Imagination is way more powerful than anything you consciously know. It really is in your best interest to become aware of just how much we unconsciously let our imaginations run away with all sorts of silly scenarios. Once you start to notice the images in your mind you can start to recognise times and situations in your life when you may be automatically picturing the worst and take your power back. Take phobias for example - the film, Arachnophobia, is enough to make someone in this country scared of spiders and a scene with a plane crash can create a fear of flying. A Harvard University study found the odds of being in an airplane crash are one in 1.2 million compared to the odds of being in a car accident, which is one in 5000. Yet a fear of flying is far more common than that of getting into a car.

But before you beat yourself up for your little quirks and rationalities, remind yourself that your subconscious is hard wired for safety in every situation and it’s primal job, 24/7 is to go through your bank of memories each nano second to make sure there is no threat to your survival. You are not even aware that this is going on until a memory, picture or past experience will trigger a feeling inside you signalling an alarm of varying degrees. It is then the unpleasant feeling that heightens the alarm, bringing it into your awareness by causing you to feel nervous, anxious or react in any given way.
You are literally a walking, talking, filing cabinet of programmes, consistently and very efficiently producing bodily chemical reactions, all stemming from the source of your memories (pictures) and experience. Remember every thought causes a chemical reaction in your body and this is exactly the same for your imagination. The only problem is our thoughts and imagination are often like wild untamed horses because very few of us have been taught how to and then practiced mind control or aware of the impact this has on your body. Not only that but the subconscious is primal and as it’s always constantly scanning for threat, it shortens the initial scan for speed, a threat can show up in any form, as simple as a primal colour. So let’s say you were in a car crash at the age of 4 and that car was red for example, the colour red may set of an alarm within you and you don’t even realise, it may show up as just a dislike for the colour red or a full blown anxiety attack.

So, what can we do to engage our imagination productively and use it to our advantage? Every time you start to find yourself feeling negative about something, just pause and ask yourself some simple questions like, what exactly am I feeling here? What am I imagining about this situation that feels bad and is there a better ending or conclusion that I can imagine instead? When did I experience a similar situation that caused me to feel this way? Then realise that because something has happened in the past, it doesn’t mean it will happen again and your nervous system in that very moment is just simply reacting the way it did before. It is not stupid to reassure yourself as the answer comes into your awareness, soothing your nervous system by talking kindly to yourself maybe all that is needed to change the feeling. It’s the feeling that we don’t like.
We all know advertising relies heavily on visuals and imagery so if you really are struggling to decipher your feelings from the images in your mind, you can absolutely feel more than one thing at a time (we call this parts therapy), it’s always easier to start with something else. People are actually in a natural state of hypnosis most of the time and adverts play on this a lot. When the commercials are on next just ask yourself, what are the images they are using trying to invoke in me by way of a feeling so that it would make me want to purchase, invest in or have that product? Some are obvious, others are more subtle and that is no different to our own feelings.

It is fascinating to know that a negative feeling linked to an experience that is NOT fully understood or processed by the subconscious mind, gets stored in your nervous system differently, ready for high alert. On the contrary anything that is accepted and dealt with in the mind gets stored and filed away neatly, never to bother you again. Once a trauma has been experienced it creates a neural pathway and each time you get triggered by a similar trauma, that pathway becomes stronger, more powerful and automatic which is why we may result in feeling out of control. In many cases the negative memory may not be available to the conscious mind as a coping mechanism, your conscious mind may simply block it out, like the red car example mentioned earlier.
Note: The definition for trauma is anything that is unprocessed or unfinished in the mind.

Another fascinating fact is, not only do we store information in every cell of our body but in our electromagnetic field, outside of the body. This often becomes apparent in our language, as our words reflect our feelings. Have you ever heard people say “I just can’t seem to get over this”, or ”I feel like this is always in the way”, or “I just can’t seem to get around this problem”. This is usually because experiences FULLY understood within our mind are naturally filled neatly behind us and anything NOT understood is still in front of us in our energetic field, waiting to be resolved. We have lived in a world where feelings have been dismissed for far too long. We really need to get better at listening to our feelings and ask what they are trying to tell us so that we can resolve them and put them behind us. We are creatures of meaning after all. 

In my experience visualisation exercises are a tremendous asset. Your mind is simply a muscle and the more you practice the easier and better it will naturally become. As you visualise pleasant and wonderful scenes, situations or circumstances, notice the effect that this begins to have on your body, you might notice a warm sensation, feel lucky or loved. You will be simultaneously releasing feel good chemicals into your body as a result of positive and creative focus. If you have trouble holding your focus try a guided visualisation or meditation. The more powerful, vivid and exaggerated the picture in your mind the more impact it will have on you. Go to town, step into the picture, use all you senses. Fantasise!! This is also a powerful manifestation tool, whatever you put your focus on expands. Allow yourself to feel into the experience you are visualising. Ever woke up from a dream and FELT like it was real? You know it wasn’t, but this is what you are aiming for.

This leads me to my next exercise. Draw or paint your visualisation, a doodle will do if your not convinced but allow yourself to be elaborate, draw all that you would like to manifest, be, see or achieve. Why not? Your mind will then have a stronger imprint on it to recall upon making your visualisation easier and more familiar, the mind loves the familiar. Play with it have fun, as adults we are way too serious most of the time. Another version of a creative visual aid some may have heard of is a vision board, (cut out pictures from magazines, etc.) I made one a few years ago and have created some great results. Feng Shui also uses images and colours to enhance lifestyle and energy flow.

As I close, one last little tip whether you want to just feel better or manifest. As you visualise something you desire, want or love, place one hand over your heart, you are electromagnetic after all, your mind is electric and your feelings are magnetic. This will increase the desired feeling, chemical reaction and raise the impact of what you are trying to achieve by directing energy to your heart. Your heart actually has neutrons of its own and we have all heard the term......

Follow your heart 💖