“So if we want to change some aspect of our reality, we have to think, feel, and act in new ways; we have to ‘be’ different in terms of our responses to experiences. We have to ‘become’ someone else. We have to create a new state of mind…we need to observe a new outcome with that new mind.” — Dr. Joe Dispenza, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” — Albert Einstein
What if the missing piece to creating the life of your dreams had less to do with your material possessions and more to do with the quality of your mind? Well, we’re here to tell you that it does! If you have doven into a meditation practice, mastered your nutrition, and optimized your sleep, then you have already started building a strong mind-body foundation for creation. The final component comes down to one simple question: Can you visualize your future?
Dr. Joe Dispenza centers all of his work around the power of the human mind. According to his research, energy precedes matter; or in other words, thoughts become things. Although he is certainly one of the most well-known experts in the field, he isn’t the first to speak on the importance of tuning the mind in to new potential. As it turns out, even Albert Einstein referenced the power of imaginative thinking!
If you can visualize your success and feel the “high-vibrational” emotions attached to it, then you are priming your mind and body to feel its actualization. This isn’t spiritual mumbo jumbo; it’s science.
How to Visualize in Three, Simple Steps
When most people hear “visualization,” they immediately picture vision boards with magazine cutouts and unfinished copies of The Secret. The truth is, visualization isn’t something that requires you to spend time on a new art project or manufacture a perfect altar for manifestation. It isn’t even about thinking and feeling “positively,” as so much of the rhetoric has claimed.
You can visualize your way to a better life, right here and right now. It just comes down to a few key questions: are you clear on your vision; are you being intentional with your emotions; and are you using your vision and emotions to propel you forward into action? If the answer is yes to each of these questions, then it’s only a matter of time before you start to experience major changes in your life. If not, then here are three, simple ways to start harnessing the creative power of your mind.
Create a New Morning Ritual
What’s the very first thing you do every morning? What thoughts do you run through and what feelings follow? Those initial moments set the tone for how the rest of your day will flow, so setting aside a small chunk of time to visualize what you would like to experience should be as non-negotiable as brushing your teeth.
The best part? You don’t need more than ten minutes. In fact, you can even get away with less! You can crack open your favorite journal or mentally run through the list as you take your shower. If you have one spot in your house or one step in your routine that always quiets your mind, designate it as the space for this visualization activity!
For one minute, simply sit or stand with your eyes closed. Peek around inside and notice what is present. Then, for the next two minutes, make note of what you feel grateful for. Every emotion has its own, unique vibrational frequency. For example, joy and gratitude are said to carry a frequency of 540 megahertz, while anger sits low at 150 megahertz. The greater the frequency, the greater the life-force energy; as Dr. Joe Dispenza teaches, it is this powerful energy that thus propels us into the ultimate creative mode. After those two minutes, think about the emotion you want to feel that day. Once you have a sense of clarity, spend the next two minutes feeling this emotion in every cell of your body. Memorize how it takes up space; its textures and fullness. This will give your body an energetic touchstone to return to throughout the day. Finally, spend the final minute writing down five activities or tasks that will move you closer to the outcome (i.e. the dream, the authentic self, the passion project, etc.) you are visualizing.
And there you have it; a 6-minute visualization practice guaranteed to change how you approach every single day.
Carve Out a Bedtime Routine
Thomas Edison said, “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” The window before bed is an extremely powerful time to visualize. The brain is carefully integrating everything that happened throughout the day and beginning to shift from waking consciousness to uninterrupted subconsciousness. The thoughts you have before drifting off to sleep can either support your mind and body in integrating a new potential reality, or they can keep you stuck in the mental quicksand of old patterns.
Have you ever laid in bed and imagined conversations or altercations, rehearsing your hypothetical lines? Or, ruminated on your most recent mistake at work or argument with a loved one? Our minds have no trouble painting scenarios, positive and negative alike. Instead of letting yours roam wild, try putting this imaginative inclination to use.
Think about what you are trying to accomplish in your life and imagine that very thing coming to fruition. For ten minutes, as you are lying in bed and waiting for sleep to take over, watch a mental movie of your life in the midst of your achievement. Watch your own success story, witness the changes it would have on you and your relationships, and completely absorb the accompanying emotions. This reel is what you will return to each night.
Visualize with Pen and Paper
There are two powerful visualization practices that utilize pen and paper. One is structured, and one is organic and intuitive. Try both and see what sticks!
Dr. Joe Dispenza utilizes the more structured option and explains his 5-question process on his website. In your journal, ask yourself the following:
- What is one challenge in your life that you would like to turn into a solution?
- What is the potential lesson hiding behind the challenge?
- How would you think, act, and feel if this challenge did not exist? How would you and your life be different?
- How would that change the way you interact with your world?
- Who would you be if you mastered the challenge and it no longer existed?
These questions serve to focus all of your attention and awareness onto feeling the solution, but this isn’t a one-and-done practice. After answering each question, reread your responses every morning and every night as part of your visualization routine.
A second practice is called “thought dumping.” Instead of asking yourself a predetermined set of questions, write down your thoughts in a steady stream of consciousness. This is best done immediately upon waking, after meditating, or after a breathwork session. Give yourself the permission to express whatever is coming up without pausing to censor or correct yourself. Better yet, try to commit to ten minutes of not even lifting your pen from the page. Flow from one sentence into the next, even if your conscious mind is trying to critique your grammar or corral your wandering mind. Just GO! At the end of the ten minutes, see what’s there. You may find it helpful to underline the most important takeaways, because we assure you, they will be there.
