Imagination: A Practical Application
What is Visualization?
Visualization can be referred to as mental imagery. It’s a mental activity where you create imaginative scenarios in your mind. It involves using your 5 senses to form experiences within your imagination. It’s like you can “see” or “experience” things in your mind’s eye, even if it’s not physically there or it hasn’t occurred.
Reverend Ike, a joy and prosperity minister, explains visualization as,
“Seeing and feeling yourself in your own mind already being, doing, and having the good that you desire. Visualization is deliberate, positive, creative dreaming of things into expression. Visualization is using the imagination consciously and willfully to be what you want to be, to do what you want to do, and to have what you want to have.”
The Mind’s Eye
The mind’s eye refers to our human capacity for mental imaging or being able to visualize scenes or objects in the “mind’s eye” without the need for outside sensory input. It’s an internal depiction of meaningful visual information that exists only in your imagination.
When you close your eyes and “see” a familiar face, imagine a beautiful landscape, or visualize an upcoming event, you are using your mind’s eye. Reverend Ike says, “The esoteric visual faculty of God in man which sees mental images into manifestation. The eye of the mind is God in creative action through the imagination of man. God creates through your imagination.”
The mind’s eye plays a crucial role in many thinking processes, including memory recall, problem-solving, creative thinking, and visualization. It allows you to mentally simulate scenarios, plan future actions, and process and manipulate information internally. To create through your imagination.
Visualization is a skill to be practiced and developed. Its vividness and clarity are different for each person. Some people have a highly developed mind’s eye or imagination and can create detailed and lifelike mental images, while others may experience weaker or less distinct mental imagery.
In the fields of psychology, philosophy, religion, and metaphysics, this concept elaborates that vibrations are always drawing things to you anyway. Reverend Ike was a big proponent of the teachings of metaphysics preaching that,
“Whatever idea, belief, vision or feeling you lift up in your mind will draw all corresponding manifestations onto you. Everything necessary for the materialization of your vision will be drawn unto you in ways that you cannot and need not consciously devise.”
It’s a fascinating aspect of the use of human perception and imagination that contributes to our unique cognitive abilities and creative potential.
The most effective visualization engages all the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell). According to Reverend Ike, “Visualization leads all of the other senses. Seeing it helps you to feel it, touch it, taste it, smell it. When an impression reaches the subconscious mind, it is impressed by feeling.”
Circumstances to Use Visualization
Sports and Performance: Athletes have been known to use visualization to mentally rehearse their actions and strategies before competing in an event. This technique can enhance muscle memory and boost confidence. They mentally rehearse specific physical movements, actions, or tasks without physically performing them.
Goal Setting and Achievement: Visualizing goals and desired positive outcomes can help you focus on what you want to achieve and succeed, increasing motivation and determination.
Relaxation and Stress Reduction: Guided visualization exercises are used in relaxation techniques and meditation to promote a sense of calm and reduce stress. You can create mental images or scenarios that evoke calming and pleasant experiences, like a retreat in your mind.
Healing and Health: We’ve all heard of the placebo effect and more studies suggest that most healing comes from the mind and what you think, feel, and believe about illness. Regular visualization techniques can help in managing pain, promoting healing, and supporting overall well-being.
Creative Expression: Visualization can be essential in enhancing creative pursuits like writing, art, and music, where artists imagine the finalization of scenes, characters, or melodies before bringing them to life. It can help you generate and refine your ideas.
Problem Solving: Visualizing a problem and possible solutions can help in your decision-making process and enhance creativity when it comes to finding innovative solutions. You can mentally explore and manipulate potential solutions and outcomes to gain clarity, explore perspectives, generate ideas, and plan the next steps.
You Must Be In The Right Frame Of Mind
Reverend Ike emphasizes that one of the things you have to be careful about in visualization is to not have any stress or strain about it. It should be done with effortless effort. It should always be pleasurable. What you give your attention to increases its vibration, causing you to be a magnet to it. So, a positive mind frame and a focus on what you want the outcome to be is key.
In manifesting, you aren’t responsible for forcing things into existence. Every good desire has its own mechanics, the universe has its own method of materialization. It has its own power of fulfillment. If you can see it and feel it, you’ll get it. Another step of inspired action and intention is important, but mastering visualization first can help you achieve better and faster results.
A good start is the power of fascination. What fascinates you? You must love it until you can see it and it will be attracted to you, but don’t be fascinated with negativity because it works both ways.
When you deliberately visualize something, you are calling those things which are not materially as though they were and that is a creative action of God, according to Reverend Ike. The effectiveness of visualization techniques can vary among individuals, but for many, it can be a powerful tool for self-improvement, skill development, and enhancing overall mental well-being.
Camille Thomas is a freelance astrology writer. You can check out her writing services on Fiverr.com/DiligentCopy. Blogging, transcription, editing, and social media specializing in spiritual content.
