How to Incorporate Visual Imagery into Your Life

Your brain is very powerful and capable of performing amazingly complex and complicated tasks, both consciously and unconsciously. Most people take their brains for granted and don’t use them to their full potential. Visual imagery is one way that we can tap into the power of our brains to help us make meaningful and positive changes to our lives.

One of the main reasons that people fail in their weight loss program is because they haven't made a change in the image they hold of themselves in their subconscious mind. If the image you hold of yourself is of someone who is not athletic, does not like exercise, is naturally overweight and will always be overweight, then all you have is sheer willpower to overcome that image and force yourself to exercise more and eat less. At some point you will get exhausted from constantly having to use strong willpower to exercise and eat right; and that is when all the weight you lost will return. But if you can change the image of yourself that you hold in your subconscious mind to someone who is fit, athletic, loves exercise and loves eating only healthy foods, then it will be much easier to have sustainable fitness, wellness and the appropriate weight for your body. With a healthy new image of yourself in your subconscious mind, you will naturally flow towards exercise and smart eating choices without the need for a strong mental attitude or sheer force of will.

A story is told about a nine-year-old boy with an inoperable brain tumor. Every day, for hours at a time, he would daydream. In his dreams, he would pretend that his tumor was an evil planet, and every day he would send in rocket ships to blast away at the evil planet. Then, one day, he exclaimed to his Mom, “Mom! I can’t find the planet.” She immediately took her son to the neurologist. The neurologist, after carefully reviewing an MRI of the boy’s brain, reported that the tumor had vanished.

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” – Buddha

Examples of how to use Visual Imagery

Think of a high calorie food or dessert that you eat often. Now visualize that food as being repulsive and tasting disgusting. Next, visualize a bowl of salad or vegetables as being extremely good tasting and associate that image with a blissful feeling.

Visualize your stress, anger and/or anxiety as a large very tense balloon. Now visualize the balloon slowly losing air, slowly collapsing, getting smaller and smaller as you feel the stress and anger leaving your body. Feel all the stress and anger leave your body as the balloon crumples to the ground flat and fully deflated.

During times of stress or anger, visualize the pure joy you will experience by rewarding yourself with a fun activity such as walking, a favorite exercise, a game, a good book, or other activity you enjoy.

Visualize yourself as a person that does not depend on food as a reward to fight stress. See yourself conquering stress through a positive attitude and participation in fun activities.

During periods of fasting and hunger, visualize your body burning the fat stored around your belly for energy. Visualize, in great detail, how your body can scoop out that stored fat and burn it for energy, negating the need to eat anytime soon.

If injured or suffering with chronic pain, visualize yourself exercising without pain. Start off slowly and realistically, then imagine you are running, running fast and far to the point of exhaustion. This may speed up your healing and you may burn calories as your brain “tricks” your body into thinking the exercise was real.

Visualize yourself with the body you want, walking confidently with perfect posture and a fit body.

Visualize yourself being a person who has fun, loves exercise, and has a smile on your face as you exercise or participate in your favorite sport.

Visualize yourself making smart choices, eating healthy, and being better for it.

Take a few minutes every night before you doze off to sleep to practice this important visual imagery. Start by taking three slow and very deep breaths. Spend several minutes concentrating hard on the image you want to create. Then fall asleep with your last conscious thoughts being this “new” person you want to be, full of energy and living this healthy new MELE lifestyle.

For best results, take this task seriously, believe in it with all your heart, concentrate, make the imagery as real as possible, and repeat daily for three weeks.

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