abian Philosophy

A popular notion of imagination is that it is a device of an immature mind wasting time in idle daydreaming. It can certainly be used in such fashion. But there is more to this wonderful capacity of the human mind. Imagination is the royal road to accomplishment. Imagination is the employment of pure potentiality or the capacity to vicariously experience ideal reality. When employed in a constructive manner, this imaginative faculty places before the mind’s eye the goal to be achieved and, if used productively, provides the means of achievement. It is a tool of creation! We little realize that we are creators in the same manner as the Divine Creator. Our domain of activity is just more limited.

Sabian philosophy teaches that we must realize that our senses function through the vital soul and thus we learn to master the physical world; that our emotions function through our animal soul and thus we learn to utilize the world of concrete reasoning and emotions; and that our reason functions through our rational soul and thus we learn to become human.

This approach to creative living is based on Ibn Gabirol’s Fountain of Life Book III, Chapter 57. Here the Teacher explains the hierarchy of the four kingdoms found in nature (mineral, vegetal, animal, and human), much after the fashion of the previous paragraph. In his discussion, he emphasizes that the lower kingdom always serves the higher kingdom. He does this validly even though he uses the model of Ptolemaic Astronomy, which Galileo demonstrated was incorrect.

A practical application of the concept of imagination would be to use this imaginative faculty to find a situation in which you can create a "grand gesture." One suggestion might be to do something totally unexpected for someone—like paying the toll for the car behind you at the tollbooth.