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| "Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible." Cherie Carter-Scott | ||
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Creative Visualization & Imagery
Visualization, also known as imagery, is the use of our imagination to create an internal multi-sensory representation of an object, situation or event. We use visualization passively when we worry, dream, read a book, listen to a story, or smell something cooking. We use it actively when we plan our day, consider possible outcomes when making a decision, and mentally dress rehearse a golf or tennis swing.
Creative visualization is the active and intentional use of visualization to influence or create a specific outcome or goal. Creative visualization can be used to change our physiological or emotional state, enhance our creativity, and improve our athletic and social skills. It is characterized by the use of a script, whether the script is spoken or read by a trained facilitator, prerecorded, memorized or created impromptu as part of the imaging process.
Visualization and creative visualization have been used for thousands of years in many different cultures. During the 1970s and the 1980s, creative visualization became popular for its spiritual growth benefits among people in the New Age movement. It is now embraced by the conventional medical community, and is more commonly called imagery and guided imagery. The technique itself remains virtually identical to the process described by Shakti Gawain in her authority textbook on creative visualization, "Creative Visualization: Use The Power of You Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life," published in 1978.
Creative visualization has valid scientific documentation for its effectiveness as a medical treatment in a variety of immune system and stress-related medical conditions. Specific examples include the successful use of creative visualization to enhance immune cell dysfunction in cancer and HIV/AIDS patients, physically relax muscles in people with migraine headaches and chronic pain syndromes, and manage the nausea associated with chemotherapy.
The list of documented health benefits includes treatment of anxiety, asthma, cancer, chronic pain, depression, headaches, various heart conditions, infertility, insomnia, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), psoriasis, tobacco addiction and weight management. Creative visualization is also used in biofeedback, an increasingly popular form of treatment for such medical conditions as recurring headaches, diabetes and high blood pressure.
It is effective for building confidence and athletic skill, especially those sports containing complex neuromuscular sequences such as gymnastics, diving, and figure skating. It is used for skiing, track and field, swimming, golfing, basketball and tennis. It is becoming increasingly popular as a tool to enhance creativity and performance such as writing, acting, singing, and public speaking. Last, and not least, it continues to be a popular spiritual growth method.
Use your imagination to create what you want in you life, whether it is a new job or a faster 10K time. Use creative visualization to change limiting patterns and beliefs to ones that promote the expression of your passion, and bring you the highest potential to be happy.
Here are some practice activities for your imagination:
VISION
- Watch a stop light change from green to yellow to red to green again.
- Plant a dandelion seed, and watch it grow from a seed to a green, leafy plant. Next, grow a bud which blooms into a flower, which forms into a fluffy ball of seeds. Finally, have the wind blow the seeds away, leaving an empty stalk.
HEARING
- Listen to the rain in a puddle, on window glass, a shingled roof, then a tin roof. Now add the sounds of thunder and wind.
- Listen to the voice of a friend, then the voice of someone you don't like, then the voice of another friend.
TASTE
- Taste a lemon, followed by a piece of chocolate, then a potato chip.
SMELL
- Smell a rose, fresh baked bread, frying bacon, then spoiled milk.
TOUCH
- Feel a soft warm breeze against your face, then turn it into a cold wind. Add snow or rain to the wind. Now, stop the precipitation, and slow the wind back down to a gentle breeze.
MOTION
- Imagine yourself riding on a horse -- walk, trot, gallop, then run.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Now, create this scene using all of your senses:
Visualize yourself on a warm beach.
Imagine yourself within your body, feeling and sensing what is going on around you rather than looking at yourself as an observer. Hear the soothing waves, the voices of people, the cry of sea gulls. Feel the warm sand under your feet and the hot sun against your skin. Feel yourself walk over the sand to the edge of the water, then walk into it.
Sit down and let the waves splash against you, tasting the salt water that sprays your face. See the sunlight reflecting off the water, and all the brightly colored beach toys and umbrellas and bathing suits. Smell the suntan lotion and nearby beach food.
Bring in your emotions -- are you happy, sad, tired, relaxed, or maybe even uncomfortable or afraid? Not everyone likes the beach!
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