Learning to Visualize: Imagine you are a rose.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by anxious thoughts and unable to concentrate on a task? As human beings, we have the ability to control our anxious thoughts through visualization techniques.

Learning to visualize is one of the most effective tools we can develop and one of the steps prior to correctly managing our thoughts. It is one of the basic techniques of transpersonal psychology, voluntary thought training used as a strategy to replace involuntary or intrusive thoughts.

We all face difficulties throughout our lives, and it is at these times that involuntary or untrained thinking arises and takes over. Because we are not able to manage our thoughts at will, our emotions are affected and we flood our existence with fear, anguish and stress.

Thoughts that cause suffering, or that don't allow us to focus on what we're doing, are involuntary and intrusive thoughts. If we are trained to deal with them, we will be able to replace these thoughts with ones that protect our emotional balance. This is a type of training that takes practice at first, but after a while we incorporate it into our routine naturally.

Learning to visualize can help us control our thoughts.

Transpersonal therapy.

This type of therapy deals with several techniques, one of which is creative visualization. Transpersonal therapy is a holistic intervention that focuses on positively influencing role models rather than negative experiences.

It developed from the work of Abraham Maslow and other psychologists in the humanistic school. This type of therapeutic intervention is based on the idea that the human being is more than body and mind. It contemplates the most intangible dimension of the human being and the transcendent factors that shape us.

What is voluntary thought?

A voluntary thought is one that we are able to consciously create and direct on our own initiative. It is voluntary because you are producing it yourself as a specific process.

It is thought directed because it is focused on a definite purpose. Finally, it is sustained because training allows us to sustain it in time and with enough intensity to have thought perception (meta-thought). There are several visualization exercises to start training.

Learning to visualize, the exercise of the rose.

Close your eyes and imagine a rosebud that is still closed. Visualize and pay special attention to the stem and leaves. Its texture, color and sinuous shapes. Now pay attention to the top, where the button is. It's still green, because it's closed, although a pink dot is already visible at its top.

When you have the entire image created, keep it in your mind for a few seconds. Now notice the petals start to move. They are separating and you can see them almost completely. Its texture is different from the stem and leaves, and its color is pink and very bright. The petals continue to open until a beautiful rose is fully visible.

Retain the image of the open rose for a few seconds in a clear way. At this moment, breathe in the scent of the rose and let its characteristic aroma permeate you until it completely penetrates you.

In the last step, go back to visualizing the entire plant and imagine all the vital force that runs through it from the root to the flower. Now identify yourself with the rose, that is, project the rose onto you and symbolically transform yourself into it. Feel all the life force flowing through your body and how the petals open.

Transpersonal therapy exercises to visualize.

This rose visualization exercise, created by psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli, is highly suggestive and evocative. As a general rule, the flower symbol is used as a symbol of the development of a deep reality. It is the symbol of the human spirit and its evolution.

There are several visualization exercises that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as relaxing with visualization of the beach path. Another widely used in therapy is the visualization of tension – distension.

Daily training in these visualization exercises will allow us to generate the images more clearly. We can even increase the color, light or details according to our wishes. It's just a matter of practice.