Imagine
April, 2003
Psychologists have done studies of people who’ve mastered skills, trying to figure out why some people are simply very good at a particular skill while other people really master it. One of their discoveries is that for people to really master a skill, it has to capture their imagination. They like to think about it. They like to try different ways of conceptualizing the skill, approaching the skill, applying the skill in unusual and unexpected ways. And although we often don’t think of imagination as being involved in meditation — in fact, we think that meditation is anti-imagination — actually that’s not the case. To master concentration, it has to capture your imagination, just as with any other skill.