Day 38 of Your Year to Wellness; Believing is Seeing



Before I could see the difference I had to imagine it

Visualizing Success

Seeing is believing but if you want to see something, you have to think it. When I first learned the tenets of scientific research I was fascinated by how similar they were to my spiritual beliefs (stay with me, this is going to get good.)

In scientific methodology before you even begin to research something it must be conceived in the mind. After it is conceived, it is operationalized, in other words, you determine how it will be studied before it can be. Only then can the thing be observed.

In my spiritual practice I was taught to imagine or see in the mind’s eye whatever it was that I desired to then believe it and then live it.

Scientists have learned more about the brain in the last five years than they have known in the 500 before then. To be clear, the brain is not the mind. The brain is the biological organ while the mind is the processing of our thinking. Some scientists put it this way; the brain is the hardware and the mind is the software. Every cell in your body has a memory and is a part of the mind. The brain reacts and the mind remembers. The brain does not know the difference between imagination and reality but the mind can go to world’s unknown.

Okay, that’s enough of me trying to step out of my pay grade. I want to talk about visualization, but you need to be open and understand that this is not hokum or some touchy feely stuff. In fact, Navy Seals have been using visualization to practice desired outcomes for years. Now, I know that just because something is used by the military doesn’t mean that it’s true, in fact, when they pick up a weapon, you might want to run. But I think you get my point.

If you want a certain outcome, you must practice. The more you practice the outcome in your mind, the greater the likelihood of your success. I am not talking about the naming and claiming philosophy of prosperity teachings, I’m talking about the practical application of visualization.

This week, I’d like you to practice desired results in your mind. Start with something small. When I first did this, I wanted to see my scale below 200. It hadn’t been there in years. I began to imagine it on a daily basis and before long it was there. I know you’re thinking, “WHAT? You were on the Wellness Program; of course you were going to lose weight.” But the question becomes which came first, the thought or the action?

By practicing the thought and seeing the outcome, I was reinforcing my behavior towards my desired goals. I wouldn’t sneak popcorn (and who was I kidding, I saw me) because my mind kept seeing the scale below 200.

I imagined the body I have now. I had not seen it before. In my mind, I reshaped my arms and legs and even my face. So much so, that when old friends see me, they don’t always recognize me.

Of course work went into this. But when I’d imagine some goal, someone would present me with information or a way to get there.

(If you are just starting in on these posts, you may want to go back a few days, this is heady stuff, get it head-y.)

Now, I will share with you something most wonderful. When my daughter Fatima was ill, I kept imagining her well. I saw her laughing and telling jokes and getting on my nerves. I watched her struggle to breathe on a ventilator. She was afraid and later told me that she thought she was going to die. We were in an intensive care unit in a glass room with a nurse watching at all times. I could see what was really happening, but I believed for a different outcome. I held on to that thought and stayed in touch with family members who believed with me. When she could speak she asked me if I was scared. I asked her if I looked scared and she said no. I kept smiling and laughing and seeing her come home. When she did, I knew that she wasn’t out of the woods, so I kept on believing. At times, I had to pull her along and help her to see that she was fine, even when it was hard for her to breathe.

Fatima is in college and doing well. She has some tough days, but we all do and now, she is pulling me along. When I say to her that I’m tired and don’t feel like doing something, she says. “That’s funny, I see you doing it.”

·         What can you see?

·         Do a quick research on creative visualization and create a practice that works for you.

·         We are only 2 days away from our 40 day goal---it will have big implications. What would you like to see?

·         When you were a child, what did you imagine? Have you realized it?

·         Visualize a peaceful day and go live it.

What the mind can conceive your life can achieve.

Be you, be well, Be the change you want to see.

Bertice Berry, PhD.

http://www.ayearto.com