Use the full power of your imagination to create a truly immersive experience.

Visualization has many potential benefits and has become widely known and widely taught. It has become so common that it is even lampooned in the media, often depicted as a blissed-out experience of closing your eyes and going to your “happy place.” Yet visualization has remained out of reach for many people who struggle to “see” anything in their mind’s eye when they try. We will explore why “not seeing anything” does not have to be a barrier to reaping the full rewards of the practice.

At its heart, visualization is the act of creating an immersive inner experience using the power of your imagination. It is like our own personal virtual reality, where we can enter our imaginations and create any kind of experience we want for ourselves. The term visualization does a great disservice to the practice, because the “visual” component does not have to be central at all. Here are three tips to reorient your focus and get the most out the experience.

Tip 1: Instead of trying to “see” something in your mind, try to create an immersive experience with all of your senses. If you are imagining yourself floating in a boat on a pond, imagine you can feel the sun on your skin. Imagine you can smell the fresh greenery in the environment. Listen for the gentle sound of flowing water around you. Take in the feeling of floating on water. Notice how none of these cues involve sight.

If you have ever had a craving for a food, you have likely had a successful “visualization.” You have imagined the food in some way, whether you could see it in your mind or not. You could imagine tasting it in your mouth, feeling its texture, smelling it.

Tip 2: Commit to your own learning process and making visualization work for you. If you tend to say “I can’t visualize,” try to swap it with an attitude that “I am learning.” Too often, people think they either have this skill or not. In reality, just like most things, it is a skill that you can develop over time. It takes practice getting used to imagining things in our minds and letting them come to life through our senses. It often takes a little creativity, playfulness, and surrender, which go against the common tendency to aggressively push ourselves and then criticize ourselves relentlessly if we don’t get it “right”.

Tip 3: Instead of focusing on what you can see, notice whether you are getting any benefit from the practice. Stay focused on whether you are getting what you want from the practice, or moving towards it, instead of whether you are “doing it right.”

Our imaginations are powerful tools that we can learn to use for personal benefit. Don’t be fooled by the word “visualization”—what we can “see” is only the start of the experience, and not even the most important. With some commitment, curiosity, and a broader awareness of all of our senses, the practice can work for nearly anyone.