11 WHO DO YOU IMAGINEYOURSELF TO BE?
To come from no voice, no power, and to be able to
achieve what I have means that only my own personal
vision holds me back.
Oprah Winfrey
“
”
Commit yourself to spending a few minutes every day imagining yourself
as you would like to be. This practice is called Creative Imagery. Either
deliberately relax and calm your mind, or use those naturally occurring
moments when you are relaxed. The longer and more vividly you can
hold on to thoughts, feelings and mental images of yourself as a
confident person when your mind is calm, the better.
71
Start by imagining something familiar, like an orange, a freshly baked loaf
of bread, your house, a loved one, or a rose. Imagine the appearance,
texture, taste and smell. Listen to a favourite piece of music, and imagine
you can see the artist(s) performing it. Imagine the voice of a loved one.
Simple exercises such as these will bring about a rapid improvement
in your creative imagery skills.
72
Creative imagery is often referred to as visualisation, which is slightly
misleading because it is not strictly necessary to be able to make
detailed pictures. All five senses, sight, touch/feel, sound, taste and
smell – make an impact on the subconscious, especially when you’re
relaxed. So don’t be put off if you can’t actually ‘see’ anything: feelinga
desire coming true is more important than getting a clear picture.
Take what you used yesterday. Now try to visualise it with all five
senses. If you can’t actually picture it, make more use of other senses.
73
