SPIRITUAL TRAVEL.ORG Travel in the Spiritual Worlds

IMPROVING VISUALIZATION SKILLS Visualization of a Work Activity From Start to Finish

Visualization plays a large part in the variety of methods used to induce spiritual travel. Improving one's ability to visualize will tend to improve the likelihood of spiritual travel.

However it can be a difficult practice especially for westerners who are used to constant physical activity. Attempts to perform the inner practice of visualization are often interrupted by a variety of distractions.

The following practice can be effectively used to take advantage of the goal oriented nature of westerners. Those who are "task oriented" and are most able to concentrate when there is a specific job to perform.

This visualization involves choosing a job and visualizing all the subtasks required to complete it, one by one. It is best to choose some activity that one is familiar with which can be completed in a period of fifteen to thirty minutes. It should be a neutral or enjoyable job, easy to visualize, and have enough variation to stave off boredom.

One somewhat neutral example is painting the side of a house.

The worker first visualizes getting the paint, ladder, brushes, roller and drop-cloth from a tool shed. The drop-cloth and ladder are positioned. The paint is opened and placed in the rolling pan. The worker climbs the ladder and begins painting, moving the ladder, and repositioning it as necessary as the work progresses. The process continues until one side of the house is painted. Then the tools are cleaned and put away, and the visualization is complete.

Any activity is possible such as playing a song on an instrument, painting a picture, or mowing the lawn. Visualizing less goal oriented "play" activities is also possible such as skiing, or hitting a tennis ball against a wall but in these examples, the lack of a clear goal can sometimes lead to boredom and a loss of concentration.

The key here is to improve one's ability at visualization and do it in a relaxed and concentrated fashion. The act of visualizing a created world so clearly and completely that it replaces all other physical sensations is one method of inducing a spiritual travel experience.