JD's Guide to Visualization

[spill that tea]

what if you cant keep an image in your head for a second? like i can visualise an apple for a millisecond and it flickers out to darkness and i need to intensly focus on bringing that image back. its hard work and 5 seconds is my record. so my question is that any way for me to keep the image stable im my head? sometimes it flickers out so fast i doubt i even have a minds eye.

[YukariTelepath]

Here are some tips or things to try:

 

-Move the object around, picture it in motion, or transform it from one object into another. For example, imagine the apple on a table rolling off and hitting the floor.

-Narrate out loud or in mindvoice what you are imagining. Describe it in as much detail as you can.

-Read a novel or listen to an audiobook and imagine what's happening in your mind.

-Look at a photo, picture, or object and describe it in detail, then hide the image and recreate it in your mind, using descriptions if you need to.

-Practice Image Streaming (you can google this for more info). Have a mental image come to mind and describe it out loud, as the image morphs or changes on its own, keep describing it.

[TundraCoral]

I think where I'm having trouble is actually ignoring my physical eyes and focusing on my minds eye. Like I can visualize fine but I'm still focused on my physical eyes and it's sooo annoying. Any recommendations? 

[Twice Sparked]

On 5/7/2021 at 9:17 PM, TundraCoral said:

I think where I'm having trouble is actually ignoring my physical eyes and focusing on my minds eye. Like I can visualize fine but I'm still focused on my physical eyes and it's sooo annoying. Any recommendations? 

 

Depending on what you're trying to do, maybe just visualizing with your eyes open will help. I used to find it helpful to use the ping-pong balls: Cut one in half, cover your eyes, wrap it with a cloth, then you can keep your eyes open while enjoying darkness's kiss.

[ohItsMatt]

This is a legendary guide, very well made.

One little thing I might want to add is related to the concept of "visualizing your tulpa" - especially in modern times where people might not have a mindscape/wonderland.

With Cheryl I often had a problem where I was trying to visualize her but really couldn't, although my visualization skills were okay - I could picture anything else but not her.

 

Eventually we realized that there's a fundamental question behind it (at least for us): what is your tulpa doing when you visualize?
Say right now, you close your eyes and see, where is the tulpa? what is it doing? Is it standing up, what is it wearing? 
See, my problem was I was trying to visualize her as some inanimate object, like anything else - but you're trying to actively visualize an independent entity, so you need some cooperation.

 

What solved the problem for me was creating a "mental place" where I could practice visualizing her, with her assistance. 

Knowing where she was and what she was doing, I could just "visualize" that place and her instead of trying to "create" the imagery of her like I would do with any other visual.

 

This is a problem only if you don't use wonderlands that often or you have no concept of it. Creating one can always be useful for other mind tricks (method of loci) and gives you some peace of mind eventually when you dabble into switching.
Again, doesn't really have to be anything fancy - it can even be just a square empty room - just some place to put your tulpa and to "aim" your inner eye at, because without it you're trying to visualize something that isn't currently there.

 

In a way this can also be solved by making a "habit" of calling out your tulpa when you try to visualize I guess

 

[Luigi.exe]

So, I'd like to point out that the images for this guide are suddenly gone, rendering this guide ineffective because it relies heavily on those images. Can a staff member please fix this? This was a really good visualization guide, and it'd suck for it to be rendered useless because the site just decided to purge this guide's images. You might want to also check other guides that had images in case those were also purged.

[ArsenyZvonar]

On 8/8/2021 at 12:42 AM, Luigi.exe said:

So, I'd like to point out that the images for this guide are suddenly gone, rendering this guide ineffective because it relies heavily on those images. Can a staff member please fix this? This was a really good visualization guide, and it'd suck for it to be rendered useless because the site just decided to purge this guide's images. You might want to also check other guides that had images in case those were also purged.

Should it be needed, there's a translated version of the guide on TulpaWiki that still has all of the images in place. Here's the link

[Ranger]

On 8/7/2021 at 5:42 PM, Luigi.exe said:

So, I'd like to point out that the images for this guide are suddenly gone, rendering this guide ineffective because it relies heavily on those images. Can a staff member please fix this? This was a really good visualization guide, and it'd suck for it to be rendered useless because the site just decided to purge this guide's images. You might want to also check other guides that had images in case those were also purged.

 

Fixed

 

There's a weird glitch where if I edit a post, sometimes the old images disappear. Adding the images to the forum directly fixes this problem.

[Westly]

Lovely guide, great images along with it, too.  Very helpful.

 

If I should ask this somewhere else, let me know, but I've been wondering a lot--  Does anyone else visualize better when their eyes are open?  I struggle when my eyes are closed, but with them open I find it very easy to get into my mind's eye and picture things.  It seems a bit odd/counterintuitive, though...

[Luminesce]

I've heard a few people who prefer open-eye visualization. I've heard a bunch of people who exclusively do closed-eye visualization, but I think most of them could do open-eye if they tried. Open and closed are pretty much exactly the same for me, though I find it easier to focus with my eyes closed, the visual clarity isn't worse with my eyes open.

 

Any further discussion should be in its own thread and not here, though