How do I visualize?

[InfernoDreams]

Hey guys, I don't know where this topic fits in, but I was wondering what the best way to increase your visualization skills were. And what is visualizing? I don't know whether it is in your mind with imagination or when you close your eyes and you can see the specks of colours in the blackness. Can someone please answer my questions? Thanks!

[Tygar]

Visualizing is similar to day dreaming or fantasizing. You close your eyes and imagine situations that you want to happen in as much detail as possible, including the emotions you want to feel while it is happening. I take short breaks throughout my day to visualize. I close my eyes and begin to remember one of my dreams from the previous night, except in my mind I find a reason to do a reality check. Then I picture myself becoming lucid..how excited I am to be lucid again. I picture myself taking the actions I plan to take in my next lucid dream in great detail, again, including my emotional state (always a positive emotional state). When I reach the end I open my eye and go on with my life. I spend more time doing this just before I fall asleep at night. The best ways to increase your skills is to practice, practice, practice.

[Valdast94]

Read the book "Creative Visualization" by Shakti Gawain, I read it and it got me started. The purpose of the book is to teach you how to visualize to manifest the things you want in your life, so it's not strictly related to lucid dreaming, but visualization is the same anyway, so go for it!

[Voldmer]

Literally, visualisation indicates something about seeing. But actually it involves imagining impressions on any of the senses. I would suggest starting small, for example: look at a cup in front of you for a little while. Then close your eyes and imagine the cup still in front of you. Try with other objects as well. Now also try with sounds: hear some music, then turn it off, and then imagine hearing it again. Or, imagine someone you know telling you something in their own voice. Eat something, and when you're done imagine eating it again. Once you get a firm grip on this sort of exercise, you can go on to imagine more complicated things, like the sight and sound of a happy child on a swing. Bit by bit towards ever more complex visualisations. As Tygar said: practice, practice, practice!

[WarBenifit156]

I think the visualization definition has been answered on here quite well, I couldn't have described it as well, myself, but I know of some ways to increase your imagination skills. You could try imagining to music, when I listen to a very fast paced song, I will usually imagine a scenario where there's a person fighting for either himself or others, depending on the song, it's just what I enjoy visualizing. There's also reading, I read every other day or so, it helps me quite a bit, with all of the descriptions of actions, characters, looks, etc. Hope I helped.