The Power of Mind-Imagery
Today I feel inspired that I should speak more to the framework
of a successful mindset. We've already discussed how to ignore
negative thoughts and encourage positive thoughts by monitoring
what we allow to dwell in our minds. We've also talked about the
power of affirmations in changing our inner-talk to things we
want in our lives. Today I think we should focus on how to use
vivid imagery to obtain the things of our heart's desire. I call
this "Mind-Imagery."
Olympic champions and other high-performing athletes understand
the power of the mind and the power of mind-imagery. They
incorporate training for the mind as a part of their daily
training regimen. Not only do they have strength-coaches and
technique coaches, but they have mind-coaches as well.
These athletes picture themselves making the throw, hurdle,
move, stroke, etc. that brings them the Gold, and they truly
believe that before they start a competition, they've already
won it. In our last article, I spoke about Muhammed Ali and his
use of affirmations. The reason athletes use mind-imagery is
because they know that what the mind believes, the body achieves.
So if world-class athletes are using these techniques to succeed
in their professions, why not us to succeed in ours? Let's talk
about how we can use mind-imagery in our lives. It's important
to note that the subconscious mind does not understand the
difference between reality and imagination. What this really
means is that we can show the subconscious mind pictures of what
we want to be our reality and the subconscious mind will achieve
it.
If you are like me and millions of others, using mind-imagery
may be hard for you. I've heard that the average person in the
US watches more than six hours of television a day! Incredible
isn't it?! But in light of that knowledge, it's not so
incredible to see that many of us have lost our imaginative
abilities. Granted, we may not have had many to start with, but
with so many things to watch on TV and in the movie theaters, we
no longer are required to use our imaginations at all.
Because the pictures we show our mind are so important, it's no
surprise to me that so many of us have trouble programming our
minds for success. Only 4% of US citizens are truly financially
free at retirement age! We have lost the ability to imagine
ourselves achieving goals and being truly successful in the ways
we desire.
Because the subconscious mind uses pictures to manifest what we
want, we need to learn to re-program our minds by learning to
use our imagination again.
Let's start this by taking another look at the goals we have in
our lives. We need to show the mind what it is that we want.
What is it that we truly desire? Spend a few quiet moments
meditating and imagining what those things would look like. If
it is a dream home you desire, think about how the rooms are
laid out and decorated. If it is a dream job, think about how
your office will look, what you will wear, and the awards on
your wall. Make a mental note of these images because we will be
using them from now on.
If you have affirmations, add pictures to them. If you have them
memorized, add the corresponding pictures and hold them in your
mind while you speak the affirmation. If your affirmations are
written down somewhere, add pictures to the paper on which the
affirmations are written.
For example, if you are affirming a million-dollar bank account
and your dream home in the hills, find pictures of the home you
would like to have, and find pictures of a bank vault full of
cash and paste them onto the same sheet with your affirmations.
"Chicken Soup for the Soul" co-creator Jack Canfield had some
very important insight on how to supercharge the power of
mind-imagery. He recommends that you use mind-imagery by
imagining you are in a movie. In the quote below note how he
recommends you see YOU IN the movie as opposed to WATCHING a
movie OF YOU. He says, "If you're watching a movie of you, you
see your whole body up on the screen. But when you're in the
movie, you just see your own hands. You're looking out through
your own face. You can't see your own face right now. We call
this associated imagery versus disassociated imagery, which is
more powerful to produce change. So whenever you visualize
something you want, visualize it from inside of your body" (i.e.
You In the movie) "what it would look like if you had it. Don't
see yourself outside of your world. It's not as powerful."
So, for the next two weeks, I want you to latch onto the images
that go through your mind when you meditate and imagine how your
goals would look when achieved. Then, continue twice a day with
the affirmations, except for now I want those images you've
selected to be included and to be a central part of your daily
mind exercises. Make sure that you take Mr. Canfield's advice
and see the images from inside your own body.
I hope that your life already shows signs of powerful, positive
change. I look forward to speaking with you again in a couple of
weeks.
To Your Success, Joel S. Nelson
_______________________________________ Joel S. Nelson operates
Harvest Mind Enterprises, an operation targeted to individuals
interested in developing personally by harvesting the power of
the subconscious mind. For more articles on the topic, go to
http://www.harvestyourmind.com/newsletter.html