Self-hypnosis vs Meditation

[r0ckyreed]

Hello! I hope you all are doing well. I have a question about self-hypnosis (I.e. visualization/imagination) and meditation.

So I like to use my imagination to help me visualize my life purpose. I have used meditation to focus on my breath and bringing thoughts back to breath, but I have had more progress in just purely concentrated visualization/imagination.

I think imagination is really important and it is important for us to exercise.

Is it possible to reach higher consciousness states through imagination rather than meditation.

To me, meditation is more about clearing thoughts by observing thoughts like clouds whereas imagination gives us direct access to our life’s vision and intuition. 
 

Basically my question is this: is there any use for imagination in spiritual work? Can imagination be a form of meditation? I really love to think and imagine and the idea of emptying my mind is something I have tried, but I don’t see the benefit of doing so. Since God is Imagination, wouldn’t it be helpful to raise consciousness through imagination? Is this even possible? This is one reason why I love chakra and meta meditations.

What is your advice? Thank you! 

[aurum]

24 minutes ago, r0ckyreed said:

Basically my question is this: is there any use for imagination in spiritual work? Can imagination be a form of meditation? I really love to think and imagine and the idea of emptying my mind is something I have tried, but I don’t see the benefit of doing so. Since God is Imagination, wouldn’t it be helpful to raise consciousness through imagination? Is this even possible? This is one reason why I love chakra and meta meditations.

Your imagination is powerful and important. But we do meditation for a different reason.

You see, your mind is imagining all the time. We silence the mind using meditation because that allows you to become a clear channel for God to speak through you and as you.

The vessel, you, needs to be emptied.

Otherwise your thoughts are just unconscious programming, trauma and coming from the fear-mind.

[r0ckyreed]

@aurum Thank you! Thanks for your insight!
 

Right now, I am trying to balance meditation with imagination/thinking/visioning. I think silence has wisdom in it to connect with God, but I see a huge problem if people neglect imagination. Since imagination created reality, I think it would be helpful to learn how to think and learn how to silence.

I basically realized that I need to balance being a realist and being a visionary. It’s not all or nothing right? 
 

I am taking life purpose course right now, and I think it is good to be in Actuality, but it is important to develop a conscious imagination/vision. So it is a balancing act because if I imagine too much, I lose touch with present moment and if I focus too much on present moment, I am not being a creator.

 

Would the Buddha have been considered a visionary? 

Edited December 21, 2020 by r0ckyreed

[aurum]

18 minutes ago, r0ckyreed said:

So it is a balancing act because if I imagine too much, I lose touch with present moment and if I focus too much on present moment, I am not being a creator.

I wouldn't even stress about trying to find some sort of balance, they go together.

Just practice meditation and also practice visualizing.

21 minutes ago, r0ckyreed said:

Would the Buddha have been considered a visionary? 

The Buddha would have realized that he imagined the entire universe

[Hello from Russia]

Of course visualization is a super powerful tool. I'm not sure it is good for enlightenment work, however (maybe for hyping up the best state of mind for meditation? Idk), but for other purposes almost nothing beats visualization skill in terms of power. It is where meditation as a discipline becomes "practical" and has what hugely beneficial uses in your daily life. Just explore what you can do and start practices. Taste for yourself how powerful all this is, it just makes every aspects of your life blossom when you apply it

Edited December 21, 2020 by Hello from Russia

[r0ckyreed]

2 hours ago, Daniel said:

I do lots of hypnosis - it's great for setting goals and changing habits and thinking

Think of it as reprogramming for something which is good for your ego.

eg. Hypnotize yourself into a confident state of mind, picture yourself already having a goal

Meditation is moreso to get used to training beyond ego states of mind.

Hypnosis is practical and is a subset of meditation, meditation can be practical but that's not the point.

Hope I make sense!

Oh wow! Thanks for your response! I just got into hypnosis this past week. It seems really amazing. I haven’t tried hypnotizing yet. I would love to hear more about your experiences with hypnosis and/or any advice/resources in becoming a hypnotist. One of my goals is to become a hypnotherapist! ?

Edited December 21, 2020 by r0ckyreed