Creative Visualization for Beginners (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) [Paperback]

Richard Webster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2006 | Series: For Beginners (Llewellyn's)

You have the ability to visualize success and manifest each one of your hopes and dreams. A natural capacity of the human mind, creative visualization helps millions of people achieve their goals.

Creative visualization will empower you to make positive, lasting changes in your own life. Award-winning author Richard Webster presents an effective system for making your dreams come true, including methods for handling difficulties along the way. Try a variety of simple activities and easy-to-follow techniques to:

• Improve your health
• Build rewarding relationships
• Advance your career and earn more money
• Supercharge your creativity
• Nurture and restore your soul

 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Webster was born and raised in New Zealand. He has been interested in the psychic world since he was nine years old. As a teenager, he became involved in hypnotism and later became a professional stage hypnotist. After school, he worked in the publishing business and purchased a bookstore. The concept of reincarnation played a significant role in his decision to become a past-life specialist. Richard has also taught psychic development classes, which are based on many of his books.

Richard's first book was published in 1972, fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming an author. Richard is now the author of over a hundred books, and is still writing today. His best-selling books include Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians and Creative Visualization for Beginners. 

Richard has appeared on several radio and TV programs in the United States and abroad including guest spots on Hard Copy, WMAQ-TV (Chicago), KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), KSTW-TV (Seattle) and the Mike and Matty Show (ABC). He currently resides in New Zealand with his wife and three children. He regularly travels the world to give lectures, workshops and to continue his research.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter one

what is creative visualization?

"The mind is everything; what you think, you become." -Buddha

"When I was very young," said Arnold Schwarzenegger, "I visualized myself being and having what it was I wanted. Mentally I never had any doubts about it. The mind is really so incredible. Before I won my first Mr. Universe title, I walked around the tournament like I owned it. The title was already mine. I had won it so many times in my mind that there was no doubt I would win it. Then when I moved on to the movies, the same thing. I visualized myself being a famous actor and earning big money. I could feel and taste success. I just knew it would all happen."

Creative visualization is the art of creating pictures in your mind to obtain whatever it is that you desire. Some people, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, use it instinctively, but most people need to learn how to do it. It is arguably the most useful skill you could ever master, as it can totally transform your life. You can use creative visualization to change your circumstances, progress in your career, improve your health, eliminate negative habits, and even attract love, money, and any other goal. Amazingly, there is nothing strange or remarkable about this incredible creative power that we all possess. Everyone who has achieved great success in life has used this power consciously or unconsciously.

Walt Disney is an example of someone who believed in creative visualization and used it to create his entertainment empire. He called the process "imagineering." When you visit Disneyland or Disney World you are seeing examples of "the dream that you wish will come true."
Many years ago, I heard a story that I like to think is true. Apparently, years after Disneyland and Disney World were completed, someone said to Mike Vance, the Creative Director of Walt Disney Studios, "Isn't it a shame that Walt Disney didn't live long enough to see this?" Apparently, Mike Vance replied, "But he did see it. That's why it's here." Walt Disney may well have been the world's greatest creative visualizer.

No matter what your present situation may be, you are using your creative mind to attract to you whatever it is you think about all the time. If you think you're unlucky or unfortunate, for instance, your subconscious mind will make this a reality. Most people use this ability unknowingly, and are not aware that they can deliberately use creative visualization to transform their lives. It's sad that most people use the incredible potential of creative visualization for negative purposes, when, with just a little effort, they could use it to achieve positive and productive goals.

Years ago, I met a man who told me how unlucky he was. He recounted a sad story of all the terrible things that had happened to him. He looked at me in amazement when I said that I believe we create our own luck in life.

"Do you think I'd deliberately inflict all this pain and suffering on myself?" he demanded.

Of course, he hadn't done it deliberately. He was simply unaware that his negative thoughts had created all the misfortune he had experienced.

Fortunately, many people are the complete opposite. They consider themselves fortunate, talented, or blessed in other ways, and as a result, these qualities are manifested in their lives.

You have probably heard the story of the half-filled glass of water. Positive people tend to think that the glass is half-full, while negative people consider it half-empty. Both points of view are correct. All the same, which group of people do you think live happier, richer lives?

I'm sure that many people are born with a predisposition toward positivity or negativity. However, this can be changed. If you tend to look on the gloomy or negative side of every situation, you can use creative visualization to change your approach to life. Even if you have become negative as a result of events that have occurred in the past, you can use creative visualization to turn your life around and become more positive. It is important that you do this. When you think in a negative manner, you act in the same way. Your body language, voice, and general approach will reveal your negativity to others. And, not surprisingly, you will attract more negativity.

Thousands of years ago, Aristotle taught that imagery was an essential part of thought, and that we simply can't think without pictures. He believed that motivation came about when someone either saw (or sensed) something, or imagined it, by creating or remembering the image in his or her mind. Over the centuries, different thinkers, such as Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Hobbes, expressed similar views. However, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this view came under attack, as people were considered to be nothing more than "conscious automatons." As a result, psychologists virtually ignored visualization until Robert Holt wrote a paper called "Imagery: The Return of the Ostracized" in 1964.


Your thoughts create your reality. By changing your thoughts, and focusing on what you want in your life, you have the power to create the life you have always dreamed about.
You possess a magnificent, creative imagination. Absolutely everything begins in the mind. Every time you think a thought, you are creating energy. If someone calls you a dreamer, you should take it as a compliment, as nothing will happen until after someone has imagined it in his or her mind. Daydreaming is valuable, as it allows you to think about what you most desire in your life.

With creative visualization, you use your imagination to create a clear impression of whatever it is that you desire. Once you have done this, you need to keep feeding this thought with energy and emotion until it becomes a reality. You must constantly focus on the result you desire. You can have anything that you're able to visualize. You can ask for anything at all, and know with absolute certainty that if you apply the correct principles, you can have it.

However, you need to be specific. Asking for a lot of money is not a good idea. Money on its own is not of much use. It's what you can do with the money that is important. Consequently, you should visualize whatever it is you intend to use the money for. Do you want a million-dollar home? Visualize it. Picture it as clearly as you can in your mind. Visualize the number of bedrooms it will have. Notice how well appointed the kitchen and bathrooms are. Visualize the grounds and the views from the windows. Spend as much time as you wish walking through your new home in your mind. It is much easier to visualize your dream home in your imagination than it is to think about piles of money.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is best known for his general theory of relativity, but he also devised totally new ways of looking at time, space, and gravity. He used creative visualization techniques throughout his life. He said: "Words or language ...do not seem to play any role in my mechanism of thought ...My elements of thought are . . . images."
Einstein was fortunate in attending a school that followed the precepts of the Swiss educator, Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827). Pestalozzi believed the process of education should encourage the gradual unfolding of a person's inabilities. Observation and visualization were a major factor in this. In fact, Pestalozzi considered visual thinking to be one of the most powerful features of the mind, and believed that imagery was the start of all knowledge.

Einstein practised this throughout his life. At the age of 16, he used creative visualization to determine that the speed of light was always constant. Einstein visualized a cart that chased a point of light. The existing theory was that when the cart reached the speed of light, it would seem as if neither the cart nor the point of light were moving relative to each other. In Einstein's visualization he clearly saw that if he was sitting on the cart, the point of light constantly moved up and down as it rode the wave of light.

I came across an interesting example of creative visualization in a book called This is Earl Nightingale. Earl Nightingale told the story of a man who had become extremely wealthy in the lumber industry. When reporters asked him how he had done it, he told them that he sat every night in a darkened room and meditated, trying to visualize how the lumber industry would be conducted in another ten years. He wrote down any ideas that came to him, and implemented them in his business right away. His evening visualization sessions put him ten years ahead of his competitors and he made millions of dollars as a result.

Many people use creative visualization to achieve prosperity, but you can use it for almost any purpose. You can visualize a perfect partner, a promotion or new position, spiritual growth, abundant health, and a happy and fulfilling home and family life. You might want to become more confident, or develop a winning personality. You might want to eliminate stress and worry. You might want to progress in your favorite sport.

While working on this book, I came across an interesting example of creative visualization in my daily newspaper Michael Mayell, a successful entrepreneur, described how he used the technique to find his wife. "I sat down and wrote a list of all the attributes I really needed a partner to have, as well as things that would be a bonus," he said. "Then I visualized it and I affirmed it and I just knew I was going to pull this person into my life." Six months later he met Melanie, who ultimately became his wife.

You cannot use creative visualization to force another person to do something. That affects the natural balance of the universe and creates negative karma. Consequently, you are unable to use creative visualization techniques to force a specific person to...

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 1St Edition edition (January 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738708070
• ISBN-13: 978-0738708072
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Webster was born and raised in New Zealand. He has been interested in the psychic world since he was nine years old. As a teenager, he became involved in hypnotism and later became a professional stage hypnotist. After school, he worked in the publishing business and purchased a bookstore. The concept of reincarnation played a significant role in his decision to become a past-life specialist. Richard has also taught psychic development classes, which are based on many of his books.
Richard's first book was published in 1972, fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming an author. Richard is now the author of over seventy-five titles on New Age subjects. His best-selling books include Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians and Creative Visualization for Beginners.
Richard has appeared on several radio and TV programs in the United States and abroad including guest spots on Hard Copy, WMAQ-TV (Chicago), KTLA-TV (Los Angeles), KSTW-TV (Seattle) and the Mike and Matty Show (ABC). He currently resides in New Zealand with his wife and three children. He regularly travels the world to give lectures, workshops and to continue his research.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Material!, February 19, 2006

By 

psychicboy (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Visualization for Beginners (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) (Paperback)

This book is truly another masterpiece by the master himself, Richard Webster! I have begun reading this book since the day it came out and now, after finishing it, I feel like I have always denied myself of something that I could have used to make my life easier and better. If I would have known about Creative Visualization in my teens, then I know I would have all my dreams realized by now in my 20's. Creative Visualization is something everyone can do and apply it into their everyday life to help realize their dreams and goals! Many fun-filled excercises are included in this book to practice Creative Visualization. As with any Richard Webster book, you will certainly enjoy this one and will not be disappointed!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More useful than "The Secret", March 26, 2008

By 

C. Jackman "mana1" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Visualization for Beginners (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) (Paperback)

I have read "The Secret" and "The Law of Attraction", both great books.

I LOVED this book because it presented and explained creative visualization as a practical and relatively easy thing to do each day without all of the drama of the first 2 books I read. We are all visualizing all day, why not direct it towards what we want from our lives instead of having our thoughts bouncing around aimlessly? The book explained how most successful people, such as Tiger Woods, visualize what they want to happen, and then act. Your brain reacts the same when thinking about what you want to happen as it does when you're actually doing, so harness your thoughts to make your life what you want it to be!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for this book, November 23, 2011

By 

Beverly Morten (Baltimore Md) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creative Visualization for Beginners (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) (Paperback)

Just received this book today 11/23/11, will get to reading it over the holiday, since school is closed and I need something interesting to read. The notes in the book will help me to decide on new ideas for the coming year. Thanks.