The Power of Your Imagination

Visualize yourself lying in black sand, swaying back and forth to the sound of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a perfect eighty-two degrees in the sparkling sun and Jack Johnson is singing sweet sweet lyrics into your ear. You have decided that life could not get any better than at this moment. You reach over for your tanning lotion, (SPF 30+ of course,) feeling a heavy tap on your shoulder. Lifting your head, you come to realize that it’s not a beautiful cabana boy handing you your pineapple cranberry smoothie, it’s your teacher handing you a big fat detention. Rubbing your eyes while blushing, you pull out your planner, only to record your third detention in two weeks.

As you’re coloring and bolding and adding little stars to another detention for another Tuesday afternoon, you visualize yourself as the student body president of Harvard University, giving the graduation speech of 2012. Thousands of overwhelming eyes are on you, eyes that have read thousands of stimulating articles, but you speak with confidence. You feel empowered, on fire, like you’re the president of the universe. No, those aren’t the stars in the galaxy, those are the stars on your planner, outlining your third Tuesday detention; and you’re back where you started.

This, my friend, is not day-dreaming; this is the beauty and art of Creative Visualization. Author Shakti Gawain, explores Creative Visualization as the technique of using the power of your imagination to create what you wish for in your life. Discovered by integrating the spiritual and psychological wisdom of the East and West, Gawain incorporates a desire to make a positive difference in the world. In this method, you imagine a pleasant image, idea, or feeling of something you wish to pursue. As you continue focusing on this idea regularly, it will soon become reality.

This technique should always be utilized in a positive manner. Creative Visualization cannot be used to "control" the behavior of others or cause them to do something against their will. Whatever you try to create for another person will always boomerang back to you, whether it is positive or negative. For example, you despise your boss so much that you visualize his toupeè catching on fire. (Word of advice. Don’t imagine such an encounter because I don’t know which is worse: your hair catching on fire or wearing a toupeè.)

The most important principle of Creative Visualization is relaxation. When your body and mind are deeply relaxed, your brain wave pattern actually becomes slower. This deeper, slower level is commonly called the alpha level. The alpha level has been proven to be a very healthful state of consciousness because of its relaxing effect on mind and body. Interestingly enough, it has been found to be very effective in creating physical changes.

A common relaxation method is to get in a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down, in a place where you won’t be disturbed; A place where you can’t see mom jamming out to Earth Wind and Fire with salad tongs, and you can’t hear dad yelling at the cat because she spilled Diet Coke all over his desk. Gawain says to relax your body completely. Starting from your toes and moving up to your scalp, think of relaxing every single muscle in your body, exerting all tension outwards. Breathe deeply and slowly, feeling the air go down your lungs and throughout your spinal cord. As you breathe, count slowly from ten to one.

Once you are deeply relaxed, it is important to focus on what your current goal is. Your goal can be anything you aspire to, whether it is getting an A on that 300 point chemistry test, becoming the next Oprah Winfrey, or eating the world’s largest jawbreaker in under an hour. Remember that goals often change before they are realized. If you lose interest in your current goal, like you’re not really interested in cooking like Emeril anymore, then it might mean that it’s time to reevaluate your current desires and move on to a new one. “Bam!” It’s that easy.

Positive affirmations, optimistic statements that are declared true, are an important element of Creative Visualization. An affirmation can be any positive statement. A few common ones are: ‘Everything I need is already within me,’ ‘The universe is unfolding perfectly,’ or ‘All things are working well in my life.’ If you aren’t really into the commonwealth, you can use your own affirmations like ‘Wow, I haven’t showered in six days but I still look like a million bucks,’ or ‘68% on my math test? That’s amazing!’ Positivity, my friend, is all that’s required. Gawain says that when you do this, you suddenly discover that you're really perfectly okay, just letting yourself be, and letting the world be.

Now that you have learned to utilize the power of your imagination, you go back to drawing stars; except, now, they aren’t the stars on your third Tuesday detention. They are stars of sunscreen on your best friend’s back, and you really are under the sparkling sun, lying on the sand of the Mediterranean Sea. The only difference is that you’re using SPF 50 because it’s 20 years later and you’re skin is a little more fragile; and that’s the beauty of Creative Visualization.