From your opinion. What is imagination? How to achieve it?

I am poor visualiser. But dream research and my dream attempts evoked some slight changes in my visual perception. It got little better overtime. Yess. It became better, but i still dont understand the difference between sight and visualisation {i mean visual imagery}.

You know which sentence got me into writing this topic? This one:

I read topic about WILD and one part was:
Dont look for pictures using your eyes. Just imagine them....

I think, learning visual imagination is a skill to be learned. I would like to have your opinions on this questions:

1. Is it learnable from your point of view
2. Whats the difference between sight and visual imagination
3. What would you tell a bad visualiser to try if he wants to improve..

Many, many thanx for replies. I dont need revolutionary ones. I would like to read answers, so i can post another questions. {You probably know my methods}...:D

1. Yes, i think its learnable :)
2. Physically, i guess sight is considered when photons of light hit your eye, travel through your optic nerve and are registered in the brain yada yada. I think visualization is more thought induced. If im trying to imagine or visualize something i dont try to actually see it, rather i just think about what it looks like or describe it to myself. I don't actually see it or try to see it, but because I think about what it would look like, a general image of what it would be is present in my mind.
3. I claim no ability to actually be able to teach someone to visualize things, nor do i claim anything i will say will work. But i guess if i were to try and teach someone, i would tell them to look at objects, describe them, associate "feelings" with them, then close their eyes and think about the words they used to describe them and think about the "feelings" associated. Also something that would help a lot is some basic meditation. If you think actively too hard about trying to see something it ends up being counter productive. Meditation is a great way to clear your mind and visualize things. Stephen LaBerge's book Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming has some good tips on visualizing :)

I think the main idea is to realize that actively trying to produce an image in front of you is counter productive, and that visualizing something requires knowledge about what you are trying to visualize. You can't see something if you don't know what it looks like :)

I hope that helps!!!

Visualization is very simple if you can answer this following question. Now without actually looking at it, how does your bathroom sink look like?.. I bet you can answer that question very easily because you have already seen the sink and have an image of how it looks like in your head. Believe it or not You are now using visualization to recall the image of the sink.:roll:

How to visualize stuff? This is a highly personal proccess. Very hard to describe because of that.

Start with a noun. Based on how you learn, either a word, phrase, or image should pop up that is tied to said noun. If you get a word or phrase, keep thinking about the noun until you think of the picture. There you go. A visualization.

Now add depth to it. First add a source of light, then a shadow. Put in some texture if not there already. Then work on setting, starting with the ground of the noun, and working into the background. All the time you must remind yourself how the visualization began, and what it is still centered upon. Keep adding details.

That's about it. I made it sound way harder than it is. The process shoudn't take more than a few seconds (the process may actually lengthen as you add more and more detail, and then may shorten again as you get quicker at adding the detail). After you improve on one visualization, move to an entirely different noun and do the same thing. Practice makes perfect. Try to daydream in this manner for at least five minutes per day, I guess, if you seek to improve.

Imagination isn't too far from this. This is already imagination, but simplified. Once you get a nice scene going, add some action. Perhaps someone walks in and does something to the original noun, or perhaps something moves subtle in the background. Keep daydreaming in this manner and I'm sure your mind will then create reasons for these movements. Before you know it, your imagined scene has a plot.

Yes it is learnable to a sense. Not that it isn't learnable, it's just that everyone has it as a natural ability. Some people are just better than others. It is very hard to describe.

When you read a book, you probably see a picture in your head, and the words will seem to "disappear" until you break concentration. It seems that instead of reading words on a page, a movie is playing in your head. That would be visualization.

One thing I can tell you though, is that you can tell you are good at visualizing if you don't have to close your eyes. Similar to the book reading thing.

I believe BillyBob's dream yoga tutorial has a link to an article describing Image Streaming. It's a method of training your visualization skills. I tried it for a few days and had some impressive progress, but haven't been able to remain consistent.

Here's the link for the article.
http://www.grasshopper.com/mind-games/hack-your-iq/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Abra

How to visualize stuff? This is a highly personal proccess. Very hard to describe because of that.

Start with a noun. Based on how you learn, either a word, phrase, or image should pop up that is tied to said noun. If you get a word or phrase, keep thinking about the noun until you think of the picture. There you go. A visualization.

Now add depth to it. First add a source of light, then a shadow. Put in some texture if not there already. Then work on setting, starting with the ground of the noun, and working into the background. All the time you must remind yourself how the visualization began, and what it is still centered upon. Keep adding details.

That's about it. I made it sound way harder than it is. The process shoudn't take more than a few seconds (the process may actually lengthen as you add more and more detail, and then may shorten again as you get quicker at adding the detail). After you improve on one visualization, move to an entirely different noun and do the same thing. Practice makes perfect. Try to daydream in this manner for at least five minutes per day, I guess, if you seek to improve.

Imagination isn't too far from this. This is already imagination, but simplified. Once you get a nice scene going, add some action. Perhaps someone walks in and does something to the original noun, or perhaps something moves subtle in the background. Keep daydreaming in this manner and I'm sure your mind will then create reasons for these movements. Before you know it, your imagined scene has a plot.

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As far, as i can understand. Is it about using inner voice to add detail to the scene you are creating?
Do you think, that vividness of visual imagery can be improved?

The best way I can simplify visualization, is that visualization can be done with the eyes open.

Another way to explain visualization, is if you've ever compared two things visually before. For instance, if you were take a dollar bill out of your pocket, memorize it, and then put it back... and then attempt to draw it. Of course, the drawing would not be perfect. Just by looking at your drawing, you can see how it doesn't look like that "visual" of a real dollar bill you are comparing to in your head.

You just visualized! :D

"Improving" visualiztion is less about improving the "visuals" in your head, but holding them there, and not being distracted by both the environment, and the other random visuals and thoughts that constantly flow from the "subconscious". At least, that's my understanding of things.