Creative visualization

New Thought Beliefs
Divinity Omnipresent God · Ultimate Spirit · Divine Humanity · Higher consciousness ·
Beliefs Universal law Law of Attraction · Power of choice · Metaphysics · Life force
Actions Affirmations · Affirmative prayer · Creative visualization · Healing · Huna · Personal magnetism · Positive thinking
This box: view · talk · edit

Creative visualization (sports visualization) refers to the practice of seeking to affect the outer world via changing one's thoughts.^[1] Creative Visualization is the basic technique underlying positive thinking^[2] and is frequently used by athletes to enhance their performance.^[3][4] The concept originally arose in the US with the nineteenth century New Thought movement. One of the first Americans to practice the technique of creative visualization was Wallace Wattles (1860–1911), who wrote The Science of Getting Rich.^[5] In this book, Wattles advocates creative visualization as the main technique for realizing one's goals; a practice that stems from the Hindu Monistic theory of the Universe that is subscribed to by the book.^[6]

Creative visualization is the technique of using one's imagination to visualize specific behaviors or events occurring in one's life.^[7] Advocates suggest creating a detailed schema of what one desires and then visualizing it over and over again with all of the senses (i.e., what do you see? what do you feel? what do you hear? what does it smell like?).^[8][9] For example, in sports a golfer may visualize the "perfect" stroke over and over again to mentally train muscle memory.^[10]

In one of the most well-known studies on Creative Visualization in sports, Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their training schedules:

• Group 1 = 100% physical training;
• Group 2 - 75% physical training with 25% mental training;
• Group 3 - 50% physical training with 50% mental training;
• Group 4 - 25% physical training with 75% mental training.

Group 4, with 75% of their time devoted to mental training, performed the best. "The Soviets had discovered that mental images can act as a prelude to muscular impulses."^[11]

Visualization practices are a common form of spiritual exercise. In Vajrayana Buddhism, complex visualizations are used to attain Buddhahood, e.g. Generation Stage.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, visualization is used extensively in sports psychology.^[12]

See also

Spirituality portal

• Design paradigm
• Esoteric healing
• Ignatian exercises
• Universal mind

References

1. ^ Mary B. Ballou, Psychological Interventions: A Guide to Strategies, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995, ISBN 0-275-94851-X.
2. ^ Carl L. Wesckcke, Keith Randolph, The Truth about Creative Visualization, 1984, ISBN 0-87542-353-1.
3. ^ Andrew Caruso, Sports Psychology Basics: For Serious Players and Coaches, Reedswain Inc., 2005, ISBN 1-59164-083-0.
4. ^ Tony Morris, Michael Spittle, Anthony P. Watt, Imagery in Sport: The Mental Approach to Sport, Published by Human Kinetics, 2005, ISBN 0-7360-3752-7.
5. ^ James R. Lewis, Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Controversial New Religions, 2004, p. 326, ISBN 0-19-515682-X.
6. ^ Wattles, Wallace D., Preface-Paragraph 3, The Science of Getting Rich
7. ^ Ronald A. Finke, Creative Imagery: Discoveries and Inventions in Visualization, Published by Routledge, 1990, ISBN 0-8058-0772-1.
8. ^ Jon E. Roeckelein, Imagery in Psychology: A Reference Guide, Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-313-32197-3.
9. ^ William Fezler, Creative Imagery: How to Visualize in All Five Senses, Published by Simon and Schuster, 1989, ISBN 0-671-68238-5.
10. ^ Kathleen A. Martin, Craig R. Hall, "Using mental imagery to enhance intrinsic motivation," Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Vol. 17, Iss. 1, Champaign, IL: Mar 1995.
11. ^ Robert Scaglione, William Cummins, Karate of Okinawa: Building Warrior Spirit, Tuttle Publishing, 1993, ISBN 0-9626484-0-X.
12. ^ Fiona McCormack, "Mind games," Scholastic Scope, Vol. 54, Iss. 10, New York: Jan 23, 2006. Quotation: Visualization is another tool that Olympic athletes use to get their minds in shape for competition. In this technique, athletes mentally rehearse exactly what they have to do to win. Sports psychologists say that visualization boosts athletes' confidence by forcing them to picture themselves winning. It also helps them concentrate on their physical moves, rather than on distractions around them.

Further reading

• Robin Nixon (2011). Creative Visualization for Dummies
• Andras M. Nagy (2010). The Secret Explained How to use the Law of Attraction a Practical Guide to Creative Visualization
• Phillip Cooper (1999). Secrets of Creative Visualization
• Jennifer Day (1994). Creative Visualization With Children: A Practical Guide.
• Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips (2001). Practical Guide To Creative Visualization: Manifest Your Desires.
• Nevill Drury (2001). Creative Visualization.
• Shakti Gawain (2002). Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life.
• Ophiel (1967). The Art & Practice of Creative Visualization.
• Ronald Shone (1984). Creative Visualization.
• Ronald Shone (1998). Creative Visualization: Using Imagery and Imagination for Self-Transformation.
• Warren K. Wake (2000). Design Paradigms: A Sourcebook for Creative Visualization.
• Andrew Wiehl (1974). Creative Visualization.