"Our current obsession with creativity is the result of our continued striving for immortality in an era when most people no longer believe in an after-life"

Arianna Huffington's quote checks out the modern-day fixation with imagination as stemming from a deep-seated human desire for immortality in a secular age. This notion presumes that as belief in conventional concepts of an after-life lessens, individuals significantly look for alternative methods to achieve a sense of enduring legacy and transcendence. Creativity becomes a lorry through which individuals can assert their uniqueness and permanence in an otherwise short-term existence.

In ages past, the afterlife in numerous spiritual teachings used a kind of eternal continuity, a reassuring narrative that life's efforts would cause a spiritual permanence. In contrast, contemporary society, defined by widespread secularism and clinical rationalism, typically does not have a unified vision of what takes place after death. This existential uncertainty may lead people to look for immortality not in spiritual realms but through concrete, creative expressions that can endure beyond their physical lives.

Imagination, deemed an act of self-expression and uniqueness, ends up being a significant pursuit that permits one to leave a mark on the world. It acts as a testament to one's values, beliefs, and existence-- a legacy that can influence future generations, just like spiritual mentors did in the past. The works of artists, authors, musicians, and innovators therefore become the modern-day equivalent of the soul's guarantee of eternity.

Moreover, in this quote, there is an implicit suggestion that imagination offers a sense of purpose and fulfillment. In a world where existential questions are plentiful, producing something individual and long-lasting offers hope and can counteract the stress and anxiety of mortality. It lines up with the human impulse to be remembered and to contribute to the collective human story-- a secular substitute for the eternal life as soon as assured by spiritual faith.

Thus, Huffington's observation brightens the extensive, albeit often subconscious, factors behind our cultural focus on imagination: it's not simply a pattern, however rather an existential response to our quest for significance and never-ceasing existence in an age where traditional beliefs in an after-life have actually waned.