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If you haven’t seen
the movie, The Secret, I highly recommend it even
though I think they left out some important information. In
the movie they talk a lot about the power of visualization
and how if you visualize clearly enough and often enough,
the universe will conspire to meet whatever you focus on.
But does the universe break forth with music at the lift of
our baton?
Mindful Matters
A key concept is that the mind
loves to solve problems and is goal oriented. Once you put
forth a goal, to the mind it is a problem to be solved. Ask
yourself a question, for example, and your mind answers –
any question. Go ahead; Ask whether you are comfortable in
your chair right now, or where you were when you last
laughed.
 Notice that when you focused on those questions, your mind
effortlessly took you where you needed to be. In the first
instance, you became present to being in the chair. In the
second, you became present to where you were when you last
laughed. And you ignored or tuned out other immediate
sensory data.
Another example is what
happens when we’re involved in an important project. Our
goal-oriented mind gets busy. Soon we’re thinking about it
constantly, even dreaming about it. Perhaps you have
utilized or even developed this ability to pose a question
before going to bed and awake with the answer. Innovators
such as Einstein relied on this process.
Our mind is so goal oriented
that when we don’t generate new goals, it continues to focus
on old ones. In that case, life can get quite predictable.
Or, we’ll take on the goals of others — from books, movies,
or real life. If the most stimulating parts of life are the
trials and glories of others, it’s time to “get a life” —
which means time to set new goals.
Comfort Zone
Generally, there are two kinds
of goals: those that represent big changes in our lives and
those that involve things we’ve done before, like going to
the grocery store or working on job-related goals.
Goals that are big can be very
stimulating—think of innovators or writers. A friend who is
writing a novel recently told me that soon after she started
devoting significant time and focus to her project, the
characters would wake her at night and reveal the next twist
in the story. This writer often goes to bed
and fills her mind with the characters and their drama.
“Sometimes it feels as though the book is writing itself.”
Ever hear that? She is utilizing a form of visualization
that engages her creative mind to produce an intriguing
book.
 Big goals can take us beyond our comfort zone.
The more a goal takes us into unfamiliar territory in the
world, the more we need to visualize it. This isn’t for the
purpose of having the universe give it to us, but for us to
allow the experience. You see, our problem-solving minds
want us safe, and they consider anything too far outside of
our experience as potentially dangerous.
What would happen if a young
child were dropped off on the first day of school, without
having been told adequately what to expect? The child would
be terrified! Instead, most parents talk about school for
months in advance, and from this, most children are excited
to start school.
Another example occurred in my
life during the late ‘80s. After earning my doctorate and
completing the year-long internship, I had an interview set
up with a psychologist who offered a job that included
supervisory hours toward my California psychology license.
The job was perfect for me, but I could not seem to get
myself to that appointment. I knew it was my own resistance,
and it made no sense to me, so I pulled over, called his
office, and rescheduled the interview, feigning car trouble.
My vehicle couldn’t get there, all right! Then I went home
and grasped the picture of what I would be doing—saw it,
felt it, and talked to myself positively—and finally was
able to get there – and get the job. It was perfect!
There’s a reason we
procrastinate or avoid certain tasks and then fail to meet
important deadlines or goals. It’s because we weren’t
comfortable or familiar enough with what we had to do. The
tasks seemed somehow “not us” or not in our sense of
reality, and so we sabotage getting what we really want.
That shifts when we visualize.
The task becomes making sure
that the actual experience of our goals is familiar enough
so we can see ourselves step into it. Once we live it in our
minds, we can live it in reality.
Visualization then is a bridge
to our goals. It changes us, so that we find our way to
where we want to be. It’s simply the way our mind works.
Imagination and Sensory Fullness
 Perhaps it is obvious that visualizing involves exercising and
developing our imagination, the most creative part of us. I
believe it is vitally important for us to get good at
visualizing and allow inspiration to guide us as to what’s
needed during these changing times. But it’s much more than
a visual process. To be effective, it’s important to include
all five senses.
For example, if you are
thinking of taking an ocean cruise, you can use all your
senses to hear the seagulls
and foghorn blowing, feel the warm sun and sea spray on your
face, in addition to seeing your spouse smiling,
sitting on a deck chair with a straw hat, etc. The more
vivid and real in your imagination, the more likely you will
experience it in real life.
An important part of this
imagining, also, is for it to be in present tense, rather
than in the future. Our subconscious mind only knows now, so
by visualizing your story in the now, your mind experiences
it as real. It actually doesn’t know the difference between
your everyday now and your imagined experience in the now.
Knowing this, we can imagine better.
Narrowing the Search
Another important thing to
know about how the mind works is that, once focused on a
goal or problem to solve, our minds block out other
environmental stimulation. While this causes us to miss
things, and even misinterpret them (according to someone
else), it’s necessary for us to have selective attention.
It’s called focus.
Finding a parking space, for
example. Many times I have visualized myself finding a good
parking space easily and it always works. Once I set the
intention and truly expect the results, I am finely attuned
to indicators that a space is about to open up, or where one
is available, even though I may be listening to music.
This is because my
goal-oriented mind automatically does this for me. It begins
to focus selectively on anything relevant. Suddenly I notice
the brake lights of a car about to pull out of a space, or
hear the keys of someone approaching a nearby car.
Insight, Intuition, and Constructive Questions
There is another important
aspect of visualization. It is developing our intuition or
the willingness to notice and receive the various “answers”
to our problems and goals.
Some of these may be subtle
promptings or insights, such as suddenly having the idea to
go to the local bookstore, and then being open to noticing
which book, magazine, or person your are drawn to engage.
You might be drawn to an upcoming book signing that is the
perfect contact for you. The point is to be open to these
promptings and to take action on them.
 Some of our “answers” may involve bigger, even
traumatic, events, but it’s our mind’s interpretation that
makes the difference between finding the answer or not. In
the example where I had trouble getting to the interview
appointment, I could have interpreted my discomfort as
indicating I “shouldn’t” pursue the job. I was aware enough,
however, to understand that I just needed more preparation
and encouragement.
Sometimes we may not know a
positive interpretation for an event that initially may look
only negative to us. We can move our process along more
positive lines quickly by asking ourselves, “What is a
positive way to look at this?” How can I feel better about
everyone involved here?” “What is the best way for me to
proceed?” “What are some benefits to me from this?”
Remember, our mind always
answers questions, so what we ask is important. Our internal
questions can run beneath our radar. Make sure that rather
than thinking “Why did x go wrong?” or “Why did I
blunder?”, you ask yourself questions that move your mind
into a constructive, problem-solving trajectory. It really works.
Positive Self-Talk
Our mind is constantly
talking. Have you noticed? It’s commenting constantly on
what we’re seeing, on other people, and especially on what
we’re doing. That’s just a way that the mind works. So it’s
important to be sure that our internal talk is positive and
encouraging. Making a list of such sentences to use is very
helpful.
For example, let’s say you
have a friend or relative who was upset because, in their
eyes, you were critical or meddling (same thing, by the way)
in their lives. Instead of feeling horrible, reframe any
negative evaluations. You might say to yourself sentences
like, “Oops! Time to focus on my life!” “I really do love
them enough to let them learn their own lessons.” Or, “Love
is interesting!” etc.
 If you ever feel depressed, discouraged, or at
all down, it’s totally the result of negative self-talk.
That’s actually good news because we can re-program our
self-talk. If
you focus on positive self-talk and add positive visualizing
about yourself, perhaps from past glories for starts, you’ll
be amazed at how quickly your mood, attitude, energy level,
and whole life changes for the better.
A very powerful way to shift
our internal dialogue is to ask positive questions. Our mind
loves to focus on problems or quests and so, when we
generate great questions, ones that engage our love, our
aspirations and our creativity, we immediately begin a new
trajectory in life. There is a lot to say about this, as
there is about many of these points, and more will be
written in future articles.
Visualizing Daily
Visualizing is important for
small and large goals, and I recommend that you set many
goals for yourself, in every important area of life; For 5
years, 3 years, 2 years, 1 year, 9 months, 6 months, 1
month, 3 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week, 3 days, 2 days, and
tomorrow. Also it’s good to visualize your goals for
today—for the morning, afternoon, and evening.
We can benefit by visualizing
throughout the day—to see ourselves having a successful
meeting, a peaceful walk, a great conversation and
connection during dinner. When I resist doing my exercises
in the morning, I quickly start visualizing doing them and
how good it feels. Before I know it, I’m putting on the
video and starting my routine.
Visualizing large goals, as
well as the next day’s goals at night before going to sleep,
is highly recommended. Also, taking time first thing in the
morning to go over the day, imagining upcoming events
unfolding rewardingly is very beneficial. It’s about living
in awareness rather than blind habit.
In Conclusion
Visualization works because we
are aligning with the mind’s unending process of answering
or fulfilling whatever goals we chose to pursue. By
providing clear, imagined experiences of desired outcomes
and applying positive self-talk, we simply are assisting the
mind in its joy and function of finding the way, for our
benefit.
Maybe what we’re orchestrating
is our own mind. If you believe reality is Oneness or a
unified field, however, then perhaps by orchestrating our
mind, we actually really are orchestrating the
universe; as above, so below. Focusing on how our mind
works, however, takes the mystery out of it. That’s “the
secret.”
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Visualization: The Secret
