Creative Visualization, the breakthrough book by Shakti Gawain published in 1978, is a classic in the world of positive thought.  Classics hold their weight over time for decades for one reason: they hold simple truth.  There are so many ways that this very basic book can help your life to flow better.  Let’s get into this “mental feng shui” for the day and see what we can creatively see & actually create in real life!

First of all, I am not a believer that we solve problems with our mind, though our mind can get in the way of finding solutions pretty effectively!  There is this awesome Buddhist phrase in the Gosho that says ” Be the master of your mind, don’t let your mind be your master.”  If your mind is running your life unchecked, then all the random bits of negative information we encounter a zillion times daily and over a lifetime can quite effectively stand in the way of attaining peace, happiness, fortune and flow. When you use visualization techniques to get a handle on the clutter in your head, you can be more present, more focused and more open to accepting great things in your life.

Creative Visualization is science (albeit quantum science) gaining greater credence in modern medicine and science.  It is neither a religious practice nor a spiritual philosophy. It can clear the road to finding spiritual sanity, though, as you stop being your worst enemy and work on developing friendship with your energy!

I know a lot of you have heard this “Law of Attraction” stuff before, but Creative Visualization is so much more mellow, organic and natural than hard-edged material obsession.  Its very basic yet so comprehensive! I pulled my old copy of Creative Visualization off of the shelf today and re-read my favorite parts (essentially the whole book!) and had to share some of the highlights with you:

• We are magnets! “Thoughts and feelings have their own magnetic energy that attracts energy of a similar nature.”  Great reason to start putting your energy on how awesome and lucky you and how great your life is, even if it could use some tweaking!
• Give to Get!  “When we find that place within ourselves that is giving, we begin to reverse the flow.”  The more you give, the more will naturally come back to you.  When you are focused only on “getting” you lose touch with the compassion and humanity of life and get wrapped up in greed and other weird/bad emotional patterns.
• Relax and Affirm Your Good!  Shakti says, “Remember, it’s important to feel relaxed as you affirm. Do not be addicted to getting the exact results that you want.”  There is a sanity to using affirmations like ” Every day in every way things get better and better, ” etc. etc. to stop the negative chatter or lazy thoughts that pull us away from our purpose.  But, there is insanity to getting obsessed with things being exactly the way that you want them to be . Keeping your mind calm and positive is far more receptive than being amped up and desperate.  Chill out and keep the good thoughts flowing!
• Setting Goals Can Show You How You Hold Yourself Back.  What a loaded concept!  In the Setting Goals chapter of her book, Shakti explains, ” You might find that the very process of choosing goals brings up a certain amount of emotional resistance in you…. These emotional reactions (if you should have them) are clues to the ways in which you avoid getting what you want in life.”  Wow, its well-worth sitting down and setting a few important goals to see what negative chatter might come up… and sweep it out of the way!

Of course, Shakti was one of the first to write in a big way about using journals, vision boards and all sorts of positive thought visualizations aplenty to tune in to the lighter side of life… and all of it is quite fun, useful and critical if you have been super-negative lately! Try not to be too hard on yourself when you start to unwind the negativity in your head; like clutter in your home, its somewhat tricky to keep at bay and can be overwhelming if you take on too big a chunk too soon.

Even if you never read the book, if you set a few goals, stay calm, focused and positive, and do your best to see these goals achieved morning and night in your mind’s eye… then… you are there! You are visualizing!

Here’s to a dream life come true! xoxo Dana