Mission at work, conquered.
Daily meditation streaks, achieved.
That dream house, yours.
Now, what if you set the stage for all of this… without leaving your chair?
Such is the power of creative visualization—the practice of attaining various goals of all sizes, from relaxing in the moment to crushing lifetime goals.
“Creative visualization is a word for a form of therapy that is often also commonly called imagery therapy,” says Vishen, the founder and CEO of Mindvalley and a key proponent of the practice. “It is the act of seeing in your mind’s eye that which you want to attract into your life.”
Rooted in imagination, intention, and a dash of neuroscience, it can transform your desires—even the ones you’ve classified as unattainable—into reality. But only if you’re willing to bet on yourself.
What is creative visualization?
Creative visualization techniques help turn your mind into a canvas for your goals. As a tool for manifestation, it marries imagination during meditation with intention-setting.
In effect, you picture what you want—whether it’s the promotion, the marathon finish line, or a healthier body—boldly, vividly, and unapologetically. And then you let that image guide your thoughts, emotions, and actions.
“It’s not just about seeing the outcome; it’s about feeling it,” says Vishen. “The emotions, the sensations—these are the keys that unlock transformation.”
It’s how he was able to heal severe acne in just five weeks as a teenager, using visualization techniques to imagine his skin regenerating. Later, he’d apply the same practice to overcome injuries from martial arts and transform Mindvalley into a global movement.
Does creative visualization really work?
Yes, it does—and here’s why: Science has shown that mental imagery activates many of the same neural pathways as actual physical actions. And the thing is, your brain doesn’t differentiate much between imagining an experience and living it.
And being in a relaxed state—which activates when our brain slips into the alpha wave—while practicing creative visualization, is the secret sauce for manifesting your goals.
“Alpha is the brainwave frequency where you go from beta, or waking consciousness, to a relaxed, meditative state,” he adds, adding that it’s here that we’re most open to learning new things. “When we’re in a relaxed state of mind, we work better with autosuggestion.”
So, practicing creative visualization right after you wake up or before bed—the times when you’re most likely to be in alpha mode—can supercharge its effects.
Now, if meditation has ever felt like a dull exercise in “clearing your mind,” creative visualization reinvents it, transforming your inner world into a vivid, limitless playground.
From vision to victory: real-life success stories
Vishen’s not the only one who has harnessed the power of imagination to achieve extraordinary goals.
Here are other public figures who’ve used creative visualization to pave their way to success:
- Bianca Andreescu. The tennis sensation credits creative visualization as one of the tools that helped her secure her 2019 US Open victory against Serena Williams.
- Jim Carrey. He famously carried a handmade $10 million check he wrote to himself, manifesting it into actual money years later for his role as Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber.
- Oprah Winfrey. To escape the cycle of poverty she grew up in, this media mogul frequently visualized her way out of it—and into the life she has now.
- Tony Gonzalez. The legendary NFL player attributes his on-field success to a habit of mentally seeing himself winning every game. As told to The New York Times, it’s a practice he enhanced through Vishen’s meditation sessions.
- Big Sean. This rapper used feng shui-based visualization to redesign his home and mental state, aligning them both for abundance.
The core lesson in their stories is crystal clear: visualization isn’t just something you do to feel good. In fact, it unlocks extraordinary possibilities for those bold enough to dream.
The bonus point? You get to curb stress, anxiety, and depression during challenges as a result.
How to practice creative visualization in 7 steps
You don’t have to have fancy equipment, hours of your day, or even a perfect meditation space to get good at positive visualization work. You just need your imagination.
It’s the fuel that helps you master your subconsciousness—the part of your mind that you don’t consciously remember—and not the other way around.
“The subconscious mind doesn’t understand the world through words,” Vishen explains. “It understands the world through imagery and symbolism.”
So, here’s how to practice creative visualization and bring those long-held desires to fruition:
1. Set the stage
Pick a time when your mind’s at its calmest, like first thing in the morning or just before bed.
Then, position yourself by closing your eyes and taking deep breaths. Here, your favorite meditation techniques can get you to relax.
Once you are, imagine a giant, high-definition mental screen in front of you.
Vishen suggests to picture it as “the fanciest, largest, most high-res TV screen you’ve ever laid your eyes on, and picture that in front of you.”
With this mental screen, visualization gets easier—it’s where you’ll project all the imagined scenarios you’d like to live.
2. Start with the now
Before you jump into the ideal outcome, take a moment to acknowledge where you are.
“Many people make the mistake of only visualizing the end goal,” Vishen explains. “But what actually works is starting with where you are and feeling the discomfort or dissatisfaction of your current state.”
Whether it’s a health issue, a career challenge, or a personal goal, paint a vivid mental picture of what you want to change.
3. Rewrite your movie script
Once you’ve acknowledged the present, it’s time to turn the page.
Imagine erasing the mental screen, as if wiping away scribbles on a whiteboard. Then, project any scenes of the dream life you’re working toward—with as much detail as possible.
If it’s back pain you’re dealing with, imagine a glowing light soothing the tension in your spine as you effortlessly lift your child or stretch without discomfort.
As for the promotion you’re been wanting? Picture yourself delivering a killer presentation or receiving applause from a room full of peers.
Whatever it is that you want, be specific about it.
“You want to see it, but you want to make it even more vivid,” Vishen explains. “You want to bring in full colors; bring in all of your five senses.”
When your mental images are drenched in detail, you learn how to reprogram your subconscious mind—and deepen your chances to manifest what you want.
4. Leverage your emotions
The thing is, you can’t master how to visualize without accessing your emotions.
“Blindly visualizing yourself achieving a goal isn’t as effective as the emotion you bring into it,” Vishen shares. “
So reign in the feels as you picture already having everything you want. And just like that, your subconscious mind will start seeing the scenes in your mind as reality taking shape.
The subconscious mind doesn’t understand the world through words. It understands the world through imagery and symbolism.
— Vishen, Mindvalley’s founder and CEO, and trainer of The Silva Ultramind System program
5. Speak your desires into existence
Your words are powerful. They’re breadcrumbs you leave for your subconscious to follow.
“If you keep saying, reading, writing, and believing positive beliefs, your mind will take you toward those beliefs,” says Marisa Peer, a renowned hypnotherapist and the founder of Rapid Transformational Therapy™in her Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapy for Abundance program on Mindvalley.
So, when deep in your visualization session, let your thoughts be accompanied by affirmations—that is, statements that carry the energy of the outcomes you want to achieve.
Think of them as sound bites to the movie of your life. To make them tangible and usable during your visualization process, write them down and then say them out loud.
No clue what to tell yourself? Here are some ideas to adopt or tweak to make your own:
- “My focus is laser-sharp, and I see my next step clearly.”
- “I’m the best fit for this role and ready to thrive in my career.”
- “The right opportunities come to me at the perfect time.”
- “My relationships with my partner, family, and friends, are all working out amazingly.”
By affirming your desires, you don’t stop short at just imagining them—nope, they’re declared and decreed.
Explore how Marisa can help you with this:
6. End your session with intention
Every visualization session deserves a strong finish—one that seals your intention and lets your mind and energy flow freely toward the outcome.
Vishen suggests a simple yet powerful affirmation to end your practice:
“Let this or something better happen.”
Repeat it once, twice, or however many times feels right. Then take a deep breath, open your eyes, and step back into your day, knowing that you’ve done the day’s work.
7. Let go and trust the process
Here’s the paradox of successful creative visualization: after all that effort to create a vivid mental picture, you need to release it.
Sounds counterintuitive, but as Vishen would tell you, trust the process.
“You don’t need to obsess over the outcome,” he says. “Visualize it, feel it, and then go about your day knowing that the seeds have been planted.”
By practicing this daily, even for just five minutes, you’re rewiring your brain and priming yourself for action.
6 creative visualization techniques from meditation experts
Creative visualization comes with a toolkit of techniques, each designed to help you channel your imagination toward specific goals.
Check out six of the most effective, expert-backed approaches below:
1. The mental screen technique
“The subconscious mind doesn’t understand words; it understands images and symbols,” Vishen says. This is why the mental screen can translate your intentions into visuals that your subconscious can act on.
Gear up for this practice with these steps:
- Picture a massive, futuristic high-definition TV screen in front of you.
- Begin projecting your current reality onto the screen—whatever it is you’re looking to change.
- Acknowledge the pain or dissatisfaction of the moment (but don’t dwell on it).
- Then, erase the image, like wiping away scribbles on a whiteboard, and replace it with a vibrant vision of your desired outcome.
2. Guided visualization
Not sure how to start visualizing? Thankfully, guided visualization sessions help eliminate the guesswork. All you need to do is follow the instructor’s voice as you tap into the alpha frequency and focus on your intentions.
“When you’re in a relaxed state, you’re far more open to suggestion, making visualization deeply effective,” Vishen explains.
Try this session by Vishen to get a glimpse of what this approach is all about:
3. Vision board
Seeing your desired outcomes mapped out physically reinforces them in your subconscious mind—and makes them feel real. And once the feeling sinks in? You’re much more likely to get closer to your goals.
“When you start creating a vision for how you want your life to look, all of a sudden the right opportunity starts coming true,” he adds. “And sometimes, you don’t even know these opportunities exist, but the right opportunity starts coming true to make these visions possible.”
Two steps you should take to create your life’s roadmap:
- Collect images, words, or symbols that represent your goals. For example, a beachfront photo for your dream vacation, a quote that inspires you, or a picture of a house you want to own.
- Arrange them all on a board—either a physical or digital one. You can describe each as something you already have as a form of scripting manifestation.
- Position the board somewhere you’ll see often, like your work desk or an open hallway. “Your mind naturally gravitates toward what it sees frequently,” Vishen says.
4. The three-scene technique
Think of the three-scene technique as an extended version of the mental screen hack. It breaks down your visualization into clear, actionable stages that help bridge the gap between your current reality and future success. Charting a desire this way, Vishen says, makes “the outcome feel achievable and real.”
Here’s how to practice it:
- Scene one: Visualize your current situation, with all the challenges or blocks you’re facing, so you’re clear on what to address. “Feel the pain, exaggerate the discomfort—it creates motivation for change,” says Vishen.
- Scene two: Picture yourself taking the steps needed to achieve your goal.
- Scene three: Imagine getting what you want. What does life look like when your goal is realized and your problems, resolved? Feel the joy, pride, and excitement as if it’s already happened. And if more than two people benefit from this goal? “It manifests faster,” Vishen assures.
5. Multisensory immersion
Creative visualization isn’t just about what you see—it’s about what you feel, hear, smell, and even taste. Engaging all your senses makes your vision more lifelike and deeply rooted in your subconscious mind.
Close your eyes and picture your goal in full color, like a vibrant movie scene:
- Layer in sounds, like applause, laughter, or the rustling of leaves.
- Bring in touch—what does it feel like to shake hands after sealing a deal or run your fingers over your new desk?
- Add smells and tastes to complete the experience, whether it’s the aroma of coffee in your dream office or the taste of champagne after a milestone.
Don’t forget to also do shadow work—that is, the ongoing work of understanding your negative emotions—so you can’t overrule your senses while you visualize. As Marisa explains, “People who fail give up their dreams because they link pain to them.”
6. Daily affirmations
Visualization doesn’t stop with a single session—it’s a practice that Marisa says thrives on daily reinforcement. And you hack your way forward in life by using positive affirmations as the soundtrack to your success story.
“What you want, wants you, and what you are moving towards is moving towards you,” she asserts, adding that this can apply to anything from healing a health condition to achieving a business goal.
Here’s how to make it happen:
- Start your day with your preferred phrases, like “I am well” or “I am focused and ready to achieve.” Be creative!
- Write them down on sticky notes and place them where you’ll see them often—like your mirror or desk.
- Repeat them out loud during guided visualization practices. Pair them with vivid mental images of your desired reality to accelerate the effect.
- Use “I am” statements to anchor your beliefs, such as “I am confident in my abilities” or “I am open to new opportunities.”
You don’t need to obsess over the outcome. Visualize it, feel it, and then go about your day knowing that the seeds have been planted.
— Vishen, Mindvalley’s founder and CEO, and trainer of The Silva Ultramind System program
BONUS: Creative visualization meditation
If you’re new to creative visualization and don’t know how to start, Vishen has you covered.
Tap into your alpha mode below, with his guided meditation below:
This meditation practice—now a key component of The Silva Ultramind System program on Mindvalley—means a lot to Vishen. After all, it powered him through his struggles with severe acne in his teenage years.
“It hit my confidence, but the visualization exercises I learned from Jose Silva’s book changed everything,” he says about The Silva Method, the creative visualization book that helped him rebuild his self-esteem—and become the transformational leader he is today.
And if Vishen can get alpha with his life, so can you.
Find your spiritual superpower
Life’s too short to settle for anything less than extraordinary. You deserve the clarity, the wins, the peace of mind—whatever it is that lights you up.
And Vishen’s guidance can get you there. Here, you’ll discover how to:
- Spark “lucky” coincidences that move your life forward,
- Access altered states of mind effortlessly for unbridled creativity,
- Solve challenges that once felt impossible,
- Set goals that align with your true purpose, and
- So much more.
Over 21,000 people who have signed up for his free Silva Ultramind System webinar experienced profound transformations. Like, Robert Stiller, the former CEO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, realized that there’s no limit to what the mind can do. “It’s like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon versus just watching a video of it,” he says after applying what he learned to optimize his life.
The same epiphany hit Dr. Ritu Dabas, who was struggling with stress and anxiety until she discovered the program. Using the mental screen technique, she could eventually put an end to her multi-drug-resistant urinary tract infection. “I gained confidence to move forward in life,” she expresses on the pivotal moment.
Then there’s Heni Kovács, a freelance creative feeling stuck and directionless. Towards the end of Vishen’s program, she suddenly got an idea to start a podcast. “It started a domino effect,” she says. “I now have an entire team building this podcast with me.”
These stories prove that when you dare to reimagine what’s possible and align your mind with your goals, the extraordinary becomes achievable.
And all that you can dream of for yourself is within reach… with Mindvalley.
Welcome in.
