Put the fun back into creative visualization with magic rituals

I first came across the term creative visualization when I read the book of the same name by Shakti Gawain in the early 1980s. The term may have been new to me then, but not the concept. I had been doing magic rituals for some years before and realized that creative visualization and magic were one and the same. Dion Fortune defined magic as "the art of changing consciousness at will" and I recently came across this definition of creative visualization: "Creative visualization is not just a technique. It is a state of consciousness. It is a consciousness in which we realize that we are the continuous creator of our universe and take responsibility for it. "

The idea is that we are always creating our own reality; what we need to do is start consciously creating it. This thought has been flying around the personal development scene much more recently with all the new books and sites about manifestation, Law of Attraction, etc. I truly believe it is a good thing that more and more people are becoming aware and living more consciously. BUT ...

Where's the fun?
A lot of the information concentrates on manifesting abundance (many seem to focus on money) and is presented in a deadly serious manner. I'm not saying it's not a serious business (literally business for many!), but a little lightheartedness and humour might not be amiss. My daughter actually pointed this out to me the other day when she said she was sick of the whole spirituality shebang; it used to be much more fun when we sat in front of the altar chanting spells and dancing around standing stones. Out of the mouth of babes ...

We shouldn't just listen to our kids; we should emulate them and PLAY more. Rituals are a good way to play with your imagination. It is much more fun to dress up in red flowing clothes at the full moon and chant spells on the beach or even in front of an altar filled with visual images, candles, etc. Adding a little drama to your visualizing puts you in the mood and prepares your mind and gets those alpha brain waves going.

Once the scene is set (yes, I think of it as a play), it is so much easier to focus on the actual technicalities of creative visualization. Then you can sit down and let your imagination run wild on what you want to manifest. For instance, if you want to manifest love in your life, you might dress in red, light a candle or two, burn some rose oil in an oil burner, put on some music and then visualize your ideal relationship. The principles are the same: use all your senses in imagining you and your beloved being together. Enjoy the feeling of togetherness and love, smell your happiness, hear the violins playing ... Just engage all your senses in some way even before starting the visualization. You'll already be in "pretend mode" and visualization is all about "acting as if".

You might want to end your ritual with a statement. This one works for me:
This, or something better, now manifests for me in totally satisfying and harmonious ways, for the highest good of all concerned. So mote it be. Blessed be.

Then let go of the ritual and start enjoying the moment. Have fun!