HARRY POTTER AND THE TWELVE POWERS: IMAGINATION & THE WEASLEY TWINS

Welcome back to our Summer Series The 12 Powers and Harry Potter. This week, Imagination! And who better to show us imagination than the Weasley Twins…but more on that later.

First – imagination.

Ella Pomeroy in “Power of the Soul” said; “Imagination is the ability to conceive, to draw together, to inspire the mind with a sense of newness. It is the mind’s exercise in foreseeing results in material form.”

So, Faith is the power to believe. Love is the power to be loving. Strength is the power to persevere. Wisdom is the power to choose. Power is the power to act. Imagination is the power to see.

Imagination is a key element in the formation process; the creative process. If we perceive it, we can conceive it. If we conceive it, we can believe it. And if we believe it, we can achieve it. This is the creative process. So, what are we creating? Are we imagining the worst? Or the best? What are we conceiving? If we look at the order of the process, perception is the step before conception. What are we perceiving? What evidence are we gathering?

“The command ‘be not afraid’ appears frequently in the Bible, and yet we as individuals and as a nation, seem to be driven by fear, of terrorist attacks, of accidents, of poor health, of worry over our children, and probably much, much more.
Have we let fear push out wisdom and prudence as the primary virtues of our daily lives, of our integrity? Should the biblical command “be not afraid” have a role in ALL decision-making?
Why do we as a society continue to fear so many things? What role can the biblical command “be not afraid” have in our everyday decision-making as well as in those of our elected decision- makers?
Why do we use fear, rather than optimism, around solutions?
Why does it seem easier for us as a nation and as individuals to move to fear rather than hope?
Are we perceiving that the world is going to hell in a hand basket? That everyone is ‘out to get’ us? Then what we conceive, what we imagine, is definitely going to achieve something, create something. But is that ‘something’ a reflection of our True Nature, of our Christ Nature, of our Higher Self? What if we perceive that no one and no thing is against us? That everything in the Universe supports us and our growth and our highest expression? What would we be conceiving then? How free would we be to believe the best and achieve the most?

We can look to the teachings and actions of Jesus for a primer on how to release our fear and uncertainty. In that primer, we are asked to redefine who “we” are, realign our will to Divine Will, and practice the Presence in all that we do: Love God; love yourself; love your neighbor as yourself: love your enemies; be inclusive of all; feed the hungry; take care of the sick; respect the Earth; live in the present moment rather than in yesterday or tomorrow; know that there is a power in the universe that is there for all to use; that this power is the same power that beats every heart; that this power is the source of wholeness and well-being.

You may ask why I am speaking of fear when talking about imagination? But then, isn’t it fear that we too often use with our imagination instead of love and hope and peace? Think about it.

Rev. Stretton Smith defines two different types of imagination: Conditioned imagination and willful imagination. Conditioned imagination comes from our memories (often where our fears come from). Willful imagination is something entirely new that we create with our mind. (often to erase those fears)

Let’s do an imagination in action. (You’re on vacation to somewhere we remember. Now willfully change the experience.) That gives you an idea of the difference.

The Harry Potter characters for Imagination are Ron Weasley’s twin brothers, Fred and George Weasley. They are constantly inventing things and creating some prank to sell and invent sport among the students. They represent how divine ideas can lead to physical manifestation and material gain. They also represent how ideas without much forethought can lead to trouble.
Here’s an example of the ‘sport’ they got themselves into…
The Weasleys had arrived to pick Harry up for the Quiddich World Cup, and as they were getting ready to leave, the Twins tested one of their products, on the sly…

Read book 4, page 48, beginning ‘see you’ said Harry. Through the end of page 49. Also, page 51, “Did he eat it?” said Fred through “test them on all summer…”

What’s great about Fred and George is that they have a vision. They knew that scholarship, per se, was not their thing. Their plan was a joke shop…To get to that shop, their vision may change depending on the circumstances and the opportunities presented, but they have a vision of what they want to achieve, and who they want to show up as, and they follow through with actions to fulfill that vision. They get specific, and they’re also willing to be flexible, to change midstream if circumstances warrant.
Imagine the imagination needed for such items as:
Weasleys’ Wild-Fire Whiz-Bangs, which were assorted magical fire crackers
Canary Creams, actually produced little yellow canaries
Extendable Ears, used to eves drop on people’s conversations
Headless Hat, once placed on your head, the head disappears
Nosebleed Nougat, makes you bleed until you take to counter nougat
Portable Swamp, self-explanatory
Puking Pastilles, I think you get the idea
Ton-Tongue Toffees, as explained in the reading
Punching telescope, again self-explanatory
As well as, Reusable hangman and Patented Daydream Charms
The key elements in our imaginings, our visualizations: Specificity and flexibility. Be specific and then be willing to let go of the outcome. Be specific, and then let go and let God. Be specific, and then pray, “This or something better.”

What is your vision for your life? For your career? For your family? How specific have you been? How flexible have you been?

Let’s try it: Get comfortable…Now,
Imagine yourself 18 months from now. Walk out into your future. Your heart is open. Your mind is open. You are willing to receive the gifts of imagination, wisdom, life, love and power. ASK—
What do I really want?
What does it look like?
What is my intention?
Am I showing up as who I came here to be?
What is my ideal working environment?
What is my ideal home environment?
Where do I see myself?
What is my ideal day?
Who are my friends?
Who are my clients, my coworkers?
What do people say about my work with them?
How much money am I making?
What am I doing with the money I’m making?
What impact am I having?
How am I contributing to peoples lives?
What skills have I mastered? How am I using them?
Holding these images in your mind, step outside the picture and witness. How many of your pictures are from your conditioned imagination, your memories? How many are willful, created from the infinite realm of ideas and substance?

Now let’s try another visualization. Pretend that Stephen Spielberg has optioned the rights to your life story. He intends to make a full-length feature film about you and has commissioned three writers to submit scripts to him.

One script will be about your life as it is now, as if nothing changes. The second script will contain one change of some sort – either you meet a new person or you move to a new place. The third script is the most outrageous of all – you become a totally new person – perhaps the one you always wanted to be, the one your soul has yearned for you to be – doing the things you always wanted to do. What would that script look like?

Are you open to new ideas? Are you open to new relationships? New opportunities?

Our imaginations are only limited by our biases.

If you can perceive it, conceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it. Remember this: ‘nothing is written, unless you write it.’

Now visualize for Unity of Rehoboth Beach – what do you see for Unity in 1 year? 5 years? 10?