Why Ask Yourself A What-If Question?

Posing yourself the all powerful question “what if” helps you unlock your creative visualization ability. “What if” is an act of allowing your mind to dream up the possibility of new options. You break the conditioning of your mind from its fixed routines, limited patterns and past thinking. You venture into the playground of imagination to toy with an idea that is not yet manifest. Should you apply the power of intention to a what-if pathway, you allow your inner mind to assemble required resources to answer this question.

(Flipping through magazines is fun visualization time – a favorite activity of mine!!)

If you do not already know, you are born with the potential to do many things. You have a set of unique skills that you can draw on. Your past offers a rich set of experiences that you can rely upon for venturing into the new. Playfully asking yourself what-if questions enables you to introduce possibility onto your mental screen.

What is to know is that your subconscious mind simply accepts what has been impressed upon it. It is unable to differentiate what is real or unreal. The act of asking additionally summons universal energy to help answer the question. By connecting from inwards, you are able to draw on source which is creative, infinite and intelligent. If you think about it, it is how prayers work. Your inner or subconscious mind helps you to connect with source, God or the universe; providing you with flashes of insight, revelation of new discovery and surprising solutions for your problems.

Self doubt will unfortunately negate the process. The rule is this: Energy goes where focused attention flows. Hence, for manifestation to happen, you will need to believe that a what-if possibility can become real. If you are focusing on doubt, energy goes in the direction of doubt. If you are focusing on possibility, then energy goes in the direction of your strong desire. A creative visualization exercise is no longer simply a one-time activity, with the strength of your intent. It becomes an active visioning process.

It is possible that you will be thrown into doubt when you first start doing visualization exercises. Doubt is experienced when you sense a contrast between what is real in your current situation and a desired scenario. You doubt that the desired scenario can ever come true. In fact the more you focus on your lack or “not being there yet”, the more negative you feel. As I have mentioned before, energy then goes in the direction of the doubt.

A what-if question helps to bridge your doubt into belief. It is imperative that you tell yourself that there is no cost to dreaming. (In fact, not dreaming at all can cost you more in terms of never ever living up to your fullest potential!!) When you pose a what-if question for the purposes of visualization, you are simply having some focused exercises on fun! You direct the power of your mind consciously and deliberately rather than never using it to your best advantage.

What-if automatically expands you into joy. It is fun to imagine what abundance you can possibly experience. As you focus on feeling good, your vibrations magnetize the vibrations of your desires. You find yourself encountering new opportunities, events or people who can help you turn your dreams into reality.

7 What-If Ideas For Creative Visioning

To engage your subconscious mind for creative visioning, you need to go deeper into relaxation. The more calm and relaxed you are, the greater your ability to access your subconscious mind. Call up your mental screen while you are in a peaceful space. Decide on what you would like in the dream of your future self. Here are 7 What-If ideas that you can ask yourself:

Idea 1: Romance What-If
What if you can see yourself engaged in a stimulating conversation and walking hand in hand with someone you love against the backdrop of a beautiful park?

Idea 2: Health What-If
What if you can see yourself in the midst of a thrilling adventure eg. Mountain climbing, diving, flying a plane etc.? (Choose an activity that obviously requires you to be in good health to be engaged in it.)

Idea 3: Wealth What-If
What if you can see yourself writing a huge check for donation to a philanthropic organization that you have helped built?

Idea 4: Dream House What-If
What if you are living in an eco-friendly house that has unblocked views of the ocean front, glass-tiled flooring that allows you to see the marine life beneath and your own private boat moored in the front deck?

Idea 5: Travel What-If
What if you can see yourself having a delicious chef’s special (whatever that is) lunch in an exotic paradise? This idea gets my vote as a hot favorite! Picture Santorini, an island in Greece, with its white sculptured villages nestled atop steep volcanic cliffs that fall sharply to the deep blue Aegean Sea.

Idea 6: Dream Job What-If
What if you can see yourself in your ideal place of work, having fun and earning enough money at the same time? What would your dream job look like?

Idea 7: Success What-If
What if you have just been invited by Oprah to be interviewed about the book that you have just written? Or what if you have touched the lives of thousands through the words you have shared on your blog?

Next Steps

1. While the rule of anything goes applies to having fun in your creative visioning, what you imagine must be authentic to your desires. You need to focus on what you desire from your heart. Additionally, a desire that can also help service humanity tends to receive extra points from your spiritual team. Get their support to manifest your what-if scenario with ease.

2. After asking yourself what if, visualize yourself stepping into the mental screen. In Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) terms, we call this action as getting “associated”. You wear the shoes of the future self in your imagined scenario rather than view the entire picture from a distance. You engage in at least 68 seconds of holding the intention of your imagined scenario.

3. Create a vision board to work powerfully on your what-if intent.

Share Your Thoughts

Like the idea of what-if? What are your what-if scenarios?

Abundance Always,

P.S. If you are keen to learn how to leverage on the power of your subconscious, look no further than Silva Life System. The amazing outcome of using this program is that you can also increase your intuitive (or so-called “psychic”) ability. Jack Canfeld also gave the thumbs up to the Silva Life System. And he is not the only one to endorse it!! Thousands and thousands have too!!

Related Articles to Read:

1) Pink Bubble Technique for Creative Visualization
2) 10 Sure-Fire Tips to Making Creative Visualization Fun

Min, my younger daughter, engaged in 68 seconds of pure thought?

In a previous post, I’ve explained how it takes just 17 seconds of focused and pure thought to bring about manifestations. I first learned this concept from Jose Silva while studying The Silva Method. Subsequently, I found out how 17 seconds can be expanded to 68 seconds to create a bigger miracle from Esther Hicks while watching the DVD on Introducing Abraham – The Secret Behind “The Secret”.

Well, you are in luck! I just chanced upon the part that explained the concept of creating a miracle in 68 seconds by Esther Hicks in a Youtube video. Here it is…

How Thought Creates A Major Miracle

In a nutshell,

A block of 17 seconds generates an energy expansion equivalent to 2,000 action hours and results in the creation of a mini miracle.

Remember the key is to have pure thought; that is a thought with absolutely clear intent. It means that you do not have any have any sabotaging or canceling thought that follows the first. If you can have pure thought after pure thought, you increase the number of combustion points. By passing the mark in 68 seconds of pure thought, you would have transmitted a positive energy of intention into the Universe.

4 Ways To Visualize For 68 Seconds Of Pure Thought

As in my previous post, I recognized that it may not be all that easy to have a succession of pure thoughts. Thoughts that go “I want a new car but petrol prices are going to kill me”, “I would like to go on a nice all expenses paid vacation but I am worried that I cannot take that many days off” or “I want a bungalow but I am concerned that my friends will know how rich I am and start to beg for money” are not considered pure. If you can just examine your thoughts closely for a day, you will know that you have many sabotaging ones!!

To have 68 seconds of pure thought will require focused attention. Hence, what will be most helpful are exercises that totally immerse your mind in the visualization process, with no or little opportunity to have a contradictory thought. Since my last post, I’ve come up with a few more ideas to add to my toolbox for a streaming 68 seconds of pure thought:

1) Create A Script.

I have previously shared the idea about creating a script for visualization and also provided an example of one. I learned it in an Advanced Silva Method workshop that I attended. Recently, while in the gym, I’ve also combined the script idea with tip #2 below.

2) Run A Mental Script While On the Thread Mill.

Here is how I’ve been doing it, while at my gym:

- I set the timer on the thread mill to about 20 to 30 minutes.

- I’ve already got a script ready in my mind. A suitable story will be one which builds up to the achievement of the goal in mind. It’s like putting yourself in a race, where the medal is right at the finishing line. If you’ve been watching the Olympic games, you should have no problems with this visualization.

- I start to walk, then jog and run on the fitness machine. As my feet picks up speed on the thread mill, I play the script in my mind. My story may not last for 20 to 30 minutes but I always end up in a glorious finish mentally, while the momentum below my feet is still going great. It takes a bit of work to time everything together. So if you like this idea, you may want to allocate more time to writing a suitable running script.

I have used all kinds of visualization scripts! You can add drama and details to make your story interesting. Going on the thread mill at the gym is also now more exciting for me!

3) Create A 68-Seconds Movie Clip.

You can also choose to do your own video clip. It’s easy to do one with using photos containing images of what you are hoping to manifest. In creating your movie, start with a storyboard. Do ensure that your clip lasts for 68 seconds or more and that it is entertaining enough for your focussed attention.

Don’t know how to create a video? Learn how to make a Mind Movie here or if you are too lazy to make one, download 6 free Mind Movies on attracting health, spirituality, money, a man, woman, friends and family. Play them a few times per day for good results. Here is an example of a Mind Movie!

4) Indulge In Creative Art.

If you are like me who can get “lost” in an inner world while doing art, then consider using this medium to engage yourself in at least 68 seconds of pure thought. You can cut pictures from magazines to create vision boards or work on an image editing software to create a nice picture. I use art in a variety of ways; one of which is with the use of my Photoshop software. You can view my last post for examples of pictures that I keep in my visioning portfolio.

Your Ideas Please?

Now, what works for me may not work for you. So let’s get your creative juices going. Would you have any ideas to add on to the above examples? What would be a great visualization activity for 68 seconds of pure thought? Or would you have a running script that will be suitable for the thread mill while you exercise?

The thing is to have fun in the visualization process. Remember the tip shared by Esther Hicks in today’s video: Avoid visualizing because you are wanting something out of the process but visualize because it is fun to indulge in your dreams!

Do you find that your best ideas always come from “out of nowhere”?

Well, the good news is that it need not be a case of mere coincidence that you get struck by a bright idea.

Napoleon Hill, the best-selling author of “Think and Grow Rich” believed that the human mind was capable of tapping into universal fields of intelligence to access ideas and inspiration.

Napoleon Hill observed that….

The great artists, writers, musicians and poets became great because they acquire the habit of relying upon the still, small voice that speaks from within, through the faculty of creative imagination. It is a fact well known to people who have keen imaginations that their best ideas come through so-called “hunches”.

Napolean Hill shared about how one inventor from Maryland, the late Dr. Elmer R. Gates, came up with over 200 patents. Gates would sit in his soundproof laboratory holding a pad of writing paper and shut off the lights. In the dark, he would ponder on the known factors of the invention on which he was working for hours. He remained in the same position until ideas began to “flash” into his mind.

On one occasion, ideas came so fast to Gates that he was forced to write for almost three hours. When the thoughts stopped flowing, he proceeded to examine what he has written. He realised that they contained a minute description of principles, with no parallel among the known data of the scientific world. What was amazing was that the answer to his problem was intelligently presented in those notes.

Naaaaahhh? Don’t believe? Think that he is an exception?

Let me quote you another two examples.

The greatest inventor of our time, Thomas Alva Edison, used a similar technique and he apparantly did it through sleeping. Edison was awarded 1368 distinct patents and invented, the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the film projector, and the first motion picture. Edison had a secret – he would always take frequent naps in the middle of the day. Edison was known to have said, “Ideas come from space. Well, it is likely that he came up with several ideas while at the alpha state.

Then, there is Richard Bach, the author to the best selling book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He revealed in an interview in 1972, that he wrote two-thirds of the book in a dream-like state.

And there are plenty more testimonials provided by graduates from The Silva Method. In the Silva Method program, you are also taught how to use dreams to get answers to the problem that you are seeking for. At the alpha and theta level, you are tapping into sources of knowledge not available at the waking level. Ideas won’t just be coming to you by mere coincidences but because you programmed for them.

Knowing that the answers can possibly come from within has been a helpful insight to me. Previously, I have always tried to analyse problems logically. However, there have been times when I got frustrated because I could not come up with something viable. I would then try my best to force out a solution and hope for the best.

I am no genius yet – unlike Thomas Edison, Dr Gates or Richard Bach. However, through their examples, I have learnt that there is another way of getting ideas and inspiration and definitely a far better one. I learnt now that it is best not to hold on too tightly to a problem. The best ideas come from the creative or subconscious mind, which I am learning to tap more from.

I’m also hoping to teach these concepts to my kids. Min, in particular, has been producing beautiful art work. It is highly apparent that she is creative. I hope to be able to teach her to access her creative mind not just for doing art but for a whole range of practical life issues.