Creative Visualization [Paperback]

Shakti Gawain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1978

A new edition of this practical guide to exercising your innate ability to influence events to your advantage, thus creating what you want in and out of life. The audio demonstrates methods from the book. Deep relaxation techniques, asking for guidance, visualising goals, creating an inner sanctuary, and more.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When it comes to creating the life you want, Shakti Gawain literally wrote the book. Now considered a classic, Creative Visualization teaches readers how to use their imaginations to manifest their deepest desires. In a straight-talking narrative, Gawain uses the first part to cover the basics, with chapters such as "How to Visualize," "Affirmations," and "Creative Visualization Only Works for the Good." Once she shows readers how visualization actually works, Gawain moves on to loftier discussions, such as "Contacting Your Higher Self," "Meeting Your Guide," "Setting Goals," and "Treasure Maps."

Fear not; this isn't a spiritual-lightweight book for people with a severe case of the "gimmes." Gawain has her priorities in the right place, and she cautions readers that creative visualization will not serve greed or shallow-minded thinking. For example, she discourages the cycle of trying to have more money, so you can do what you want in life, so you will be happier. "The way it actually works is the reverse," she explains. "You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." Yet she also writes an excellent chapter on letting go of the misguided guilt that inhibits readers from becoming truly prosperous. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gawain's self-help title has sold more than three million copies in English and another three million in the more than 30 languages into which it has been translated. According to the publisher, this revised anniversary edition contains additional "meditations, exercises, and techniques that can become part of your everyday routine." The author asserts that people can achieve an ideal existence simply through mental visualization.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Whatever Pub.; 1st edition (April 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931432022
• ISBN-13: 978-0931432026
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,359,959 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

165 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first and the best..., April 30, 2000

By 

Laura Haggarty (Northern KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life (Bantam New Age Book) (Paperback)

I bought this book sometime in the mid-80s, not long after Bantam published it. I was looking to take control of my life, to actively direct it, rather than swimming with the tide. This book allowed me to do just that.

Gawain gives a number of excellent techniques to use to actively direct the course of your own life. From spoken and written affirmations, to "treasure maps", all the information given is powerful, and works! I still have a treasure map I drew about fifteen years ago, and everything I visualized then has come to pass over the years. This stuff is real, pure, simple magic that anyone can do. Don't hesitate, take yourself in hand and go for it!

134 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the most important books you can read, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life (Bantam New Age Book) (Paperback)

I cannot emphasize enough the impact this book will make on your life. I read it about 5 years ago and have bought it for at least 20 people since.

The information is simple and logical. If you adopt these simple ideas of thoughts, your life will transform in a way that seems like magic but is not because you control these transformations.

This opinion comes from experience. I have adopted these ideologies into my life approximately 5 years ago after spending 8 years as a waitress and a constant feeling of defeat, fear of the future and confusion. I was constantly living from paycheck to paycheck and had high dreams that I just could not make happen.

After reading the book I used some techniques to visualize what I wanted in my life. My life and my attitude had changed quickly and the path that I needed to follow started to unfold.

I tought myself computers and used my art talents to become a web designer. I now work for a large reputable firm and am highly respected and rewarded for my talents. My first office job at the age of 30 and I am soaring.

I also met the man of my dreams and am married. We have the kind of relationship that everyone dreams about. He has the qualities that I had imagined for myself over 2 years of living alone and I would not settle for anything less.

Enough said-do yourself a favor, read this book and pass it around.

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to basics of visualization, December 20, 2003

By 

Daren Scot Wilson (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life (Gawain, Shakti) (Paperback)

When i was in grad school in the 80's i bought this book because it was short and practical, and learning and practicing visualization made a good balance against the pure intellectual work i did as a PhD student. Though it is said: Ask and you shall receive, i dont' always get what i ask for; Visualization is not a "Santa Clause machine". But i did benefit by finding my mind clearer, calmer after meditating in the fashion described in this book. Its smaller size and strightforward simplicity appeals to me. Another book i found interesting on the topic of visualizing is The Isaiah Effect by Gregg Braden. It is a longer, more detailed book that includes the author's adventures in discovering secrets of prayer. One passage describes how a Native American prayed rain (not "prayed for rain" but "prayed rain" - an important distinction.) In contrast, Shakti Gawain's book has minimal material on her adventures in discovery, rather it is focused on the goal of being a practical "how-to" anyone can follow without a big time commitment. (BTW, for this reason it's not the book to take on a long trip to fill your time.)