Visualizing is one of the most popular manifesting techniques. This is because of how effective it is. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at visualization, including how to do it most effectively for the best results.
First of all, Let’s look at what visualization is and how it relates to manifesting.
What Is Visualization
Visualizing is the act of deliberately creating mental images. visualization can be used manifest desires in your life. Visualizing is often not only limited to visual imagery alone but is often used in conjunction with of other mentally induced sensations such as touch, smell, taste, etc., as well as the feeling of emotions.
Visualization can be used beneficially for more or less any goal you have in mind. It is shown to have a strong effect on a person’s motivation and ability to do certain mental or physical tasks. It is even shown to have a great effect on bodily functions and muscle strength.
Before we talk about visualization as it relates to manifesting, I first want to give you a more mainstream explanation of it just to show that there is actual research backing it.
Visualizing yourself achieving a goal, acting in a certain way, or rehearsing a task/movement are different ways by which visualization can be used to create results.
In the book “Psycho-Cybernetics,” the author, Maxwell Maltz, explains that the mind automatically strives toward achieving certain results, similar to how a heat-seeking missile locks toward its target.
By using visualizing, you can choose a results for the mind to strive for, and your mind will automatically begin to rearrange your behavior, causing you to move toward the attainment of that new result. The mind alters the person’s behavior in such a way as to achieve the given result.
Studies on Visualization
Let’s briefly look at some scientific studies on visualization. This is NOT scientific evidence for manifesting, but it is evidence that visualization causes positive improvements in a person’s results. We will talk about manifesting a bit further down.
The Basketball Experiment
You’ve probably heard about the famous Basketball experiment.
The Basketball experiment showed that the act of mentally rehearsing something causes one actually to improve at that “something.”
In this study, participants were divided into three groups. The first group was told to practice free throws, the second group was told to visualize that they were making successful free throws, and the third group was told to do nothing.
The first group improved their free throw success rate by 24%, the second group improved by 23%, and the third group didn’t improve at all. This means that the group that only visualized the act of throwing basketballs improved by almost exactly the amount as those who actually practiced throwing basketballs.
Mentally rehearsing a task will actually improve your ability to do that task.
Visualizing is also shown to have a great effect on strength. Here’s a study I found:
The Weight Lift Experiment
A study in 2020 on visualization and weight training showed that visualization has the ability to increase physical strength.
The participants in this study were each divided into two groups; a Control Group and a Test Group.
The Test Group was told to visualize themselves successfully doing the given weight lift exercises. They were told to imagine that they were doing heavier lifts than they usually would and to imagine winning a weight-lifting competition.
The Control Group was told to go about their usual training.
The results were that the Test Group (those who visualized) had a higher increase in strength (10-15 lbs increase in weights moved) than the Control Group (5 lbs increase in weights moved).
It was also shown that visualizing for more than 15 minutes had a greater effect than only visualizing for 5-15 minutes.
The Difference Between Visualizing and Manifesting
Many people confuse the idea of manifesting with visualization. They are often used synonymously but mean different things. For the sake of clarity, this is the difference:
Manifesting is the process by which an idea manifests itself in the physical world. Visualization is a technique by which you can cause a desire of yours to manifest itself.
How Visualization Can Be Used For Manifesting
By visualizing an idea/desire, you can cause it to manifest in physical form.
I’m sure you already know what manifesting is. If not, here’s a brief explanation: Manifesting is the “spiritual” belief that proclaims that every individual has the ability to cause mental things to manifest as physical things by only using his or her mind.
Visualizing a desire consistently and with sufficient intensity will cause a desire to manifest in the outer world.
Here is an example of how you could go about using visualization as a technique for manifesting something.
Let’s say you wanted to manifest a house. First, go into a relaxed mental state.
Then, visualize a few mental scenes which indicate that you now live in that house. For example, you might imagine that you’re walking around the living room, sitting on the porch, or that you’re lying on the bed.
If this is done correctly, and you do not let opposite ideas take over, you will automatically end up going through a series of events that will cause you to actually end up living in that house. The mere act of visualizing yourself living in that house triggered a series of events that led you to that result.
You can use visualization for manifesting no matter what your desire is, as long you are able to create imaginary scenes that imply the accomplishment of your desire.
When an idea or a desire is planted in the “subconscious mind,” it will automatically begin to manifest. It does this by a power and intelligence beyond your own. Your environment and your actions will begin to change in a way that causes your desire to be accomplished. This is the idea of manifesting in a nutshell.
As a side note, if you’re here, you probably believe that manifesting is real, which it is.
But if you don’t, it doesn’t mean that visualization is useless. Even if manifestation wasn’t real, there is a lot of evidence that supports the effectiveness of deliberately visualizing. For that reason, I encourage you to try out visualization, even if you do not believe in manifesting.
How To Visualize For Manifesting (Best Method)
There are many different ways you can go about visualization when manifesting something.
In this section, I will give you what I have found to be the best method. You can use it for whatever desire you have in mind as long as you can come up with a scene that indicates the accomplishment of the desire.
The Method
This is how to do it.
Step 1: Go Into a Meditative State of Consciousness
Going into a meditative state gets you more in touch with the “subconscious mind,” which is the underlying, hidden power of reality. Ideas planted in the subconscious mind will manifest as changes in the external world as well as changes in your own behavior.
Step 2: Imagine Mental Scenes Taking Place AFTER The Accomplishment of Your Goal
Construct a mental scene that in some way implies that your goal has been accomplished. It’s important to keep the scene short, bare-bone, and straight to the point. A scene could be you looking at your new car in your driveway, feeling grateful.
The important thing is to feel the reality of the scene. Your mental state should be as if it were actually happening.
Don’t spend time judging your mental imagery for looking blurry or incoherent. This doesn’t matter. The important thing is the mental state you put yourself in, not the clarity of your visualization.
Step 4: Repeat the Scene/Scenes (for at least 5 minutes)
Keep looping your mental scenes for at least 5 minutes. A part of your mind will feel like the metal scene is actually real. Don’t worry too much about whether or not you’re doing it correctly; just go with the flow.
At some point (usually after 5 minutes or more), you will feel like you have done it enough. I recommend that you keep going for longer if you have the time.
All your sessions don’t have to be the same length. You can visualize for 5 minutes one day and 40 minutes the next.
Step 4: Letting Go
You cannot force the idea to manifest. It will happen automatically by the subconscious mind, and it often happens when you least expect it. Quit trying to control everything. You cannot force the path forward to open; you can only follow it once it does. If you keep visualizing, things will begin to change.
This is the method in a nutshell. Even if you’re a skeptic about the validity of manifesting, I still encourage you to try out this method. Visualization has a lot of research to back it up.
This method of visualization is inspired by Neville Goddard’s “SATS” Technique. I highly recommend you check my article on Neville Goddard and the “SATS” Technique, as it also goes into a lot of detail.
Bringing In Other Senses
Even though “visualization” obviously refers to the sense of sight, it is highly recommended that you also add in other senses, i.e., taste, hearing, touch, and smell. Doing this will make your mental scene feel more real.
Simply just imagine yourself hearing ambient sounds, touching something, smelling something, and even tasting something. Just briefly acknowledging and using each sense within the scene is enough. There is no reason to spend all your time in your visualization, smelling and touching everything.
Bringing In Feeling
Something that is emphasized a lot in manifesting is feeling. It is a very vague term, and it isn’t always the same thing as emotion. When you visualize, try to feel the reality of your mental imagery. You cannot really force it. You can only “allow” it to naturally happen by staying focused on your scene.
Also, bring in emotions if relevant. Gratitude seems to have a great effect on the subconscious mind. Accompany the visualization of your scene with a feeling of gratitude.
If you have a bad day where you just aren’t able to feel any sort of gratitude, simply don’t do it. Do not force emotions, as it will leave you frustrated, exhausted, and discouraged, which will only work against your desire.
Focusing On Details
When visualizing, try focusing on the little things, the details.
For example, imagine that you’re holding a tennis ball. Try looking at it. Look at the individual strands of hairs on it. Maybe the tennis ball is dirty. How does the tennis ball fall in your hand? Feel the distinction between the furriness of the tennis ball and the seams along it. Is there a brand name written somewhere on it?
Try noticing details such as this. Doing this will make it feel more real to you.
Why Clarity In Visualization Doesn’t Matter
Earlier, I said that adding detail to the imaginary scene is a great we to make it feel more real. This, however, doesn’t mean you need to get stressed out if you don’t feel like you can vividly imagine it.
Not all people have the same ability to visualize with a high degree of clarity. Luckily, the clarity or the coherence of your visualization is actually not that important. The important thing is to BE in the imaginary scene, fusing you with it.
The purpose of visualization (in this manner) is to generate the same mental state you would have if you were actually experiencing what you are imagining.
If your focus is too much on creating your mental imagery, you sacrifice actually being in the mental scene. You will spend too much energy judging the “realness” of your mental images. If our mental scenery looks weird or blurry, just ignore it and pretend that things look normal.
For example, in the real world, you don’t think, “this cup doesn’t look real,” or “I need to make this door another color.” You simply just look at the cup or the door without judging it; you are simply just looking at a cup.
We need to recreate the same mental attitude in our visualization as we would have in the real world. Even if you’re mental images are extremely unclear, don’t think, “I need to make this look more real”; simply just let it be as if it were a real thing, as you would in the real world.
Pretend that the objects in your scene are real. If they ARE real, it doesn’t matter how clear they are to you.
Visualization needs to be accompanied by a sense of effortlessness.
How Long Should You Visualize For When Manifesting?
All visualization sessions don’t have to be the same length.
Throughout your day, do ultra-short visualization sessions where you visualize your desire for only a couple of seconds.
Have visualization sessions that last for around 5 minutes. These have a stronger impact than the ultra-short sessions but are still quick to do.
You should also have visualization sessions that last for 15 minutes plus. In these sessions, take some time to go into a meditative state of consciousness before you visualize. When you’ve done that spend at least 15 minutes on visualization.
How Often Should You Visualize?
There is no set rule on how often you should visualize to manifest something.
If I want to manifest something big, I find that for the first few weeks, having long visualizing (15 minutes or more) sessions every other day is good enough. Visualizing multiple times a day is probably even more effective (as long as it doesn’t come from a fear of not attaining your desire).
Short visualization sessions should be done every day, even if it’s just visualizing for a few seconds at a time.
After a few weeks, I find that I don’t have to visualize that often to see results.
Keep in mind that these are guidelines. There is no definite answer, and it may vary from person to person. If you’re unsure, visualize every day or every other day.
Visualizing Often VS For Long Periods – Which Is More Important?
Doing long sets of visualization in a meditative state of consciousness is better than a consistent stream of shallow and quick visualizations.
It doesn’t matter if you visualize a thousand times a day if you don’t have the time to immerse yourself in your visualized scene. The very act of deeply immersing oneself in a visual scene puts you in a meditative state in which your mind has a stronger reaction to suggestions.
This is why daydreams don’t change things. Daydreaming is not as focused as deliberate visualization. It is often done on a whim without producing much of a reaction in our minds.
Mistakes When Manifesting With Visualization
Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when trying to manifest by the use of visualization
- Too much focus on the clarity of the mental images – The important thing is the mental state. It should be similar to the mental state you would actually be in. Focusing on the clarity of the visualization keeps you from doing this.
- Not Visualizing For Long Enough – It’s okay to visualize for short periods of time. But you have some sessions where you visualize for 15+ minutes.
- Not Being In A Meditative State – When in a meditative state of mind, your mind is more prone to suggestion. Visualizing without being in a meditative state does help, but going deep into meditation has a greater effect.
Visualizing In a Meditative VS Normal State Of Consciousness
Spiritual Reasons
Scientific Reasons
Visualizing In First Person VS Third Person
First of all, what do First Person and Third Person mean?
First Person: You are seeing your imaginary scene through your own mental eyes. It’s the same as in real life. You visualize things from your perspective.
Third Person: You are able to see yourself as if you were another entity. You are an outside observer, almost as if you are watching a movie.
So, when manifesting something, which perspective should you choose? Should you visualize from the First Person perspective or the Third Person perspective? While both will have a positive effect, the best way is to visualize from a First Person perspective.
When we visualize in First Person, our minds seem to relate more to the experience and the visualization and think of it as a real experience. It will leave a stronger impression on you.
When visualizing, you want to replicate the real world. And in the real world,w we obviously see the world through our own eyes.
By visualizing in a Third Person, you can also run the risk of just daydreaming in a way that doesn’t produce any significant results.
It is, however, possible to visualize in a constructive manner by using a Third Person perspective if you really want to, but I recommend sticking with a First Person perspective as much as possible.
Summary
Let me briefly summarize some of the most important takeaways from this article on how to effectively visualize for manifesting.
- Visualize from a First Person perspective
- Visualize In a meditative state of consciousness
- Visualize on a consistent basis
- Have sessions where you visualize for more than 15 minutes
- Do not put too much emphasis on the clarity of your visual imagery
In conclusion, visualizing is a great technique for manifesting. If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to give visualizing a go.
I hope you found this article helpful. Thanks for reading!
