Every great idea that exists in the world today started as a thought. Someone saw an image of what they wanted in their mind, before they figured out how to bring it into reality. In other words, they employed the power of creative visualisation.
Why visualisation matters in magic
We live in a Universe where everything is energy. That chair you sit on is nothing but focused energy. That book you’re reading is a concoction of energy. And similarly, the thoughts you have in your head are clusters of focused energy.
You see, as human beings we have the potential to focus and manifest the kind of energy that we want to experience in our day-to-day life. This gives us immense power and creative potential. When we visualise an image in our mind – a goal that we wish to achieve, a place that we’d like to live in, the perfect job – we are bringing it closer into reality. We are concentrating that free flow of energy into a singular thought, and the more attention we give to it, the more it grows and starts to manifest in our daily life.
Creative visualisation is working all the time
But it can also work against us. There is no such thing as ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ feelings – it’s all just pure energy. It’s just that when we think the so-called ‘negative’ thoughts, we give more attention to that type of energy, and manifest more of that into our life. This is often what people call the Law of Attraction. So in that sense creative visualisation is at work all the time.
But when we become deliberate creators in our own life, when we stop seeing ourselves as powerless victims of fate, and start to take responsibility for how we feel – we can start to apply deliberate creative visualisation to bring our goals into reality. In this way we start to bring more and more of what we desire reality, rather than giving attention to what we don’t want. Plus, it’s pure fun! But it does take some practice. Let’s look at the best times to do visualisation, and how to make the most of it.
When to do visualisation
It’s important to pick the right time. Michael James, one of the UK’s most revolutionary personal development coaches writes in his book Lighthouse that there are different exercises you can do when you’re:
- feeling low,
- feeling uninspired,
- feeling really good, as though your life is ‘in the flow’.
He recommends using creative visualisation only when you’re in the latter state of feeling really good already.
It’s not that anything has gone wrong when you’re feeling low – it’s normal to experience ups and downs in life. It’s just that when you feel low, different things need your attention. Dreaming up your perfect job, partner or home may be counterproductive when you’re low as it may seem too far-fetched at that moment. For creative visualisation to work, you need to believe in it at the time of visualisation, and this can only happen when you’re feeling good. Otherwise, you run the risk of visualising more of the stuff you don’t want – because when you’re low, you lack the self-confidence that you may normally have. Plus, when you’re feeling low, you may just need to soothe yourself for a while or reach out to others, until you feel better.
Improving your visualisation skills
If the words ‘creative visualisation’ scare you, don’t worry. As a human being, you’re born with the innate ability to visualise, even if you don’t know it yet or you can’t remember ever visualising anything. Like I said before, visualisation is at work all the time but you can get better at deliberate creative visualisation with practice.
Primarily, creative visualisation requires you to employ all of the five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. The more you >feel and live your creative visualisation as though it’s already happening, the more it’s likely to manifest in your life.
Exercises to improve your creative visualisation skills
Here are some ideas on how to improve your creative visualisation skills. Before you attempt any of them, be sure that you won’t be disturbed or interrupted.
Meditation
This should really be on the menu for any spiritual practice or spellwork. Even if you only have ten minutes to spare, it’s important to sit down and meditate as a way to detach from the stressful energies of everyday life and revisit that sacred space within you. When it comes to creative visualisation, it’s important to let go of the idea, to detach from it, once you’ve visualised it – in the sure trust that it will manifest. And having a consistent meditation practice will help you do just that.
Creative visualisation exercise for beginners
For those who are complete newbies to visualisation, Mind Expanding Techniques suggests a simple exercise of envisioning an apple. Start by imagining the apple in front of you – what colour is it, what texture does it have?  Now zoom in closer. Can you see any interesting details on the surface? Simply observe any ridges, holes or stripes you can see on your apple. What makes it unique? Now move on to cutting the apple. Take your time to observe the details again – what does it look like on the inside, what does it smell like? As the final part of the exercise, bite into it. Take your time to taste it and note down the details of the flavour.
Advanced exercise in creative visualisation
Personal Development Planet recommends this exercise for those who have had a go at visualisation before and want to boost their skills. Sit comfortably and visualise what’s utmost in your mind right now – your perfect health, body, job, partner or your dream life. Now, as you go through all the senses, say what you can see and feel out loud. Just like you’d hear someone else walk you through a guided meditation, now walk yourself through this creative visualisation exercise, describing in detail everything you see, smell, hear, touch or taste. If you struggle to muster any images, say out loud the things that you’d like to experience during this exercise. This will help your mind stay more focused, and get clearer images in your head.
Visualisation in spells and rituals
When it comes to magic, visualisation takes on a whole new meaning. Combining visualisation exercises with magic will help muster the energy that you need for your spells to work.
- Visualising healing – When you perform a healing ritual, it can help to visualise yourself or the person you’re offering healing to, as having been healed already. To make your visualisation more effective, you could even ask them what healing would look like for them. You could then visualise the same mental image together – or employ some guided meditation on healing while you perform the healing spell.
- Candle magic visualisation – When you’re performing a candle magic ritual, try to focus your mind on picturing what you wish to attain with the ritual as the candle flame burns. If you’re trying to rid yourself of negativity, you can try picturing that, writing your worries on a piece of paper and then burning it on the candle flame, feeling the tension leave your body.
- Creative visualisation before a magic ritual – You could also employ creative visualisation as a preparation for your magic ritual. Think about the purpose or intention behind the ritual that you wish to perform, or the spell that you wish to cast. As you sit down to meditate, ask the Universe, your Higher Power or your Intuition what tools will give you the most optimal results. Don’t worry if nothing comes to you at first – let your mind wander and trust that the answer will come but it may not be right away.
Ieva Remmerte enjoys writing about philosophy, spirituality, ancient practices and general fiction, and holds holds an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. You can find her on her website: wholistically.me.