Basic Steps for Effective Creative Visualization

WHAT IS CREATIVE VISUALIZATION?

by Shakti Gawain

Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. There is nothing at all new, strange, or unusual about creative visualization. You are already using it every day, every minute in fact. It is your natural power of imagination, the basic creative energy of the universe, which you use constantly, whether or not you are aware of it.

In the past, many of us have used our power of creative visualization in a relatively unconscious way. Because of our own deep-seated negative concepts about life, we have automatically and unconsciously expected and imagined lack, limitation, difficulties, and problems to be our lot in life. To one degree or another that is what we have created for ourselves.

This article is about learning to use your natural creative imagination in a more and more conscious way, as a technique to create what you truly want —love, fulfillment, enjoyment, satisfying relationships, rewarding work, self-expression, health, beauty, prosperity, inner peace, and harmony...whatever your heart desires. The use of creative visualization gives us a key to tap into the natural goodness and bounty of life.

Imagination is the ability to create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling sense of something. In creative visualization you use your imagination to create a clear image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to manifest.  Then you continue to focus on the idea, feeling, or picture regularly, giving it positive energy until it becomes objective reality...in other words, until you actually achieve what you have been imagining.

Your goal may be on any level — physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.  You might imagine yourself with a new home, or with a new job, or having a satisfying relationship, or feeling calm and serene, or perhaps with an improved memory and learning ability. Or you might picture yourself handling a difficult situation effortlessly, or simply see yourself as a radiant being, filled with life energy. You can work on any level, and all will have results...through experience you will find the particular images and techniques that work best for you.

Let us say, for example, that you are feeling unsatisfied in your current job situation. If you feel that the job is basically right for you but there are factors that need improvement, you could begin by imagining the improvements that you desire. If that doesn’t work, or if you feel that you would prefer a new job, then focus on imagining yourself in the employment situation that you desire.

Either way, the technique is basically the same. After relaxing into a deep, quiet, meditative state of mind, imagine that you are working in your ideal job situation. Imagine yourself in the physical setting or environment that you would like, doing work that you enjoy and find satisfying, interacting with people in a harmonious way, receiving appreciation and appropriate financial compensation. Add any other details that are important for you, such as the hours you work, the amount of autonomy and/or responsibility you have, and so on. Try to get a feeling in yourself that this is possible; experience it as if it were already happening. In short, imagine it exactly the way you’d like it to be, as if it were already so! 

Repeat this short, simple exercise often, perhaps twice a day, or whenever you think about it. If your desire and intention to make a change are clear, chances are good that you may find some type of shift taking place in your work, fairly soon.

It should be noted here that this technique cannot be used to “control” the behavior of others or cause them to do something against their will. Its effect is to dissolve our internal barriers to natural harmony and self-realization, allowing everyone to manifest in his or her most positive aspect.

To use creative visualization it is not necessary to believe in any metaphysical or spiritual ideas, though you must be willing to entertain certain concepts as being possible. It is not necessary to “have faith” in any power outside yourself.

The only thing necessary is that you have the desire to enrich your knowledge and experience, and an open enough mind to try something new in a positive spirit.

Study the principles, try the techniques with an open mind and heart, and then judge for yourself whether they are useful to you.

If so, continue using and developing them, and soon the changes in yourself and your life will probably exceed anything you could have originally dreamed of....

Creative visualization is magic in the truest and highest meaning of the word. It involves understanding and aligning yourself with the natural principles that govern the workings of our universe, and learning to use these principles in the most conscious and creative way. 

If you had never seen a gorgeous flower or a spectacular sunset before, and someone described one to you, you might consider it to be a miraculous thing (which it truly is!). Once you saw a few yourself, and began to learn something about the natural laws involved, you would begin to understand how they are formed and it would seem natural to you and not particularly mysterious.

The same is true of the process of creative visualization. What at first might seem amazing or impossible to the very limited type of education our rational minds have received, becomes perfectly understandable once we learn and practice with the underlying concepts involved.

Once you do so, it may seem that you are working miracles in your life...and you truly will be!

How to Visualize

Many people wonder exactly what is meant by the term “visualize.” Some worry because they don’t actually “see” a mental picture or image when they close their eyes and try to visualize. When some people first try to visualize, they feel that “nothing is happening.” Usually, they are simply blocking themselves by trying too hard. They may be feeling that there’s a “right way” to do this, and that their own experience is incorrect or in-adequate. If this is how you feel, you need to stop worrying, relax, and accept what happens naturally for you.

Don’t get stuck on the term “visualize.” It is not at all necessary to mentally see an image. Some people say they see very clear, sharp images when they close their eyes and imagine something. Others don’t really “see” anything; they sense or feel it, or they just sort of “think about” it. That’s perfectly fine. Some people are more visually oriented, some are auditory, others are more kinesthetic.  We all use our imaginations constantly — it’s impossible not to, so whatever process you find yourself doing when you imagine is fine. 

If you still don’t feel sure what it means to visualize, read through each of these exercises, then close your eyes and see what comes naturally to you:

Close your eyes and relax deeply. Think of some familiar room such as your bedroom or living room. Remember some familiar details of it, such as the color of the carpet, the way the furniture is arranged, how bright or dark it is. Imagine yourself walking into the room and sitting or lying down on a comfortable chair, couch, or bed.

Now recall some pleasant experience you have had in the last few days, especially one involving good physical sensations such as eating a delicious meal, receiving a massage, swimming in cool water, or making love. Remember the experience as vividly as possible, and enjoy the pleasurable sensations once again.

Now imagine that you are in some idyllic country setting, perhaps relaxing on soft green grass beside a cool river, or wandering through a beautiful, lush forest. It can be a place that you have been, or an ideal place where you would like to go. Think of the details, and create it any way you would like it to be.

Whatever process you used to bring these scenes to your mind is your way of “visualizing.”

There are actually two different modes involved in creative visualization.  One is receptive, the other is active. In the receptive mode we simply relax and allow images or impressions to come to us without choosing the details of them; we take what comes. In the active mode we consciously choose and create what we wish to see or imagine. Both these processes are an important part of creative visualization, and both your receptive and active abilities will be strengthened through practice.

Special Problems with Visualization

Occasionally a person has completely blocked his* ability to visualize or imagine at will, and feels that he simply “can’t do it.” This type of block usually arises from a fear, and it can be worked through if the person who experiences the difficulty desires to solve the problem.

Usually a person blocks his ability to use creative visualization out of a fear of what he may encounter by looking inside himself — fear of his own unacknowledged feelings and emotions.

For example, a man in one of my classes was consistently unable to visualize, and kept falling asleep during the meditations. It turned out that he had once had a profoundly emotional experience during a visualization process, and he was afraid he would be embarrassed by becoming emotional in front of others.

A woman client of mine had difficulty visualizing until she went through therapy and was able to get in touch with, experience, and release painful feelings that she had buried inside since childhood.

The truth is that there is nothing within us that can hurt us; it is only our fear of experiencing our own feelings that can keep us trapped.

If anything unusual or unexpected arises during meditation, the best thing is simply to look at it fully, be with it and experience it as much as you can, and you will find that it eventually will lose any negative power over you. Our fears arise from things we don’t confront. Once we are willing to look fully and deeply at the source of a fear, it loses its power. If we feel overwhelmed, it can be very helpful to get support from a good counselor or therapist who can help us accept and express our feelings. This is especially important if we’ve had a lot of pain or trauma in our lives.

Fortunately, problems with visualization are relatively rare. As a rule, creative visualization comes naturally, and the more you practice it, the easier it becomes.

Four Basic Steps for Effective Creative Visualization

1. Set Your Goal. Decide on something you would like to have, work toward, realize, or create.  It can be on any level — a job, a house, a relationship, a change in yourself, increased prosperity, a happier state of mind, improved health, beauty, a better physical condition, solving a problem in your family or community, or whatever.

At first, choose goals that are fairly easy for you to believe in, that you feel are possible to realize in the fairly near future. That way you won’t have to deal with too much negative resistance in yourself, and you can maximize your feelings of success as you are learning creative visualization. Later, when you have more practice, you can take on more difficult or challenging problems and issues.

2. Create a Clear Idea or Picture. Create an idea, a mental picture, or a feeling of the object or situation exactly as you want it. You should think of it in the present tense as already existing the way you want it to be. Imagine yourself in the situation as you desire it, now. Include as many details as you can.

3. Focus on It Often. Bring your idea or mental picture to mind often, both in quiet meditation periods, and also casually throughout the day when you happen to think of it. In this way it becomes an integrated part of your life, and it becomes more of a reality for you.

Focus on it clearly, yet in a light, relaxed way. It’s important not to feel like you are striving too hard for it or putting an excessive amount of energy into it — that tends to hinder rather than help.

4. Give It Positive Energy. As you focus on your goal, think about it in a positive, encouraging way.  Make strong positive statements to yourself: that it exists; that it has come or is now coming to you. See yourself receiving or achieving it. These positive statements are called affirmations.* While you use affirmations, try to temporarily suspend any doubts or disbelief you may have, at least for the moment, and practice getting the feeling that that which you desire is very real and possible.

Continue to work with this process until you achieve your goal, or no longer have the desire to do so. Remember that goals often change before they are realized, which is a perfectly natural part of the human process of change and growth. So don’t try to prolong it any longer than you have energy for it — if you lose interest it may mean that it’s time for a new look at what you want.

If you find that a goal has changed for you, be sure to acknowledge that to yourself. Get clear in your mind the fact that you are no longer focusing on your previous goal. End the cycle of the old, and begin the cycle of the new. This helps you avoid getting confused, or feeling that you’ve “failed” when you have simply changed.

When you achieve a goal, be sure to acknowledge consciously to yourself that it has been completed. Often we achieve things that we have been desiring and visualizing, and we forget to even notice that we have succeeded! So give yourself some appreciation and a pat on the back, and be sure to thank the universe for fulfilling your requests.

From Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain. Copyright © 2002 by Shakti Gawain. Excerpted by arrangement with New World Library. $12.95. Available in local bookstores or call 800-97-BOOKS Ext. 52 or click here.