Let’s see some visualization exercises and their importance in our mind expanding quest. In this page, you will find some basic exercises for improving your visualization skill.
You need to have a good visualization skill before practicing Self Hypnosis.
First of all, what is visualization? It is a skill, which means that everyone can learn it and improve it through practice. It is the ability to imagine things.
This skill involves creativity and imagination. Improving visualization will improve these two correlated skills as well. The greater the details of the mental images you create, the greater the skill.
Creative visualization is a critical ability to have to expand your mind. It is the number one ingredient for practicing successfully self hypnosis and the Silva mind control method.
Lacking it, will not let you move towards the change you want to do in yourself. So, as we now understand the power of visualization, let’s see some basic visualization exercises.
Level 1 Visualization Exercise
Before continuing with the technique, I would like to clarify that exercise 1 is addressed to beginners.
I assume that you have slight or no previous experience with visualization exercises, so I am going to be very descriptive.
Some people have by nature greater ability to imagine things than others, as some they are more creative than others. If you find the following exercise too easy for you, then you can start with more advanced exercises.
Find a comfortable place to relax and dedicate to this exercise 20 minutes. Be sure that you will not be interrupted. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths to start relaxing your mind.
Now begin to imagine something familiar to you, like an apple. An apple is a common object to visualize. Focus on the apple; don’t let the distractive thoughts to get in the middle with your exercise.
First, see the apple from all its sides, point to point. When you have a clear image of the apple, then zoom in on it. Observe its skin, is it smooth or rough? Are there any holes? Is it a green apple or a red one? Focus on the details.
This action engages your creativity and trains your visualization skill. Spend some time observing these simple details.
That way you will learn to stay focused on the visualization exercise and not let irrelevant thoughts to distract you.
You will understand that you are ready to move on when you will have no distractions at all. If you realize that you cannot focus on the exercise, don’t get disappointed, it’s just the beginning. Your mind just needs more training.
Let’s move on to the exercise. You can have a clear image of the apple in your mind; you can zoom in and zoom out, and also you don’t get distracted easily.
Now move a step further and smell the apple. Cut it in the middle and observe again the details. What’s its color? Count the stones in its core. Observe the contrast of the black stones with the soft yellow color of the apple’s interior.
As the time passes and you still observe the divided apple see how its color darkens over the time.
Finally, end this exercise by tasting the apple. Eat it all. Feel the taste of it in its full, like you do in the real world. Now, if you do this right, your mouth may be full of saliva. When you eat it, take three deep breaths and count from 1 to 5 and open your eyes.
You completed your first visualization exercise. It is an easy level 1 exercise.e Repeat this training up to a point that distracting thoughts do not interfere with the exercise while you can imagine all these things easily.
Of course, you are free to visualize anything that is familiar to you, not absolutely a fruit. Just pick a familiar object that it is easy to imagine. You can also use different objects every time you try this exercise for better results.
I was too much descriptive with the above visualization exercise for you to understand what you have to do. After some training, you can follow your own designs. You can add details, actions and whatever you can think of to your visualizations.
Well now, did you master the first level exercise? Let’s see a more complex one.
Level 2 Visualization Exercises
Now, pick a person you know very well. You can choose one of your close relatives or your best friend or whomever you like. An absolute requirement is to know this person so well, so you can recognize them easily at a distance.
In this practice, you do the same you did in the first exercise, except the cutting and eating part of course. You try to see with closed eyes this person live in front of you, as you did with the apple.
Focus on the details of their face first and then move to their body. See them from behind, zoom in and zoom out, cycle them 360 degrees. Undoubtedly, compared to the apple this is much more difficult. But it is an excellent exercise.
When you have a clear picture of the person, try to change their clothes. Imagine that they wear your favorite clothes. See if they look good or bad. See if the clothes fit their bodies or not. Then try to change them hair styles.
In this part, you involve creative visualization. At this point, your skill starts to advance and also your creativity does. By completing these series of visualization exercises, you will realize the power of visualization.
The level 2 exercises may require practicing a lot more time than exercise 1. It is reasonable and expected, as the second level is much more difficult than the first.
Also, in L2 exercise, you begin to train in creative visualization. That is your ultimate goal; to use creativity in your visualizations.
Level 3 Visualization Training
As your creativity starts developing, you are ready for more demanding visualization techniques. In L3 training, you will stay longer times into your imagery places you are going to create.
Dedicate more time for level 3 exercises. You are going to imagine whole environments that surround you. At this point, you can create a virtual reality in your mind where you can move and react with the environment.
Begin with imagining a forest. See the details of the trees, any animals, sounds, smells. All your senses work to the fullest like they do in the real world.
Try to create a mental map of your location so to track your movement in the virtual environment and know exactly where you are. This useful tool will expand your consciousness.
As you progress with these series of exercises, you can add more details to your worlds like lakes, waterfalls, hills, rocks, new creatures, new sounds and anything you can imagine. You have infinite choices, and your creativity expands at its maximum.
You will understand that you have mastered level 3 visualization exercises when you will be able to create a whole unbroken experience on your imaginary worlds.
With unbroken, I mean that you will not just see moments of yourself in the virtual worlds but a full-time experience just like a dream.
Guided Visualization
For level 3 visualization exercises you may use guided visualization. This is a handy tip to help you cope with irrelevant thoughts interference. Let’s see how you can do it.
You need a voice recording machine. You create a story of the place you want to visit and record your voice. You describe the environment you are going to visualize and your actions. Then you hear your recordings as you try the visualization exercise.
This is very helpful especially in the beginning of L3 exercises. It will keep you focused on your purpose, and you will not get distracted by irrelevant thoughts. I recommend you to try guided visualization when you start with level 3 exercises.
So, you passed all three levels? Congratulations!
You cannot imagine how much your mind has expanded (but maybe you do now). Your creativity has been boosted significantly, and you can feel this in your everyday life. You can become now an expert in self hypnosis; your right hemisphere abilities have been enhanced, and you can deliver your positive suggestions efficiently.
Trying these exercises also improved your ability to relax and to alter your brain waves faster.
All these three visualization techniques are a free training program I invented for myself to find the secrets of creative visualization. These visualization exercises have helped me a lot with self hypnosis, and I recommend you to try them if you have trouble with visualization.
thanks for ur visualization tecniques.. Its well use full to everyone..
Thanks! If you have tried them please feel free to post your experience and let us know how they work for you.
Want to ask when visualising the apple, does it mean thinkin an apple in mind, or really could project an image of Apple on the eyelids which like I am “seeing” and apple with closed-eyes? Coz I could see nothing with closed eyes but just can think of an apple in the mind @@
I have the same question.
“Now begin to imagine something familiar to you like an apple. The apple is a very easy object to visualize. Focus on the apple; don’t let the distractive thoughts to get in the way with your exercise. see the apple from all sides, point to point. When you have a clear image of the apple then zoom in on it. Observe its skin, is it smooth or rough? Are there any holes? Is it a green apple or a red one? Focus on the details.”
After reading medical texts, it is clear that a person’s ability to visualise (as in actually see the object they are imagining to some extent (blurry, clear, 3-D reality)) varies greaty, and that large swathes of people have a 0-5% (effectively no visualization skills). And that people ranking in the 10-40% range of people previously assumed that “visualization” was more a metaphor. While those in the 60-90% all had active and vivid imaginiations, and daydreaming skills.
Now,
My question to the person who wrote this article — is there any way you can expand on the “Now begin to imagine something familiar to you like an apple. The apple is a very easy object to visualize. Focus on the apple.” aspect. How does one start to imagine an apple. What sort of thoughts would you need to be thinking about to be able to conjure up an image of an apple.. What direction to you look with your eyes closed, are your eyes “open-closed” or “closed-closed”? What sort of feelings do you have and how do you build up an image?
If I close my eyes, and sit quietly in a room, ambient light. For the first ten or so minutes, it’s just a black filled space, sometimes I will sense a deep purple (nearly black) random blob of non-descript floating substance in there, but normally it’s just black, sometimes if I try to focus on either, they just float around and then disappear.
I am assuming to visualize an apple needs to work with this sensation somehow?
If so, how?
Can you try to be more aware and describe the thoughts, feelings, directions involved in bringing up the image of an apple. Or even the sensation of an apple. As it this is still very foreign, and short of someone just planting a fulling realised image in my head to say “explore this”, it’s very hard to understand how to make exercise 1 work 😐
Hi Ice,
You are trying to see the apple with your eyes. This is the reason that you see only black. The visualization technique has to do with the mental ability of reconstructing images, that you are familiar to, in your mind and “see” them. These images are not formed through external stimuli from your eyes but they formed from your past experiences in your mind. You must have your eyes closed or else your sight will interfere with the visualization technique.
With your eyes closed try to recall from your memory the shape first of an apple. If you find this very difficult, then try to imagine simpler forms of images such as 2D shapes. Try to imagine a white circle and start changing its color or imagine the drawing of the circle. Keep the backgrounf black as it will help you with the current closed eyes state, and imagine drawing white shapes in that black background.
Do not try to see with your eyes. This technique has to do with your imagination. It is like daydreaming but more vivid. You have to enhance your ability before moving on to more complex images. I know that it is hard if you have never done this before but it is only a matter of discovering the way, which may differ from person to person and it is quite difficult to be described.
I still don’t quite understand… are you supposed to actually see the image?
It’s a nice article on the subject.
I have a question. When you visualize something with your eyes closed, do you see it against your eyelids like a projector? Or is it like recalling memories but creating scenes?
Hi Jacob
The first technique is very useful when you are new to this. However as you become more advanced the scenery creation will come naturally. Also this the way to add feelings to your visualizations.
yes i have encountered both types. the version where it is projected on your eyelids seems so accurate, as if you were staring at the picture right then and there but sense i was in a very sleepy mood it was easy for me to project such an accurate or should say replica of the actual picture. However, my concious visualization is improving, but not yet at the accurate level am aiming for
Thanks but I am asking how you see the visualization. Since you close your eyes, do you see the visualizations against your eyelids?
Yes, you see it like this. Your closed eyelids is your mental display where you project the visualization.
Right Socrates
It’s a mental image, it’s not necessarily projected. When you think about someone you don’t see them in absolute detail, but the best you remember them. It’s a way to train your imagination. It’s not like you’re going to visualize like you would with lsd. You’re only going to experience what you’ve trained yourself to do.
Yes you are right. You cannot visualize in full detail. Sorry if it sounds confusing. However with training you may reach a level of high detail visualizations but this requires a lot of training.
Thank you. For this 2014 I’m practicing 5 meditation methods, each one once a week:
– Listening to music (Fully. Not multitasking)
– Mindfulness on a different activity each time for 20 minutes
– Breathing
– Body scan
– VISUALIZATION! And this is where you have helped me tons. Great article.
Thank you very much Roo! I appreciate your feedback. 🙂
Hi,
When I try to visualize apple in my mind, the image of the apple keeps getting distorted. I know what I want as the image of apple but when I visualize it, the side gets distorted and I don’t seem to make it right. After this, I started staring at an actual apple and then closing my eyes and visualizing it. I start with the correct picture, but then the side automatically expands or flattens out, and it seems like I have no control over the image of the apple, as how it should look. Does this happen?
Hi Harshal,
Yes it could happen. It is just a matter of practice and nothing else. Try the trick you described with the real apple and then close your eyes and visualize it with its real shape as much as you can. If you think you losing it again, open your eyes for a moment to get the real picture and then try again. Keep doing this exercise until you can visualize the apple properly. Next you can move forward with more complicated exercises. Good luck!
Thank U very much. Feed back from other readers and ur answers to them answered all my doubts. I was successful in visualizing all the above 3 exercises. I am going to practice this daily. Thank U once again.
I have just started both the silva method and Michael Raduga’s : The Phase. And your exercises are of great help 🙂
I have cerebral palsy and I was wondering if that would in any way make me unable to use my minds eye? If not, would these exercises still be useful for me to improve it?
I have to repost this because I forgot to check off the email notification box!!! lol
I have a HUGE amount of trouble visulising. I am now using subliminals to change thought patters, sleeping better and getting off porn and masturbation addiction. I am trying to picture a candle, I hope to spend one hour a day doing this. Usually when I close my eyes all i see is dots and lines, very irritating.
How can I improve?
how to visualize tings you Can not see l for example successes etc ..
thanks
Saaid
I was looking for this type of content on net. Ilike many others I have got strong positive results using visualisation.
Is it helpful or distractive use own record ed voice to guide duronng visualisation?
Your valuable comments pl.
Hi Sandeep,
Although I haven’t used my own recorded voice for guided visualization, I believe that it can keep you more focused on what you are doing. When unguided it is easier for your mind to wander and lose focus of the visualization.
I believe that you are experienced so you try to visualize complex environments and images with sensations and feelings. Because if you just want to visualize an apple, perhaps it is a bit overkill to use voice guidance.
Thanks for these tips Socrates.
I’d just like to add my own experiences.
Reading and writing fiction helps develope a creative mind.
It is best to eliminate watching television or movies. I don’t own one.
Instead listen to audio books and podcasts of those things that you are interested in.
The flashing images from television disturb one’s concentration abilities.
Disconnect every day from anything that draws your attention away from time alone. Eg. Cellphones, internet, social networking etc. Switch the bleeping thing off.
Meditations of silence help to train filtering of thoughts.
Less is more.
Thanks and happy creating.
Respected Guide
So many thanks for the article.
I want to be a successful programmer(now i’m a beginner)…that’s my dream..
I have doubt in visualization technique….I found some interesting fact about it. The one is,’when told to eat more fruit, people who envisioned every step of the process (reaching for it, biting into it, enjoying it) were more successful than those who only generally thought about eating more fruit’.
But for my case how can i visualize(step by step) myself to become a incredible programmer???
Dear Gowtham,
I would like to answer to your question, but first of all, I would inform you that I am not a master of this technique. I Have been using the technique for about six months now and it really works for me. The last time I used the technique was on a girl in the neighborhood, we used to meet each other but we never exchanged words until I started using the visualization technique. I visualized the two of us chatting, laughing, kissing and even having sex with all the details such as our clothes, the color of her panties and bras, the surrounding environment and so on. After few days of visualization she introduced herself to me earlier when we met, which really surprised me, because I was planning to take action after a week of visualization. I took her number and believe me our relationship is really improving.
Now to answer your question, I will first tell you that you already have a problem, which will make this technique not to work for you. Per your comment, I can see that you have a negative thinking, which is the doubt you have about the technique. No matter how well one visualizes, if they doubt or don’t believe, this technique may never work for them. Secondly, do never focus on how to achieve your goal, you don’t need to visualize the step by step process. You only need to focus on your result with all the details. For instance seeing yourself doing programming, and already as a good programmer, with people appreciating you and even shaking your hands or clapping for you. As you can see in my case, I only focused on the result I wanted and surprisingly, the girl was strongly attracted to me.
If you really believe in the technique and use it properly, the probability is very high that you will achieve your goals. It is important to note that visualization must be accompanied with actions. Though in my case the girl came to me, do not think by relaxing in bed you will achieve your goals. It never happens that way, you have to go out there and struggle. Per my experience, you must also note that achieving some goals can take more time than others, but you have to be patient and never give up. Keep on visualizing and take physical actions.
All the best!
Sir firstly i was expert at visualisation,but,after i suffered from an eye problem my visualisation became very weak. can it be improved??
How many of u actually saw the Apple that was being described..the apple, the cutting, the seeds, the turning color..WHILE u were reading about the technique. I did…i think it’s that simple..I just have trouble holding on..its more like flashes..
Nice!
I meditate anyway so prior to this I have had my eyes closed and tried to “see” with my minds eye. So you could say I have done my own visualisation exercises. However the problem I have is that I just keep seeing fuzzy grey/ white dots, circles , lines, outlines etc. My third eye throbs so Im aware its working but for some reason I cant get past the fuzzy/ static stuff. For example instead of apple i tried visualizing an onion as it has a little bit more detail to it like the shape, the core and the lines inside…i mean i managed to get the outline of the inside of the onion but there was no colour. All I get is grey, white, silver in the blackness but even so it was difficult to maintain that image. The only time I see images with colour is when I start to get sleepy and drifti in and out of sleep but they flash then disappear. Any ideas, tips, help, suggestions as it gets extremely frustrating 😀
when am meditating all I’m seeing is grey, fuzzy and white dots or lines and shapes in the blackness. I really struggle to see colours besides the same boring moving fuzzy yellow blobs coming towards me like car lights. I tried to visualize an onion and i saw the shape and outlines but no colour.. What can i do? ???
Nice article
CORRECT INFORMATION;FIRST TIME FOUND ON INTERNET SO VALUED KNOWLEDGE;
THE WRITER MUST BE EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCED.
I am confused, what kind of image is it virtual where you can see the actual image in front of your closed eye or subconscious image where you know what I mean
I am a highly sensitive person. Could this method help me develop my skills ? Can anyone share his/her ideas of HSP? Thanks.
Hey, I’m going to practice this visualizing technique to change my eyes from dark brown to hazel while listening to a subliminal frequency to turn eyes hazel. I will update you on my result on February. Wish me luck 🙂 Thanks for the article. But first I will have to master my focus in meditation. 5 mins are the max for me as long I repeatedly tell myself I want a color change, but sometimes I doze off.
I having been using this method ,visualization, for many years now. I started it in my childhood peroid. well from where I came from ,very remote area, there was no computer or internet and I was not yet a user of cellphone and many technological devices .at that time visulization was my blanket for happiness.and acadamically It was very easy to understand new topics and to create new things. at that time I create many movies in history lesson and understand topics better than my chemistry teacher etc. I been using this method for many years and I think it is the most intersting thing to me. I told to people near to me but never understand it.now I am a third yeard medical student. so I agree with this article.
By increasing the speed of reading, can i remember something easily or speedly?
Lmao everytime I imagine my friend and change her clothes and hair styles for her, I would always pick the stupid ones and laugh at it like an idiot