"So
What's the Fourth Step?"
VISUALIZATION
Visualization
is the technique of using the imagination to create a mental image of a
desired result. For visualization to be effective, you must learn
how to focus both your concentration and your imagination on the image
you're creating and also be able to maintain it for a period of time.
Meditation
Meditation is a wonderful way to learn how to clear your mind of extraneous
thoughts to make it easier to focus on your desired image. There
are endless methods to achieve meditative states and meditation can be
used for a variety of purposes -- clearing one's mind, stepping into the
astral planes, past-life regressions, seeking spirit guides, to name but
a few.
Relaxation
As medical doctors are now beginning to
understand, the body and mind are connected. If your mind is under
stress, your body will begin to show symptoms. The reverse is also
true -- if your body is tense, it will be much harder to calm your mind.
So here's a simple relaxation exercise:
Find a comfortable
position, preferably sitting upright. (If you're reclining or lying
down, it's easy to fall asleep.) Make sure that none of your body
parts are crossed. Starting with your feet, tense your muscles and
hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Then completely relax your feet, letting
the tension drain away. If you still feel any tension, repeat this
step. Next, tense the muscles in your calves, then thighs, buttocks,
stomach, back, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, and face. When you've
finished your whole body should feel relaxed and your mind feel calmer.
Breathing
Controlled breathing can help to accomplish two things: 1) calm
the mind and body; and 2) give that little background voice in your
head something to do while the rest of your mind focuses on your goal (you
know the one -- you're trying to meditate for the first time and a voice
in your head says, Okay, quiet now, and from the other side of your
head, you hear, I am, and then, Quiet, no thoughts, and then
Okay, I'm not thinking now, to which your little voice replies,
But now you're thinking about not thinking, at which point you give
up and go turn on the television).
Take a slow deep
breath in through your nose, making the inhalation last about 4 seconds.
Exhale slowly through your mouth, taking the same amount of time.
As you breathe, imagine that you're inhaling through the top of your head
and exhaling through a point about two inches above your bellybutton.
In addition, try to imagine that you're inhaling a clean white light and
when you exhale, the light is gray, carrying out any worries and negativity
that you may have been harboring.
While you're breathing, try to focus just on your breathing. If any
thoughts happen to fly in, simply acknowledge them and let them go again.
When you can keep yourself focused solely on your breathing for five minutes,
you're ready to try some visualization exercises.
Visualization
Visualization does not mean that the image created must be visually oriented.
In fact, effective visualization uses all the senses.
Here are a series of exercises to practice. When you can achieve
each one for more than five minutes, move on to the next one.
-
As you focus on your
breathing and a thought or image flies by, grab it and hold it. Try
to keep all your thoughts focused around that one image.
-
Find a simple geometric
shape around your house, such as a box or a ball. Study the ball
-- look at the way the light reflects off it, the shadows created, feel
the texture, smell the object. Now put the object down and close
your eyes . Visualize the object with all of your senses. Remember
what it smelled like, how it felt. Turn it around in your mind and
see it from new angles.
-
Find a more complex
item, something with a lot of detail, and repeat the above exercise.
-
Close your eyes and
create an image of something you're familiar with but haven't studied in
detail, maybe a dog or a firetruck or a colonial-style house. Then
fill in the details yourself. Imagine what kind of dog, what its
fur feels like, how it's breath smells, what it's doing physically at that
moment. Make the image as real as you can.
-
It's time to create
something that's never existed. Close your eyes and think of something
absurd or impossible, such as a burning purple snowball or a furry hammer
that sings the blues. Anything. Then, just like in the previous
exercise, fill in the details.
-
Now do the previous
exercise with your eyes open, imagining the object before you, so real
you can reach out and touch it.
When doing spell-work, it's very important that you visualize the image
of your goal as if it's already happened. If you're working
a healing spell, for instance, don't picture the person lying prone in
their hospital bed even though that's how they are now. Instead,
visualize them walking around healthy and happy, away from the hospital,
in their own home. Energy flows where thoughts go, so you
want to add power to a healthy image, not reinforce the illness.
If
you're interested in learning more about meditation and visualization,
here are a couple good places to look:
Books
-
Creative Visualization
by Shakti Gawain
-
The Miracle of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh
Links
