Einstein once said,
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
The truth is not something that you finally attain. It is a fluid and not etched in stone. That is why imagination can take you there faster than knowledge. We can all cite examples of something that was “known” by all and ends up being completely false. For centuries most people knew the earth was flat. As people began to circumnavigate the globe, they discovered it was round.
Knowledge helps to bring you to the physical truth about the planet when it is proven in a laboratory or by calculations and deductive reasoning. We found out that the earth was not the center of the universe. The laws of gravity gave us the knowledge behind the fact that we can’t jump off a roof and begin to fly.
We discovered that if we put our hand in a hot flame, we got burned. These are all things that are true about the physical universe. They are the known. They are discovered territory. There is no room for imagination: Will I get burned if I put my hand in the fire? Yes, you know you will get burned. Will I crash to the pavement if I jump off the penthouse roof? No doubt.
But if you want to find out the truth about who you are as a spiritual being, then knowledge of gravity, of your anatomy, of how your brain functions, or how we interact as social species is not enough. Knowledge of human history is not enough. You need the quality of imagination that can envision something that is beyond what your physical senses are presenting.
Imagination also leads to questions that Einstein used to ask himself, “What if?” What if time is a human invention and is relative to where you are in the universe? He dared to imagine far beyond the fixed laws of Newtonian physics. And because of this, he entered into the inner sanctum that is available to us all, once we break out of what is known and begin to explore the unknown.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
The truth is not something that you finally attain. It is a fluid and not etched in stone. That is why imagination can take you there faster than knowledge. We can all cite examples of something that was “known” by all and ends up being completely false. For centuries most people knew the earth was flat. As people began to circumnavigate the globe, they discovered it was round.
Knowledge helps to bring you to the physical truth about the planet when it is proven in a laboratory or by calculations and deductive reasoning. We found out that the earth was not the center of the universe. The laws of gravity gave us the knowledge behind the fact that we can’t jump off a roof and begin to fly.
We discovered that if we put our hand in a hot flame, we got burned. These are all things that are true about the physical universe. They are the known. They are discovered territory. There is no room for imagination: Will I get burned if I put my hand in the fire? Yes, you know you will get burned. Will I crash to the pavement if I jump off the penthouse roof? No doubt.
But if you want to find out the truth about who you are as a spiritual being, then knowledge of gravity, of your anatomy, of how your brain functions, or how we interact as social species is not enough. Knowledge of human history is not enough. You need the quality of imagination that can envision something that is beyond what your physical senses are presenting.
Imagination also leads to questions that Einstein used to ask himself, “What if?” What if time is a human invention and is relative to where you are in the universe? He dared to imagine far beyond the fixed laws of Newtonian physics. And because of this, he entered into the inner sanctum that is available to us all, once we break out of what is known and begin to explore the unknown.
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