The Power of Visualization

You and only you have been and always will be the creator of your whole life experience and you do this all through the power of visualization.

Whether you’re a believer or non-believer, this really isn’t some far out, woo-woo stuff and here’s why:

• The subconscious mind uses imagination and feeling to communicate. You can practice anything you choose to in your mind without ever doing the actions.
  
• The subconscious does not rely on the outside world for its “knowing,” therefore cannot tell the difference between what is ‘real’ and what is ‘imagined’.
• The subconscious has a memory like an elephant and literally remembers everything. It is absolutely literal and processes only that which is in the present moment.
• The subconscious mind will look for and guide you to whatever it is you tell it. So make sure that you’re very specific in giving directions that keep you on the the path to accomplishing your goals and desires.

The power of visualization literally does bring about every single one of your circumstances and so it stands to reason that you should really know how to create ‘better feeling’ circumstances any time you choose.

For example, when you spend time in the present moment worrying about the outcome of a date (and it often leans to the more negative side of things). Or it might be a preparation for an athletic victory or successful interview. Either way, you are essentially programming your subconscious mind.

“It is the power of visualization that enables us to reach out toward the future, whether our goal is to bring down a mammoth, write a book, or set a new record time in a race.”
~ Cameron Stracher

The subconscious mind as mentioned cannot tell the difference between ‘reality’ and the images, words, feelings and imagined physical sensations that you create during a visualization session.

Whether they are “positive” or “negative” doesn’t matter. They are COMMANDS either way and therein lies the sheer power of visualization.

Once an idea is placed in your subconscious mind (for example, an idea or belief that you are never going to find love), you automatically begin programming your Reticular Activating System.
For those who don’t know, this is basically the gateway to your conscious awareness. It’s rather like a switch that turns on your perceptions of ideas, values and opportunities.

So, your brain’s Reticular Activating System is ‘programmed’ to recognize and notice the opportunities and resources that are necessary to achieve your goal. Every visualization and/or Affirmation, good or bad is logged.

So be aware …. it really is up to you to ‘program’ it with absolute clarity of what you want. When you understand and do this, your ‘RAS’ is activated to find the opportunities and resources to help you get what you want, not what you want to get away from.

This is the meaning of “what you resist, persists” and “what you focus on, expands.”

If you program “I’m not attractive and nobody will ever love me”, you will automatically make different choices and take different actions.  As opposed to somebody who believes they are attractive and that great love is out there waiting.

If you program “I can’t ever lose those last 10 pounds (or those last 4 or 5 kilos)” then sure enough, your ‘RAS’ will seek out ways to make sure you are attracted to fattening foods. You’ll find that you talk yourself out of exercise and that’s exactly the opposite of what you want, is it not?

Here, your subconscious is just running the programs that you installed in it. It doesn’t judge, it just obediently does what you tell it to do through your self-talk and visualization.

“In effective personal leadership, visualization and affirmation techniques emerge naturally out of a foundation of well thought through purposes and principles that become the center of a person’s life.” ~ Stephen R. Covey

The below video shows us clearly how we are the creators of our own life experiences.
Thank you Allison Sutter. We love it!

Now your clear on the power of visualization, here is an incredible exercise that you can practice every day:

1. Set a clear goal.
You have to know exactly what you want to affirm to your subconscious mind in order to give your brain the right commands. You can start with something relatively small, that you believe in and that is achievable with a little extra effort. As your confidence grows (and it will as you see the results for yourself), move on to bigger goals.

2. Create a clear mental image/feeling.
I say “image/feeling” because you want to incorporate as many details as you can, including how you are feeling and what your senses perceive. It’s highly recommended you write down the details of your goal, and expand on them during your visualization sessions.

3. Visualize often.
Just like building muscles, you want to build strong neural pathways in the brain about your goal. Do your visualization during quiet meditative periods but remember to visualize often throughout the day too.
This is a great use of “down time” and helps the idea integrate into your everyday routine.

Bring up your goal, and play around with it. WARNING – DO NOT let yourself get tripped up by “how” you’re going to achieve the goal. Remember, that’s the job of your RAS! Just play with the delightful feelings you have, the wonderful sights and experiences you’re having, as if it were happening to you right now, in your physical reality. Your subconscious mind as you know, can’t tell the difference between the image/feelings you’re programming into it consciously and your actual physical reality. The more you do this, the more natural and normal the idea will start to feel, especially when you start witnessing for yourself the results that follow.

4. Infuse your goal with positive energy (TOP TIP: is to be grateful for what you are imagining, as if it were already real).
I highly recommend a daily gratitude practice, whereby you get into a relaxed (even meditative) state and list the things you are grateful for.
If you ‘sneak’ your goal(s) into your list of everyday things you’re grateful for, you will find that you have sigficantly less resistance to the idea, especially if the goal is quite a challenging one.

Below, LeAnn Thieman takes you through a powerful exercise to demonstrate that our bodies and minds do not distinguish the difference between experience and visualization.

The main benefit of creative visualization is that you are consciously giving your mind a command: “this is what I want.”

Remember it’s crucial that you focus on what you want instead of what you want to get away from. Give this wonderful idea lots of positive energy and repeat it often.Before you know it, your RAS will point out opportunities and resources to help you achieve your goal.

“Visualization is the human being’s vehicle to the future – “Your thoughts create reality. The most pragmatic way to create world peace is to use your power of visualization. Think Peace, Act Peace, Spread Peace, Imagine Peace. Your thoughts will soon cover the planet. The most important thing is to believe in your power. It works.” ~ Yoko Ono

We all operate from our own individual point of view or perspective: a reality with which our mind feels comfortable.
By realizing that you can consciously and actively alter your point of view through visualizing a desired outcome, you have an opportunity to shift perception in reality.

Then, all you have to do is act on that, and you’re on your way!