Learning to
Visualize
Once you've figured out how to meditate, or
at least sit quietly, visualization can be the next big step in
fulfillment. The problem isn't that most people don't know how to
do it, it's that they don't realize how to do it, but they do it all the
time.
When you're looking for something in your house, and you can see in your
mind where you saw it last, whether it's sitting on your bed, on the
coffee table, or the kitchen counter. You can close your eyes and
SEE what it is you're looking for, as it was the last time you think you
saw it there. From there, you can "see" it everywhere
you look, and in your mind you're saying to yourself "I'm SURE I
saw it there, I MUST have." This is visualization, it's just
unconscious at this point. Using it in meditation is simply
harnessing this and teaching yourself to see what you want.
The brain cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is
realistically imagined (which is why you're so sure you saw your keys on
top of the stereo). This makes visualization a very powerful tool.
All of the senses you experience in life come together in your
mind, and that's all you need to recreate them.
Try sitting quietly and thinking about what you've done during the day.
Close your eyes and mentally replay the events. See yourself
getting up in the morning, imagine possibly the smell of breakfast or
coffee. Maybe you had a shower; let yourself re-experience the
warmth of that moment. Imagine the taste of your breakfast. This
is how visualization is done. The challenge is to create images in
your mind of what has not yet happened. Doing this a few minutes
every day can help these events manifest in real life.
Think back to a time when you've been out and been very tired, like a
long car ride. Many people, in this stage, will start to daydream
so deeply that, though being wide awake, are in a world of their own.
Has there ever been a time where you've been in this state, and
someone's snapped you back to the real world and asked what you were
staring at? Once proficient at meditation and visualization, you
can bring yourself into this state.
There are six steps which you can follow when you decide to try
visualization:
- Ask yourself whether you want to heal your
body, feel better about yourself, create new opportunities in life,
or deepen your spirituality. Give yourself a goal for
visualization.
- Relax your body and mind as you do when
meditating. Breathe deeply and find a comfortable position.
Leave all your troubles and worries; put them aside for now.
You can come back to them later if you desire.
- Visualize your chosen outcome or journey in
as much detail as possible, employing all your senses, but don't let
this take up all of your thinking. Make it as real as
possible, but don't spend 10 minutes slaving over what you think the
ground beneath your feet should feel like.
- Afterwards, ground yourself and make an
affirming statement that reinforces your outcome.
- Continue to act as if that outcome has already
occurred.
- Follow any intuitions or hunches which will
help achieve your outcome.
If you decide to write your own guided
meditations, follow these keys:
- See yourself on a journey; perhaps traveling
along a road or through a forest.
- Engage all of your senses. When on
your journey, remind yourself to look, feel, smell, taste or touch
everything. Colour is also very important. Introduce
symbolic colours into your visualization to strengthen your goal.
- Be sure that what you are visualizing is
important to you. Emotions that are brought up during
visualization are important for healing, and strengthen your desire
and goal. Incorporate images that you feel strongly about.
When you come out of a visualization, give
yourself an affirming statement. It might seem silly, but
subconsciously, you are more likely to accept the outcome. Always
begin your statements with "I am," such as "I am
beginning to..." or "I am becoming..."
i.e. "I am becoming emotionally stable," or "I am
strengthening my bond with the Goddess.
Visualization takes time. If you feel yourself
getting impatient because you don't feel you're learning fast enough,
you need to tell yourself to relax. There is no need to learn all
at once, and you have plenty of time ahead of you. Take the time
to do it properly, and in the end you will be much happier with the
results.
Visualization-Strengthening
Exercises
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