#262 How to turn on the power of your imagination and how imagination can help you discover your purpose, with Christoph Weigert.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION

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Please note that while an effort is made to provide an accurate transcription, errors and omissions may be present. No part of this transcription can be referenced or reproduced without permission.

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Christoph Weigert  0:00  
Yeah, so we want to create some kind of discipline around our imagination and cultivate it into a practice so often so the imagination is very flexible, okay? It can go in any direction. One thing I like is also when you think about a future, but you can't really go there. Maybe you try to go to the negative like our would be really bad if it would happen, or what would never happen like that's like totally out of out of reality that would never happen

Agi Keramidas  0:43  
you are listening to personal development mastery podcast, providing those with the desire to grow with a simple, consistent actions needed to master personal development and create the life they yearn for. I'm your host, Agi Keramidas. A few years ago, I found myself unfulfilled and unmotivated like I had lost my sense of purpose and my life was merely passing by. Since then, I've been on a continuous journey of personal development that has transformed every aspect of my life. Now, my mission is to inspire you to grow, stand out and take action towards a purposeful and fulfilling life. In this podcast, I invite myself inside the minds of remarkable entrepreneurs, authors, thought leaders, spiritual teachers, people who share the journey milestones and learnings for you to be inspired to grow. In this episode, you will find practical action points that you can implement right now. So make sure you follow the podcast to get them as soon as they are released. 

Agi Keramidas  1:51  
In today's show, I'm delighted to speak with Christoph Weigert. Christoph, you are a fiction and nonfiction author, as well as a trauma sensitive creativity coach, you say that you turned on your own power of, of imagination in 2015. And your book on imagination had many people fall in love with their creative powers or reignited the passion of artists. Christoph, welcome to the show. It's such a pleasure to speak with you today.

Christoph Weigert  2:22  
Hello, Artie, thank you for having me and for the nice introduction. And also Hello to all the listeners. There,

Agi Keramidas  2:31  
the topic of imagination is something that, as I was telling you earlier on, I have a personal fascination about and I believe it's not discussed as much as it shouldn't be or as it deserves to, to be discussed. So we'll certainly go there. Before we discuss imagination, what I would like to start with is, if you could take us back in that time in 2015, which I suppose the must be some kind of a key moment in your life. Can you take us back there? What were you doing and what happened for you to tell known imagination as you say?

Christoph Weigert  3:17  
Thank you. That's amazing question. I just moved from Bavaria to Berlin, the capital of Germany. I finished my physiotherapy school and I started working as a physiotherapist. And in some online forum, I saw this kind of like quote, which said whenever you place imagination, against like, personal will, will power the imagination will always be stronger. And this was kind of the key key quote that had me like spinning I was thinking about like, how can imagination be stronger than personal will because personal world can move mountains and everything. And then somehow I discovered this person and he created this whole John Rappaport his whole philosophy of imagination and how it's actually like the next logical big step in our evolution like after we learned from the ancient philosophers like logic never someone gave like full play to the power of creativity and imagination did played also in the evolution in our society or in for us as humans like. Yeah, so I So I took his courses, and I did hundreds of hours. And I did imagination exercises. And one exercise was about painting faster than you can paint and you just make drop some symbols. And then I hang these pictures in my room, which was like about 50 to 70 pictures. And then I was out of town and a friend was renting out my room and Airbnb. And then someone bought two of these pictures that I painted in minutes. No, I just like I didn't think about anything was like action painting. And so this was, for me a key moment where I realised like, okay, also in my personal life, this imagination thing has like serious effects, because suddenly, I was like, someone who sold art, like. So I think this was a key moment, and this whole time, like, like immersing myself for a year or two and dislike different exercises, which really transformed myself, because when I moved to Berlin, I also, I had a friend, she's from Mexico, she's like this real artist, no, never worked anything besides doing art in all its shapes and forms. And I was really inspired by her and her way of seeing the world. But also always felt a pain that I could not really appreciate the world from this kind of artistic viewpoint and perspective. And, but so over time, I see how that also has changed. And I now feel also more connected to, like, the artistic perspective.

Agi Keramidas  7:08  
Can I ask you, because you talk about the artistic viewpoint, and I think the role of imagination in art is very obvious. I mean, it's very difficult to create a folder to create art without imagination. But what about people that are not really artists, or they're not involved with art in their everyday life? What can imagination do for them?

Christoph Weigert  7:38  
Yeah. So as a first step, if you look around and into the objects in your room, and you can try to think of the story behind the objects like this, like the technology we're using right now, to communicate your furniture. It's all kinds of kind of like brainchild of someone's imagination. Like everything around us the way we build houses, before we build hearts, or the different housing styles. Now we have tiny houses. We have 3d printed houses coming. So it's all around us is imagination. And you need to take some moments, minutes hours to like, just take a walk, just look at your life look around you. And appreciate the fact that it's all based on imagination, like many things around us, so this would be a first step. And then it's the same as if you you're not happy with the shape of your body. You're, you go up the stairs, you know, you're like out of breath after two flights of stairs. So what can you do? You you start to train, you maybe go to the gym, you take longer walks, your start to develop your body, your physical capabilities, you reconnect with the inherent power of your body. And the same we can do for our imaginations. We can go to a museum get inspired by artists imagination, by life around us, as I've already said, when you're reading a book, you kind of always using your imagination to different degrees because then you're creating these characters in your mind. And also when you're worrying about the future, for example. You're It's your imagination. Just your If you're misusing it, maybe to worry. So you're painting like a negative scenario. So what you could then do is paint. So next week you have an appointment coming up with your boss or spouse or whatever you're worried. Create 345 whatever different scenarios, how does apartment could go? A really bad scenario? I like normal accord one and one like, beyond amazing. So yeah, I think this is something that everyone can use right away for their life.

Agi Keramidas  10:48  
It's what you said about worrying about the future is when we're using our imagination against us, rather than for us, and I think that the Warriors, you said it, I think, connects with these costumes with many people with the sense that when we worry, most of the times, we don't intentionally worry. So it's starts happening. And then an internal dialogue, oh, free images and sounds and dialogues and scenarios, happens usually in the way that we don't, we don't want. And that happens without us wanting. So I suppose one of the differences of using our imagination for our advantage would be to deliberately practice that. And you already gave a couple of practical exercise, like looking at the story behind the objects in your room, which I'm actually going to do that myself, it's very interesting, because and I will, I will share, and maybe you can explain that to me that sometimes I feel that my imagination is kind of blocked. I mean, I want to imagine or spend some time, you know, and think about an aspect of the future or something like that. But my mind does not go to that direction. So I lose the concentration very quickly and come back to other issues or things like that. So can you tell me if that is if there is something that can be done to cultivate imagination in these situations.

Christoph Weigert  12:47  
So first of all, I also want to acknowledge like what you said before that often it's then like, on automatic, kind of our imagination. So our first step is really to bring more consciousness to it and, and cultivation that that like, like a training that you do a few times a week. And maybe this also connects to what you said, because of like, something doesn't work out in the first few minutes, or sessions. And then we become discouraged. But often in life, it seems that it's the case that we have to persevere, and also strength for our perseverance to show live and fade and whatever like okay, we really mean it. I like this. There's the story. I don't know where it's coming from, but it's like, okay, so you're planning something. And then shit happens, you know, it's not working out and they call it the gargoyles. Some mystical creatures, that trying to bring you off path. And if you notice that you're just tested by live, you can willfully stay on path. And so that's also then I would say the point where the will and imagination connect again. Because yeah, so we want to create some kind of discipline about around our imagination and, like, cultivate it into a practice. But then the thing is so often, so the imagination is very flexible, okay. It can go in any direction. Yes. One thing I like is also when you think about a future app, but you can't really go there. Maybe you try to go to the negative like our protein really bad if it would happen? Or what would never happen? Like that's like totally out of out of reality that would never happen. So you can try to go at it from different perspectives and angles. Or maybe if it's not working for yourself, maybe you imagine yourself to be like another person or like, who? For which version of myself? Could this future happen? Or how could I go to this future as another person? Yeah. Also, I really like also to, to solve because we can talk about something we can write about something, we can make a picture about something. So we have different channels that we can connect with something. So if you can't think about the future, maybe you can like, not like dance it or make like sounds according to it. So yeah, so you try to go at it from different perspectives.

Agi Keramidas  16:28  
That's very, it's, it's fascinating. The, rather than restricting your imagination to thinking to use others, senses or elements to that's very, very useful. And actually, you said earlier on, to make it into a discipline to a practice. So what let's say someone is starting here and wants to do some kind of simple practice to enhance to improve their imagination. When you say practice, do you mean like setting aside 10 minutes to say now these 10 minutes, I'm going to focus on that? Okay.

Christoph Weigert  17:17  
10 minutes was good.

Agi Keramidas  17:20  
I gave an example. But that's

Christoph Weigert  17:22  
yeah, I mean, the more the merrier. But you can also use, like, when you're outside, when you're just, you know, going from place A to place B, so maybe you can incorporate it into your daily life. So one exercise, it's called mind, mind scaping. It's from Frederick Dotson to give proper credit. And so you look at the space around you, maybe you're in, in the subway or in a restaurant. And you think, Okay, what would bring this place to like, the next level, you know, what would make it more exciting, more beautiful, more interesting, or what would be like an surprising element for this space. So you're kind of like using your mind to upgrade to space around you. Or maybe even if you look at people, and just say, and it's also always good, like to bring it down. So you know, you're like, like, flexible, you're like, using your imagination also to see like, How can I What would bring it down? And then also what would bring it up so you get like this flexibility of thinking, but then also look at people you know, like, Okay, what would be if they went on their inner their personal development journey, like how would they look after five years? What would they wear? What would they think about? Or another beautiful one? Again, when you're outside and there's, there are people around you, you can just imagine to start like a telepathic conversation with someone. So it's again, it's probably not gonna feel super real at the beginning. But that's also like, what, why we're using the imagination to kind of like priming the pump, you know, we're like, slowly like, digging a like making a connection to things. So until they feel more and more real. And so you can, you know, you you imagine you're sending like thoughts or pictures to the other person, and they somehow receive it. And then they send something back to you.

Agi Keramidas  20:05  
I do have quite a few questions that come to mind with what you are saying one I want to ask you so how, what exactly do you use your imagination for? Maybe tell me tell me that to start with. So give me an example something specific that what that you do?

Christoph Weigert  20:30  
Well, so, my applied imagination, I think, for example, with my writing my novel, now, like you're writing you're writing, then you come to a halt, the ideas run out. So you just sit, and then something like usually then some like, whole like scene, or maybe it's only like a word pops up. And you're good to go again. So you're right, another, like, couple of words. So for me, it has, for sure developed this capacity to generate, like, ideas and pictures that somehow moved me forward. Or I have this new project. So I've always been writing poems. And so nowadays, I call them Picasa with words. And then I had this idea, because then the imagination, again, what we talked about, so how can you make something like more interesting or more, bigger, more exciting. So then this idea somehow came to me that I'm not only it's I'm writing the poem about a person, or maybe about like an event, like, conference or about a company. Kind of like personal like, affirmations. Personal Branding something in between. So now I got together with my designer. So now we have like a picture of the person. And above the picture of the person we write the, the poem, but then not only like the poem, but also like, in an artistic way, in order like you, you add elements. So it's this combination of the impact of like, the person's picture and the text about the person and his artistic perspective. So but that's, that's just so you work on something. So I think it also has to do with immersion. You immerse yourself in this new project. And as you keep spending time thinking about this project, also ideas will come to you. And I would say, but the imagination when you're actively training it, or if you're if it's already, like active because as a child, no one told you, you stop dreaming and stop yours mythmaking. Shut up and conform to society. Because no one ever told you that your imagination is still active and you don't need to train it basically. I think the free the frequency of ideas can increase. And maybe also like the emotional impact, and also you have an idea. And you already have this like I had to get when it's gonna happen, it's gonna be like, amazing, like, I already get this, like, the feelings of how it's going to be when it's when it has transpired to reality.

Agi Keramidas  24:02  
Thank you. Let me ask you something else. Christoph, are there factors that remain a reducer reduce your imagination or kill it or prevent it from you know, being so vivid?

Christoph Weigert  24:23  
Yeah, I think in our culture, we have a huge influx of other people's imagination. Like aim towards us. If we, if we look into a screen movies, they are there there are other people's imagination. And it can be useful once in a while, you know, like as if you go into a museum and you're getting inspired or you're an architect, you look at other people's houses. But then You have to start building your own house. Because if not, you think like, oh, I can't really do it. But I admire the other people. So there always needs to come to a point when, when we then all select, start going for the expression of our own ideas, and imaginations. And then, of course, as I've already mentioned, I think there's this cut when we go to school, and we become more like, focused on reality and numbers and what's like, a logical thing to do in society. Like, how can you make money. So these are all factors that blocked imagination if someone tells you like, you're singing, you love to sing, and then someone tells you your your voice sucks. And then we create the story and hours in ourselves. I hear my voice sucks. So I never expressed that again. So I think it has always to do with outside influences. But then when we in ourselves, maybe in this like fragile moment of pain, when we say like, if that's true, that that's real, then we, we put also lit on our imagination by ourselves. And yeah, then so this could be like limiting factors and then like, use it or lucid. So if we don't use it, of course, it it goes away. And yeah, I

Agi Keramidas  27:06  
think that's, that's the important the importance of what you're saying earlier about training and you use the word training, I think almost practising or discipline because for, for many, it has gone away because it has not been used consciously or in in the in a creative way, show it it might require some practising some exercises to bring its power back.

Christoph Weigert  27:41  
And then I think also some perspective, because often we have like our first tries, and they're not polished and perfect. So we start like to criticise ourselves, we, we bring ourselves down. So you really need a bit like, either like a mentor or like a long term perspective, that it's like, totally natural, that when you start doing something new, it's not going to be world class for a while. And so dislike this, like generosity, like with yourself, and with your own creations. Because otherwise, maybe we like light, this little flame, but it gets extinguished too fast.

Agi Keramidas  28:30  
We need to find it too. After we light it, then we need to find it so that it grows bigger.

Christoph Weigert  28:37  
And what I just meant when you say fat fat nerd, but I heard like fun in it.

Agi Keramidas  28:45  
Oh went fun as well. Yes, absolutely.

Christoph Weigert  28:48  
So and I want to say first of all, I realised it's also part of my personal imagination, like when sometimes I miss understand words, but in an interesting way that they make sense. And when you you should add fun to it, like it should be. You fan it and you put fun to it like you make it fun because then becomes something you look forward to doing.

Agi Keramidas  29:18  
Absolutely. And I want also to ask something else. Krishna, have you say that there is a connection between imagination and your purpose or finding your purple show? I would like to hear your search on what is the connection there.

Christoph Weigert  29:35  
Hmm. So, first of all, when our image nation when we think of it as the certain size, no, it's the size of a tiny house. And then we make it bigger. So it becomes like a proper house and then maybe You could turn it into a skyscraper, whatever. So I think this definitely increases the, the chances for, for our like, purpose or mission in life to show up. What, but also what I want to say, because I think there's often this misunderstanding about purpose and mission in life. So I see it now more that we're like, creative beings. And our purpose is to create in whatever way, and often it's like little hunches that we have in ourselves. And in my book, I call it a golden thread. So there's something like tagging our interest. And then we need to call courage to follow it. And like tag on this golden thread and like, follow it and see like, where it leads us to. And so what I want to say is like, yeah, we have this like, tiny project, but then maybe side, I'll just say, other avenues pop up, and that we also can follow. So when we follow our inner like hunches, and our inner ideas, and we bring them to life, then also like often other and maybe bigger things show up. So we, so we naturally, then find something that feels very meaningful to us. And I'm not sure if you only come to the world with like, one purpose, one passion, but that we can create it and that we have many ones. Because I think also in this whole, I think it's almost like an industry find your purpose and passion. It can also be limiting, because sometimes some people say like, Oh, your your passion needs to be something like helping other people. Like, like, modern mother, Teresa, like you're only there to nourish the poor people. And I don't say That's wrong. That's certainly amazing. If that's really like, what resonates with you. But maybe your passion lies somewhere differently. That's not immediately maybe connected to other people. But you yourself start to be him, you're happier, you're, you enjoy life. So this by itself will have an effect to the people around you. Or you're an inventor, and you don't even talk to people because you know, you have like maybe social problems. But you're downstairs in your laboratory and you're inventing like something amazing, because you have like huge imagination. And then your invention suddenly helps 1000s Millions of people. So, yeah, so what I want to say is, it's not only dislike single path that can lead to your purpose.

Agi Keramidas  33:33  
I absolutely agree with that. And I can also, from my own personal experience, attest to what you said about it sounds like a hands, it's something small, it's not like a massive a big thing that draws you it is small, and you have to first of all, pay attention to it and take some kind of action towards it. That's what I did with the podcast, it became it was a concept. In the beginning there was nothing else. I didn't know that for years afterwards, I would be doing it almost full time. So it's it is a beautiful journey of listening to that transcend all that fire that we were saying earlier and find it while having fun as well. So thank you for this answer. And thank you for the conversation. It's very intriguing and I think you gave some very useful and actionable steps for someone to take to cultivate the imagination. Do you want to share what what can someone find your when can they can connect with you and find out more about what you do and your book of course.

Christoph Weigert  34:55  
Thank you. I think where I'm most active on but not supermarts is Instagram. So there you can connect with me. And my book about imagination you find on www Jin en Jin minus I m a G I O module in Module, which is a play on imagination dot d slash book. I think these are the two, two best ways to connect thank

Agi Keramidas  35:33  
you this the links will be in the show notes. Christoph, I would like to ask you just a couple of quickfire questions to wrap this conversation up. And my first one is What does personal development mean to you?

Christoph Weigert  35:57  
Yeah. Growth, like you become more happy with your body with yourself. You develop more bright emotions think you enjoy life in the long time. Like it's like, upwards trajectory.

Agi Keramidas  36:18  
That's great. And if you could go back in time. And let's say before 2015, rather than giving a specific age, let's say to that version of yourself before then, what's one piece of advice you would give him?

Christoph Weigert  36:41  
I think it could. Yeah, like trust the process. Because when I look back, you know, like, you always tried to, like speed things up. But in a way, there's always like, kind of like logic to unfolding of life. So yeah, trust, trust the unfolding of events and life will get better.

Agi Keramidas  37:08  
You a very, it's profound advice. thank you. It's, it's so important to have trust in the process. And you know, many times we try to, because we're impatient, we try to make things happen faster that they're meant to happen. But it's like growth, you can't force it, you can't make a flower grow faster, it will. It has its own pace of growth, and all you can do is cultivate all the conditions around it so that you allow that to happen, but you can't just pull it

Christoph Weigert  37:46  
exactly. So the advice could be maybe cultivate patience.

Agi Keramidas  37:53  
Thank you Christoph, thank you very much for this interesting conversation I had with you today and I learned a lot about imagination and some ways we can practically cultivate it and apply it in our lives. I want to wish you all the very best with all your projects and all your your doing last parting words from you?

Christoph Weigert  38:21  
Yeah, I also want to thank you the conversation felt really amazing was like great flow to it. And I hope people out there yeah, don't file it away as another like interesting information. But really, if it resonates with you take it to heart and really try some things out. Be generous with yourself and your progress. And I can just tell you the journey is worth it.

Agi Keramidas  38:53  
Thank you for listening, and I hope you got great value from today's episode. And if you'd be so kind, please take a moment to leave me in Apple podcasts review sharing how personal development mastery has made a difference to the day and I will read the review the podcast. Until next time, stand out don't fit in