This article will show you why visualization is a beneficial technique and how you can use it yourself. When you visualize, you intensively imagine certain events, such as your goals. In this way, you strengthen your focus and influence your subconscious to search for solutions and ways to achieve them.
Many studies prove that visualization techniques can support the achievement of goals. For example, the study “Strength gains by visualizing maximum muscle contractions” by Matthias Reiser (2005) at the University of Giessen proves that athletes can significantly increase their performance if they visualize the movement sequences before training or competition. But, of course, physical exercise cannot be replaced.
By tought, the thing you want is brought to you; by action you receive it.
Wallace D. Wattles
The message of this sentence is that we need action to create things in our lives in addition to visualizing.
The quality of your visualizations plays an important role. Here I present you a visualization sequence that combines many scientific findings. This sequence consists of six stages.
I have recorded a short guided meditation for you. It takes you through the above steps and deepens their impact. Click here to get in in English & German.
Step 1: Clarity
Choose something concrete that you want to visualize. This way, you know what you want to work on. This could be, for example, one of the points you wrote down for yourself in the exercise “Experience – Growth – Contribution.“
Step 2: Positive Vibrations
Take a moment to get into a grateful feeling. First, ask yourself, “What am I grateful for right now?” and dive a little more into those situations, things, encounters, and moments. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza (2014), positive feelings increase the effectiveness of visualizations. Among these, gratitude is the strongest positive feeling.
Stage 3: Physical & mental relaxation.
The more deeply we are relaxed, the deeper visualization goes. One way to describe states in our brain is through different brain waves: “When several brain neurons fire simultaneously, their individual activities add up to a total activity. This creates a certain wave pattern […]” (Birbaumer, Zittlau 2016, p. 66) We humans can be in delta, theta, alpha, beta or gamma wave patterns. Very briefly, during delta waves, we are in sleep, in theta in deep relaxation, in alpha in an intermediate state, in beta in everyday consciousness, and in gamma in a state of the deepest meditation.
None of these states is good or bad per se, similar to the gear shift of a car. Which gear is advantageous in a given situation depends on that situation. For example, first gear is handy for starting but a disadvantage at 200 km/h on the highway.
For visualization, Alpha and Theta are the most valuable gears. This is because they silence our inner critic, and we have more direct access to our inner world. You’re in these states every day because when you go to sleep and wake up, you slide through alpha, theta and delta. That’s why it’s also advantageous to visualize right after waking up and right before going to sleep. For me, this has become a regular part of my daily routine.
One way to slip into deep relaxation is (self) hypnosis. I use a technique by José Silva (1991) to relax physically, mentally and spiritually. He describes it in his book “The Silva Mind Control Method.” On Youtube, you can find guided meditations to learn this technique. Also, specific breathing techniques are beneficial to let go and relax. In my visualization journey, which you can get on my website, you can quickly learn and apply these techniques. You can find the QR code for it at the end of the chapter.
Step 4: Use your sexual energy
Our sexuality gives us access to one of the most powerful energies available to us. It is so strong that it can create new life. It is also strongly linked to creativity. That is why it is excellent for massively increasing the effect of visualizations.
Tantra deals, among other things, with igniting this energy and distributing it in our system. A technique for this is called “Secret Squeeze.” For this purpose, you contract the PC muscle. The easiest way to find the PC muscle is to interrupt urination the next time you go to the toilet. After that, you can intentionally tense the PC muscle at any time. Sometimes this muscle is also called the Kegel muscle.
In this step of the visualization sequence, you can tense and relax the PC muscle twenty times in a row for about one second. Then, on the next deep inhale, visualize drawing orange energy from your genitals up through your belly, heart, throat, and into your head. As you exhale, let this energy flow back down. Take 5 of these deep breaths. This is an easy way to amplify and distribute your sexual energy throughout your body.
Step 5: Visualize & Active Meditation
There are many different techniques at this level. Depending on whether you want to visualize a clear goal or tap into your intuition, one or the other process is more suitable.
Let’s say you want to visualize a goal. An excellent technique for this also goes back to Joe Silva and is called the “Three Scenes Technique.” It consists of three steps.
In each step, you visualize certain aspects of your goal. You can use all sensory channels to make your visualization as strong as possible. By using the acronym VAKOG, you can quickly memorize these sensory channels:
1. visual (seeing)
2. auditory (hearing)
3. kinesthetic (feeling)
4. olfactory (smelling)
5. gustatory (tasting)
These are the three steps of the “Three Scenes Technique“:
1. First, imagine what you don’t want, for example, the pain and problems that arise when you remain in the current situation. After diving deeper into this scene using VAKOG, you can visualize the image breaking into a thousand pieces.
2. Visualize the next steps you can take to move toward the goal. After you have dived deeper into this scene using VAKOG, you can move it to the right.
3. Visualize the moment when you have reached your goal. Also, imagine who you are as of this better version of yourself. Adopt the identity of the person who achieved this goal. Also, visualize how this makes the world a better place for at least two people.
Step Six: Gratitude & certainty
Detach from the images and thank the Universe in advance that what you imagined, or something better, will come into your life. Then, over the next few days, be on the lookout for signs that things are running their course.
If you want to get more into the world of visualizing, I highly recommend the work of José Silva. In addition to his books, there are numerous videos on Youtube and an excellent online course from Mindvalley. By the way, you can use these techniques in many different ways. Many artists use such things before their performances. A few years ago, I had the honor of being backstage at Madonna’s legendary “Stair Case Prayer.”
In this “Stair Case Prayer”, she gathers all the singers, musicians and dancers just before the show and brings them and herself into a highly energetic state. In the process, emotional stories are shared, dancing, singing and laughing. Afterward, everyone is in a good mood and full of energy for the show.
As mentioned above, I have recorded a short guided meditation for you. It takes you through the above steps and deepens their impact. Click here to get in in English & German.
