Think of something you would like. For this exercise choose something simple, something you can easily imagine receiving. It can be something you want to have, an experience you would like, a situation you’d like to find yourself in, or a circumstance in your life you’d like to improve. Get yourself in a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, in a quite place where you won’t be disturbed. Completely relax your body.
Imagine, starting at your toes and going all the way up to your crown, relaxing every muscle in your body. Let the tension flow from your body. Breathe deeply and slowly, from your belly. Slowly count from 10 to 1 and feel yourself becoming more relaxed with every count.
Once you feel deeply relaxed, picture in your mind that which you would like. If it’s an object, then imagine that object, picture using it, admiring it, being happy with it, showing it to your friends. If it’s a situation or event, then picture it unfolding exactly the way you want. You can imagine what people might say, or think of details that make the image more real to you. Take as long as you want.
While holding that image in your mind, make very positive, affirming statements about it to yourself (out loud or quietly), such as: ‘What a wonderful weekend in the mountains I’m having. What a beautiful vacation.’Or: ‘I have a wonderful, happy relationship with …We’re really learning to understand each other.’
These positive statements, called confirmations or affirmations, form a very important part of creative visualization. Always end your visualization with a firm statement to yourself: ‘This, or something better, comes to me in the most peaceful and harmonious way, for the highest good of all who are involved.’
This statement allows room for something else or even better than what you originally imagined to come to you, and allows you to think of this process as benefiting the greater good as well.
If doubts or negative thoughts arise, don’t resist them or try to suppress them. This in fact would give them power where otherwise they wouldn’t have any. Just let them float through your awareness and return your focus to your positive affirmations and images.
Do this process only for as long as you enjoy it and find it interesting, even if it’s only five minutes or a half hour. Repeat it every day, as often as you can.
This article is from the archives of the Dutch edition of The Intelligent Optimist.