Imagination comes from the word image, or picture. It is about forming a picture in the mind's eye - a vision. We can build our own vision; but it will only be made of things we already know. To have a new vision, we must open up to the ideas that come from the infinite Mind through our unconscious. We escape the busyness of our waking mind, and place ourselves into the flow of symbols.
This can be done many ways; by setting our problems aside and having some fun; by taking a walk, or a nap, or just gazing out the window. It can occur in sleep or in meditation.
Symbols from the subconscious must be translated into words or images in the conscious mind. This is a little like riding a bicycle; you can learn it, but you either do it our you don't. It seems hard when you don't, and it's easy when you do.
There are Bible stories which describe this process, involving the translation of dreams, either the dreamer's own, or someone else's. It crops up in stones about Daniel, Jacob, and Joseph. In these cases, no one could understand the symbols in the dreams, except the hero of the story, and he knew night away what they meant. As Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
"Man and His Symbols" by Carl Jung is one of the best sources to begin understanding how symbolism is the means of communication between the inner and deeper levels of Mind and our outer conscious awareness.
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