Some Things That make Imagery More Effective

Skill at using imagery increases with practice. Don't worry if your first attempts don't seem effective. Just as with exercising any muscle, your capacity grows over time with use. The more you use imagery, the more your response to it deepens, intensifies, and becomes more controllable. So don't make limiting assumptions about your capacity. It will grow exponentially.

Some people are "naturals" at imagery. With no apparent effort, they can launch themselves into full, rich, vivid reverie. Others will start off insisting that they don't "see things." But they are wrong. Everyone "sees things." We all imagine and fantasize, even if it's just a matter of thinking about what we should have said to the boss in that last irritatingly unsatisfactory encounter. Possibly, people who think they can't imagine are using the wrong senses to get started. Some of us are much more auditory or tactile than visual; others of us are more responsive to taste and smell. All that's required is a willingness to experiment to see which sensory avenue works best, followed by time and practice.

By practice, I usually mean in five to twenty-minute blocks of time, depending on your capacity for sustained concentration, one or two times a day, for at least two or three weeks, and possibly as part of a permanent daily routine. The powerful, dreamy periods when we're waking up in the morning and falling asleep at night are good times to do this. What you'll find if you get into the habit of using imagery is that you will become more and more efficient, until you are able to access deep, intense images in a matter of seconds.

Another reason people might have initial trouble is a difficulty with sustained concentration. This, too, improves dramatically with practice. Unfortunately, some of us have become so scattered and distracted that it takes us a while to focus our attention on one thing and leave it there. But keep in mind, this is a skill we all once had. Watch the single-minded absorption of a baby checking out its toes and you will see the kind of sustained attention you once could hold. It can be regained easily with simple practice, and you have the added benefit of improving concentration in other areas of your life.