ideas, images, and possibilities internally. This could be self-guided or prompted by external input, like a person or a piece of art. Creativity, on the other hand, is the process of bringing those imagined ideas into form. It’s the creation, the birthing of whatever was created within the imagination.
You can think of it like this: imagination is the foundation, while creativity is the manifestation. Both are essential for transformation and healing, yet creativity tends to be more revered by society. Imagination, meanwhile, is often dismissed as childish or less important.
Maybe that’s because imagination makes us harder to control…
After all, there’s always a fear that we’ll be labeled as unrealistic or "out of touch" if we live too much in our imagined worlds.
And sure, there’s a valid concern about over-identifying with imagined realities to the point of escapism. Yet, wasn’t escapism also a symptom of disconnection with our inner world?! (I’ll save you the scroll back up… Yes, it was.)
Here’s the thing: the real danger lies not in imagination itself, but in how society frames it. Societies that prioritize logic and productivity over inner exploration tend to devalue imagination, even though it’s one of the most powerful tools for self-healing and innovation.
So the harm isn't in imagination—it’s in how we’re taught to view it.
One of the most beautiful aspects of imagination is that it’s accessible to everyone.
It’s internal and free—you don’t need expensive programs or equipment to tap into it. Of course, at times, you may need or desire an external guide to teach you methods and practices that help strengthen your imaginative abilities (like visualization techniques)… but with practice, you can become highly self-sufficient in wielding this internal magic wand.
Included in my 1:1 conscious self-discovery program, Odyssey, is a journey session where we deep dive head first into transformation, using imagination as a bridge between inner wisdom and outer transformation.
For a culture that has been forced to “grow up”, told to stop daydreaming, and to keep our head out of the clouds, we’ve lost the art of intentionally connecting to our imagination.
And we’ve lost the ✨knowing✨ that this is a powerful tool, that lives within us rent-free.
So my dear reader, I invite you to reflect on how you can begin using your imagination more intentionally —
Perhaps the first step is repairing the relationship to your own imagination, seeing it not as frivolous, but as an essential tool for personal growth and societal disruption.
And from there, you can explore how imagination can guide you to new possibilities, internally and externally.
By the way, if you’re desiring about support in this, or curious to work 1:1 with me, I have 2 spaces open (at the time of writing) for you to join my one on one Odyssey support journey!
You can check if applications are still open, and learn even more about this holistic growth and conscious self-discovery offering by visiting my website.