6 Guidelines for Creative Visualization

BY Mike Dooley January 2, 2015

“Visualize: Imagine a Day in the Life You Dream of Living” is one of 30 activities featured in the Love Your Life 30 Day Project (created by Mike Dooley and Hope Koppelman), which kicks off January 1. This way to learn more about the 30 Day Project.

When it comes to visualizing (something I do on a daily basis), there are six guidelines I follow. They’re not rules. You can come up with your own, but these work for me and I've got some rationale behind each one that I’ll share...

1. Visualize once a day.

Once a day is all that’s necessary. Of course, you can think happy thoughts on your way to work, or falling asleep at night, and you might even visualize a second or third time every now and then, but overall let this be an exercise that you do one time each day, and then let it go.

2. Visualize no longer than five minutes.

If you try to visualize longer than five minutes, no matter who you are, you’re going to start day-dreaming. And then you're going to get mad at yourself. And then you’ll draw the false conclusion that visualizing doesn't work for you. It does work for you and it’s easy... if you limit it to five minutes.

3. Imagine every conceivable detail.

Create imaginative, elaborate scenes in your mind’s eye that depict your changed life. Imagine the sights, sounds, colors, textures, and aromas. Make the image in your mind as real and vivid as possible. Of course, I’m not talking about attaching to those details. Just use them to get excited about all the amazing changes that will soon be happening in your life.

4. Feel the emotion.

Feel what you'd expect to feel, experiencing the life you dream of experiencing. Feel the joy, the confidence, the satisfaction. No matter how silly it seems in that dark and quiet room when you're shouting “whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo,” do it! How badly do you want what you want? Chances are you want it badly enough to feel a little silly, to get a little “stupid” in the dark, quiet privacy of your own home when you're visualizing.

Emotion is the turbo-charger of change; it’s as if your emotions supercharge the thoughts associated with them and that extra charge gives them power over your other competing (or contradictory) thoughts, drawing circumstances into your path that facilitate your dream’s manifestation. I tell anybody who wants to bring about major life changes that they should begin with a visualization program; I tell anyone who wants to bring about major life changes quickly to visualize with emotion.

5. Put yourself in the picture.

You’ve got to be there, in the picture, if you want your manifestation to include you. For example, let’s say one of the details you’re visualizing is a new car. Right before you close your eyes, look at the back of your hands. Your hands are different than anybody else's: your fingers, finger nails, the hairs, wrinkles, and even the rings you wear are unique. Visualize your hands in your mind’s eye wrapping around the steering wheel of whatever it is that you most want to be driving.

6. Dwell from the end result—or beyond.

This is one more way to say what I’ve already said: do not mess with the cursed hows. When visualizing, go to the finished, completed picture—your dream already come true. Do not visualize how it will come true. The cursed hows are the banes of our primitive existence. Yet we've all been told since we could crawl that we should mess with the hows, that we’re irresponsible and reckless if we don’t. The truth of the matter is that messing with the hows is what slows us down, tying the hands of the Universe and leading us to think that we must carry the weight of the world upon our shoulders. Instead, dwell from the end result or beyond... and leave the hows to the infinite, magical universe.

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Mike Dooley

Mike Dooley is a former PriceWaterhouseCoopers international tax consultant, turned entrepreneur, who's founded a philosophical Adventurers Club on the internet that's now home to over 600,000 members from over 182 countries. His inspirational books emphasizing spiritual accountability have been published in 25 languages and he was one of the featured teachers in the international phenomenon, The Secret. Today Mike is best known for his free Notes from the Universe e-mailings and his New York Times bestsellers Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams and Leveraging the Universe: 7 Steps to Engaging Life's Magic. Mike lives what he teaches, traveling internationally speaking on life, dreams, and happiness.