Visualization: 4 Ways to Practice This Form of Meditation

Are you trying to get into meditation but unsure of which form to start with? If so, you’ve come to the right place because visualization meditation is one of the easiest and most fun form to begin with.

Visualization meditation is when you imagine a scene vividly, use your 5 senses to increase authentic details or picture an admired person of yours and you are embodying their qualities.

Visualization meditation can (psychologically) make you feel:

1. Relaxed
2. At peace
3. Calm
4. In control
5. Beautiful
6. Strong
7. Capable of anything
8. Less stressed
9. Happy/excited
10. Motivated
11. & SO MUCH MORE

There are a few different ways to practice visualization meditation which I am going to outline below!

Color Breathing

First, pick a color. Any color! And with that color think of the emotion associated with it… If you need some help, I’ve added the main colors and their emotions below

Next, with that color and emotion picture yourself dressed in that color and acting in that emotion! Try to add as many objects and as much scenery with that color as possible. Create scenarios with that emotion etc! A sample of my own personal color breathing is below. An important note while practicing this meditation is to begin it with a few deep breaths and throughout the exercise keep consistent regular breathing.

Sample: Today, I’ve chosen the color blue! Blue is my favorite color! The emotion I am going to embody in my meditation is peace. My favorite place is the ocean so I am picturing a pretty clear blue ocean and bright blue skies with white fluffy clouds dispersed. I am in a light blue dress that twirls and swirls with me when I spin. I have my dog, Pepsi, with me. She has her dark blue harness on. I look into her root beer (sense of taste-I am tasting root beer right now!) colored eyes and say to her “LET’S GO PLAY!” We run into the water where we are met with waves. We both wipeout, but thrilled by the feeling of cool and refreshing water (sense of touch), we both run right back into the water to met by waves again. We play for hours on end. I am at total and complete peace. I am happy with my favorite person in the world. Not worrying about the future stresses or the past pains or even the things I have on my to-do list. We play for hours and as the sun is starting to set, turning the sky from an incandescent blue to a simmering pink, red and orange, we pack up and head for food and snacks. I choose my favorite ice cream, Blue moon (cotton candy), and she chooses a small cup of plain vanilla. I share some of mine with her. The sun was hot that day so the ice cream melts down my hands as I quickly try and lick up the ice cream fast…….

This example could go on and on and on! Most importantly, I am thinking of a happy place, feeling peaceful in my visualization and picturing a lot of blue. This exercise also incorporates some of our next type of visualization meditation, imagery.

Imagery

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Pick your happy place and run with all of the things you do in your happy place! It is similar to daydreaming, but different in that you are more mindful of every little detail that you are seeing and also working on controlled breathing.

Goals

We all at some point or another have had goals for ourselves (ie: graduate college, finish trade school, get your GED, get a job with benefits, find a nice spouse, etc). We may even have goals for ourselves right now. If that is the case, then goal visualization might be fun for you to practice! First, pick ONE of your current goals and picture what that goal accomplishment might look like (ie: walking across the stage, your first day on the job, your wedding, etc). Then, think of the steps you need to accomplish that goal. This part is the important part of your visualization as your steps have to be very specific and intentional. Picture yourself going through the steps. Another important part of this visualization is making sure you are realistic with yourself about the process and timeline. A sample is listed below to help guide you.

My biggest goal for myself and the one that I am going to focus on today is my goal to buy a house, MY FIRST HOUSE. I just got a new job that pays 50% higher than my last job so I have a lot more cushion money to be able to put towards savings, even in these crazy inflation times. So, first I am picturing myself holding keys to a big gorgeous house. A white one with lots of windows. A long gravel driveway leading up to the house lined with post mount gas lights. A swing on the porch and some nice wicker furniture where I picture myself sitting with my 15 dogs. So now, I need to picture the steps to get to that goal. I think of the money needed to buy this type of house which is probably 750k and the amount of money I would need put as a down payment, about 100k-150k. This will take a few years of savings. So I picture payday pay-yay Fri-yays and driving away from my work at the end of the day, ready for the weekend. My bank account has 4 digits numbers in it. I arrive home and log on to my computer and immediately transfer over a fixed number to my savings account where it will stay and won’t get touched….

Again, this example could go on forever. Just writing it out for the sake of this post has me excited, determined, and motivated. That is what a goal meditation should do for you as well. The last type of visualization meditation I am going to mention is called inner light/compassion. This example is a little bit more abstract but is very empowering. Continue reading to learn more about it!

Inner Light and Worldly Compassion

This example is a little bit more abstract and requires a little bit more of advanced practitioners. With this practice, you picture an inner light shining out from your heart. You picture yourself radiating a light and making positive change such as: volunteering at your local food pantry, donating to a local charity, building homes after natural disasters as mission work, rescuing animals in kill shelters and more. You think of yourself as invincible, strong, powerful, a leader, role model, successful, etc. You look at yourself as flawless and beautiful and capable of healing, serving, loving others. You are almost this supernatural being where the love and lights pours out of you and into others. This exercise is more about what you can “take away” from it than it is about the actual experience. You should be left feeling empowered and seeing yourself change the world.

So, Why is Visualization Meditation Important and Healthy to Practice?

Besides the psychological, mental, emotional benefits of visualization, there are physical benefits as well such as: lowered blood pressure, lowered heart rate, increased oxygen intake, lowered stress levels, to just name a few! Not only does it have various health benefits, but it is also important to motivate, empower, and guide us towards accomplishing our goals and loving one another better. While visualization is great, there are also 8 other types of meditation that I will be sharing in the future. If you have good visualization meditation videos you use, please share in the comments!

And as always please share this post and follow my blog! I am aiming to hit the 3 digit mark by the end of the year! Thank you for your read.

Go out and seek life’s blessings!!!