In Daily Visualization, there are two steps for proper visualization. Step one is receptive. You are relaxed and allow images and thoughts to come to your mind without picking and choosing. You are accepting them at face value. Step two is active mode. In this step, you consciously pick and choose which images you would like to see. Both, receptive and active modes are important because they create imagination and after awhile, they will come and go without your knowledge.

Special Problems with Visualizations:
Some people unknowingly create a fear that results in the inability to visualize anything. This fear is frequently caused by the concern of what may be encountered while visualizing. Once you reach this stage, this fear creates a type of mental block. The best way to conquer this fear is to visualize at a slower pace and to think of a relaxing, calm place that you have been or a far away place that you would like to visit. Imagine every detail including colors, smells, and the air around you. The main thing to remember is that your fears only surface when you are afraid to confront something head on. Once you face your fear, you will realize that it is not bad at all and that you were afraid for no reason.

Process of Visualization

1. Set Your Goal
Choose a goal that you believe in and feel is possible to achieve in the near future. You will not have to deal with negative thoughts and can increase your feelings of success as you learn about visualization. Choose something you would like to have, work toward, realize or create. Your goal can be a job, new home, relationship, physical condition, etc. When you have more experience you can confront more difficult or challenging problems.
2. Create a Clear Idea or Picture
Envision an idea or mental image of the object or situation as you would like it to be. Think in the present tense and include as many details as possible such as colors, sounds and feelings. Try to use all five of your senses to make it as real as possible. You may want to draw a picture of what you imagine so that you can look at it later to return to that relaxed, comforting state.
3. Give it Positive Energy
Keep a positive outlook on your goal. Use positive affirmations to remove negative feelings and as encouragement to assure yourself that your goal can be achieved. Remember that as we change, we grow. You may find that your current goal is not important anymore. If this is the case, don’t get down on yourself, change your goal and don’t waste time on something that is no longer important to you. Remember when you were a child and the big question was what you want to be when you grow up? Since childhood, you have grown and changed. If growing and changing were not a part of life, we would still be striving to become that fireman or ballerina we wanted to be as a child. Keep in mind, as you grow and change, your goals and dreams will too. Most importantly, when you reach the goal you have been trying so hard to achieve, make a big deal of it. You have worked hard mentally and physically, congratulate yourself and enjoy.

Once you have your goal set, think of it often, not only during meditation or visualization. Thinking about your goal is a great way to pass the time while washing dishes or doing yard work. Eventually, thinking of your goals will become part of your everyday routine which makes your goals seem more real, not so unreachable. However, try not to obsess too much. This will result in added stress and may produce complete opposite results. In addition, if for some reason you cannot achieve your goal, it will become emotionally and physically draining and hard on your body.

Your mind is repeatedly “talking” about events that take place in your daily life such as work, school, children, and any other item that has an impact on you, as a person. Because these thoughts, words and feelings are important to you, your mind runs through these ideas without you consciously thinking about them or trying to create them. Similarly, it is important to repeat affirmations throughout the day to keep your mood positive.

If you have previously tried any form of meditation, you know how difficult it is to quiet the negative voice inside of you. However, if done properly, meditation can connect you to your deeper, wiser intuitive mind. In one form of meditation, you are encouraged to look at your inner voice as objectively as possible. This voice makes you aware of the thoughts that are continuously playing in your mind, like a movie.

Affirmations may be spoken, quietly or aloud, written or chanted. Choose the method that is best for you and begin your journey to inner peace. Ten minutes of positive affirmations per day may offset many years of negative mental habits. Naturally, the more you become aware of what you’re “telling yourself” and consciously choose positive words and concepts, the more likely you are to create a positive reality for your self.

Daily Affirmations Tips

1. Always state affirmations in the present tense, never the future tense, because you want to create the feeling as if it already exists. It is important to acknowledge that everything is produce on a mental plane before it becomes reality. Instead of saying “I will have a beautiful house some day,” a positive affirmation would be “I now have a beautiful house.”

2. Always substantiate what you do want, not what you don’t want. Saying, “I will no longer be late for work,” is good, but take the affirmation to the next level by saying “I will now get to work on time and will give all the energy I have to my assignments.” This affirmation guarantees that you are creating the utmost positive mental image.

3. There may be certain times when it is appropriate to state affirmations in a negative manner in order to rid your mind of emotional blocks or bad habits. An example is “I don’t need to get tense in order to get things accomplished.” If this approach is necessary, follow up with a positive affirmation of a goal you are trying to achieve such as, “I now stay extremely relaxed and centered and everything is accomplished easily and effortlessly.”

4. A short and simple affirmation is the most effective. An affirmation should be a clear, concise statement that conveys a positive feeling. The clearer the statement, the more powerful effect if will have on your mind. Long, wordy and theoretical affirmations lose the necessary emotional impact.

5. Always choose affirmations that are right for you. What works for one person may not be as effective for someone else. Affirmations should feel positive, expansive and freeing. If you do not get this feeling from your current affirmation change the wording or try another affirmation altogether. You may feel emotional resistance to an affirmation the first time you try it, especially if it is powerful for you and will make a positive change in your life. Don’t worry this is simply the ego’s initial reaction to change and growth.

6. By using affirmations, you are not trying to change what already exists you are creating something fresh and exciting. Changing what already exists would contradict what you are trying to accomplish and it would also create conflict and struggle. Take the attitude that you are accepting something that already exists in your life, and at the same time every moment is a new opportunity to begin creating exactly what you desire and will make you the happiest.

7. The purpose of affirmations is not to change your feelings and emotions, affirmations are designed to help you create more satisfying experiences and a new point of view on life. It is essential to accept all experiences including negative ones, without trying to change them.

8. When using affirmations, try to generate a feeling of belief, and experience that can be true. For a few moments, put aside your doubts and reservations and put all of your mental and emotional energy into the affirmations. If you still have doubts, resistance or negative thoughts that are blocking your progress, simply follow the steps in the clearing process.

People try to find happiness in material things, such as a new car, the latest video game or a vacation. Unfortunately, this path to happiness is expensive and limited. After a short period of time, the novelty wears off and people find that even though they have all of these material things, they are still full of stress and anxiety. To experience true happiness, one must look beyond material things and focus on obtaining true happiness through meditation. The continual benefits of meditation through calm and positive thinking will not only be apparent in your mind and body, but will give you a completely new perspective on life. Learning the basic benefits of meditation is often the incentive that people need to begin practicing themselves. For instance, some work related injuries can be attributed to a person’s stress level. If people are distracted at work by the every day stresses of life, they are more susceptible to being physically injured at work. In addition, stress may also cause people to lose sleep. Fatigue, caused by lack of sleep has been known to contribute to illnesses such as the common cold and may even lead to more serious illnesses like heart attacks. Meditation is vital in controlling the stresses that cause these injuries and illnesses.

The first and most important step in beginning the practice of meditation is finding someone to help keep you motivated. It is important to have a friend, teacher or other support person to guide you through the first step of reading and researching meditation. This person can then be there to help with questions that you may have while on your path to inner peace. You will not see results immediately. Your support person is the one to ensure you are staying motivated, using the correct sitting position and posture and that you are keeping your mind open to change. Meditation is an internal process and if you are not open to change, you will not reap its benefits.

In order to realize the maximum benefits of meditation, you must be willing to practice on a regular basis. Make a realistic goal to practice once a week and gradually increase the frequency to once a day or once every other day. Whichever schedule you choose, make a personal commitment to yourself to keep the schedule and it will eventually become a habit in your daily life. For beginners, meditating more often, but for shorter amounts of time, seems to be the best method. Begin with ten or fifteen minutes and gradually increase your time. If you find this period too long, start with five minutes and gradually work your way up to fifteen minutes. Keep in mind that beginning meditation is like starting a new exercise program. If you jump in too fast, you will not obtain any of the benefits.

Another component in achieving the maximum benefits of meditation is choosing the right time and place to meditate. The time of day that you choose to meditate is essential in your journey to inner peace. If your home is quietest in the morning, you may want to start your day with meditation. This will allow you to start the day relaxed, with a clear mind. If meditating first thing in the morning is not an option, meditating in the evening before you go to bed can be just as beneficial. It will allow you to reflect on the day and will clear your thoughts so that you can get a restful night’s sleep. Finding the ideal place to meditate is just as important as the time you meditate. The ideal place would be a quiet, secluded area that only you use. If this type of retreat is not available, choose the corner of a room and separate yourself with a room divider or some other kind of partition to make the location as private as possible.

Think about how we all operate daily. Observe what you see people do. Really it all just comes down to daily life habits, most of these habits are totally unconscious. The reason that habits are so hard to break is because they are actually a result of repetitive automated cognitive processes in our brains. This means that we actually have to reprogram ourselves to new habits in order to change this process for ourselves.
Its also true that if you do something for more than 3 weeks, every day, that it becomes more of an automated habit, something that I don’t necessarily have to think about before doing it anymore. This is the reason why it’s a good idea to take 4-6 “goal habits”. Along with the goal habits, it’s also important to come up with “support habits” which are supportive of the main habits. This helps keeps a balance in your challenge to achieve your goal. For an example, here is a list of reprogramming habits that I’ve set for me financial freedom challenge:
1.) Physical: Gym/Bike/Run/Swim
2.) Spiritual: Purpose/Mission, Yoga, Meditation
3.) Mental: Audio, Reading Writing
4.) Social: Go out more, E-mail, Text, Call
Also keep an eye on the effectiveness, set your goals effectively by prioritizing them, and then following through with doing the things that are first on the list. Productiveness is also key, decide to do these things in the morning, or at night. Whichever is easier for you. The final thing to keep an eye on is efficiency. Achieve your goals efficiently, don’t multi task.

You have to know what it is that you are really looking for. What do you really want? It is a lavish lifestyle? Better body? To be happier in general? You have to look more deeply into what we really want to fulfill specific emotions that we may be lacking. If we take more time to examine these emotions, we will find that behind that there is a list of values. These values will eventually lead us in our goal setting, values are of course the core of who you are.

Do you find that you have values that might not be fulfilled right now? Take a look and decide which one is lacking the most. Which goal will make the most difference in improving the status of your values? Just decide which are the most important to you, even the small ones count.