Hi,

I was on the recent Paul McK Prac course in April and was told by one of the 'assistants' that it is odd that I cannot visualise with my eyes closed (I think I used to be able to).

Now, try as I might and 5 weeks later - I still can't!

I feel I'm missing out!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get this working for me??

thanks
Sue

Some of the assistants at McKenna's courses are better than others. I know many personally who've come on or assisted at my courses as well. Some of them are terrific. I have also heard some ridiculous stories of things some of those assistants have said that I wouldn't want representing NLP let alone my business.

The point is that not all the advice you get from that unnamed source is necessarily useful.

Can you visualize well with your eyes open? Are you able to utilize (multi-sensory) visualization techniques that include open-eye visuals to create well formed goals and powerfully-motivated behaviors? Are you changing your life experience?

If all those questions can be answered yes -- even only some of the time -- then you don't need to push the issue of visualizing with eyes closed. In which case, the only thing odd is that the unnamed assistant didn't check for this first before offering that unsolicited comment.

After all, your unconscious mind knows how to do this when you dream, and if your conscious mind prefers to do this with its eyes open, so be it.

After that, it's only an academic point.

Now, if you can't do much of the visualization work suggested by a range of NLP techniques, that's a different question, and there are lots of things that can be suggested if that's the case.

Hi Sue,

When working with others who have claimed a similar problem. Paul Mckenna usually asks people to imagine their front door and point to what side the handle is on. 'Everyone' he's asked to do that, can do it... so perhaps do that first....

similarly when working recently with someone, I asked them to first relax and then close their eyes. I've then said to her imagine you're walking up to the front door of where you live and remember what is in the surroundings of where you live. I asked her to desribe one thing that stands out in the surroundings. I ask her what colour her front door is, what side the handle is on and if there are any windows to the building. I then asked her to go to a room in her house that has some framed pictures in it. I asked her to pick one and zoom in on it. I asked her who or what is is a picture of and to describe it to me. I then ask her what colour her walls are and ask her to paint them a different colour such as luminous yellow. Doing any one of these or even all of them means you can in fact visualise Have a go at doing this yourself... take your time and relax... step by step... the more you do the easier it will get and the easier it gets the more you'll be able to do it...

on http://www.nlpmp3.com there is a free download called 'I can't see pictures' and also a great article can be found at http://www.tranceformingnlp.com/nlp_...g_leeds_uk.php

Hope that helps...

Beju

I was treating identical twin girls, for trauma suffered , by the violent murder of their mother....both girls were in their twenties...

One could visualise....one could not....the twin who couldn't visualise , went much deeper into trance than her identical twin sister who could visualise.

The twin , who couldn't visualise, tried to get up and walk away from her trance like state....and behaved like a drunk...staggering and falling all over the place.

As Beju said....begin practising visualisation....with familiar things....your house ....your car....your garden...your shops....a football game....and build up on it !

Every skill has to be learnt...some people are more natural than others....while other people have more opportunities to practise in their everyday lives and improve their skills.

Don't try too hard....lay back ...relax and let your mind wander ! let it take you , where it wants you to go !

Thank you all very much - i shall take a look at the sites suggested by Beju at the weekend....I can't see my front door!

I can visualise with my eyes open but it's not strong enough to, for instance, do a swish.

I shall certainly take the advice given and see what happens.

Sue,

Another useful exercise is to allow your body's own natural phenomena to assist you in training your visualization. For example, if one gazes intently at a well lit highly contrasted object, for example a red ball set against a white background, you will notice that you still maintain an image of it even after you close your eyes. So, a useful thing might be to do this and then to use your imagination to expand, just by a few moments, the length of time that you can see the red ball. It doesn't have to be very clear nor does it have to last very long. You can just relax and allow yourself to be content with making a last a bit longer every time.

You can do the same thing by momentarily looking at a very bright object like a candle flame, a bare lightbulb or even the sun in the sky. (If you do choose to look at the sun, be careful to only look at it for a split second before closing your eyes. Staring at the sun can cause serious and permanent damage to one's eyesight if one is not careful.)

I notice that you say that you can visualise with your eyes open. That being the case, with your eyes closed, perhaps you can imagine what it might be like to be able to visualise as though your eyes were open... open your eyes see what you see and allow yourself to visualise something then close your eyes and pretend that your eyes are still open and that you're still seeing what you were seen just the second before, then open them, then close them, then open them and close them and so on. Soon enough, you just may find that it becomes harder and harder to tell when your eyes are opened and when they're not.

Finally, I think he can be important to allow yourself to practice casually and, as Peter mentioned, not to try so hard. In fact, you don't need to try at all. Their mind is more than capable of making illusionary pictures for you. After all the things you see all the time are just pictures that your mind is making for you. You don't really see the images that your eyes take an. Your brain processes those images and makes a simplified picture to show you. Therefore, you're visualizing all the time. So, it's just a matter of allowing it to happen in a different circumstance, at just the rate in speed that is comfortable for your own mental processes.

I hope that this is helpful for you. I think we're all looking forward to hearing about how well you progress.

Be Well,

Michael Perez

Cant possibly comment on the assistant BUT I'm a Master Prac and personally I have to do any visualisation work with my eyes open including TLT.
I also have a few clients that are the same.
I never think anything is odd - just how someone does it and if its working for them well, then why not!
I think its ODD it was commented on!

i actually think the word visualise in our work can sometimes include a sense or feeling - I can visualise how I would be in a situation by first grabbing hold of the handle of how I would feel in a situation. If I'm meant to imagine a beach I know how sand beneath my feet would feel first and then i can ''look down'' and see the sand - even if again it is only seeing the feeling ....hope that makes some sense - 2 glasses of wine at the end of a busy weekend! :-))

Thanks again to you all. I shall let you know how I get on in due course!

I know what you mean by seeing the feeling- it was bothering me that I was not seeing clear pictures particularly of myself - I have had some useful suggestions that I am practicing on a thread which was lost on the upgrade.