For many of us, the thought of meditation is pretty intimidating. Even just focusing on our breathing while we sit quietly can feel challenging. Racing thoughts and never-ending to-do lists steal our peace, start to take over and make true meditation feel impossible.
This is where the power of visualization meditation comes in. It’s one of the best meditation techniques for beginners, because you don’t need to learn any new skills or techniques to try it. Essentially, all you need to do is daydream. And those daydreams can have a serious effect on your health and wellbeing.
Visualization or envisioning yourself accomplishing a goal has been linked to improved sleep, reduced pain, and increased creativity. Meditation also makes us healthier overall. Finally, visualization meditation is truly fun. There’s something exciting about imagining your dream house or vacation. The amazing thing is that visualizing these things not only feels great, but it also helps you achieve the outcomes you want, faster.
Why Visualization Works
Visualization mediation is not a new technique. Athletes are famous for using visualization before games and competitive events. Everyone from Michael Phelps to Tiger Woods to Michael Jordan have talked about the benefits of visualizing themselves performing well. The reason visualization is so powerful is because it essentially tricks our brains into believing we’ve already experienced what we’re visualizing.
Visualization mediation is not a new technique. Athletes are famous for using visualization before games and competitive events.
“The subconscious mind is a programmable ‘hard drive’. The ‘programs’ of our lives, which are largely stimulus-response behaviors, are downloaded into our subconscious,” Psychiatrist Abigail Brenner, MD told told Psychology Today. “The subconscious does not rely on the outside world for its ‘knowing,’ and so it can’t differentiate between what is real and what is imagined.”
In essence, our brains can’t tell the difference between real-life and imagined scenarios. As you visualize yourself accomplishing a big goal, such as saving up enough for retirement, you’re actually priming your brain to truly accomplish that goal.
“Anyone can utilize creative visualization to achieve a desired goal,” Dr. Brenner continued. “Turn your attention to an area of your life upon which you want to focus.” Meditation advocate Carolyn Trotter agrees, adding that “visualization and meditation work in tandem; meditation helps you learn to trust your intuition and become clear about your goals, while visualization activates your intention, keeps you alert and helps you achieve the goals you set.”
The Benefits of Visualization Meditation
1. Visualization helps zap stress away.
Using visualization to relax and lessen the effects of stress is a well-documented treatment. The practice of envisioning a calming scene even has physical benefits. A study in Health Psychology showed the amazing staying power of visualization when it comes to your mental wellbeing.
In a group of healthy adults, half of the participants were led through guided imagery and visualization. At the end of the study, this group reported significant decreases in depression and fatigue. Another exciting finding came from their blood tests. The visualization group had significantly lower levels of cortisol than they had at the beginning of the study. Cortisol is the stress hormone and linked to a whole host of problems like heart disease and depression.
2. Visualization helps ease pain.
Using visualization to decrease pain is an easy and free way to feel better right away. By distracting yourself from the current pain you’re experiencing, your brain can start paying more attention to the good feelings from your meditation.
A study in Oncology Nursing Forum examined the effect of visualization on women recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The researchers divided the study participants into two groups and played guided visualization meditations for one group during radiation treatments. The group receiving the guided meditations reported higher levels of comfort during and after treatment.
Next time you are feeling uneasy about a painful procedure, perhaps at the dentist, make a visualization plan. Imagine a goal or happy memory and focus on that scene during your procedure. You may surprise yourself at how powerful your thoughts can be.
3. Visualization helps you accomplish goals faster.
When we’re working towards a goal, we usually think that we have to always be striving and working harder. However, what if you could get there faster by slowing down?
A study in the Journal of Consulting Psychology studied the effects of visualization meditation on job seekers. The participants were divided into two groups. Both received the same career training, but the second group also performed visualization meditation. They envisioned themselves interviewing and being offered jobs. At the conclusion of the study, 21% of the first group had landed jobs. Of the visualization group, 66% had new jobs.
How to Get Started
When we think of a goal or experience we’d like to have, we often focus all of our energy on the barriers. Perhaps you’d like to treat your entire family to a beach vacation someday. You may then start thinking of all of the reasons that could never happen. You’ll never be able to afford the cost of the trip or your father needs constant care. For many of us, the dream will die right then and there. However, what if you devoted all of that energy into the positive experience of that vacation?
Start by imagining how you’ll surprise your family with the news. See yourself walking into the beach house and walking in the sand barefoot. Imagine playing in the ocean with your grandkids and sitting on the porch laughing with your loved ones. Then go a step further and imagine how the trip will affect the rest of your life. Your family will become closer and you’ll always have those memories together. Get as vivid as possible when visualizing your desired outcome.
Visualization meditation can also help in times of stress or discomfort. The next time stress gets the best of you, close your eyes and take deep breaths. Start to imagine a place where you always feel relaxed. It could be a pleasant experience from your last vacation or simply sitting on your front porch. From the sights to the sounds, focus on every detail in the scene and start to feel the stress melt away. You may surprise yourself at how powerful your thoughts can be.
