Concerning Transformational Imagination

By George A. Boyd ©2023

Q: Isn’t spiritual work just imagination and none of this is real?

A: Genuine spiritual work is the activity of transformational imagination. To understand what this is, it is important to look at the spectrum of imagination:

Sensory imagination – This is the ability to manipulate three-dimensional objects in space through visualization. Architects visualize a building; scientists imagine what a dinosaur looked like; designers mock up a finished product; game designers picture a virtual reality scenario.

Desire-laden imagination – This experiences the native language of the unconscious mind, which is called fantasy. These are elements of the unconscious that are not allowed expression in human life; they have not been integrated, so they operate in the background of normal awareness. The unconscious includes emotionally charged elements such as fear, anger, shame, guilt, hated, envy, jealousy, grief, lust, greed, addictive craving, attachment, and narcissism—these are called the passions.

Psychotherapy works with people to uncover and integrate intrapsychic elements of this type of imagination through a variety of evocative techniques.

Recovery groups also have people work on elements that arise from this level of the mind that are relevant to their addiction.

Goal-oriented imagination – This is the ability to visualize the outcome of goals. These visions of the future powerfully motivate behavior and substand the drive to succeed at the level of the personality. Goal-oriented imagination is also referred to as a personal dream of what someone wants to achieve.

Metaphysical imagination – This is the ability to imagine what a spiritual state of being may be like. This type of imagines what heaven would be like, how they might be when they reach a certain state of consciousness, and what it would be like to have certain spiritual powers.

This type of imagination is highly speculative, and overvalues and distorts the objects of its speculation. This type is also called glamour. It is commonly associated with the Psychic Realm.

Religious imagination – This type of imagination attempts to interpret scriptures and religious ideas without gaining insight into the actual meaning of what these sources communicate. In Christianity, for example, it generates elaborate fantasies about the Second Coming of the Savior, the Rapture, the Last Judgment, visions of the future (eschatology), and the subjugation of society to its religious dominion and demand for global adoption of its values and beliefs.

Without the development of discernment, this type of imagination can readily degenerate into distorted and paranoid beliefs that give rise to conspiracy theories.

This type is commonly associated with groups that identify with the Moon Soul nucleus of identity in the First Exoteric Planetary Initiation.

Creative imagination – This is the expression of the gifts of the Soul through the personality. This is usually associated with artistic media, literature, and invention, but it can express in other areas like cooking, interior design, gardening, and comedy. The ability to share the gifts of the Soul has been called talent, genius, or giftedness.

Transformational imagination – This type of imagination is based on the ability of the attentional principle to visualize and use intention to engage in inner work to generate transformation of the ensouling entity, to travel in full consciousness on the inner Planes, to make attunements for healing and guiding, and to perform spiritual ministry and initiation.

Because this type of imagination cannot be empirically verified, it is often portrayed as fantasy or self-delusion. In actuality, it is the foundation of genuine spiritual development. Students of Integral meditation are trained to activate and utilize this type of imagination, which enables them to fully actualize their spiritual potentials.

We suggest that developing sensory imagination, goal-oriented imagination, creative imagination, and transformational imagination will help you actualize your personal and spiritual potentials. Moreover, it will be valuable for you to have tools to work with the issues arising from desire-laden imagination, and to develop your wisdom and discernment so you are not entrapped in the illusions and delusions of metaphysical and religious imagination.

Those who wish to learn how to use the methods of transformational imagination that activate your attentional principle can start this process in our intermediate courses, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation or the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program.

The Seven Distortions of the Psychic Realm

By George A. Boyd ©2017

Q: What are some of the challenges aspirants face in the Psychic Realm?

A: The Psychic Realm is called the world of illusion. Seven major misrepresentations of perception and knowing contaminate the spiritual teachings that come from the Psychic Realm.

These illusions distort the Soul’s clear vision and lead to misapprehension of the working of the laws of the mind, and promote irrational thinking and false beliefs. These seven distortions are briefly described below.

  1. Solipsism – In this view, only the Self and its mental content is real, and is the only creative force. This ignores the natural events of the world, the actions of other people, and spiritual agencies that operate independently of the Self as causative factors. This leads aspirants to profound narcissistic absorption, and creates genuine distress when their efforts at creation do not bear immediate fruit or when others do not acquiesce to their every whim.
  2. Amorality – In this perspective, there is no good or evil, only undifferentiated Oneness. This leads the aspirants who experience this distortion to abide in peace and sublime detachment. Holding this point of view suppresses their ability to act on truth, to stand up for what is right and just, and to honor your values and integrity. [We are reminded that if anything is fine, and there is no good or evil, then criminals will rule and anarchy will prevail.]
  3. Omnipotence – From this standpoint, it appears that whatever aspirants intend or wish will magically and miraculously manifest. This leads to unrealistic notions about the Laws of the Universal Mind, the Law of Attraction, and the purported “motivations of the universe”—that they only exist to instantly fulfill their every desire. If this instant manifestation does not occur, then aspirants blame their thoughts and emotions, which they believe are in some manner blocking or hindering these beneficent forces.
  4. Present time absorption – In this distortion, aspirants keep their attention focused on the “eternal now.” By keeping their attention fixed in this altered state of consciousness, they neglect the adoption of appropriate orientation to their temporal experience. They abandon the immediacy of the experienced present in the Conscious mind; shun the storehouse of lived experience in the reservoir of memory in their Subconscious mind; and neglect the future orientation of Metaconscious mind that enables them to plan and set goals. These other three temporal orientations play important roles in adult functioning and in promoting personal growth—continuously abiding in the perspective of the eternal can effectively shut down personal functioning.
  5. Magical and paranoid thinking – When aspirants operate from this mindset, they run the risk of generating irrational thinking through transcending grounded awareness, suppressing reason and reality testing, and re-identifying as a spiritual essence. Belief in conspiracy theories, spiritual fantasies, and the content of unfounded channeled messages readily promote paranoia and delusion in those who do not take the time to examine these warped ideas to discover in what ways they introduce distortion and untruth.
  6. Glamour – This distortion occurs when aspirants misunderstand the phenomena of the Psychic Realm, and they tend to over-value, exaggerate, and idealize the content that comes from this band of the Continuum. Glamour also idealizes and makes people larger than life—actors and sports stars become “celebrities,” famous and gifted people are viewed as infallible gods and goddesses.
  7. Warped notions of transformation and ascension – In this distortion, aspirants come to believe that the misalignment of one of their vehicles of consciousness in the Psychic Realm is “ascension.” They use Kriya-like practices such as the Merkaba method to create “transformation,” which creates spiritual imbalance, and generates perceptual illusions and cognitive delusions. Some who perform these unbalancing practices come to believe they are “the Christ” or a “Master,” even though their Soul’s spiritual evolution is far below the station in which the Masters genuinely dwell.

We encourage aspirants to examine themselves to determine whether any of these distorted viewpoints are operating in them, and to root them out.

Aspirants will benefit from reading our book, The Psychic Realm: Finding Safe Passage through the Worlds of Illusion for guidance on how to combat these illusions.

If you have been exposed to the charismatic and visionary teachers that dwell in this realm, or channeled teachings that arise from this Band of the Continuum, it is likely you have been exposed to one or more of these distortions. We suggest that it will be valuable for you to remain vigilant, as it is very easy to slip into these seductive mindsets that abandon reason and personal responsibility, and promote irrationality and delusion.