Receptive Visualization

Receptive visualization is a technique where an individual creates a mental image or scene and focuses on it with an open, receptive mindset, allowing any thoughts or images to come into their awareness without judgment. This technique can be used to reduce anxiety, increase creativity, and improve overall well-being.

Research has shown that receptive visualization can have a positive impact on mental health. A study conducted on university students found that those who engaged in receptive visualization reported a significant decrease in anxiety compared to those who did not participate in the technique (Leigh, et al., 2018). Another study found that receptive visualization was effective in reducing negative emotions and increasing overall well-being in cancer patients (Pallavi & Mohan, 2019).

Receptive visualization can also be used to improve creativity and problem-solving skills. A study conducted on graphic design students found that those who engaged in receptive visualization demonstrated greater creativity in their designs (Moghadam & Karimi, 2015).

According to Dr. Joanne D. Moore, a licensed psychologist and author of “Receptive Visualization: Guided Imagery to Enhance Mood, Self-Esteem, and Creativity,” receptive visualization can “open up the mind to new possibilities and help people to get in touch with their intuition, feelings, and inner wisdom”.

The answers lie inside you

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The answers to life’s questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

You know more than you think you do. The problem is we tend to keep ourselves too busy and distracted to realize it. We’re used to instant gratification so if an answer doesn’t pop into our heads immediately then we turn to Google. This process works great for most questions but falls flat when it comes to answering personal questions.

The best way to find answers to questions about you, is to sit with yourself. Slow down and listen to the conversation in your head. Wait for your personal judgments to subside because after they clear out, the real answer will surface.

Detoxify your left-hand column.

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A left hand column conversation represents the conversation you are having internally in your own head (what you are thinking and feeling). A right hand column conversation is what you actually say out loud to someone.

You can detoxify the left-hand column by uncovering your essential truth and saying it honestly and respectfully. Begin by realizing that a left-hand column shows up because something you care about is at risk. Ask yourself:

• What do I care about that’s at risk?
• What’s bothering me?

Here’s an example: Being on time for meetings is important to me. I value my time and the time of others. If someone is repeatedly late for an appointment, I become irritated, and my left-hand column gets loaded up with things like, “They’re late again. What’s wrong with them? Idiot. Don’t they have any concern for others?”

When I answered the questions above, I discovered I felt disrespected because I interpret someone who often shows up late and doesn’t let me know as being inconsiderate of me and my time. Here’s how I could communicate this honestly and respectfully:

“I have a concern. We’ve discussed the importance of punctuality before; we’re both busy. We agreed to meet at 3 p.m. You arrived at 3:15 and didn’t let me know you were running late. I feel disrespected. I know it’s not your intention to do so. Tell me what happened?”

Just because I do this doesn’t mean the problem is solved. I’ve still got to deal with the response. But, at least, I didn’t suppress my irritation. I brought it up honestly and respectfully, which is the most important thing.

The key points here are:

• The left-hand column is full of valuable information and contains your essential truth. It needs to be detoxified to be helpful.
• Detoxify your left-hand column by determining what you care about that’s at risk.
• Express yourself honestly and respectfully. Use phrases like “I have a concern…,” “My experience is…” or My opinion is…” to open up the conversation.

Modes of mind

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The activities of the mind are related to patterns of brain activity. Different mental activities, such as reading a book, painting a picture, or talking to a loved one, each involve different patterns of interaction between networks of nerve cells in the brain. The networks involved in one activity are often different from those involved in another activity. Networks can also be linked together in different patterns.

If we looked into the brain, we would see shifting patterns in the activity of networks and in their connections with each other as the mind moves from one task to another (being vs doing).

For a while, one pattern predominates, then a shift occurs, so brain networks that previously interacted in one pattern now do so in a different configuration. Over time, we would see the different activities of the mind reflected in continually shifting and evolving patterns of interaction between brain networks.

If we looked long enough, we would see that a limited number of core patterns of brain activity and interaction seem to crop up as recurring features in a wide variety of different mental activities. These core patterns reflect some basic “modes of mind.”

Ignorance

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An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge. This clutter is an unfortunate by-product of one of our greatest strengths as a species. We are unbridled pattern recognizers and profligate theorizers. Often, our theories are good enough to get us through the day, or at least to an age when we can procreate. But our genius for creative storytelling, combined with our inability to detect our own ignorance, can sometimes lead to situations that are embarrassing, unfortunate, or downright dangerous—especially in a technologically advanced, complex democratic society that occasionally invests mistaken popular beliefs with immense destructive power.

— David Dunning