We are told that the disintegrating state of our mind and of our school system, for that matter, is because we lack imagination. Even further: this innate creativity is decaying because of the age we are living in, the Internet Age. “Has modern society really extinguished the creative spark among our youth? Experts say creativity is innate, so it can’t really be lost. But it needs to be nurtured. … The current focus on testing in schools, and the idea that there is only one right answer to a question, may be hampering development and creativity among kids, … But the situation is not hopeless, … In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that, worldwide, youngsters are very creative, particularly with their use of digital media, … And a recent study found that, at least in their playtime, kids are becoming more imaginative. Experts agree changes can be made in the classroom to cultivate creativity.”(1)
One of my favorite educators, Dr. Ken Robertson(2) often speaks of the need to nurture that “treasure” that exists in each of us. “All children start their school careers with sparkling imaginations, fertile minds, and a willingness to take risks with what they think. … I believe this passionately: that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it. … We live in worlds that we have forged and composed. It’s much more true than any of the species that you see. I mean, it seems to me that one of the most distinctive features of human intelligence is the capacity to imagine, to project out of our own immediate circumstances and to bring to mind things that aren’t present here and now.” Thus we are presented with a conundrum, are we not? You cannot kill my creativity: it is innate. But, how do I manifest this imagination? If the contemporary school system will not allow me to mature, I must uncover myself: I must obviously experiment.
Now exposing yourself to a new “world” and new experiences obviously comes with some risk. The American inspired War on Drugs has been an approach to limit the usage of “illegal substances” in the population, excluding probably the most lethal: alcohol. Virtually all segments of society considered it a politically driven failure. (3) Our approach to any kind of mind altering material has been historically quite confused and many times ephemeral. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis was heavily addicted to cocaine, of all things. In an Anatomy of Addiction (ISBN: 978-1400078790) , Dr Howard Markel writes, “On April 21, 1884, a 28-year-old researcher in the field now called neuroscience sat down at the cluttered desk of his cramped room in Vienna General Hospital and composed a letter to his fiancée, Martha Bernays, telling her of his recent studies: ‘I have been reading about cocaine, the effective ingredient of coca leaves,’ Sigmund Freud wrote, ‘which some Indian tribes chew in order to make themselves resistant to privation and fatigue.’ As Freud wrote almost three decades later: ‘the study on coca was an — allotrion’ — an idle pursuit that distracts from serious responsibilities — ‘which I was eager to conclude.’ In that period of time, Freud became so seriously addicted to cocaine that he almost ruined his career. There can be no enlightenment through an artificial stimulant.
On a personal note, I had a friend in school, George Maige. He thought he was “too cool for school,” as the saying goes (4). He was good looking, with a car and, of course, a girlfriend: he was our idol, our icon, everyone wanted to emulate his lifestyle. He tried LSD. (5) This drug had only been made illegal in 1968: I was born in 1956, for example. Upon ingestion, it causes an “animated sensory experience of senses, emotions memories, time, and awareness for six to fourteen hours.” All fake and created by the mind: I see the world through my five senses to paraphrase Sadhguru. George took the drug and had a “bad trip” — a period of mental breakdown. He caused quite a “stir” in our small town. He crawled up a tree and began to howl and grunt like a monkey. You know the corollary: the neighbors came, then the police came, and finally the volunteer medical staff came — followed by a real-life doctor. George was placed in our local hospital and eventually moved to a “big city” mental institution. A friend and I went to visit him. If you have watched “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (6) you will know what effect it had on me as a young man. He was never the same again – never! The academic and mystic, Ram Dass (7) leaves us with a thought: Love is the most transformative medicine for love slowly transforms you into what psychedelics only get you to glimpse.
A closing thought: You eventually come to a point in life that you realize “the big five” (alcohol, drugs, sex, money and power) will not help you achieve enlightenment – your oneness with the universe – only you can do that. The other diversions will not, ultimately, help. Only meditation, prayer, and thoughtfulness can give you an understanding of life.
A small joke: A defendant wasn’t happy with the court proceedings so he began to give the judge snide and confusing answers.
Judge: Where do you live?
Defendant: Here and there.
Judge: What kind of work do you do?
Defendant: This and that.
Judge: Did you commit the crime?
Defendant: Maybe yes, maybe no!
Judge: Take him away.
Defendant: Wait; when will I get out of prison?
Judge: Sooner or later.
This week, please ponder how to discover your own true self.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: As human beings, we have been trying to alter our realities since time immemorial with artificial substances, and we have failed miserably. Maybe it is time for a new weapon: prayer. –
Footnotes:
1) Are Today’s Youth Less Creative & Imaginative?
2) The Power of Imagination by Sir Ken Robinson
3) The ‘war on drugs’ in numbers: a systematic failure of policy
4) Meaning very cool or fashionable
6) one flew over the cuckoo’s nest full movie
7) Ram Dass