The imagination is a beautiful thing. As we get older, I don’t believe that we are encouraged to use it as much anymore. When I was a kid, my grandma had a cherry tree, and I knew how to climb it. I sat for hours at the top of that tree, swaying in the breeze, and imagining all kinds of wonderful things. On some days I was a pirate on the high seas, and some days, I was swept up in a fairy tale. Something about growing up, and getting a job, and doing the routine aspects of “adulting,” means that there isn’t a whole lot of time for daydreaming. But I am going to advocate for it here, and on this week’s video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/A2fxIGeZL5g
It is my theory that we need some time for our minds to picture life as we would like it to be, or just to wander and be in the clouds like my favorite Disney character—Belle. Or like Albert Einstein. I talk about him a lot, but hey the guy was a genius—Einstein took time each day for day dreaming. He even said that before he solved a problem, he spent 95 percent of the time thinking about the problem, and then the other 5 percent solving it. He would sometimes take a walk or play music, and this was also part of the process. He was an advocate for taking down time to let the imagination be free, seeing this as an essential part of the process to solving larger problems. He said, “imagination is more important than knowledge.”
But here we find ourselves in 2020, “adulting” as best as we can, and probably not doing much daydreaming. Before 2020 began, one of my favorite cousins and I would often talk about what we wanted for our lives in the upcoming decade. She referred to 2020 jokingly as the year of “clear vision.” She also said that we would be able to see not only our vision, but also the fears that have held us back, and then be able to surmount them. Now that we are a little more than halfway through 2020, you might wonder…is she still saying that? She is! She says that if nothing else, this year has granted a lot of us the opportunity to take time and think about what we want for our lives, what is working, what is not working, and think about where we can push the reset button.
When I have needed a mini reset, I frequently turn to books. One of my favorite books, hands-down is, “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles,” by Marianne Williamson. When I was going through a particularly challenging time, I read it so much that it has creases in my favorite spots. This is one of those books that I will give to someone else as a gift, it is that good. I have sent many copies to friends and family, but I would never loan out my copy. The whole book is replete with wisdom, and there are many amazing quotes to choose from, however, there is one that is a favorite. It is often misattributed to Nelson Mandela, I think because it is so powerful. When I read it, I let the words soak into my heart and my soul. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, I think there is something in this quote for everyone.
Marianne says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
We must overcome any fear that holds us back from shining our light, and from living our best life. Getting back to my cousin, even though this year has had its challenges, some heavier than others, she still says, “2020 is the year of clear vision.” What does 2020 vision mean? From a medical standpoint, It is a term that is used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) when measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. This is important! 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. So this does not mean that your vision has to be perfect. It just means that you may need to refine it or get clear. I love to say that we should get clear about the things that we want. But how do we get clear?
One tool for getting clear on your vision is through creative visualization. Another favorite book of mine is, “Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life.” This book is by the author Shakti Gawain. She says, “Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. There is nothing at all new, strange, or unusual about creative visualization…It is your natural power of imagination, the basic creative energy of the universe, which you use constantly, whether or not you are aware of it.”
Most people have either seen or heard of the movie, “The Secret.” The creator of “The Secret” Rhonda Byrne, said, “Visualization is the process of creating pictures in your mind of yourself enjoying what you want. When you visualize, you generate powerful thoughts and feelings of having it now. The law of attraction then returns that reality to you, just as you saw it in your mind.”
Essentially, with creative visualization we are being more conscious about how we use the power of our mind. We are also tapping into the law of attraction. Simply put, the law of attraction is about focusing our mind in such a way that we manifest more of what want so that we can live our best life. Visualizing is an extremely important part of this. When we get in the car and turn on our GPS, we put our destination. The GPS helps us to navigate there—sometimes we have to recalculate the route, but ultimately you will arrive at your destination. Our lives are the same. If we do not visualize the end point—the life we desire—we will drive along the road of life with no destination. We will end up anywhere life takes us, and waste precious resources along the way. Remember that everything that we see right now was once just a picture in someone’s mind.
When I first started learning about creative visualization and visioning, I felt very frustrated because I could not form a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted. When I closed my eyes, I just saw darkness, and then my mind got overtaken with fear based thoughts, and thoughts that were rooted in lack. What do I mean by that? We have been trained to believe that resources will run out, that there is not enough, and worse, that we are not worthy and good enough to have nice things and experiences, and the ability to live our best life. This is not true. To overcome this requires a retraining of the brain to realize that 1) we are worthy 2) we are love 3) the universe is abundant and 4) we should be living our best life each day. Again what living your best life means is different for each person, because we all have our own vision.
It is important to RELAX when doing your visioning work. Don’t put needless pressure on yourself. Remember that you are co-creating with the divine, and honestly, you have the easier part of the creating. You are not worried about the how or the when, just the what. Relax, close your eyes, and allow yourself to use your imagination. See your life the way you want it to be. How does it look? Where are you living? How does society look? How does the world look? Who are the people around you? What are you doing as far as career/purpose? How is your love life? How are all of your relationships? How are your finances? The answers to these questions do not have to look anything like what they are currently. You only need to dream big, and let it play out in your mind. I recommend doing this “daydreaming” for at least five minutes per day. Build it up! Whenever a thought comes into your mind that you can’t have something, ask this question: WHY NOT ME?
Shakti Gawain and others advocate that when doing creative visualization, you need three things to form your INTENTION. (Intention is a big deal by the way!!)
She says: “There are three elements within you which determine how successfully creative visualization will work for you in any given situation.
1) Desire. You must have a true desire to have or create that which you have chosen to visualize. By desire I don’t mean addictive, grasping desire, but a clear, strong feeling of purpose. Ask yourself, ‘Do I truly, in my heart, desire this goal to be realized?”
2) Belief. The more you believe in your chosen goal and the possibility of attaining it, the more certain you will be to do so. Ask yourself, “Do I believe that this goal can exist,” and “Do I believe that it is possible for me to realize or attain it?”
3) Acceptance. You must be willing to accept and have that which you are seeking. Sometimes we pursue goals without actually wanting to attain them; we are more comfortable with the process of pursuing. Ask yourself, “Am I really willing to have this completely?”
The sum total of these three elements is INTENTION. When you have total intention to create something—that is you deeply desire it, you completely believe that you can do it, and you are totally willing to have it—it simply cannot fail to manifest, and usually within a very short time.”
I utilized these tools to help create my own vision. I believe that in using creative visualization, you can still make 2020 your year of clear vision. Let you imagination work for your good. All of this is not to say that you won’t take action when the time is right… but visualization and using your imagination is one part, an important part, of the equation.
So let your imagination free my friends! 🙂 As you go into this next week, please take a few minutes here and there to picture the life that you want. Not just for you, but for this world. Daydream, use your imagination, and dream big. There is a visualization exercise in my YouTube video for this week, so be sure to check that out. I believe in your vision with you, and I know that with the divine, you are currently co-creating, and will continue to create a beautiful life for yourself. Have a wonderful week.
Celestial Goodness 