Hello and welcome to day 3.
For today, let’s carry on with the second aspect of using our vision sense – tapping into our imagination.
Let’s Get Started With Day 3
What happens when you close your eyes? What if you started looking at things as if they were on an imaginary screen in front of you? Can you see Colours? Symbols? Animals? Landscapes? Cartoon characters?
How do you see things when you dream? Are there vivid pictures? Or do you have more of a “knowing”, and the pictures are sketchy at best? Your imagination, and your visual sense, can be developed. You just need to “play” with it a little.
Symbols and pictures that you “see” can have a deep meaning. They can provide messages. As they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Pictures speak volumes.
Spend some time learning what the pictures and symbols mean to you, and your ability to understand what you see will take off ten-fold.
Remember when you were a kid and it was okay to use your imagination? Actually, it was even encouraged? Well, for the next few days, just pretend you are a kid again… for at least 5 minutes a day. Let your imagination take you wherever it wants to go. There are no right or wrong answers. We are here to play.
Exercise: Using Your Imagination to “SEE”
Today we will play with trying to see things on that imaginary screen. Have fun with it.
Listen to the exercise here: (Or simply read on)
This is a very simple exercise but has a lot of insights available to you if you take your time and be observant.
Get yourself in a comfortable, seated position, close your eyes, and envision a rose. That’s it. All you need to do is envision a rose.
As you are observing this rose, what attributes stand out to you? For example,
- What color is it?
- Do you just see the flower, or do you see the entire stem?
- Is the rose fully open, or is it still in bud form?
- Are you looking at it from a distance, or is is close up?
- Is it by itself, is someone holding it? How does it present to you?
Take some time to write down your observations about this rose while it is fresh in your memory. In the following section we will present a bit of analysis for you about this exercise.
Analysis: What kind of rose did you see?
Here are some questions that will help you assess what the rose could “mean” to you.
Color is often the first thing we pay attention to. Colour can mean many things, but below are some very common interpretations of colour:
- Yellow is typically associated with friends, fun, family and activities.
- Red is a very powerful, moving color – often associated with romance.
Stem vs no stem.
- Long Stem: extra energy, added resources to survive longer. Also, Seeing a stem is a more complete picture. You are observing the rose from a more distant, detached perspective
- Short Stem: Seeing the rose very close up is a more intimate, detailed experience in terms of the flower itself.
- Curved Stem: usually viewed as more feminine, softer, less rigid
Thorns or no Thorns? What are the thorns for?
- Thorns can represent a danger, or something to avoid.
- Yet thorns are also very beneficial to the rose itself. Thorns can ward off predators and preserve the longevity of the plant.
When trying to decipher meaning of what you see, it all depends on perspective. The first thing to do is ask questions such as. “What are the throns for? The answer may be: “to protect the rose or the rose bush” You could interpret then that the reason for your imagination highlighting the thorns is not about danger, as much as it is about protection.
Leaves or No Leaves? What are leaves for?
- “They absorb sunlight and are a source of nourishment.” Maybe the leaves signal the ability to give life and vibrancy to something.
- Maybe the leaves add decoration. Make the rose more attractive.
- Maybe the leaves hide the thorns. Masking the existence of danger.
Age of the bud.
- Closed bud: young, shy, sheltered, hiding, virginal……A rose in bud form has not yet come into its prime. There is more work to be done. And there is so much potential.
- Open bud: extroverted, outgoing, fertile, mature, vibrant…….A rose in full bloom expresses full maturity and true magnificence.
As you ask questions, you will get new ideas as per what the meaning of your “visions”.
So, as you can see, just from this simple exercise of visualizing a rose, a LOT of information can be gathered in one image. If you relate this rose visualization to a particular project you have ongoing, or a particular person in your life, quite a bit of information with regards to perspective can be gleaned from this one image.
For example, if you were thinking about a project you are working on and you saw a small rose bud as opposed to a rose in full bloom, it would be appropriate to surmise your current perspective is that this project has a lot of potential, but still has much more work to be done. Images we have in our minds can be quite helpful in communicating ways in which we perceive people, places and events in real time.
Keep in mind… perceptions are just that. Perceptions. They can change. On a different day when you are in a different mood, you may get a completely different image from this same exercise. The key is to ask a few more questions as to why… what more can be gleaned from seeing things from this perspective at this time? Does this new perspective provide greater understanding as per a current task you are undertaking, or person you are interacting with?
Recap of Today’s Exercise
We imagined a rose. At first, it seemed like a very simple exercise. But with further inspection, we realize that just in the one image, quite a bit of information was conveyed. They key to benefiting more from the images we “see” in our imagination, is to ask ourselves more questions.
For example, in the exercise above, the stem of the rose may have had leaves on it. So we could ask a simple question. What are leaves for? Perhaps the answer is “They absorb sunlight and are a source of nourishment\”. Or, maybe the answer is that \”they signal the ability to give life and vibrancy to something.\” Or, it is showing that \”the rose has an ability to sustain itself. It is still growing. It is still alive.\”
As you ask questions, you will get new ideas as per the meaning of your “visions”. There are many adjectives that could be used to describe the very same thing. Some will resonate more than others.
Closed bud: young, shy, sheltered, hiding, potential……
Open bud: extroverted, outgoing, fertile, mature, vibrant…….
Not all of these words will fit your scenario. Also, there are many more words that could be used to describe a flower. Pick the descriptors that “feel” the closest to the scenario you “saw”. These words and feelings will aid in your perspective, and thus your perception of your environment.
When comparing notes with others, – while external input can be very helpful in expanding your set of possibilities – trust how you yourself feel about your own visons. Ultimately, you will know whether a particular answers resonates, or whether it doesn\’t apply. Thus, when offering assistance to others who are having problems with translations, it is often more helpful to offer more choices of interpretation as opposed to becoming fixated on any one answer or solution.
Each persons’ journey is unique. Not everyone will choose the same path given that we all have different talents, knowledge, experience and skill sets. Thus, with every symbol or sign we come across, be open to a variety of possible interpretations. The \”right\” interpretation will always be the one that resonates the most to the person having the experience.
Practice!
Our imagination is something we should all spend time developing. It doesn’t matter how old we are. The more time we spend with it, the more open we become to communication from the universe and beyond.
Another thing to consider as you develop your imaginative sense is that pictures and symbols can be very powerful forms of communication. An example of this is traffic signs. There are many traffic signs that are images as opposed to words because the images convey so much more information. When we are driving down a road, we only have such a short amount of time to observe a sign. The message has to be precise. Pictures are the most efficient way to do this. One small picture can transmit a great deal of information. The key to \”getting the message\” is to pay attention to the detail, and to expand your understand of what you \”see\” by asking questions.
A third thing to remember is that we all have our own internal language. Based on our life experiences, our current surroundings, friends and family we spend time with, and even our own passions or interests, All of these factors blend together such that when we \”see\” an image, it will undoubtedly be perceived differently than someone else seeing the exact same thing. The most important factor in determining what an image means to you is how it makes you \”feel\”. How do you resonate with it?
Key Takeaways From the Exercise:
- Our imagination is a very important asset. Our imagination is something we should all spend time developing. It doesn’t matter how old we are.
- The more we work with our imagination, the more effective it will be as a form of communication.
- Pictures and symbols can be very powerful forms of communication. An example of this is traffic signs. There are many traffic signs that are in the form of pictures as opposed to words because the images convey so much more information in a small amount of space.
- Another benefit of using pictures is time required to view and to interpret. Pictures (as opposed to words) are often the most efficient way to communicate a large amount of information in a shorter amount of time – which is always an important consideration when you are whizzing down the highway.
- A pictorial message is not simply about the object itself… details surrounding it matter as well. The more observant you are as per the details of an image, the more information you will glean. The key is to ask questions.
- Perspective is very important. Seeing the same object from a different perspective will change its interpretation and meaning. Sometimes more perspectives add more information. Other times honing in on one single perspective is most useful in solving a particular problem.
- Perception is personal. Two people can see the exact same image and perceive something entirely different. Trust your own feelings when it comes to analyzing what you see. The message you receive is a tailored message for you and is therefore best interpreted by you. Others can be helpful by broadening out the set of possible interpretations, leaving the job of honing in on one single solution to you.