Your Will vs. Your Imagination

It was early in the twentieth century that Emile Coué, a French chemist, interested himself in the powers of the mind for healing and discovered that “our actions spring not from our Will, but from our Imagination”. I am sure, if most people were asked, “Which is the most powerful, the Will or the Imagination?” they would answer, “The Will”. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth for Coué found that a person’s Will must always yield to their Imagination. A clue as to why this might be so is in the fact that our Will resides in our conscious mind and our Imagination resides in the subconscious self.

We have already seen that the subconscious mind is far larger and more powerful in every aspect than our conscious mind; it never sleeps, but quietly goes about controlling all our actions. You may even have noticed the antagonism between the forces of the Will and the Imagination when, for example, you are trying to diet yet you deliberately open the refrigerator and eat the chocolate bar that is there. Frustrated you say, “I couldn’t help it; I did it against my will!” Your imagination that says you want that chocolate bar will always make you act, even when you will yourself not to have it.

Coué often quotes the well-known example of the plank to further prove the power of Imagination over the Will. If a 30cm wide plank is put on the ground it is easy for people to cross it without falling off. However, if the plank is placed four or five stories above the ground between two buildings and those same people are asked to cross the plank they would be unable to do it, even if they had the Will to do so. If their Imagination pictures them falling from the plank there is nothing their Will can do to change that impression and they will find it impossible to cross to the other side.

Do not confuse Imagination with day-dreaming. The latter is a form of mental dissipation which takes place in the conscious mind. Imagination is a powerful, creative force that lives in the subconscious area of the mind. When we cultivate and guide our imagination its creativity becomes productive preceding every constructive action.

Only when the Will and the Imagination agree can action take place. For example, if you desire to reach a goal you must first create a mental image of it, i.e. imagine yourself clearly attaining that goal. Hold firmly to that image and confidently expect that you will have what you desire. Meditate on that image through your imagination (i.e. think about it deeply and often) and eventually your Will can give life and purpose to your imagination through the capacity of the mind and your desire will become reality.

All these examples serve to clearly show how necessary it is to become fully aware of how your mind works and why it is necessary to concentrate on the things you want, not on the things you don’t want. Only then will you be able to understand and govern your subconscious and guide your imagination to be able to reach your true potential.