In meditation we strive to achieve a state where the mind is calm, focused and expansive – but restless thoughts and emotions often get in the way. Visualization is one powerful tool we can use to help!

Visualization is easy to do, but there are a few principles to keep in mind in order to practice it effectively. Concentrate in the forehead and imagine the scene as if it were being shown on a screen. Try to see the image in as great a detail as possible: The more clearly you visualize something the more powerful will be its effect. See it in vibrant color and clear detail.

A visualization should be both beautiful and expansive, since its purpose is to uplift the mind as well as focus it. Involve more senses than just sight. If you are visualizing a lake, hear the wavelets lapping on the shore, feel the breeze blowing over the water, even smell the wildflowers on the banks. Above all, immerse yourself in the scene to the exclusion of all other thoughts.

There are many types of visualization but three kinds are especially helpful for meditation. The first one helps calm and focus the mind, the second expands our consciousness, and the third attunes us to a saint or spiritual guide.

CALM AND FOCUS THE MIND:

Here’s an example of a calming and focusing visualization: Imagine a meadow filled with tall grass and flowers. The sun shines brightly and a gentle breeze is blowing, stirring everything into motion, swaying the plants back and forth. You can hear the sound of crickets and smell the gentle aroma of the flowers. Gradually, the breezes cease and the meadow becomes calm. All movement stops, everything becomes completely still, as if waiting. Your thoughts, like the grass, become totally still. In this stillness you become aware of an overwhelming sense of peace and well-being. Bathe yourself in this feeling for as long as possible.

EXPAND CONSCIOUSNESS

A second type of visualization expands our consciousness, allowing it to reach outward to infinity. Visualize a deep blue or golden light in your forehead. When you see it clearly, feel it filling your whole brain. Gradually let it expand to fill your whole body. Feel it infusing and healing every cell. This light is conscious and has a wisdom of its own. You don’t need to direct it, but simply allow it to touch every fiber of your being. Now let this light expand beyond the boundaries of your body. Let it fill the room you are in, bonding you to all others there with you. Feel that the light is energizing every atom it touches, lifting the vibration of every particle of matter. Now let it continue to expand into your town and gradually spread over your state, your country, and then the whole planet. Feel it healing and uplifting everyone and everything that it touches. Now, let the light expand beyond this planet into the solar system and then the galaxy, finally bathing the entire universe in its glow. Float in this vast ocean of light, releasing all sense of separation until you and the light are one.

ATTUNE TO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS

A third very powerful technique is to visualize a saint or spiritual guide. Here, at Ananda, we regularly visualize Yogananda or one of the others in our guru line. This is a great aid in attuning ourselves with the divine -consciousness manifested in someone who has attained the high states that we yearn for. Start by looking at a photo until you have the image clearly in mind. Then, close your eyes and clearly visualize that image. Try, especially, to see the eyes clearly. The eyes are the windows of the soul and, more than any other part of us, help convey consciousness. Magnetically draw the saint’s attributes—the wisdom, the love, the joy—into your own consciousness. Know that in your higher self, you and that saint are one.

from Lessons in Meditation, by Jyotish Novak

OTHER RESOURCES:

For visualizations on Calmness, Love, Peace and more, download the free Ananda Meditation App