Rays
from the Rose Cross
Mystic
Light
Imagination
by Elsa M. Glover, PhD.
IMAGINATION IS
THE ACTION of
forming mental
images. Imagination can be
either active or
passive. It is active if one is
creating new and
original images. It is pas-
sive if one is
attuning one’s mind to externally-
When we exercise
our active imagination, the
will of our Divine
Spirit activates the creativity of
our Life Spirit,
which causes an idea to form in the
Human Spirit,
which then forms an image in our
Concrete Mind. We
may additionally form a desire
in our Desire Body
to bring our image into mani-
festation, and
then use our Physical Body to bring
All that humans do
is first imagined. Artists
imagine the
pictures they will paint. Composers
imagine musical
compositions before they write
them out or play
them. Inventors imagine
machines or other
devices before they construct
them. Architects
imagine buildings before they are
Even in the
everyday affairs of life, we imagine
doing things
before we do them. We imagine our-
selves getting out
of bed, eating breakfast, going to
work or school or
the store, or saying something
Because actions
start in the imagination, if we
wish to change
what we do, we need to change
what we imagine
ourselves doing. If we have some
habit that we
wish to change, we need to imagine
ourselves doing
differently. If we want to develop
some quality, we
need to imagine ourselves
exhibiting that
quality. If we want our physical
bodies structured
differently, we need to imagine
how we wish them
to be structured.
Because
everything starts with imagination,
if
we wish to
improve our lives we can start by
improving our
active imagination. Some things we
may want to keep
in mind as we work on improv-
1. We need to
focus on imagining what we want to
happen, not on
what we don’t want to happen.
2. Imagination takes time. We need to give
our-
selves time to
imagine what we wish to bring into
3. When we are
actively imagining, we need to
concentrate on
what we are doing and temporarily
block any
external or internal impulses from dis-
4. The stronger
the will to do something, the more
energy is
available for making the image. To make
the will strong,
we need to know clearly what we
want. Conflicting
interests can weaken the energy
focused in any
one direction.
5. When we have
imagined something as best we
can, bringing it
into manifestation will enable us to
see how well we
imagined it.
Passive imagination can occur in two ways. The
first way (which
we will call Active-Passive
Imagination) is to actively create an image of
some
existing being or
object or situation, but then
release the
image from active imagination and
let
that image
attune itself to the actual being or object
and pick up
information from it. The second way
(which we will
call Passive-Passive Imagination)
is to simply
leave the mind in a completely passive
state, so that
it can receive any images sent to it or
that are
floating around in the atmosphere.
1. When we love
someone, we may create a men-
tal image of
that person, and then from the image
sense what the
other person is feeling or thinking
2. If we imagine
ourselves as being in other peo-
ple’s situations,
this may help us to feel what they
feel and
understand why they think and act as they
do. We may also
imagine ourselves being in the
situation of
animals or plants to gain an under-
3. When we hear a
description in words of some
event (listening
to the news, or talking to someone,
reading a book,
etc.) we may create mental images
of what is being
described, and may sympatheti-
cally feel what
the people involved feel, or under-
stand how they
view things.
4. During the
day, every act that we do and its
effects on others
is stored in our subconscious
mind. In
retrospection, we create mental images of
the events of the
day. These images may attune
themselves to the
images stored in our subcon-
scious mind, so
that we begin to be able to see and
feel the actual
effects of our actions.
5. When some
mechanical or electrical device is
malfunctioning,
if we can imagine the inner struc-
ture of the
device, we may be able to see in our
imagination what the problem is.
6. We can imagine
ourselves as being anywhere in
the universe, and
seeing, hearing, or feeling any-
thing which we
are interested in on any scale
(small or large).
If, beyond having chosen what we
would
investigate, we keep ourselves in a passive
state, we may
see, hear or feel what is actually
1. The Recording
Angels create the archetype of
our lives as a
series of images of the major events
which it will be
our destiny to meet. As we go
through our
lives, these images arise in our minds
and we generally
act them out. If additional input
is needed to get
us to meet our destiny, the
Recording Angels
may make additions or correc-
tions to these
images in our minds. Note that these
images only lead
us to the situations which it is our
destiny to meet.
We have free will as to how we
2. Archangels,
who have the job of being National
Spirits, infuse
the etheric atmosphere of nations
with the images
of the customs, culture, religion,
language and
patriotic feelings of the nations. The
people in the
countries take in these images with
every breath
they breathe. The influence of the
National Spirits
is weakened by intermarriage
between people
of different nations, international
communication,
and independent thinking (not
doing things
just because they are the custom).
3. During the
Fall and Winter months, the Christ
Spirit infuses
the atmosphere of the earth with His
vibrations of
universal love. Those who are sensi-
4. Astrological
forces energize various parts of our
imagination. We may leave our imagination in a
passive state
and go with the flow, or put ourselves
in an active
state and take control of what we
5. When our
minds are in a passive state they may
receive thoughts
and feelings from other people,
from animals,
from buildings (such as places of
worship,
hospitals, prisons, etc), from artifacts or
Just as we can
decide when we talk and when we
listen, we can
decide when we will put our imagi-
nation in an
active state, and when we will allow it
to be passive.
When we want an active imagina-
tion, we form
images which are in accordance with
our will, which
have the forms which we give
them. When we
want active-passive imagination,
we form the
initial image, but then release the
image from our
control and let it attune itself to
reality. When we
want passive-passive imagina-
tion we simply
let our minds be calm and quiet,
and let images
form in them without any interfer-
ence from us.
We, of course, may return from
either form of
passive imagination to active
imag-
ination whenever
we choose.
Some people have
difficulty distinguishing
between mental
images which they generated and
mental images
which they received from outside
themselves.
Sometimes they think that ideas
received from
outside themselves are their own
ideas. Sometimes
they think that messages are
coming from
outside themselves when they are
really generating
the ideas themselves. For exam-
ple, they may
think that God told them to do some-
thing, when
actually they told themselves to do it.
They may think
that they are sympathizing with
someone else,
when actually they are imagining
how they would
like the other person to be feeling.
To distinguish
between active and passive imag-
1. We need to be
aware of the flow of energies
within ourselves.
Just as we would be able to tell
whether or not we
are talking, even if we were
totally deaf, by
being aware of whether we are
energizing our
vocal chords, we can be aware of
whether we are
creating mental images by making
ourselves aware
of whether we are putting any
energy into the
forming of the images.
2. When we are
passively receiving images, we
need to avoid
letting our desires and our logical
mind in any way
influence what we are receiving.
3. It is also
good to occasionally compare passive
imagination with reality. If we imagine that
people
feel or think in
a certain way, we may, when we
have a chance,
ask them how they feel or what
their views are.
If we imagine that God (or one of
His messengers)
is guiding us to do something, we
may check and see
if the actions are consistent with
what we know
about God (such as, “God is Love”).
Not only do the
images in our minds influence
what we do in
life, they also radiate outward and,
if received by
others, can influence what they do.
When we are
actively creating images of others
in our minds,
these images tend to travel to the per-
sons we are
thinking of and may put suggestions in
their heads if
they are in a passive mental state.
They do not have
to do what the received images
suggest to them,
but if the images are in line with
already existing
tendencies within them, those ten-
dencies are
strengthened by the incoming images.
Thus, it is
important that we not imagine others
doing anything
that is not good for them to do.
If people, in the
past, have done wrong, we
should not assume
that they will continue to do
wrong. We should
set up the hope that they will
learn their
lessons, and start acting wisely.
When we are
creating images of others acting
wisely, we
should not be trying in any way to force
then to act as
we imagine. Our images may be
offered to them
as suggestions, but for their own
evolution they
need to make their own decisions as
to what they
will or will not do.
Not only can
people receive the images we send
out, but also
plants and animals and even inani-
mate objects can
receive them. Here, also, we need
to make our
images constructive.
Our imaginations
are our means both of direct-
ing our own
lives and of receiving information
from outside
ourselves. Our imaginations also can
influence those
around us. Thus, it is important that
we learn how to
use our imaginations effectively.
In the following
poem, can you identify which
verses are
describing active imagination, and
which are
describing passive imagination?
Form in your
mind an image
Of situations
others are in.
The image serves
as antenna,
Form in your
mind an image
And
understanding will bring.
Form in your
mind an image
Of what you
would like to create.
Then you can
actually make it
Form in your
mind an image
Of what you
would like to do.
The image then
serves as template
Form in your
mind an image
Of the ideal
ultimate goal.
Cling to this
image firmly.
It will draw
upward your soul.
