Spirituality & Creative Visualization

"Ordinary people believe only in the possible.
Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable,
but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible,
they begin to see it as possible."
- Cherie Carter-Scott (author and motivational speaker)

Spirituality & Creative Visualization:

Welcome Spirituality & Science readers - this post will address the concept of creative visualization. As mentioned in a previous post on Spirituality and Conscious Manifestation (scroll to the last entry), a powerful way to manifest your desires is to use creative visualization. If you are creating a clear mental picture of the desired result whether it be something material (new windows, car, etc.) or something immaterial (relationship, health, job, etc.), then you are using the power of thought to bring about a positive change in your world. Athletes have long used this in sports, and often use visualization before a competition to enhance their performance. Tiger Woods has spoken of using intense visualization as part of his preparation for tournaments.

So where is the science in this?
One of my favorite speakers on visualization is Joe Dispenza, D.C., and his book explores this topic in depth: Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind. He gives his own amazing account of using the process of visualization to recover from a horrific spinal injury (and refused an operation that was thought to be his only possibility of walking again). He also cites a 1992 study by the Journal of Neurophysiology in which subjects were put into one of three groups:

1) The 1st group of subjects were asked to do finger exercises (yes, finger exercises - it was 1992, long past the time when you could give electric shocks to other people in the name of science) where they had to contract and relax one finger on their left hand for 5 training sessions per week for 4 weeks.

2) Group 2 rehearsed the same exercises on the same time table, but only mentally. They did not physically move their fingers as the first group did.

3) This group got off easy. They didn't exercise their finger or their minds. This was the "control group." (Note: Any time you agree to participate in an experimental study, hope for the control group.)

And the results? Well, as expected, Group 1 (who actually did the finger exercises) exhibited 30% greater finger strength than those in the control group. What was surprising was that Group 2 (who only did the exercises "mentally"), still evidenced a significant 22% increase in muscle strength than the control group. So, while visualizing a 5 mile run might not burn off all the chocolate ding-dongs's you ate last night, you would at least burn more calories than doing nothing at all.

What it all means?

The basic gist is something I've stressed often in this blog. Your thoughts literally create your reality and have much more power than the majority of the population realizes. If you're not thrilled with how your life is going right now, in this moment, start with changing your thinking and the rest will follow.

Have any examples of your success with creative visualization? I'd love to hear about them to feel free to share. Until next time...