Until It Feels Right.
Visualization asks for ease, not effort – you settle in, the images come, and you choose from what arises until it feels right.
I knew how visualization was supposed to work: close your eyes, see it clearly, feel it as if it were already real. So I treated it like a job. I sat down, screwed my eyes shut and held the picture in place – and the harder I gripped, the flatter it got. Two minutes in, I wasn't visualizing anymore. I was performing, and grading the performance.
The letter takes the effort out of it in one move: don't strain. Settle in, let the images happen on their own, and bring your vision in by choosing from what arises – until it feels right. Not building the picture; picking it. If you have walked the Manifest guide, this is the same posture it practices from the first step – deciding the what, staying open in the how. Here it reaches all the way into the practice itself, behind closed eyes.
What follows is one of the most practical letters in this collection – almost instructions. Try them the way they were given: at ease, without a scorecard.
Dear traveler,
You do not need to "strain" when you visualize. Come into a relaxed and calm position and let the images "happen" instead of forcing them. It feels light and natural. Let the images arise and gently fold your vision in by "choosing". Instead of actively creating the vision: choose from the arising images until it feels right for you. Surrender to the process instead of controlling it. Your freedom is in the choosing. Your creating is in the choosing. Surrender, instead of forcing. This way it is easier. More natural. Try it.
Thank you for being here.
If something in these letters stayed with you, take it along – think about it, write your own answer, or just let it sit.
And if not today, that's okay too. There's no rush.
Until next time,
– Jan