stagkingswife:

Visualization When You Don’t See Pictures in Your Head

I have never been able to visualize in the “normal” way, where someone says “picture this” and a mental picture appears. For most of my life I assumed that was a normal thing, that some people just couldn’t picture things like that. It was never a problem for me, I just adapted when someone said to “picture” something. But lately there has been a lot more conversation around these issues, and apparently the adaptation is a struggle for some people. So here are my tips on “visualizing” without actually seeing pictures in your head.

Why do people have trouble with visualization?

• Not visual thinkers ™
• Aphantasia

Work Arounds:

• Engage other senses:
• What do you hear
• What do you smell
• Taste?
• Feel?

Do meditations that don’t require visualization

• Something repetitive with movement
• Something expressive with movement
• Something with a mantra
• Something where the goal is to empty the mind.

Embrace how you naturally think:

• Don’t try to force yourself to picture things.
• Use words, narrate what you’re seeing, feeling, experiencing. Make it a novel not a movie.
• Use emotion or the feeling of physical motion

If “seeing” is hard because it isn’t a natural way for you to think, you should try adapting things to fit the way you do think naturally. It may take a few extra steps, but you’ll find it becomes second nature eventually. I think in words, for example. So let’s say a guided meditation says to picture white light all around me, I would instead narrate to myself, like the text of a novel, what the white light would look like, what it would feel like, what shape it takes, where it originates from, etc.

I would also try to engage my other senses, not just my visual sense. Forget about what that “white light” looks like, what does it sound like? What does it feel like? Does it sound like electric crackling, or TV static, or falling rain? Does it feel warm, tingling, cool? If my mental/magical eyes were closed how would I know I’m moving it around my body?

If you’re used to trying to think in pictures changing to words or other senses will require some experimentation and practice on your part to figure out a balance that works for you.

You do not need to be able to achieve two-way spirit communication in order to start developing spiritual relationships

I know why people believe this. Or one of the reasons why. If you want to form a relationship with another human, you communicate to them. You talk to them.

But it is a mistake to put that expectation on spiritual relationships.

I want to impress upon you guys that so many practitioners do not have clear communication with their spirits or deities! I honestly suspect this is a majority of all practitioners.

Using tools such as pendulums and tarot cards are completely valid forms of communication.

It is so incredibly unnecessary to exhaust yourself trying to establish psychic connections with your spirits.

And I’m really sorry if people have made you to feel that you are not allowed to be friends with spirits unless you can see and hear them.

There are lots of ways to start establishing relationships with spirits if you haven’t (or don’t want to!!) developed psychic senses.

You can build spirit houses and shrines, and invite the spirits to stay near you.

You cay speak, think, or pray (without connotations of worship) to the spirits, even if you can’t hear anything back.

You can start dedicating actions to the spirits. Do you normally trim the hedges and sweep the back porch? Let them know it is for them. “I’m doing this work so the home and garden you live in is beautiful and nice to be in.”

Youdo not have to maintain a strict offering schedule. Try leaving spirits gifts. Fertilizing your plants is an act of offering. Setting a little dinner aside for them is an act of offering. Opening the windows and playing gentle music is an act of offering.

Living your life in a way that respects and honors the presence of the spirits around you is how you start building relationships with them, even if you can’t see them.

One of the most important ways to start building any spiritual relationship is to live in a way that accepts the presence and reality of these spirits.

I promise you, they will see what you are doing, and they will respond to it.