I first heard about Creative Visualization when I was considering taking a job as a manager. It was on my goal list to reach by the time I was 30. I thought I was a bit young for it, but the opportunity was there and I really wanted to take that next step.
As usual, I had to search around for books to help me. Along with all the books about actually being a manager, I ran across a comment about Creative Visualization. I bought a book, read it and sat down to put it in practice. That was in 1988. I’ve been using it ever since.
Whenever there’s anything happening that requires a decision (of course after doing all the proper things to determine the correct course) I will stop and picture myself doing the various options and even more importantly picture myself after I’ve done them. Expecially at work, I will picture myself in a meeting explaining why we did things that way. Will I be embarrassed if it fails? As I explain it do I feel like I did enough leg work ahead of time to reach the optimal solution?
It also has the benefit of reducing stress because basically I am putting myself in a “meditative” state. If you do it after you have filled your brain with all the facts, even if you don’t consciously remember them all, then it can be similar to dreaming in that your brain pops up with ideas seemingly out of nowhere.
True meditation is different from creative visualization in that you are supposed to clear your mind of all thoughts. I took a Zen class on Barnes and Noble University about three years ago. As a result of that class, I started meditating daily. At first my daughter was accompanying me, but after a while she moved on to other things. So now I meditate before I go to bed every night. It helps me sleep much better.
When my daughter and I were meditating together, we cleared a spot in the living room and sat on cushions facing a wall that is covered in a natural light oak. It helped to have our backs to the rest of the livingroom, with all it’s furniture, TV etc. And the light through the west facing window made interesting patterns on the wall. The dogs were quite interested on this new activity. At first they walked around us and sniffed us, the cushions, the wall, everything. Soon they were sitting with us facing the wall also. It was very comforting to have them there. I guess since I’m the alpha dog, they felt they had to do the same. During the meditation I kept getting an the urge to pant along with them. :)
The first five minutes were fine, but after that it was torture was the first few days. After a while you get used to it and do not even sense the passing of time. I had to set the timer on the microwave to make sure we didn’t stay too long (homework had to be done!). Now I don’t worry about it because my internal clock takes care of it, and the meditation is almost as good as sleep anyway.
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