IMAGINE IT TO LIVE IT

What becomes real in your mind

will become real in your life.

Visualization is the process of creating an experience or intention in your mind, before you have it in your life.

Global superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger has made several references to visualizing his goals before he actually achieved them. Michael Jordan, the legendary basketball player, claims that he visualized the type of player he wanted to become before he found success. In fact, top athletes often use visualization. One of the best tennis players ever to grace our planet, Roger Federer, says he uses it in his training regime. These sportsmen are training and performing to perfection – within their minds.

Psychologists Alan Budley, Shane Murphy and Robert Woolfolk suggested in their 1994 book that mental practice results in better performance than not physically practising at all. The brain patterns that are activated when you imagine an action are very similar to those that are activated when you physically perform the action, so visualization can actually train your brain for the event.

When we visualize what we desire, not only do we align ourselves to vibrate on the same frequency as the object of our visualization, but we also influence our subconscious mind in the same way as we do with affirmations.

The brain and the nervous system

cannot tell the difference between what

is imagined and what is real.

We can take advantage of this. If our brain believes that the ideas we’re feeding it are true, then our life will begin to reflect that, too. If you imagine yourself to be more confident than you currently are and the brain thinks it’s true, you’ll be more confident!

Engage your senses

When we talk about visualization as a process, we don’t mean creating single mental images. You have to create scenes, not pictures. In those scenes you must involve all your senses: taste, sight, touch, smell and hearing.

Go into as much detail as you can. For example, if you want a new car, don’t just picture the car. Put yourself in the car, driving it around. Think about how you feel while driving it; the sound of the car; the sight of other cars on the road; the temperature of the air around you, and so on. Live the experience as if it were true in that precise moment. Get creative with your scenes. Really bring them to life by making them bright, colourful, loud and big. All you need to do is close your eyes and start creating.

It’s important to create a scene that makes you feel good. Your imagination should ignite positive emotions, and this requires a lot of focus, so always do it in a quiet place where you can relax and distance yourself from any distractions.

When I use this technique, I get confirmation

that I’m doing it effectively when I start

to feel a little tingly. That is, I begin

to feel as if it is actually happening

and it fills me with excitement.

If you find it hard to create visuals in your head, there are things you can do to help yourself. Vision boards are very popular. Collect pictures and clippings that depict what you want to manifest and fix them to a board.

This will help you clarify your goals, and you can place the board in an obvious place in your home to keep you focused on their intentions.

Keep a vision board as well as practise visualization. Try to spend a few minutes viewing it every day. This has worked well for many. You can even manifested your dream comes into reality. Your dream have a power.