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Why do you need to link meditation and visualization?

"Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve." Napoleon Hill said in his book Think and Grow Rich. Conceive-Believe-Achieve. The first step is to put the idea—the seed of your goal into your subconscious mind. You need to pass the barriers in your conscious mind that say that no way you're going to get what you want. Those barriers keep you stuck and act as a counterproductive visualization. To change the programming, you need to go behind that. Meditation is a good tool for connecting your conscious mind with your subconscious to slip new programming in—the programming that starts to move you automatically towards your healthy and athletic body/a new Mercedes Benz car/love of your life, or whatever that is that you truly desire.

Mother and child meditatingHow to meditate?

There are many different meditation techniques that all can be used. If you are new to it, you can simply close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Inhale and exhale deeply and slowly through your nose and let your mind calm down. Let it slip into a restful place where your day troubles go into the background. Allow yourself to let them fall into the background for now. Just be. Relax. And breathe. Then allow the visualization to come in.

How to visualize?

Visualization is actually easier than you think. For example, if I tell you a word such as a pink rose or a white car, your mind forms an image. Suddenly a representation of some kind in your thoughts appears. It happens automatically and with no effort. In fact, if you try to make an effort, you might kill the image. Because then your mind is filled with EFFORT instead. 

Don't expect the picture to be as vivid in front of your inner eye as if you see it in broad daylight. It certainly can be as realistic as a real thing, especially after you have trained your visualization skills for some time. But you shouldn't force it. The skill comes with time. For now, just allow.

Another thing is that although the word visualization is related to the visual sense, it doesn't have to be limited to that. With the pink rose example for some people, the first thing that comes to mind is the smell or the feeling of its thorns pricking the hand that holds the flower. Use all your five senses! The thing you want has a color and visual design, but you can also feel its texture. You can smell it; it has a taste and a sound. The more senses you cover and the more detailed you are, the more perfect your visualization becomes.

When you visualize an outcome, do it always in the way you want the end result to be. As if you already had it at the moment of your meditation. In your meditation, you are already sitting in your brand-new car. You know it's yours. Touch the wheel, turn on the radio. How does the audio sound? How does the upholstery smell?

How long should you meditate and visualize?

Your sensation with this process should be pleasant. As the thing you are visualizing is something you desire, you should enjoy being with it in your meditation as well. A little discipline may be required, especially to start your meditation session, but don't be too hard on yourself if you want to end three minutes later. That's fine. Try to do five minutes tomorrow. Gradually extend it to 20 minutes every day. 

If you have willingness and time, you could do it twice a day, but no more. You should still live your everyday life, not substituting it with meditation. In time meditation could become your most enjoyable part of the day, but even then, don't extend it more than two 20-minute sessions a day.

Tips

- Choose a time for meditation and stick to it. Create a habit.

- A special space for your meditation practice might also help, at least in the beginning.

- Before starting to meditate, silence your cellphone, notifications on your laptop, etc. Allow nothing to interfere with your special time.

- On some days, meditation and visualization come easier. On others, it is hard to get out of the hustle and bustle of the mind. So just be easy on yourself and don't consider this a failure. In fact, on such days, your meditation is likely to be even more beneficial, helping to cope you with everyday problems and stress.

- After meditation, don't start running around at once. Instead, take your time and shift slowly into doing your daily tasks.

 

Conclusion:

1.    Prepare (phone to the 'flight mode', etc.)

2.    With eyes closed, relax, concentrate on your deep breathing.

3.    Allow yourself to see, hear, and feel the thing you wish to have in your mind's eye.

4.    Do it for 10 to 20 minutes.

5.    Plan to be tomorrow at the same place at the same time for the same activity

6.    Be happy!