People with good visualization skills please help me

[Iriba]

Well, i've been training mindfulness for over 1 month now and with it i try to increase my visualization level, but here is something i dont understand. I can imagine something with my mind although not much clear, i can't see the "scene" in front of my eyelids, only in my mind, for example, i'm sure many of you tried to stare long time for an artificial light. After that, if you close your eyes and get in some dark place, you'll start to see colorful and wandering dots. So i will use this example to ask: Can you guys visualize something as clear as those "dots"? Is it suppose to visualization be clear as those dots in front of our eyelids, or just in our mind? Also if you can leave some tips to increase visualization level i would appreciate Sorry if this made you confused but i really need to know this. Also, sorry if this thread is in wrong section

[InnerVision]

I have the same exact question. I can only seem to 'visualize' fragments of an image or a feeling or a sound, and even then only in my mind. I cannot make myself actually see, hear or feel something and I would like to know to what extent I am supposed to do that..

[Sensei]

hmmm... visualization is very fun, but takes a lot of time to get going. I would say that the best way to get better is to practice. It is always easier to practice closer to sleep and in dark places.

[Iriba]

I have the same exact question. I can only seem to 'visualize' fragments of an image or a feeling or a sound, and even then only in my mind. I cannot make myself actually see, hear or feel something and I would like to know to what extent I am supposed to do that.. Exactly this, i can't also manage how to see with my own eyes the thing i try to visualize always go to my mind, any way to fix this? hmmm... visualization is very fun, but takes a lot of time to get going. I would say that the best way to get better is to practice. It is always easier to practice closer to sleep and in dark places. Well i keep trying that, but what i'm trying to imagine always go to my mind and doesn't appear in front of my eyes. Also, can you see the things with some clarity? can you actually see them as you are seeing something at your front at the moment?

[lunagoddess]

I like the portion of in Robert Bruce's book in "Astral Dynamics" that discusses visualization. He says (and I agree) that visualization does not originate from your eyes but from your mind, which is why he is a proponent of tactile simulation with meditation (imagination via the usage of physical sensation). You're not "seeing" anything. You're imagining something in your mind. If you focus too much on literally seeing stuff then you're losing the point of visualization. It has helped me to notice how my eyes focus when they're shut such as when I'm going to sleep. I can change the focus of my eyes by directing their attention to the back of my eyelids, then relaxing them and focusing on my thoughts. I've found that it's the latter which helps to maintain visualization. Hope this makes sense and helps.

[AnotherDreamer]

Visualization exercises are something that I love to practice! There are a couple of things that I like to do. I will stare at a blank, white wall and try to paint colors on it with my mind. I try to make a portion of the wall turn from white to blue or to red or to green. I also like to create shapes on the wall, which are usually quite simple, such as circles or squares or maybe faces. I do that either by seeing patterns in the texture of the wall or by painting colors with my mind and then turning the colors into shapes. Those are just a couple of examples of things that I like to do to practice visualization while I'm awake. We can definitely visualize things as clearly as those dots that you had referred to, and even more vivid than that. Although, I suppose that everything that we see is actually in our minds and not from our eyes at all. The information is transferred from our eyes and then interpreted by our brains. So our eyes, in themselves, are never actually doing the seeing. The only time that I could say that I am having true, vivid, visualizations, that are as realistic as the images that come from my eyes, are when I am falling asleep. I imagine what I want to see and usually it is quite a faint and transparent image. But as I focus on it more intensely, the image starts to become clearer and more lifelike until it is so vivid that the image is just as clear as when I am using my eyes to see. When it gets to that point, I am pretty much in a dream. Then it feels to me as though what I am seeing is in front of my eyelids even though I am not using my eyes at all to see. I'm not sure if that's related to what your original question was, but that is something that I like to practice as well that I feel improves my visualization ability. A couple other things that I have personally done to improve controlling my visualizations: 1. I close my eyes and wait until I start to see faint images, shapes, or patterns, and then I try to control them and shape them to what I want. 2. I stare at a wall until I stop seeing with my eyes and then I try to control what I am seeing, which can be as simple as changing the color or changing the extent to which I am seeing with my eyes. 3. I stare at an image like the one I'll attach and I cross my eyes so that the two images (one of each eyeball) overlap. Then I try to see just one of the eyeballs at a time and then both at the same time as they are overlapped. I like to do this to control what eye I'm using to see things with and I feel like the control that I develop from it, helps me with visualizing stuff. Sorry if my explanation is a little bit confusing eyeball exercise.png I hope that some of this is helpful.

[Sensei]

Hmmm... it depends in when I do it. Right now for instance, it seems very faded. In the middle of the night, night with darkness all around it is as clear as day, if not a little shifty. It can be hard to keep the exact same picture in your head, for instance if you are doing math or something else. However, like all skills (like lucid dreaming) you need to practice correctly and often to get good at it.

[Iriba]

Visualization exercises are something that I love to practice! There are a couple of things that I like to do. I will stare at a blank, white wall and try to paint colors on it with my mind. I try to make a portion of the wall turn from white to blue or to red or to green. I also like to create shapes on the wall, which are usually quite simple, such as circles or squares or maybe faces. I do that either by seeing patterns in the texture of the wall or by painting colors with my mind and then turning the colors into shapes. Those are just a couple of examples of things that I like to do to practice visualization while I'm awake. We can definitely visualize things as clearly as those dots that you had referred to, and even more vivid than that. Although, I suppose that everything that we see is actually in our minds and not from our eyes at all. The information is transferred from our eyes and then interpreted by our brains. So our eyes, in themselves, are never actually doing the seeing. The only time that I could say that I am having true, vivid, visualizations, that are as realistic as the images that come from my eyes, are when I am falling asleep. I imagine what I want to see and usually it is quite a faint and transparent image. But as I focus on it more intensely, the image starts to become clearer and more lifelike until it is so vivid that the image is just as clear as when I am using my eyes to see. When it gets to that point, I am pretty much in a dream. Then it feels to me as though what I am seeing is in front of my eyelids even though I am not using my eyes at all to see. I'm not sure if that's related to what your original question was, but that is something that I like to practice as well that I feel improves my visualization ability. A couple other things that I have personally done to improve controlling my visualizations: 1. I close my eyes and wait until I start to see faint images, shapes, or patterns, and then I try to control them and shape them to what I want. 2. I stare at a wall until I stop seeing with my eyes and then I try to control what I am seeing, which can be as simple as changing the color or changing the extent to which I am seeing with my eyes. 3. I stare at an image like the one I'll attach and I cross my eyes so that the two images (one of each eyeball) overlap. Then I try to see just one of the eyeballs at a time and then both at the same time as they are overlapped. I like to do this to control what eye I'm using to see things with and I feel like the control that I develop from it, helps me with visualizing stuff. Sorry if my explanation is a little bit confusing eyeball exercise.png I hope that some of this is helpful. When i usually do my mindfulness exercise i try to transfer the image of my mind to my eyes but i don't get to see anything just a weird "gray smoke" So i tried to change those smoke colors to yellow and for a few seconds it looked like yellow, but i still haven't a clue how to increase vividness of visualization. But that tips are useful thanks for sharing them Hmmm... it depends in when I do it. Right now for instance, it seems very faded. In the middle of the night, night with darkness all around it is as clear as day, if not a little shifty. It can be hard to keep the exact same picture in your head, for instance if you are doing math or something else. However, like all skills (like lucid dreaming) you need to practice correctly and often to get good at it. Well. sometimes when i do my mindfulness exercice i turn off all the light sources from my room so my visualization can get better, but all i see is a weird gray smoke in front of my eyes when i try to transfer from my mind to my eyes

[Sensei]

Practice. People that are good at visualization are people that enjoy visualization.

[AnotherDreamer]

When i usually do my mindfulness exercise i try to transfer the image of my mind to my eyes but i don't get to see anything just a weird "gray smoke" So i tried to change those smoke colors to yellow and for a few seconds it looked like yellow, but i still haven't a clue how to increase vividness of visualization. But that tips are useful thanks for sharing them I was just testing my visualizations, trying to increase the vividness of them. I found that as I concentrate more on the visuals that I am seeing with my eyes (as I focus more intensely), the more vivid that the images start to become. I wonder if it will work for you too. I think it's really cool that you're into visualization stuff, I certainly enjoy it! I hope that you can get really good at it. I think that it's a powerful tool, both inside and outside of dreaming.

[Iriba]

Visualization exercises are something that I love to practice! There are a couple of things that I like to do. I will stare at a blank, white wall and try to paint colors on it with my mind. I try to make a portion of the wall turn from white to blue or to red or to green. I also like to create shapes on the wall, which are usually quite simple, such as circles or squares or maybe faces. I do that either by seeing patterns in the texture of the wall or by painting colors with my mind and then turning the colors into shapes. Those are just a couple of examples of things that I like to do to practice visualization while I'm awake. We can definitely visualize things as clearly as those dots that you had referred to, and even more vivid than that. Although, I suppose that everything that we see is actually in our minds and not from our eyes at all. The information is transferred from our eyes and then interpreted by our brains. So our eyes, in themselves, are never actually doing the seeing. The only time that I could say that I am having true, vivid, visualizations, that are as realistic as the images that come from my eyes, are when I am falling asleep. I imagine what I want to see and usually it is quite a faint and transparent image. But as I focus on it more intensely, the image starts to become clearer and more lifelike until it is so vivid that the image is just as clear as when I am using my eyes to see. When it gets to that point, I am pretty much in a dream. Then it feels to me as though what I am seeing is in front of my eyelids even though I am not using my eyes at all to see. I'm not sure if that's related to what your original question was, but that is something that I like to practice as well that I feel improves my visualization ability. A couple other things that I have personally done to improve controlling my visualizations: 1. I close my eyes and wait until I start to see faint images, shapes, or patterns, and then I try to control them and shape them to what I want. 2. I stare at a wall until I stop seeing with my eyes and then I try to control what I am seeing, which can be as simple as changing the color or changing the extent to which I am seeing with my eyes. 3. I stare at an image like the one I'll attach and I cross my eyes so that the two images (one of each eyeball) overlap. Then I try to see just one of the eyeballs at a time and then both at the same time as they are overlapped. I like to do this to control what eye I'm using to see things with and I feel like the control that I develop from it, helps me with visualizing stuff. Sorry if my explanation is a little bit confusing eyeball exercise.png I hope that some of this is helpful. Well i've been trying the wall thing my room's wall is white i tried to imagine it green with my eyes, but actually i could only see it with my mind but on the same situation Even if i close my eyes i can't see the same wall as before when i had my eyes open looking at it In other words, i'm trying to increase the vividness of my visualization but not sure how i should do it, if only my mind keeps picturing me scenes.

[Sensei]

Well i've been trying the wall thing my room's wall is white i tried to imagine it green with my eyes, but actually i could only see it with my mind but on the same situation Even if i close my eyes i can't see the same wall as before when i had my eyes open looking at it In other words, i'm trying to increase the vividness of my visualization but not sure how i should do it, if only my mind keeps picturing me scenes. Hmmm... Prolly gonna have to just practice until it gets as good as you want.

[AnotherDreamer]

Well i've been trying the wall thing my room's wall is white i tried to imagine it green with my eyes, but actually i could only see it with my mind but on the same situation Even if i close my eyes i can't see the same wall as before when i had my eyes open looking at it In other words, i'm trying to increase the vividness of my visualization but not sure how i should do it, if only my mind keeps picturing me scenes. I wonder if this will work the same for you as it does for me... When I get into a meditative state it becomes very easy for me to stare off into space for long periods of time. When I stare at anything for that long, the color that I see will change naturally, and eventually all color will disappear and I will stop seeing out of my eyes entirely. That's one way that you could try to approach this, but I'm not sure if it will work the same way for you. There's something about remaining mindful while staring at something monotonous for a long time that makes my mind begin to create visualizations that I can see with my eyes. Maybe something to do with sensory deprivation? I'm not entirely sure why that happens. But once I see the visualizations, I can try to control them in the same way that I can try to control my dreams. I am not entirely sure about what you are asking here, or what method you are using to visualize things. Are you closing your eyes and trying to imagine what the wall would look like, and then opening them, trying to see what you had imagined, but through your eyes?