It is said that things happen twice, first in the mind and then in reality. This concept was popularized by the great golfer Jack Nicklaus. He says that he has never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in his head. In his mind, he would first construct the swing, the ball trajectory and the place he wanted the ball to land. Only when he had a clear image of what he wanted, he would proceed with the shot. Many sportsmen, industrialists and inventors have succeeded only after dreaming the end. There are better chances of achieving your goal if you know exactly what it is that you want. A lot of stress is created because you are not sure of the goal. If the goal is not clear, there can be confusion, hesitation and an incomplete attempt at execution. Once the goal is established, you can plunge headlong into the task. Creative Visualization lets you make a complete clear picture of your goal in your mind. Your mind’s eye visualizes and stores well defined pictures of the future, you want.

Apart from the role of goal achieving, creative Visualization, is a very popular mode of relaxation. Visualization or imagery is considered as a very potent form of meditation, with proven stress busting powers. Visualization is the art of activating a “personal theatre” in our mind. It's a theatre, in which you can revisit the past, venture into the future and go on virtual vacations.

Our mind is like a mansion with many, many rooms. Many of these rooms are unused. They are in ruins, gathering dust and cobwebs. These rooms like the music room, the art gallery, the dance studio, the meditation chamber and the writer’s nook are seldom used. These rooms are in the right brain, which is visited rarely. We prefer to gather all our thoughts in a small room in the left brain. This room gets crowded, really crowded almost to the point of claustrophobia. The mundane activities like paying the electric bills, filing the tax returns, the dentist’s appointment, firing the maid, teaching that idiot a lesson and many other day to day matters reside in this room. I am not undermining the value of this room. Not for a moment. This room is our life line. It is air, food and water. If this room is demolished we would go insane. But we need to get out of this room, once in a while. We need a break from this room. We need to cross over and visit the other wing on the right side. There is a lot of fun on the right side.


For more detailed information on visualization you could refer to the book “Calm Sutra, the Art of Relaxation”.