How to visualize "presence" - part 1

"Imaging is a kind of visual prayer that strongly activates the subconscious mind and releases the power of God." - Norman Vincent Peale

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:18

Your mind is the control room of your life. And it has a very big role in shaping your everyday faith.

In my first minibook “A Manifesto for Presence”, I write briefly about the concentration of your attention: 

“The direction of your attention is your focus. What you focus on you will worship. What you worship you will become. Therefore, presence is life.”

Our thinking controls our living. Your mind controls your life. 🤯

And I believe one of the most powerful practices to empower your mind for presence with God and people is visualization.

The Power of Visualization 

There is a world of content on the power of visualization and overall health. 💪🏻

• Visualization practices have been associated with improvements in mood and reductions in depressive symptoms. (Steger)

• Visualization strategies like mentally touring a familiar house have been linked to faster sleep onset. (Oxford) 

Within that universe is a heap of research on the results of visualization and performance. 🤾🏼‍♂️

• Mental rehearsal allows for the refinement of motor skills, strategic planning, and increased confidence, all contributing to better execution during actual competition. (Performance Psychology Center)

• Engaging in visual learning tasks can lead to long-lasting changes in brain connectivity. (FT)

• (*If you’re interested in some great books I’ve read on this topic, reply to this email and I’ll send you some.)

If you know me well, you’ll laugh at this - but also probably won’t be surprised:

I have played hundreds of golf rounds in my head. 🏌🏼‍♂️

If I’m having a hard time falling asleep or I’m getting ready for bed and I’m excited about a round of golf the next morning, I will picture myself getting into the cart from the practice green at that course, rolling up to the first tee, getting all my stuff ready, confidently walking up to place me tee in the ground, and teeing off.

I can feel how flush the contact was in my hands. I can hear how square the ball hit the club face. I can envision the perfect ball flight as it lands in the middle of the fairway. 

And I play as many holes of that course in my mind - until I fall asleep. 😴

Some of my best rounds ever came after a night of falling asleep mentally playing a few holes in my mind.

If this is a reality of the power of visualization for my golf game, surely there's a way to utilize this in our walk with Jesus.

We need a library on the power of visualization for our faith. 👀

What is Visualization

Visualization is simply creating and sustaining a clear mental picture of a scenario in your mind.

At this point you may be thinking “Jerv, I’m not a visual person. I don’t know what you’re talking about with this.”

Well, I bet you can’t picture Abraham Lincoln riding through your local mall on a pink elephant as he crashes into the weird massage booth that’s set up next to the food court while he sings Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone”. 

See? Gotcha! (Or at least you pictured that weird massage booth…) 💆🏼‍♂️

It’s a powerful tool because the mind and body respond to mental images as if they were real. And what’s wild is that your brain’s reticular activating system doesn’t know the difference. 

"Imaging is a kind of visual prayer that strongly activates the subconscious mind and releases the power of God." - Norman Vincent Peale

Practicing Presence with Visualization

Christ-centered Visualization is seeing with spiritual eyes what is already true, what is happening now, and what is to come. (Hebrews 11:1)

1. Visualizing what is already true

Visualization can be used biblically by consistently picturing yourself walking in the work God has already done in you and promised to you.

To the world, modern meditation is all about finding yourself, being (self)centered, emptying your mind. 🧘🏼‍♂️

But to us, meditation is an ancient Biblical practice. It’s all about knowing God, being Christ-centered, and filling your mind!

The last few years, visualizing God’s promises has decreased stress and anxiety in some very potent ways.

When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry. 

When you think about God’s Word over and over in your mind, that’s meditation.

If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate!

You just need to switch your attention from your problems to God’s promises.

Presence Practice: 

• Simply put - read the New Testament!
• Choose 1-3 verses about who God has made you in Christ.
 

• 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:1, John 1:12

 
• Make time and space to think about that truth over and over. 🔁
• Picture it. Feel it. Thank Him for it.