Step Two Visualization Redux By EMC
© 2002
Note: On occasion I come across a post on the FranzBardonMagi discussion group that I think would be of special value to visitors of ABardonCompanion.com and this is one instance. This excellent post was written by "EMC" and offers several very good leads for those who find visualization difficult.
Sooner or later I think everyone trips over some part of IIH that is just plain hard. Even sustained and disciplined practice may not seem to crack an obstacle to progress. Rather than hit your head against the wall, here's where creativity and ingenuity come into play. The way you get around these obstacles is often as valuable as the skill you are trying to learn. If it's not yet a belief, it should be an affirmation, that you CAN DO ANY of this, it's just a matter of finding out HOW. This "how" might be unique to your situation and there's an old adage that to learn any magic you have to first make it yours. I'm going to throw out a laundry list of suggestions along the lines of "if something is not working, try something else, anything else" particularly for a problem with plastic visualization, but maybe in all the flaying you'll realize there are venues you haven't yet explored (and may be beneficial to others so please send them back this way!)
First, of course, check out Paul [Allen's] and Rawn's suggestions on visualization. They've collected years of their own and other's experiences with these issues and may have some good clues if not outright solutions:
Paul Allen's "Franz Bardon Research --
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6243/
In particular, I'd recommend the link on image-streaming which is a very powerful way for most people to tap into vivid visualization. Just remember that describing this process ALOUD to someone else or a tape recorder is not optional if you want maximum effectiveness.
And, try this very detailed procedure from Curtis White's essay:
http://light1.home.mindspring.com/magic.txt
Get this book and go through the exercises:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0874774241
Drawing is a phenomenal way to open the visual floodgates for most people because you start really paying attention, once you learn how to look, at the way your visual perception works. Plus it's really cool when you discover that drawing is less a mechanical skill and more just way of perceiving. The same shortcuts in perception that hinder people's ability to draw can also hinder clear visualization.
If you feel your visualization may be "blocked", then you may want to try some energetic techniques to release this block. A curiously effective way to do this is through an energetic medicine technique known as EFT, instructions of which are freely available here:
http://www.emofree.com/downloadEFTmanual.htm
Start dialogs with your unconscious! There is a neat Huna technique called the treasure hunt that begins opening communication with other parts of your mind by asking it to bring back a favorite memory or a memory about a certain theme or quality and seeing what it surfaces. The unconscious can help you tap into and expand your capabilities in magic, this is part of the focus of affirmation for example and self-hypnosis could be used toward the same ends. NLP also has techniques for "installing beliefs" that may be helpful.
Use one modality to help fill in another. If you are auditory, start with the sound of the beach, then feel the warmth of the sand between your toes. Hear the seagulls and children laughing. See if some visual images don't start creeping up on you. You can always go back and isolate these later for the correct sequencing through step 2, after you've sparked a clearer picture of your visual modality.
If you are visualizing a square block or the face of a clock or such, well, cut it out! Visualize something that really appeals to you. Something you really want to do or experience and just bask in it with all the modalities you can muster.
Try playing games that you can use visualization for. One I liked was the old Simon game with the lights and sounds where you try to repeat the pattern. There are several of these online. Add an extra step. Once it plays the sequence, close your eyes and reproduce it before hitting the buttons.
Flashbulb technique. Don't know what to call this, but glance quickly in some direction and then close your eyes and describe as much of what you took a "snapshot" of as you can. Do it a few more times until you flesh things out.
Look for images in OTHER PLACES. Some people think what they are visualizing should appear right in front of their imaginary nose, meanwhile there is an epic panorama unfolding behind their right ear. When you are visualizing, try "looking" around 360 degrees, then up and down in the inner sensorium.
Color outside the lines. Don't confine your practice just to formal sessions at home. Make your wait in a line more entertaining by changing everyone into orcs. Or expand yourself up through the roof and look around the city block. Send little iridescent birds flitting around or cover someone in sparkles.
Imagine what it would be like if you could easily visualize with eyes open or closed in vivid detail. Try to imagine what it would be like to do this daily as you imagine your exercises getting easier and easier and your skills awakening like an arm or leg that had been asleep that is now just starting to tingle. You might even play with that tingle, feeling it in the area of your head that can visualize :-)
Ack, all for now. Hope some of these are helpful.
-emc
10 Sep 2002