Right this very moment I’m in Paris on holiday with my husband H and our children Timothy and Nomzamo, as well as our dog Yossarian, we call him Yossy. We are at a restaurant we are loving very much. Timothy and I are playing with Yossy and H keeps telling us to stop attracting attention to ourselves. Nomzamo tells him to pretend he doesn’t know us because if he continues to indulge us, we’ll only get worse. Just then, Yossy runs off and starts licking another patron’s toes. Timothy and I run after him to get him off the screaming woman. We get back to the table where H and Nomzamo are waiting. We all look at each other and start laughing. That’s my life for you.
I couldn’t have dreamed this even if I tried, actually wait, I am dreaming it because everything you just read is a glimpse into the life I’m visualizing for myself. What life are you visualizing for yourself?
Shakti Gawain in her book Creative Visualization: Use the power of your imagination to create what you want in your life defines creative visualization as “the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life”. In a previous article I emphasize the power of your thoughts and how what you think about right now, will manifest itself in your life. In another post I talk about the importance of having a vision for your life, about why you need something to look forward to so you are driven to keep going.
When your thoughts are now in line with what you want and you are dreaming big and believe that your dreams are going to come true, creative visualization will help you keep your vision top of mind. It will help you create a picture of what it is that you have to look forward to. The practices in the above book will help you create the life you dream of. Just remember not to focus on the how, God will take care of that. You need to focus on where you want to be and what you want to be doing and you will eventually see it.
Don’t be deterred by what you see right now, by your current situation. What you see right now is just a result of past thinking, it is not permanent. What you think now, what you focus on, what you picture in your mind is what the future holds for you.
Shakti Gawain wrote this book in the 70s when she was 30 years old, she was an ordinary person living her life the best way she knew how. She was not famous in any way. She wrote it when there was no internet so no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for people to talk about it. The book sold over 3 million copies, largely through word of mouth. She didn’t even do any advertising for it. To date her books have sold over 10 million copies. She clearly practiced what she preached.
I’m not telling you about something I’m not practicing either. I’m a work in progress and what I like about myself is that I’m an active learner. I don’t just read and hope things change. Even before I finish reading about something, I’m ready to try it out. It doesn’t always work as fast as I would like but because my mind-set starts to change, I know the manifestation of what I’m believing for will soon follow.
There’ll be days where doubts will try to seep in, whether through self-doubt or someone saying something, you have to keep believing until what you’re believing for manifests itself. Visualize it until you see it come to life.
If you’re thinking no this won’t work, it doesn’t help to say something doesn’t work before giving it a chance, before actively practicing it. How long will it take you might be asking yourself? I can’t tell you that because that will differ depending on what it is you’re visualizing. It might take a month or a year or longer than you expect. If you are patient, you will reap the rewards. I know we live in a fast food, fast everything world, where patience is not an easy thing. You owe it to yourself to practice patience though because without it, your success will be doomed. If you give up at some point, go back and start over, there’ll be nothing stopping you.
Would you try creative visualization? If you do and you get what you visualized, please do come back and share so we can keep each other motivated.
