by Celia Hales
Gawain, Shakti. Creative Visualization; Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Life. ISBN 1-57731-229-5. Available on the Internet and in bookstores internationally. Originally published by Whatever Publishing, 1979.
This is a contribution that cannot be underestimated. An early New Age book, Creative Visualization has remained in print and well-received for decades. I personally knew most of it by heart at one point in my life, so taken with it I had become. Its basic message is the same as another New Age author, Jane Roberts, who channeled an entity named Seth, proclaiming, “You create your own reality.” If I had to sum up what Creative Visualization says, that would be it.
Shakti tells us exactly how to “create your own reality.” A thin book (my early copy has 127 pages), there are numerous short chapters, making skimming to find your desired passages an easy task. She is heavy on affirmations as a way to create one’s own reality, and she gives many examples of positive, life-affirming affirmations that, if said silently, aloud, or written, will presumably have the power to do all of those wonderful things that she promises. She does not overlook the power of negativity to negate any desired good, and she offer hints of what to do to find one’s own blocks to creating the reality that we desire. Paper and pencil are not far behind for Shakti. As much as she champions imagining, she also asks us to do the work of changing our reality by writing about what we want and why, as well as what we don’t want, and why we keep getting it.
There are five parts to this masterpiece: (1) basics of creative visualization; (2) using creative visualization; (3) meditations and affirmations; (4) special techniques; and (5) living creatively.
In the beginning, Shakti emphasizes the importance of relaxation to effective visualization. Once relaxed, she invites us to encourage the images to flow; if we have trouble doing so, though, she encourages us by saying that “seeing” is not absolutely necessary to the process. Just thinking about the desired goal, quality, or object is enough. She notes that many of us will be ambivalent about consciously creating for ourselves that which is good when so many in our world are suffering. She affirms that we would not do harm to others by wishing for the good for ourselves; we will reach out to our brothers and sisters as well. She calls this “outflowing,” and it is essential to effective creative visualization.
She provides a good number of exercises in the middle portion of the book. These will help tremendously if one does them rather than simply reads about them. My favorite is the “pink bubble technique,” in which we are encouraged to place our goal in a visualized pink bubble (pink being the color of the heart), and then imagine it floating away into the universe above, waiting to manifest on earth. Never does Shakti recommend straining, or “efforting,” to reach a goal. This exertion does actually hinder the manifestation, she affirms. If we feel too much efforting, we are not ready, or the goal is not right, and we are counseled to hold off and to reconsider.
The paper-and-pencil tasks are found in the fourth part on “special techniques.” My favorite here is the treasure map, which actually makes of our attempts a game. We draw what we desire, making it as personal as possible, and placing an image of ourselves on the map itself. Always, though, we say a mantra that we image this goal for the good of everyone concerned, that this or something better will manifest.
An important chapter is the short conclusion of the book, in which she says that her life is her greatest art. We are trying to craft a life, not trying to just make a series of achievements to prove anything to anybody. We are creating our reality.
A Course in Miracles had just been published (1975) when Creative Visualization first appeared.. There is no indication that the former influenced the latter. But both are part of the oft-quoted perennial philosophy that Aldous Huxley described so well in his book by the same title.
Shakti has done us a glorious service by bringing us this book, which she attributes to her inner guide. While she never says that the book was channeled, she does make the “guide” comment. It seems obvious that Shakti’s attunement with the universe helped to write this book. Recommended without reservation, as so many others have said as well.
MIRACLES EACH DAY 