What is Visualization?
Key Principles for Creative Visualizing
People often ask me, "What is visualization? How do you do it? I sort of know what it is, but how does it work exactly?"
In essence, visualization simply means using your creative imagination to see something you want. Actually, you do this all the time without realizing it. Any time you make plans for the future for something positive - such as planning a vacation - you are visualizing. We also, unfortunately, do this for negative things as well that we dread.
For our purposes here, however, let's answer the question "what is visualization" with this definition:
Visualization is the intentional process of creating a mental image, feeling, or sense perception of something you want.
Visualization exercises, which create something first in the mind so that it later appears in reality, can be used to bring about:
- Positive Feelings (love, appreciation)
- Situations (success, life circumstances)
- Qualities (strength, wholeness, compassion)
- Healing (mental, physical, emotional)
- Objects You Desire
 The main idea is that everything is first created in the mind. Go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be who you want to be, and create what you want to create in your mind, and it will be much more likely to occur in your life.
(We'll explore why/how this works in the next section.)
You can use visualization in all aspects of your life - spirituality, relationships, work, finances, health, and any others.
Also, despite what the term might imply, it's not actually necessary to see an image. Some people can see images more easily than others. Some people report being able to feel it or simply think about it. Wherever you are, that's fine. Your skills to visualize will grow with practice.
And, in addition to visualizing, the use of affirmations can be very helpful. Affirmations repeated in a state of deep relaxation and throughout the day can help re-program negative beliefs and replace them with more helpful beliefs. You can find great lists of affirmations in books and on the web. (A quick Google search will return many.) Also, you can create your own that particularly resonate with you. Here are a few sample ones. - Life is a joy filled with delightful surprises
- I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful
- My body heals quickly and easily
Why Does Visualizing Work?
Although traditions around the world use visualization exercises, people offer many different interpretations for why it works.
Cognitive scientists, and particularly researchers in neuroplasticity, discovered that when the brain visualizes something, the brain reacts exactly the same as when you experience it in reality. The brain creates neural connections based on this imagery, just as it would if you were physically doing something.
Psychologists argue visualization and affirmations help you create new life-affirming world views and belief systems. These new belief systems help you re-program negative thought patterns and replace them with more effective thought patterns that help you take skillful action.
Mystics agree both with scientists and psychologists, and they also believe thoughts are simply a form of energy. By thinking and visualizing, you put an energy frequency into the world. The world itself is simply energy and because of the Law of Attraction - you attract what you put out, reap what you sow, etc - you attract situations, objects, and people into your life that you visualize.
Whichever explanation you're comfortable with, the bottom line is that visualization works. It can produce drastic changes in the brain, changes in the way you feel, and changes in your life circumstances.
 How Do I Do It?
Although the basic process of visualization is simple - close your eyes and try to see what you desire - there are several important keys to successful
visualization.
- Relax: Visualization works best when you are completely relaxed. Before any visualization session, lie down or sit in a straight backed chair with your feet on the ground. Keep your spine straight. Do a few minutes of meditation in order to quiet your mind and relax fully.
- Set Your Intention: Identify what you truly desire. What do you truly want? Do you believe it can exist for you? Take time with this step.
- Focus On What You Want, Not What You Don't Want: We see what we look for. In visualizing, and in life in general, the more you focus on what you don't want, the more you seem to get it. Keep your focus solidly on what you want. For example, instead of thinking "eliminate stress," focus on "being perfectly healthy and relaxed."
- Don't Struggle: Visualizing may be difficult at first, but don't struggle or try too hard. People say visualizing is like holding a bird: hold it too loose and you lose it; hold it too tightly and you crush it. Keep your concentration as if you're holding the bird. Also, if you're having a hard time, return to your intention. Do you truly truly want what you're visualizing? Or, is it something you think you "should" be, do, or have?
- Express Your Highest Self: Visualizations work best when they express your highest self and your highest aspirations.
So, in short, what is visualization?
An intentional process of creating in the mind that which you would like in your life. Relaxation, intention, and expression of your highest self are the key ingredients.
If you've found this discussion about "what is visualization" helpful, please also be sure to check out my visualization exercises page.
And, for an excellent resource and more in-depth answers to "What is visualization," I recommend Creative Visualizations by Shakti Gawain. This book provides an excellent overview of visualization and provides many sample visualizations. You can download an audiobook of her reading these visualizations on iTunes.
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