Leap Into Another Life with Your Imagination

Who do you want to be today?

Much ado about an extra day every four years? It’s just another day to most people. This year, it falls on a Thursday meaning most people will still get up, go to work, and carry on as they do every other weekday.

But what if…

What if the Leap Day offered a special invitation by the very nature of its name?

What if it was a portal to explore space and time and step into another data stream? By data stream, I am referring to an idea based on string theory: that we exist in endless parallel universes.

It could be that your doppelganger or counterpart “persona” exists on Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth 3, and so on, as in the clever television show The Flash. Or it could be more like a past-lives scenario where you are or were someone completely different in each lifetime, but with the idea that all timelines are concurrent.

If this sounds like a stretch, that could be the point. It takes a good imagination to consider these possibilities, much less playfully explore them.

Leap To Another Line

In her book Infinite Creativity, Silvia Hartmann presents a wonderful idea that we can play the “greatest game on earth — your own personal game with space and time. This means engaging with and interacting with the energy mind and its multi-modality worlds. This means stepping into the data stream and experiencing it first hand.”

The best thing is that it costs absolutely nothing. There isn’t any need for expensive high-tech equipment — no VR (virtual reality) glasses or headsets — just the always-present imagination.

We do not need spoon-fed scenarios to activate our imaginations.

Pretend you are a sea captain and you’ve just come into port after surviving the most harrowing of storms. Feel the spray of wind and water on your face. Hear the harried and fearful cries of your crew and their cheers as you emerge from the weather pattern. See the sun peek from behind ominous clouds moving slowly across the horizon. Smell the salt air and taste victory.

Pretend you are a zookeeper and imagine caring for exotic animals in up close and personal ways. You might find that you let them all go, thoughtfully and responsibly releasing them back into their native habitats. Immerse yourself with all your senses and see that you don’t have more energy to carry on with the rest of your normal activities of daily living.

Full sensory immersion into an imaginal space is one of the most underestimated yet powerful ways to not only find entertainment but also to reduce stress, rehearse scenarios, enhance creativity, solve problems, and more.

Understanding Context

We use our imaginations far more than we’ve been led to believe. Even our “rationales,” which we hold in high regard, are often more a product of a good imagination and not as rational or logical as we’d like to think.

To understand and correctly utilize the imagination, we must think in terms of context. Within its context, everything makes sense. If horses fly, it is because a context has been developed that allows it to be so. In real life, if it seems better to go to the park rather than the opera, it is because a context has been formed that influences the decision.

It’s also helpful to know that contexts are fluid, and not static. By using the imagination regularly, ideally as a practice, this becomes easier to recognize. We can begin to understand where others are coming from because we are more aware of where we ourselves are coming from in any given situation.

Knowing that an experience is imaginary doesn’t mean that one is delusional and prone to fantasy. Quite the contrary. Intentional imagination is a practice of presence and lucidity — somewhat like a lucid dream during the night — and helps us to be more present and lucid during the rest of our day.

Sensory Lucidity

For example, right now, pause with me for a moment. Look around and notice — really notice — a few objects in the room you are in. See how the light hits them just now.

Breathe in but with the intention of smelling something. You may detect nothing at all, as our sense of smell is quite underdeveloped unless something is literally under our nose, but you might also smell dust, humid air, food cooking, fabric softener, perfume, or something else.

Now do the same with your sense of taste. Do you taste metallic? Do you taste salt? Anything?

Next, listen. What sounds do you hear? Listen more intently. What sounds are beneath those initial ones? Have you noticed that you hear less when you are concentrating on reading or writing? Learn to tune your ears in while you are otherwise occupied.

Now focus on your tactile sense. How does the surface feel beneath you? Hard and sturdy, or soft and cradling? Do you feel the temperature of the air around you? If not, it might be equal to your body temperature. Take a moment to touch with your fingers a few things close to you. Focus on the textures and temperatures of those things.

The Sensory Imagination

You have just tuned in to your senses, what we generally call “paying attention” but so rarely do in the fullest sense.

Now, if you have a moment, close your eyes and imagine yourself in another room in your house or office, other than the one you are in, but one you know well. What do you see, smell, taste, hear, and feel?

Take your time with this, and then allow for the room to come alive. A scene begins to form if you let it, and you can take part in it like an actor on a stage.

Is anything out of place here? Remedy that in your mind’s eye. Does anything need more attention? Pretend to take any action necessary and feel how your body responds.

Inner Sanctuary

Most people who have done this imaginal work with me feel a positive energy shift in their bodies. Something feels resolved. While they can’t always put a finger on exactly what, the feeling is very real and helpful. Not to mention they find themselves more relaxed and ready to tackle the day.

I used the other room as a simple example of how to work with the senses in your imagination, intentionally and methodically. Without sensory integration, the imaginal experience lacks vividness and impact.

When you have another few moments, imagine the one place in this world, or some other world, where you feel the safest, but also the most alive. This can be an inner sanctuary that you can visit in your imagination, any time you want to, for reprieve and restoration of energies.

You can invite other imaginary figures here to interact with. You could be any number of other imaginary figures yourself. Your inner sanctuary could also be the point of departure for adventures in any number of other worlds and dimensions.

A Form of Daydreaming

What I have described is lucid dreaming by daylight. What I call DayLight Dreaming. Midway (Jean Carfantan) also let me know that it’s called “shifting” which makes sense. I am writing a book on shapeshifting as a form of energy management and “shifting” goes right along with this idea.

It’s not just your ordinary daydreaming, however, letting your thoughts drift mindlessly. This practice is very mindful, and although not necessarily goal-oriented, quite purposeful.

DL Nemeril said to me in a comment on my article A Beginner’s Guide to Intentional Daydreaming, on this same topic, “Your conscious dreaming technique is a wonderful ‘cure’ for the mind. Gives it something to focus on that is actually useful!” I agree DL!

Daydreaming like this is one of my favorite hobbies. You might try it!

Are you ready to make the leap? Today, any day, and every day!

A special shout out to Jes Kerzen for reminding me that gratitude is also good for creativity and the imagination! Thank you!

Runa Heilung is an Old Soul Alchemist, mystic, and dream archaeologist. She works with dreams, oracles, and the imagination to help people rediscover their Inner Wisdom. She offers DayLight Dreaming sessions that will not only be transformative in and of themselves but also teach you how to begin and maintain your own DayLight Dreaming practice. Email [email protected] for more information.