Clear Mind Meditation Techniques

Using Mental Imagery to reach goals - Visualization technique

Visualization is an incredible tool for personal development. It's a technique used by gold-medal athletes, writers, psychologists, entrepreneurs, and successful people from all walks of life. It has been the subject of self-help books, which have sold millions of copies. There must be something to be said about the power of visualization.

So, how do you go about making this technique work for you? There are two parts essential for making visualization work. First - You must clearly define what it is you want. Second - You must practice creating the desired outcome (in your mind) on a daily basis.

There is a short phrase to summarize this process: Conceive, Believe, Achieve.

Too often though, the details of how to create an effective visualization are not described. This article is going to change that. I'm going to teach you to properly build your visualization skills, and how to benefit from them.

First, let's explore the benefits of visualization.

The phrase 'Conceive, Believe, Achieve', is very similar to an idea put forth by celebrated author, and mentor Napolean Hill - It was later adopted and given an addition by another highly successful man - W. Clement Stone.

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve...with P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude)" - W. Clement Stone.

His story is a true tale of rags to riches. Born to an impoverished family, with only the support of his widowed mother, he established a multi-million dollar insurance company before the age of 20. Within 10 years, he had 1,000 sales agents working for him, which led to the creation of his insurance empire. All of this allowed him to donate hundreds of millions of dollars to charitable causes.

He knew the secret power of visualization, and wrote about it, in many of his highly successful books. We know it works.

What are some of the benefits of this technique?

1) You get to try something out before you take action. Seeing it, before you try it, will help you realize whether you are headed in the right direction. Practicing in your mind will let you know if you really do want the results your thinking about.

2) You save yourself a great deal of misplaced effort. Action IS required, do not mistake this technique for magic. Seeing yourself with the desired result will help you bypass much of the sacrifice required to reach your goal. Having the correct mindset is essential for avoiding many common mistakes you may encounter when setting forth on a task.

Rather than making mistakes as you go, the mind provides answers for you, prior to beginning your work.

3) Rehearsing in your mind, creates the possibility for the desired outcome. Your mind only knows what you tell it. It CANNOT tell the difference between what is real and imagined. If you imagine that you are confident and successful, it might as well be true.

Picturing success in your minds eye, is an essential way to making that idea real.

You must have absolute belief that the power of visualization will work for you. If you still don't believe, then look over some of the provided resources. Immerse yourself in the idea of succeeding through visualization. In the next part we will talk about how to visualize, but it's important that you firmly believe it's effectiveness, before you begin.

Putting it all together - Making it happen

Now we get to point of this process. How to create successful visualizations.

The subconscious mind communicates in a visual language. Every day, through the language you use, and images you see, you're developing a self-image.

Your self-image is directly responsible for your current situation.

It is through efforts to recreate your self-image that you will realize the outcomes you desire.

To effectively change your self-image, you are going to have to deal with the ideas which you've placed in your subconscious mind. A great deal of that might have to be replacing the negative with the positive.

Think about how you currently view yourself. Do you see yourself as a procrastinator, daydreamer, or slacker? Now think about how you are going to counteract that ineffective view. Begin to change the self-talk you use to combat your own preconceived notions.

Is there something that you want to accomplish, that you think is beyond your grasp? Well how do you expect to do it, if you tell yourself that you aren't cut out for it?

Turning on your success mechanism

You must see yourself in the circumstance which you hope to achieve. Don't worry about every little detail for now. That's not what this exercise is about. It's about creating a target. We know that setting goals creates success. Seeing yourself already attaining that goal is a way to begin acting how a successful person would.

Do Research - build the image.

Is there anyone around you that has the success which you desire? Try to spend some time with them. Seeing how they conduct themselves day-to-day is a great start to understanding success. If that's not possible, then try to build a mental image of how that person acts on a daily basis.

What do you think the mental habits are, of a successful person? Try to put yourself in their shoes as much as possible.

If it's simply not possible to spend time around a personal mentor. Another way to begin research is simply to dive into google. Whether it is skill or wealth which you hope to acquire, you'll be able to seek out others who have attained it. Search through websites for their personal story. Success leaves clues.

The point of research is to build a realistic account of your desire. The more realistic, the better. If you can build a picture of yourself which falls inline with what you hope to achieve, then you'll begin to naturally act in a way which coincides with your greater plans.

Don't think too much of the future. Don't fret over the details. Your brain will sort out the details naturally, providing you with clear cut answers. All you need to do now, is put a picture in your mind, so that you can begin to 'act the part'.

The mind's eye

Everything that you've been working to create must be imagined within the mind's eye. It can also be called the theater of the mind, or whatever you like. The important thing is to recognize the mental facility, then USE it.

Put every detail that you've gathered into your mental image. As you become immersed in your own mind, the image will take on a life of it's own. Immersion is the key. Practice for a solid ten minutes daily. Have fun with it. The exercise is meant to help you feel as if you have already succeeded. So it should be enjoyable.

Remember your brain doesn't not know the difference between what is real, and fake. The electrical signals are all the same. If you can imagine yourself successful, then you can be successful in whatever you want.

Tip - Practicing at night before you go to sleep is a good way to create vivid images. If you allow the movie to play in your mind repeatedly before sleeping, you might end up having a very realistic dream about reaching the desired results. This is a great way to really feel your goal within reach.

It will take time to perfect this technique. You shouldn't expect to see a perfect image on your first time. Or maybe even your second time. Just know, that even if you can't visualize, you are still adding energy to these thoughts. As you do this, your mind will naturally know what you are trying to achieve. It will begin to provide answers to you, based on your desired outcome.

If you don't have a fantastic visual imagination, don't worry. Use language to describe your desired outcome. People have different strengths. If you're more inclined to use words, then by all means do so. Be as descriptive as possible.

Finding your stillness

The best place to do all of this work is from your inner awareness. No matter what is going on in your mind, there is always one still point of awareness. It is from this still point of focus, that you will most benefit from practicing this technique.

It doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is that you find it within. When you work from this space, you are directly inputting all of your efforts to your subconscious mind. From this point, your efforts will always be effective. What you are doing, is bypassing any chance for your mind to pass judgement on this activity.

Work from here, and you will find it easy to immerse yourself in the practice. To become adept at reaching this state, I highly recommend taking up a meditation practice. It will help you clear your thoughts so that you can focus your mental efforts entirely on your visualization.

Summary

This technique can be effective for any application. Whether you are building new skills, or erasing old habits, visualizing will help. Take some time to really get comfortable with the technique. After practice, you will be amazed at how naturally changes take place.

Related Resources

Review: The New Psycho-Cybernetics

For an in depth discussion of visualization and its benefits, please consider this book. It's an incredible tool for understanding the capability of your mind. To learn more about self-image, managing emotions, and realizing success, you can't go wrong with 'The New Psycho-Cybernetics'.