Location Visualization

While some meditation exercises will ask that you imagine an object or relationship to an object, others will ask that you to imagine a specific location. It will be helpful therefore at this stage to cultivate a very detailed visualization of a favorite location, either real or imagined. This location should be somewhere that you find peaceful and relaxing to think about.

Here is some practice to help you get started. It follows a pattern similar to the object visualization above. It is not necessary to do these steps all on the same day, but you should try to do them as close together as possible.

• Start in a location that you are familiar with and that makes you feel relaxed. It can be a room in your home or an outdoor location that you enjoy. Sit comfortably and notice all of the aspects of your surroundings. Notice what you see, what you hear, what you smell. Notice the way the air feels on your skin, or if a breeze tousles your hair.



• Now go to a different location or room, and close your eyes. Attempt to recreate the sensations that you experienced. How much can you remember? What details are difficult to recall?



• Notice how you feel. Is this at all stressful?



• Now picture a nearby location that you have been to before, but different from the location you used in the previous steps. Imagine everything you can about what it is like to be there. Picture what all of your senses would have you experience.



• Now go to that location. What did you miss in your visualization? Do you experience any changes in how you feel about the location now that you are there again?



• The next step is to imagine a place that you remember from a past experience. A childhood home, a far off vacation spot or a garden you once visited. Settle comfortably and close your eyes. Imagine yourself there again. As before, use all of your senses to recreate an image of what it was like to be there. Put as many details into it as you can, using all your senses to create as complete a picture as possible.



• Notice how you feel, being in that location again. What effect are your memories having on your state of being? Do you feel more relaxed? More excited?



• Lastly, create a visualization of a place that you have never been to before. It can be a place that actually exists but that you have never visited, or it can be a completely imaginary location.



• Imagine as many details as possible, once again, using all five senses. Notice colors, light, smells, the air and the temperature.



• Now imagine yourself performing actions in that location that will intensify your sensory experiences. If your location involves water (a lake, ocean, or river), touch the water. How cold is it? Taste it. Is it cool and sweet or warm and salty? Notice what you're wearing. If you're wearing shoes, take them off. Feel the ground beneath your feet. Again, is it cool grass or warm sand? If you're standing, lie down. Feel the ground or floor beneath you.



• Again, notice how it feels to be there. If you have chosen the right spot for you, you will feel relaxed and calm.



• Spend as much time as you can in your visualization, collecting as much detail as possible. Once you feel that you have experienced all that you can, slowly bring your attention back to your present location.

Practice this exercise with a variety of imagined locations and situations. Eventually, you will be able to spend longer and longer periods of time inside your visualization and will find it a place that you can go to in times of stress or strain. If you do this in bed at night, you may find yourself drifting off into a pleasant dream about yourself in your location.

You'll find elements of visualization in the breathing, relaxation and meditation exercises that follow.

Although it will take a little bit of practice, you'll soon find it easy enough to manipulate objects and locations within your mind's eye.

Breathing Exercises >>>

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