The Ultimate Brain Science of Visualization

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The Ultimate Brain

Science of Visualization


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The power of visualization has been widely talked for many years. Visualizing success or

attaining the object will help you succeed is something most of us agree with. For some who

accuse visualization as just hype and question the logic behind visualization, we have science

that backs us. Yes, there really is scientific basis behind why and how visualization works

positively for us.

What is visualization?

Visualization is the broader term used to describe the process of creating an image in your

mind without actually performing it physically. You can visualize what you exactly want in

your mind. Eric Franklin, who founded the Franklin method that uses imagery and

visualization technique to activate the body and mind function, claims that planting a thought

in your brain and allowing it to grow will increase your performance.

How visualization works?

When you visualize an action, you stimulate the same brain region that activates when you

perform the action physically. For example, when you visualize lifting your right hand, the

brain region that gets stimulated is same as the one that activates when you physically lift

your hand. Thus, imagining an action activates the brain as performing the action.

The science behind visualization

Scientists have been studying the techniques of visualization for a long time. To really

understand how this visualization works, we need to understand our brain structure. This will

give us mind-blowing facts on how and why visualization works and is one of the best

techniques for humans to enhance oneself.


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Brain is the most complex organ of human body. Every research on the functioning of the

human brain tells us something new and interesting about how it really works. Our brain is

made of cells called neurons. These neurons usually correspond with each other and help us

performing a function. When we learn something, the neurons create a new connection that

gets mapped in our brain. Further, when we use that skill, the same circuits of neurons get

activated to help us perform the task. As we keep performing the neural circuit gets stronger

and it becomes easier for us to recall it. This means if we cannot recall a skill or information,

then we have not learnt it well.

So, visualization works on this technique. When you visualize an idea again and again, your

brain starts to respond to the idea as if it was a real. This is because the thalamus, which is

the sensory processor in our brain, does not distinct between realities and the ideas we

perceive in our brain. So, when we visualize an idea over and over again, that idea becomes

real for the brain and it responds accordingly. This makes the idea in your brain more

attainable to self and you are motivated to work on making it a reality in the real world.

Draw a picture for your brain

Now, there is another reason why your brain easily identifies your idea when you relay it over

and again – you visualize it. That’s right. When you create an image in your mind you help

your brain in two ways. Firstly, as your brain does not distinguish whether you actually are

doing what the image conjures or just visualizing it, it simply creates neural connections to

perform the action. Secondly, when you visualize something, you usually think in pictures

which is great because your brain perceives best when see pictures.

Visualization creates neural pathways in your brain and these connections form the basis, a

sort of blue print for your actual action out in the real world. Another major characteristic of


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visualization is that when you keep forming the idea in your mind again and again, the images

get strengthened. Further, as your neural circuits are already formed from the visualization of

your idea in the brain, your idea or thought seems more familiar. As the intensity of

visualization increases, the strength of the neural connections enhance which will help you do

that in real-time. As visualization helps you in familiarizing things, they can be exploited in

diverse fields to make learning easier. Visualization or imagining images in your mind impacts

the cognitive process of your brain. Your motor control, attention, perception and memory

are activated. In other words, your brain is trained for real-time performance even as you are

visualizing.

Positive effects of visualization

The neural connections that visualization creates help you overcome metal blocks, fears and

anxieties that keep you from perfuming things. It can boost your motivation; relax your mind

and body, escalate your confidence, improve self-efficacy as well as motor performance.

Basically, visualization can key you for success and keep in you in positive mind for achieving

it.

When you visualize alpha waves are generated in your brain. These waves help you relax and

focus. Alpha waves are also responsible for reducing anxiety and stress. They can also

alleviate pain and enhance pleasure. Visualization implants new memories in your brain,

images that can positive for your mind. By visualizing success, achieving a goal or performing

a task efficiently, your brain creates neural connection that makes you think you succeed.

This is known to enhance your confidence and help you stay more assured about doing that

particular activity. Repeated visualizations of a series of images that describe your goal make

you truly believe that your images are attainable and real.


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Further, visualization blocks the information – neural and sensory that is not related to your

idea or goal. This means irrelevant thoughts and anxieties get screened which only help you

focus more on the goal. It also increases your innate desire to achieve it and suddenly the

goal does not seem unreachable.

Focus is one of the major positives of visualization, the very action of visualization demands

you focus on one particular thing. They can exercise your brain in understanding the situation

and help you in attuning to awareness that is non-judgmental. Finally, visualization makes

your brain perceive it is actually happening in real world. So, your brain activates the areas

that make you happy, achieve more and be more positive about yourself.

Your brain essentially thinks in pictures. When you tell a story in thousand words, it cannot

possibly perceive everything but create images and it engages your brain until the very end.

Also, your brain is not capable of realizing whether you are actually imagining something or

experiencing it real-time. This is why visualization works so effectively for us.


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The Ultimate Brain Science of Visualization

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