Visualisation techniques

Visualisation has many forms.

It is highly useful for scenario planning. Visualising different consequences help a decision maker to be more broadly prepared to face the outcome – be it thankful for the wonderful one, accept the one that is less than desired, or deal with a disastrous one.

Such visualisation does not have any mysterious spiritual or supernatural power. There is another form of visualisation being popularised by Shakti Gawain who wrote the book ‘Creative Visualisation’ [1985].

She described it as ‘..magic in the truest and highest meaning of the word…’ She sees everything as energy and by using certain techniques we can control this energy with our mind… She went on to say that visualisation ‘…is the technique of using your own imagination to create what you want in your life.’

I have not read that book or ‘The Secret’ myself. But a journalist in one of the Singapore newspapers quoted today from ‘The Secret’ . In the context of a Singaporean’s recent unsuccessful job search experience, the journalist brought up the concept of visualisation. The journalist mentioned that the book promoted “…‘the universe’ will give you what you want if you want it badly enough.” He quoted from the book “I would visualise a parking space exactly where I wanted it, and 95% of the time it would be there for me and I would just pull straight in.”

Contrast this to a comment made by a friend who had a long vacation in China in December. She said having seen the kiasu behaviour in Shanghai, we should not complain about it in Singapore. Kiasu, for those of you who are not familiar with a local slang word, means literally ‘afraid to lose’. In densely populated environments, especially big cities in China, the scarcity mindset is still prevalent. People believe that resources / assets / benefits are scarce and so would snatch them before other people get to them. My friend was describing the behaviour of those entering a subway train / mrt train. They would push, shove, elbow their way to the one seat, regardless of elderly, infirmed, pregnant ladies in their midst.

Why do i contrast the 2? I have always said, if I want a Lamborghini bad enough, I will have it. Nothing mysterious about that, no mind power behind that. Simply, the power of desires. I can beg, borrow or steal money. I can manipulate my way around a sugar daddy. I can play the stock market to get enough money, or I might sell my body….

Speaking of stock market, Merkel, Maddoff, and many others are examples of power of greed. The universe need not be involved.

If i desperately do not want to be single and want to have the pleasures of married life, I would have married a long time ago. Nothing mysterious about that. I simply focused on the power of lust or insecurity.

What am I trying to say? Such teachings of ‘visualisation’ and ‘laws of attraction’ bring more destruction than good.

Back to the author’s illustration of the parking lot. Let me exaggerate a little to bring out a point. Say in China somewhere, or even Singapore, 100 people practiced visualisation of the preferred parking lot at a popular shopping centre. They all arrived at the same time. You get the point. It is not the one who has the highest visualisation technique who would get the spot. It would be the one who is the most selfish, inconsiderate, and possibly a dangerous driver who would grab the spot.

Because such practices encourage people to pursue their personal desires / greed / lust with determination and be relentless about it, what good can it be for the community.

I believe in goal setting, I believe in visualisation for scenario planning, contingency planning and community planning.

Creative visualisation, nay.

ps: The Lamborghini will disappoint; the best spouse will disappoint; the best job will disappoint; the 1st million will disappoint; Obama will disappoint.

Not because these things cause the disappointment. Rather, the overhyped expectations arising from wanting that something so bad often do not deliver when within our grasp.