Week 16 – Shine a Light
Seeing vs Visualization
‘How then are we am I to control thought; what is the process? To think is to create a thought, but the result of the thought will depend upon its form, its quality and its vitality.’ (Haanel 16:17)
This week I have been thinking about the concept of thinking. We have learnt that thought is energy, and as we live in an attraction based Universe we attract to us through thought and feeling. Ut-oh!!! Does that mean I should try and stop myself thinking in case I attract stuff I don’t want? We can’t prevent all sorts of weird and wonderful things popping into our mind all the time, and we are bombarded by sights and sounds around us every minute of the day. So it is impossible to stop thinking. My understanding is that the ‘thinking’ process does not have huge attracting power if I keep moving from one thing to another. More simply put, thinking is like holding a torch light and moving it around, scanning the area for anything that captures my attention.
It is when I stop and focus that it becomes a thought and the energy becomes stronger. If I focus for a length of time on negative things I attract negative energy, and if I focus on positive things I attract more positive energy. My feelings will guide me as to whether something is good or bad for me, if I pay attention to them.
Going back to the torch metaphor, it is only when I stop moving the light and let it shine on something in particular that it becomes a ‘thought’. I can choose if the thing I am holding my light on is of further interest to me and give it more attention or move on and direct my torch light else where. Visualizing on the other hand is different from seeing because it is invisible to others around me.
‘We I can only see what already exists in the objective world, but what we I visualize, already exists in the spiritual world, and this visualization is a substantial token of what will one day appear in the objective world, if we are I am faithful to our my ideal. The reason for this is not difficult; visuliazation is a form of imagination; this process if thinking forms impressions on the mind, and these impression in turn form concepts and ideals, and they in turn are the plans from which the Master architect will weave the future.’ (Haanel 16:33)
Visualization is mentally seeing in my mind things, events, people and circumstances that are not visible to anyone else. I can recreate an image from memory (mentally live in the past), or I can create an image I have not yet physically seen (mentally live in the future). Through imagination I am unlimited in my creating. Mentally living in the past or future for too long is not helpful, because if left unchecked they can both create anxiety, worry and fear. But mentally creating the life I want using short bursts of concentrated visualization during the day is extremely helpful. Imagining the feeling of living the life I want, impresses the subconscious and creates the mould from which the subconscious can start to build on my behalf, through the natural Law of Attraction.
‘If you I wish to bring about the realization of any desire, form a mental picture of success in your my mind, by consciously visualizing your my desire; in this way you I will be compelling success, you I will be externalizing it in your my life by scientific methods.’ (Haanel 16:32)