Science has discovered that the human brain does not know the difference between what it sees in its environment and what it remembers. The same activity is happening in the brain, at all times a matter of fact. This is how the eyes filter the the images we see before us and shape them into recognizable patterns- a result of our associative memory.
Take a moment to think about a time in your life where the thought of a future event excited and enlivened you. Think about how you felt, how you went through that day and felt more aware, more alive and happy. What if that desire was unfulfilled? Where do the feelings go? Nothing gave you those feelings, they were already inside of you. Though it seems to the contrary, we are not dependent on outer circumstances to generate feelings. The conscious mind believes people and situations make us feel, but this is not true. Your outer circumstances are complimentary to your inner circumstances.
When we realize we are in the driver seat and responsible for our own emotions, we can begin being creative and learn to discipline our minds to create outcomes in our lives. The association you might have to the word "create" might be a little out of date, keep in mind to create through visualization one must actually go with the flow, surrender and work with governing universal laws. There are principles to creative responsibility.
In order to understand creative visualization, lets look at several interrelated principles:
*The physical universe is energy: The physical world we live in is composed of sub-atomic levels, seemingly solid matter is seen smaller and smaller particles within particles, which eventually turn out to be just pure energy.
*Energy is magnetic: An immutable law of energy states that energy of a certain quality or vibration tends to attract energy of a similar quality & vibration. Thought and feeling have their own magnetic energy which attracts energy of a similar nature.
*Form follows idea:To create, thought comes first. Philosophically speaking, if we are to believe that God or a divine force created all of life, this God had to think of us first. Thought is the ground floor of being and the connecting force in consciousness. Understand that thoughts held long in consciousness pass into the subconscious where you will begin to open to and manifest situations in your life that resonate with your held thoughts.
*The law of radiation & attraction: This is the principle that whatever you put into the universe will be reflected back to you. As you sow so shall you reap. What this means from a practical standpoint is that we always attract into our lives whatever we think. Whether we fear something, hate something or love something we will experience what the mind holds in focus the most. Are you paying attention to what you life gives you daily?
*The law of subjective attention: The brain is a dual instrument & in its functioning is divided into objective and subjective or subconscious phases. The objective attunes with the external world, while the subjective is the seat of all manifestations. The more you plant seeds in your subconscious, the more these seeds with turn from thoughts to physical situations in your life.
To use creative visualization you have to change how you feel and perceive your thoughts. Learn the difference between half conscious fantasies and a cultivated imagination. One technique I learned years ago which helps with this is called journeying. We take time to sit with our eyes closed and be in control of where our imagination goes. You can discover places within yourself that bring about feelings, sensation or even insight. These "worlds" as they are called can become places of power where phenomenon happens. The mind can let go, and we can connect with our true self; the inner guide that is the source of our natural knowing and understanding.
Science and psychology have shown the relationship between our imagination or "self image" and our happiness. We now know that we can release powerful chemicals in the body and even aid the body in healing simply through visualization. If you are to technically define reality as it is perceived and filtered in the brain, you might be surprised that there is no difference between your imagination and what you believe to be the physical world.
When you are working at a goal, any struggle you encounter will be a reflection of a deeper state of your own consciousness. Perhaps we see only what we wish to see and not the whole picture. Maybe we are being selfish, foolish or myopic in our efforts and life is only giving us what we hold deep down; energy that is stagnant and not outflowing. In order to utilize cultivated imagination you have to outflow or give. You can plant as many seeds as you want but if you don't learn to tend to the soil and nurture the seeds growth you will have nothing. Outflowing is another way of learning to go with the flow. We don't create goals because we have desires rooted in caused happiness. We have clear outcomes from the wisdom gained through past experiences that help shape the world we seek to create for ourselves. And going with the flow will naturally help us move around obstacles and take the potential that reveals itself to us, rather than push against life and make our demands.
Visualization techniques are not for the sake of visualizing. Visualization is used to reach a state of void in though, to enter a meditative state, and be aware of the union that is the human cosmos. When visualizing, one condenses thoughts by concentrating on one visualization to eliminate all other thoughts. Once all scattering thoughts are stopped, the visualize void: void body, void mind, everything void. These techniques are widely used by many cultures; Tantric Buddhist Qigong, Yoga Pranayama, Kuji Kiri, Taoist practices, Western magick systems, Native American spirituality, and in Christianity St. Ignatius Loyola's "Spiritual exercises."
