We’ve all been there. You find yourself in a situation where a choice must be made. You have to make a decision that will impact your future, whether it be short term or long term. We can’t predict the future so we often resort to the one thing we have… the past. It’s almost second nature that we go back to our past. Images and recollections in our memory bank converge and they give us a blueprint of sorts for what’s to come. Or at least what we think is to come.
I want you to re-read that last part… what ‘we think’ is to come. The mind is a powerful tool. And just like any powerful tool we must be careful how we use it. What we allow our mind to visualize will have a tremendous impact on what happens next. Will you visualize positive thoughts that that aid, motivate, and encourage? Or will you visualize negative thoughts that defeat and demoralize?
I encourage the first option. Good energy forward brings good energy back. When a painter stares at a blank canvas, they are not envisioning a horrid piece of art as the end result. They are envisioning beauty, they are envisioning inspiration, they are envisioning a master piece. But remember, one cannot create the masterpiece if one cannot first see the masterpiece (at least see enough to get started). Picture your mental and physical health in the same manner. What do you see going forward? What are you visualizing for yourself?
Visualization (also known as Guided Imagery) is a practice or technique that focuses on using the power of the imagination to create a positive and healthy connection between the mind and the body. Instead of focusing on hurt and pain (just one example), one instead visualizes being in a pain free state. These visualizations that start in the mind will then be passed on throughout the body. Instead of focusing on what is (feeling pain), the mind and body begin to uniformly visualize being in a state of what can be (feeling minimal or no pain). There are many Visualization techniques that can be used. And these techniques will help whether dealing with stress, chronic pain, depression, or anxiety, to name a few.
The mind and body is a beautiful thing to witness when they are harmoniously aligned and visualizing the same goals. See the path that you wish to be on. Then create it. See the changes you want make for yourself, then make them. Visualize the finished work of art, and then take that first paint stroke.
For more information or to begin your journey towards Visualization, click here and introduce yourself to Roxanne!
