A Stoic’s Thoughts on Imagination and Identification

A Stoic’s Thoughts on Imagination and Identification

At the very end of what we might call ancient times, the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius applied the truth about the human condition as a practitioner of self-development, drawing upon and applying hundreds of years, if not thousands, of ancient practice and wisdom. Many refer to him as a stoic philosopher or Socrates’ “philosopher king,” but he was much more than a mere idle thinker or philosopher. He was a person of action and understood and employed the idea of self-remembering and being present to the moment. To that end, he could also see and point out the many pitfalls of the human mind.

What art are you doing here, O imagination? Go away, I entreat you by the Gods, as you did come, for I want you not. But you are come as you have been used to do. I am not angry with you; only go away. − Marcus Aurelius

Let go without attachment. − Marcus Aurelius

Just as the human weaknesses of imagination and identification are emphasized in the Fourth Way, the roots of this objective knowledge reach way back in human history as we can see in Marcus Aurelius. The obstacles of imagination and identification as primary barriers to the state of being present are universal truths.

If I cannot control my imagination, my mind activity, and work against attachments to my daily life, then I limit opportunities to the third state of consciousness. The following quotes concern identification, the mechanical state of attaching oneself, rather than detaching or separating oneself from the world around one. He advises not to sacrifice oneself to the trivialities and traps of the external world.

Every care, every distraction is laid aside by a mindful man; his only ambition is to walk in the straight paths of law, and by so doing to become a follower of God. − Marcus Aurelius

Make the present time a gift to yourself. − Marcus Aurelius

I am grateful to my Teacher, who first made me aware of Marcus Aurelius because the application of his ideas helps me live my life more consciously. Marcus Aurelius’ words of wisdom have helped me better understand that working on oneself is an ancient pursuit and not just a modern pastime of our New Age. This system is anything but new.

Marcus Aurelius understood profoundly the obstacles of identification and imagination, as evidenced by his guidance-rich writings. He was also aware of the latent potentialities within the human machine. With the right preparation, we can experience a different and much higher level of consciousness.

Realize at long last that you have within you something stronger and more Numinous than those agents of emotion which make you a mere puppet on their strings. − Marcus Aurelius

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