Thank you for the article " 'Casting down imaginations'—crucial to healing" in the February 1999 issue of The Christian Science Journal. It made me be clearly aware of the difference between imagination and inspiration. Many of us use these two words interchangeably in conversation, but they are so different in nature.
The author quotes something Albert Einstein is purported to have said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge." I feel that what Einstein meant was, "Inspiration is more important than knowledge." He was such a good listener. His ideas were so unconventional —not based necessarily on commonly accepted knowledge. When we are inspired, we are receiving thoughts directly from God—we are in Spirit. Imagination is based on accumulated human knowledge and experience. With inspiration we can fly and be free; whereas with imagination we can only feel that we are flying and free. What a difference!
, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania (via e-mail)
