BEGIN THE NEW YEAR BY CONNECTING TO THE UNSEEN MAGIC OF IMAGINATION

Bonita Mosley, Visionary Optimist

BEGIN THE NEW YEAR BY CONNECTING TO THE UNSEEN MAGIC OF IMAGINATION

You’ve heard it said that the “best things in life are free”. Living in a world focused on materialism leaves out one of the richest experiences we can have. Here is how a teacher opened the door that changed my life. She led me to understand how the arts are a portal to a world of imagination, healing, and life’s purpose.

During a family gathering, my daughter-in-law explained how classical music enriched her life. In the background, Christmas music from Handle’s Messiah was softly winging through the room. Throughout childhood, her family attended concerts, theater, and had access to great literature. She’d been blessed to hear and see the unseen magic in the arts. I wasn’t. Until one day my music teacher opened my eyes

Then our music teacher began explaining that there is more than one way to see than with our eyes.

Our third grade class filed into the school auditorium. We took our seats in the dimly lit rows. Curiosity about what was to happen bubbled over. Then our music teacher began explaining that there is more than one way to see than with our eyes Wow! Really?

She told us that our minds paint pictures using our imaginations The enchantment of reading and hearing is seeing a story unfold in your mind. She said, “Mind pictures stay in your memories far better than only watching with your eyes. Words make pictures. And sound has magic like that too. Without anyone else’s pictures or directions, you’ll see the

AI can’t touch this! We humans crave beauty, satisfaction, and possibility in our lives.

Our auditorium had a high quality audio system that made the sound seem to come alive. Teacher instructed us to get comfortable, shut our eyes, and listen deeply to the music to allow the pictures to freely form. Of course, these images happen involuntarily every time you read or hear a word But, this was the first time I intentionally let a wordless symphony of sound take me on its adventure. It was breathtakingly wonderful!

We each shared our impressions of the different musical pieces with the class. I was amazed how different the stories were.

She played a variety of classical pieces, some opera, some jazz, some lighthearted broadway tunes and Western movie scores. Our class was an hour long. I could have stayed for years. It was the first time that music caused tears to flow down my nine year old cheeks. But not the last time of being overwhelmed by its majesty.

A few years later the hours of studying and playing music in my school band eased the pain of a dysfunctional family life and healed teenage drama. It was Art Therapy before I knew of such a thing. The sound and the vibrations of the beautiful music gave me strength and peace. The teacher’s seed of music appreciation was growing roots. AI can’t touch this! We humans crave beauty, satisfaction, and possibility in our lives. My teacher told us that our minds can see more than what’s before our eyes We don’t have to settle for the ordinary or the glum This unseen magic is free and happens to every mind. There it was! The essence of creativity! The magic had a name and a process.

As I later became an art teacher to thousands of students, I used her teaching techniques to inspire their minds through visualization. I taught them how to use their imaginations while I played music related to the subject they were learning to paint My music teacher’s vision was still planting seeds

To be beneficial, the imagination has to be directed It’s a double edged sword You want the good that you imagine to come into your life.

Use this Bible verse as a measure:

Philippians 4:8 “Finally brothers, whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, anything worthy of praise, think of these things ”

We all know what the opposite of any of these standards are, so let’s not bring that to us. Refuse to park your thoughts there. Keep it true and positive.

Put the phone and social media away for at least an hour a day!

Play an instrumental piece of music and relax into it while enjoying the images coming into your mind. Choose a genre that resonates with your soul Record what you see and feel in your journal Test other music and record the results

Ask a child what they see when you play an instrumental music piece with them- try the score from “Star Wars” or one of John Williams’ movie scores. You will be opening doors.

Don’t let a closed attitude toward exploring the unseen deter you. As one young woman said, ”I only listen to music with modern words!” One dimensional life is eventually shallow and unsatisfying.

Be a giver, like my music teacher. Create moments for others to use their imaginations. Everybody in your life needs more awareness of the unseen beauty of creativity in their lives

I don’t know who she was I can’t remember what she looked like. But that day a music teacher changed a little girl’s life. It was the birth of an artist. And it was through the unseen magic of imagination.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen ” Hebrews 11:1