How do you get back a lost imagination?

I read.. And read and read.

I help out at my mothers classroom. They’re second graders, which have the best imaginations.

What would you like to use it for? Do some of that… whatever it is…

You want to write? Write for a set amount of time, read it once, and immediately throw it away, knowing you’re going to throw it away will let you not worry about the quality… the same principle can apply to most creative things.

It’s important to let yourself go and enjoy it.

Don’t think about it. Let it happen.

Remember what Princess Leah said to that dude, The more you tighten your grip, the more that will slip through your fingers. And I’m 80% sure she was talking about his creativity.

i hate this stage. it’s happened about 3 times in my life which is a lot considering i’m only 24 and i’m actually recovering from one and working on a comeback right now so i’ll tell you what i did…...

i did nothing because when i tried really hard to get something out, like forcing myself to play around in photoshop, scribbling because i’m suppose to; i felt even more horrible. so i just stopped.

i took it easy but i decided to jump into some new things to hopefully open some doors….like watch a lot of indie films, disney movies, japanese films, ( i don’t watch a lot of movies ) read comic books, read really thick books, read lots of children books, listen to music while just laying down, play video games, go to museums and enjoy new cultures.

now when i was doing this, i completely forgot about losing my imagination because i was too busy devouring all this new information and then one day it just popped back into place, like it was never gone.

stop watching television, maybe. especially reality television, if you watch that.
i mean, reality tv? i think it kind of insinuates that they’re trying to control your reality.

also, listen to inspiring music! and maybe watch inspiring movies, like je t’aime paris. actually i recommend that last one the most, that is possibly the most inspiring movie i’ve ever seen.

Picture a line from now until the last time you had a imagination. The go to the place where it left and look at what happened and how you could do it all differently. Just a visualization but it might help. The way I see it, there’s a lot to do and imagination is only part- the, most important thing is to be useful.

Let yourself be surprised.
Reject prepackaged ideas and manipulative media.
Focus on questions, not answers.
Fingerpaint.
Linger in bed after you awaken. Keep your eyes closed, don’t move, and remember your dreams.
Talk to children.
Study natural objects: wood grain, shells, seed pods, skeletons.
Meditate.

Road trip. Even if it’s just a local one. Run around, pretend you’re a tourist in your own town. Try to see things a different way. Doodle. Listen to music and imagine the lyrics literally.

what an amazing question and one that i have recently been pondering too!

Spending time with my son (2 year old) helps me find my centre of self and ignite my imagination – but it does take a while and you really have to take yourself back through the years to their level I find.

Painting! I’ve taken up painting too and just not knowing what you’re gonna do and then just starting to paint is great for living in the moment and expanding the mind.
I also would recommend reading and watching films – particularly foreign.

I agree with tiny vamp in that you have to kind of let go before you’ll find that its rekindled… meditate and try to get back to what excites you – what did you used to love as a child? what makes you uncontrollably giggle? What gets you fired up?

Its a hard one though i agree when you’ve lost it – its a tough one to rediscover x

when you figure it out let me know because when I was a kid I had the best imagination and now I cannot even decide what to do for an art piece… :(

Watch Peterpan. Seriously.

Hang out with imaginative people, take drugs, and violate taboos.

Books, movies, television. I would think all forms of media might trigger thought and imagination. After I read a good book or watch something facinating on TV it tends to whet mine.

Spend time with young children. Nothing rekindles my imagination and curious spirit like spending the afternoon with my nephews. On Christmas I smiled from my heart when my 4-year-old nephew spent thirty minutes trying to explain to his father all the ways in which Santa could’ve gotten a big toy truck (his present) down the family’s narrow chimney: “he took the parts and then built it when he got here;” “he waited to eat until he got to our house so he was thinner, and then had the bacon and eggs we left out for him;” “he had a reindeer pass the truck through a window;” and finally, ”...he’s magic!”

Go to a new place.

I would say to back off the cheese doodles and diet soda for one, and two, get some excercise, and three, shut off the idiot box tv and pick up a book every once and a while.

Artists find a muse.

how do you find a muse? out of interest? sounds fun and I’d like one….

You have to get good at people watching I suppose….

I’m amused. Are you a muse? :^>

LSD

i found a muse!

@uberbatman very good! and love em!

I figured it out, thanks all for your responses! Truly inspiring, keepin this one for good!

here lies my new found truth: (in my response to that question)
http://www.fluther.com/disc/30978/does-polaroid-still-sell-polaroid-cameras/#quip348396

Be around kids & let them tell you stories.

Try people watching or little kids both are fascinating.

Buy some herb and go to an aquarium, or large wooded area, and walk around and just look at stuff….haha…

I suggesting surrounding yourself with the most imaginative people that you know. It often rubs off of me if I’m around someone with big or interesting ideas.

yes i agree @stateless…I wonder where one could place an advert for someone with big and interesting ideas…...hmmmm

Have you tried to send it flowers?

Quit your routine. Mix it up. At least your morning routine if the workplace is too tight of a schedule. Read “The Looking Glass Wars” They center around this exact problem. The first book. Listen to inspiring music. I personally find Indie Fold and CCM to the the most inspiring genres. Your imagination is there, waiting for you.

Stop judging. Let go of the need to control creativity. Take a substrate and put something on it….pen, pencil, paint. Forced creativity. If you let go, you let it flow. Try a Michele Cassou book. Get out in nature for inspiration.

hi im new the best answers are meditate and read! i read a whole big book today it was cool anymore answers?

I LOVE ALL OF U GUYS. People like you remember me that is good to be alive

meditation has been known to work for me too