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I keep trying and trying to visualize when I close my eyes to have pictures in my head of what I am imagining and I just cant do it awake. All I see is blackness! I know that I can do it but thats when im sleeping and dreaming otherwise I can't do it when im awake.
I want to learn how people see things when they close their eyes when meditating whether they are relaxing or to trying to concentrate what they want in life to achieve to get it. I want to have good visualization skills.
I want the skills to visualize to attract what I want, to relax myself when im stressed out and to create
So how can I achieve these goals when it comes to visualize?
I don't think you can. Some (maybe most people) can see images when they close their eyes, with varying degrees of clarity. A minority of us, however, have what is called by some "mental blindness". We literally can not visualize. I've searched for ways to fix it but to no avail. It just seems to be something one has to live with. But I'll be thrilled if someone comes along and gives you a different answer.
Perhaps you could focus on doing kinesthetic "imagery" or conjure up a sense of the smell, sound and/or taste of what you'd like to imagine, in place of visualization?
I wonder if studying a photograph beforehand might help? And then try to recreate the image in your mind.
Says the photographer....
And the artists says:
Sit with a pencil and paper, think of something, a animal, an old home, a favorite location. You know how these things look. Now draw it...your drawing does not have to be 'picture perfect'... It could look like a treasure map. The idea is to draw something that you see in your mind.
So much the same idea TD had, must be something to it, drawing came to me just after reading the OP.
I never knew that some people have mental blindness. It is hard for me to wrap my head around this as mental images are pretty much a constant for me. Driving down the road, I can imagine the car next to me doing something stupid. As I type this, I can 'super impose' a person walking past.
Now I wonder, someone who has not worked thier imagination, but is not mentally blind just needs practice.
TySky- when you close your eyes, are you still looking with your eyes? As in you see the dark of the back of your eyelids? In doing that, when focusing on a single area, you may see a swirling blob or streams, single color or multicolored. Do not confuse these colors with the imprint of light reflection from your surroundings. It is best to check this out after being in a dark room for a while.
Mental visualizations for me do not have the vividness of dreams. Dreams are like watching a movie or the TV. My visualizations are very subtle- more like having a memory. Can you recall a significant birthday or holiday? Do you remember what you wore that day? If so, how did you come to recall that? What's the process for you? If you remember because your get a 'picture' or 'movie' as the memory, do you 'see' what you wore? then you should be able to visualize.
Ty, I really hope Trout & Owl's ideas work for you. It would be awesome if you could actually learn to visualize. If not, there's a FaceBook group about mental blindness you may be interested in: https://www.facebook.com/groups/204603509580186/
I can't reply to mental blindness b/c I don't think I have that but when I try to sit and meditate I have a hard time creating pictures too. However, when I read poetry I visualize like crazy. Find some poetry with some great imagery--almost anything works, but I love Walt Whitman for this. Or try this one:
Quote:
The Red Wheelbarrow
William Carlos Williams, 1883 - 1963
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
If you don't see a complete country scene for the shortest fraction of a second, then maybe you have mental blindness. Perhaps those muscles can be strengthened.
Funny, I was thinking that trying to visualize something like a red barn surround by green grass and a vivid blue sky might be a good first step. Some people can see color more easily than shapes, forms.
Funny, I was thinking that trying to visualize something like a red barn surround by green grass and a vivid blue sky might be a good first step. Some people can see color more easily than shapes, forms.
Try this one.
Quote:
In a Station of the Metro
Ezra Pound
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
That is odd. I meditate for the exact opposite purpose, to completely empty my mind of thought, visual or otherwise, and my problem is mainly unwanted visualizations which lead to thoughts, etc.
That is odd. I meditate for the exact opposite purpose, to completely empty my mind of thought, visual or otherwise, and my problem is mainly unwanted visualizations which lead to thoughts, etc.
The Eastern way is generally to empty the mind. The Western way is generally to focus on something to the exclusion of everything else. They both can work. Do what works for you.
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