How good is your visualization?

For a long time, I've been sort of wondering how good my visual imagination is in comparison to other people. I don't know why, but I've always had the feeling my ability is below average. I can imagine things, but the image is never very clear or consistent, and I have even more trouble when picturing either a large environment or several objects, which I am under the impression some people can do rather well.

I can never really get to the point where I can actually "see" something clearly without it changing. For example, I have a lot of trouble picturing the face of anyone I don't know extremely well, so even acquaintances are difficult for me. My question is, how does your visualization compare to this? Am I expecting too much, or is this something I should work on? Also, do you think your visualization abilities relate to how vivid your dreams are, lucid or not?

My visualization is pretty good. It used to be great, so great that I could draw what I was envisioning in my mind.

I'm going to guess that visualization skills sometimes do affect how vivid dreams can get. I've got nothing to back that up with though, just me going out on a limb.

Hmm, I've never really thought about that, I've always been able to see things, enviroments and things like that.

In waking life, I think my visualization is too good, actually. Sometimes after the rare game of football, I can imagine a ball flying at me, making me actually cover my face or move my head by reflex.

I would think that in dreams, we don't have that much detail, but when we think about it, the holes will be filled with details as you notice them. Usually, it feels like I can remember pretty much everything I see. Atleast the people I'm focusing on's faces will be clear, the rest just has blurry faces, but it dosn't look unatural.

I think you will improve if, during your day, just stop and look around. Look at the road, look at that small crack in the road, or the mud where a bike has driven through... Maybe there are small pools of rain left. Perhaps it's actually raining, and the sky is grey with the sun not being able to shine through, leaving just a glowing spot in the clouds.

Also, try to picture those things I described, and any other enviroment you can think of.
Perhaps try to clear your mind, close your eyes and say "City!" to yourself. Then see the picture you get, and then try to keep it there and begin to analyze it, paying close attention to the details.
If it's particularly faces you have problems with, try calling up a picture of everyone you know.

I can't gurantee this to work, but I imagine it would, with the brain using the use-it-or-lose-it method, I know I do it alot atleast. You could try it. I hope it will help!

My dreamworld is very similar to reality in terms of the senses, except for smell and taste which are not coherent. However, with respect to visuals, they all seem very real, to the point where I become frightened by how realistic some dreams are, especially when you experience pain.

Imagining objects and scenes is generally not difficult for me, however all attempts to make the image concrete are in vain. A subtle shifting is always present in the things I imagine / dream. Everything I have read seems to suggest that this is common, however the idea of somehow training your brain to improve image clarity is intriguing.

Would be pretty hard to actually measure that. There is no scale for imagination. I think we humans are all very skilled in it, without exception.

Thanks for the replies, especially Maeni. Vex, it's interesting that you brought up the point of drawings. I've always been pretty horrible at drawing, perhaps because I can never really get a fixed image in my mind when I do it.

To anyone, for the sake of comparison, how difficult is it for you to imagine an object rotating? This is always really hard for me, and I usually just end up with a few separate blurry images rather than something fluid.

Mine is mediocre, faces I have trouble with, but I can imagine my room with little difficulty.

It really depends on what you ask to me to visual, motion I have trouble with sometimes, my brain works against me, does things I don't want to happen.

Visualisation is a skill you can practise by imagining things in your mind.. I read a book about this and the technqiues described are closely related to meditating or wilding using the images technique... ive been practising it, and my visualisation definately improved. I can close my eyes and actually see what im visualising!! It's still very blurry and goes away when I look at it, but it's improving faster than I thought. Before this was only possible for me in dreams.

I would describe my waking visualization skills to be much like yours, Wildman. When I try to imagine anything it will be blurry and without detail. I also have difficulty imagining faces of even those who I'm close to unless I've seen them very recently.

On the other hand, my spatial reasoning is very good (it set me apart in geometry and physics classes) so I'd probably be better than average at imagining your rotating object.

I'm also exceptionally good at drawing realistically. Which may not seem to make much sense considering what I wrote above about my ability to visualize things, but I guess I can work out a general image, and then one detail at a time until I have a whole scene.

Because of my lack of ability to visualize things while awake, my dreams amaze me. In my lucids I actually have a chance to inspect every detail, and I find that in some dreams every detail is present in crisp clarity! I wouldn't be able to draw as well as I dream, and like I said I draw very well.

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Originally Posted by Wildman

Thanks for the replies, especially Maeni. Vex, it's interesting that you brought up the point of drawings. I've always been pretty horrible at drawing, perhaps because I can never really get a fixed image in my mind when I do it.

To anyone, for the sake of comparison, how difficult is it for you to imagine an object rotating? This is always really hard for me, and I usually just end up with a few separate blurry images rather than something fluid.

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I think that is a matter of experience. If you would work with a 3D-Editor a little, imagining a rotating object should pose no more problem. The more comfortable you are with the object of imagination, the easier to imagine it.

ii think it has to do with how much imagination you have AND how much memory recall you have.

for example, on the dreams where i do remember most of the dream, i rememebr specific details and vivid imaginationings.

however, on the dreams where i remember that 10% after 10 minutes, i can barely pick out any details.


make sense? or no...

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Originally Posted by ChaybaChayba

Visualisation is a skill you can practise by imagining things in your mind.. I read a book about this and the technqiues described are closely related to meditating or wilding using the images technique...

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Could i get the name of the book you read please?

I've always had an active imagination and for many years it was emotionally fueled by my anti-social lifestyle. By listening to music, I can create a rough scene in my head, which I can then go back and refine as I listen to that song over and over again. One of them was up to 13 minutes long, I think. I don't remember every detail the same way each time, but after practicing and playing that scene over and over again, I get a fairly clear picture of what's going on.

I've been writing for a long time as well. Another practice in visualization is learning how to describe what you see. Take an object and describe every little thing about it. How is it shaped (rough edges, smooth edges, long, curvy, boxy, etc.)? What colors are included (including the various shades of each color)? Where does the light hit it and where do the shadows fall? How heavy is it? How does looking at it make you feel? What memories does it stir up? Does it make nosie? Are there little bumps or grooves or wires or flashing lights? Where is it in relation to the things around it?

It can be something as simple as a watch or a pen, but once you begin to learn how to describe things in real life, you'll have a better idea of how to describe things from dreams as well. If you're trying to visualize something, describing it in words can help to keep the image straight in your head.

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Originally Posted by Amethyst Star

I've been writing for a long time as well. Another practice in visualization is learning how to describe what you see. Take an object and describe every little thing about it. How is it shaped (rough edges, smooth edges, long, curvy, boxy, etc.)? What colors are included (including the various shades of each color)? Where does the light hit it and where do the shadows fall? How heavy is it? How does looking at it make you feel? What memories does it stir up? Does it make nosie? Are there little bumps or grooves or wires or flashing lights? Where is it in relation to the things around it?

It can be something as simple as a watch or a pen, but once you begin to learn how to describe things in real life, you'll have a better idea of how to describe things from dreams as well. If you're trying to visualize something, describing it in words can help to keep the image straight in your head.

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see im right brained. describing something in words (whether on paper or in my head) doesnt really do anything for me. thats what i was trying to get at before: i can write the dream down, but i NEED to vizualize it. if, by reading what i previously wrote, i remember things and vizualize it again, it seems to me almost like cheating.

i dont know.
o.O

I found a new way to measure visualization skill. My visualization is so good that I can visualize any woman I see AT LEAST in her underwear. You can top that? ;)

With the practice I'm dealing with in recent days, it will become better and easier to handle.

I find it hard to imagine (in depth) 5 various objects at once.

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Originally Posted by RooJ

Could i get the name of the book you read please?

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Sure, I read Creative Visualisation from Shakti Gawain, which mainly teaches you visualisation techniques. It's the only book I found which deals specificly with visualisation, eventho the techniques are very effective, the writer doesn't go into technical details. The Giordano Memory System Manual is also a good read. The manual is free for download (google).. it explains how to developed a phenomenal memory, and believe it or not, apparently, its very closely related to visualisation and theres even references to lucid dreaming. Very technical manual, but it teaches you very interesting things about visualizing.

I've also read the book How to improve your memory from Domonic O'Brien and also a similar book on the memory from Tony Buzan. They are about the memory, but the key to a perfect memory is perfect visualisation. So you will find a lot of technical information on visualisation in those books. Just skip to the parts that are of interest to you..

Thanks for the indepth reply, ill be sure to look into them. :)