The Imagination

When the artist Michelangelo was asked how he approached sculpting his masterpiece David, he replied that he chipped away everything in the large piece of marble that wasn’t David. Michelangelo had amazing focus and concentration as he tirelessly and passionately worked on his masterpiece chipping away what he didn’t want while maintaining his future vision of what he did want and what the completed David would look like.

Because of the miraculous design of our brain, we can recall a past experience and quickly assess what worked and didn’t work and draw upon resources there; we can take what we learned and apply it now and be fully absorbed in present time with focus, concentration and creativity; we can retain an inspiring vision of the future and work towards what we want it to look like.

An excellent example of this is the story of the Russian composer and pianist, Sergei Rachmaninoff. The premier of his Piano Concerto No.1 in 1897 in St. Petersburg, Russia met with such critical reviews by the local newspaper that Rachmaninoff fell into a lengthy depression. Unable to recover, he sought help from a physician, Dr. Dahl, who specialized in autosuggestion. Autosuggestion is what we now call self-hypnosis. Dr. Dahl assessed Rachmaninoff’s case and advised him to use the same hypnotic declaration every day, “I will compose a new concerto. I will work with the greatest of ease. The composition will be of excellent quality and the critics and public will rejoice!”

Rachmaninoff repeated these positive statements day after day for two years. Slowly, he began to see that much of his first piano concerto was excellent and he applied what worked to the new piano concerto he was working on, Piano Concerto No.2.  As Piano Concerto No. 2 took shape, his confidence began to return. Piano Concerto No. 2 had its world premiere in October 1901. It was an instant success and is regarded as one of the greatest piano concertos in classical music history. Not only did Rachmaninoff rise to the occasion, he exceeded it. He made peace with his past, drew upon successes and resources there, regained his confidence, moved beyond his fears, reignited the joy of composing, and successfully performed in public again. With the help of Dr. Dahl, he was able to take the best of what he had learned from his past and create the future he wanted to create.

The imagination is amazingly resourceful. It can repair a broken past, inspire the present, and generate excitement about the future.  Whether it is a work of art, a fund raiser, a room addition, a romantic evening with a loved one, or a new business endeavor, the imagination is capable of doing extraordinary things.  Yours or mine might not be on par with that of Michelangelo or Rachmaninoff, but it will be a creative and unique expression of whom we are and that is something to celebrate!