Was talking with my friend, the talented psychic Joy Star, about her latest newsletter. The topic was a question that she has heard from some of her intuition development students who want to know how to tell if their psychic impressions are "real" or "just my imagination". I've heard that question a lot too.
It isn't easy to answer, but I think J.K. Rowling said it best in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". It was something on the order of "Yes, Harry, this is all in your head. But why on Earth would that mean it isn't REAL" (caps mine). I don't know if that is an exact quote, but you get the idea.
Harry was unconscious, possibly dead, and we see his conversation with the now dead-and-buried Professor Dumbledore. That makes it a particularly potent example, especially at Halloween, when death and the after-life are such prominent themes. We all have some level of conviction about life after death, or at least some deep curiosity about it. It is an idea closely tied to the idea of intuition, psychic ability, spirit guides, guardian angles and so on.
Was Harry imagining the whole thing? Are we just "making stuff up" when we tap into our intuition? Is it just elaborate imagination? Maybe. My question to you is what difference does it make?
My answer is NONE. It makes no difference at all, simply because our minds...AND our imaginations...are part of the seamless whole. We, our minds, our emotions, AND our imaginations are all part of the universe, part of the great big cosmos, the all that IS...not to mention the time-space continuum that connects all that IS to all that was and will be to boot...
I think we draw lines in the sand between ourselves and the larger whole because of very old, very ingrained social customs. To get along, we distinguish between ourselves and other people. We know the difference between ourselves and our reflection in a mirror. This duality is projected to abstract ideas too. We distinguish between the material and spiritual - and "intuition" becomes the bridge between the two. That is normal, and necessary to function and survive. The problem comes when we put extra qualities on one or the other.
The religion-driven perception that the 'spiritual' or godly is somehow perfect or good while the physical is somehow tainted or flawed still persists. It is hard to shift to a more holistic, unified way of thinking. It is hard for some to realize that the spiritual, etheric, intangible, intuitive and emotional are part of the same unified WHOLE as everything else.
That includes your imagination. Even if you imagine it, the lessons that you learn from using your imagination are as real and valid as lessons you learn from "spirit" or anything you think to be separate or outside yourself.
Just ask child psychologists. Children learn from imaginative play...we adults can learn from flights of imagination too, if we are open to it, and keep it in perspective.
Your imagination is part of you. You are real. Your emotional response to what you imagine is real. The lessons you learn from your imagination are real too.
Other people can't see, react too, or have feelings about what you imagine...but
you can. Just because something isn't tangible or "real" to the outside world doesn't mean it isn't valid to your inner experience of life.
Just like Harry gained understanding from his encounter with Dumbledore. It was all in his head...AND it was real.
So is intuition just your imagination? Yes - but that is what makes it real.
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