“To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.” ― Richard Bach
Occupy Sanity Tool (OST): Imagine
As a child, I spent countless hours in my imaginary world, where everything was possible.
I suspect many of you did as well. I would imagine traveling around the world or that I was living on another planet. I would imagine places where I was a powerful magician, king, or queen and, sometimes I became different types of birds, animals, and mythical creatures. Often I’d join my friends on countless adventures where we traveled with celebrities and musicians. One of my favorite fantasies was that I, like Samantha Stephens in the TV series “Bewitched,” had the power to change people into animals or birds, travel anywhere, and have whatever I wanted with a twitch of my nose or wave of my arms.
As I grew up, I was told to channel all that energy into more concrete activities like school work and ‘imagine’ how to make good grades, graduate, and find a job to support myself. Undeniably good advice, I believe my parents, counselors, and teachers had my best interest at heart.
Even if they were looking out for me, as Gloria Steinem suggests:
“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
Create Prosperity With Images
“Imagination is the golden pathway to everywhere.” ― Terence McKenna
Fast forward into my twenties when I was “adulting” with a college degree, a steady job and an apartment. Looking for ways to become more successful (i.e., make more money and have more things), I began reading The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder. She explains how to apply those laws to manifest anything you want, including material wealth, health, a partner, a family, and general well being. When applied with accuracy and persistence, all the laws yield beneficial results. Yet there has been one that I’ve used consistently called The Imaging Law of Prosperity.
In essence, applying this law is done by creating an image of what you would like to see, feel, do, be, have, etc. Said another way, consistently IMAGINE what/how you wish to live with as many details as possible. As Ponder explains:
“Your will may say that your dream is too big to come true; that it is impossible to fulfill. But if you just dare to continue imaging it anyway, then your imagination will go to work for you to produce the visible result you have been imaging… Whatever the mind is taught to expect, that it will build, produce, and bring forth for you.”
With this in mind, I began to re-engage with my childhood game of imagining all the possibilities. Over time I learned another essential key to ensure success: continue imagining while trusting in the power of my mind and the Divine. Sometimes I found it hard to know what I wanted, so I felt challenged when creating a mental picture. Just recently, I learned a technique that enabled me to stop overthinking and derailing the process.
Just Make It Up
In his online course, Create Your Destiny, William Whitehead offers a three-step process to develop your intuition:
1. Innocence
2. Observe the obvious.
3. Make it up – deciphering the subtle energy of your genius.
The practice involves engaging your innate childlike innocence to determine what you want (Observe the obvious) and then make up fantastic stories full of possibilities. Saying “Just make it up!” is a way to disengage the logical mind and start the process. Once the energy is flowing, you can create the next steps with ease.
The OST: Imagine can be used to discover solutions to problems, create a calmer state of mind, or manifest a dream.
Imagine: Simple 3 Step Exercise
1. Take a moment to center yourself. Meditate on your breath. Do the Box Breathing Technique for 1-5 minutes. Or do some Mindfulness Practices like The Five Senses Exercise or the OST: STOP.
2. Focus on the current situation, problem, or dream/goal. For example, I sometimes create anxiety when I am driving to an appointment by saying: “I hope there isn’t any traffic. But I bet there will be traffic or another problem. I’m sure I won’t find a parking space and the team will be out of service. I’m sure I’ll be late.” That is NOT what I want to create.
3. Determine your intended outcome and desired result. What do you want to happen? Complete this sentence: I choose the outcome to be or of________________.
In my example, I knew overall, I wanted more ease, but I needed to be more specific.
I finished the sentence several times:
- I choose the outcome of trusting myself to handle whatever is ahead.
- I choose the outcome of being calm no matter what traffic I face.
- I choose the outcome of having the best parking space for myself and all concerned.
- I choose the outcome of arriving at least 15 minutes in advance for my appointment.
All the while, I imagined this happening. And it did!
Of course, you can use the OST: Imagine to manifest your life-long dreams and goals using the same formula. Give it a try and let us know about your experience.
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