Great visualization skills are probably the most important asset in an improved intelligence.

Why? Because the visual sense is probably the most useful and widely used of all the senses.

It has given us some of the greatest art; helped us to hunt; made it possible to chart the stars; and allowed us to witness the beauty of nature. Without visualization the following would be nearly or completely impossible:

• Games (Computer games, board games, ball games...)
• Mental rehearsals
• Navigation
• Space exploration
• Painting

It also helps with:

• Spelling
• Reading
• Maths
• Memory
• Problem solving
• Creativity

...to name only a few.

Our visual sense allows us to experience the world in ways that cannot be achieved by any other sense.

Yet we weren’t born with the ability to see as we do now, or to visualise. We had to learn that we couldn’t just reach out and touch the moon; we learnt that our reflection isn’t a real person; and we had to learn that a map is a depiction of a real place.

To function in the world, we had to learn these things; but we didn’t have to reach the limits of sight in order to cope.

In order to really excel we do.

When we open our eyes we don’t just see a reflection of the world, we see an interpretation of it; an interpretation that our brain has created. But what we haven’t learnt to interpret, we literally cannot see.

Through improving our visualization skills, we can learn to see more than we previously thought was there. Let’s learn to open our eyes...

Improving Eyesight

In your mind you can create new images and practice visualization skills even if your eyesight is taken away from you. But it is much more difficult to get new information about the outside world. Your ability to do visual tasks stems from your ability to take in information through the eyes. Humans have the ability to convert something that they experience in one sense into another; so working on your other senses will help. But to really make the most of this area of intelligence it is wise to take care of your eyes.

We all know that if we can exercise our heart, lungs and muscles and they will get stronger; most people don’t realise they can do the same with their eyes. If your eyesight is deteriorating, you can improve it.

If you want to find out how to look after your eyes properly, and even get rid of your glasses, go to Vision For Life and sign up for the free report.

Stimulating Environment

If your surrounding environment is not beautiful, your brain will become disinterested in it and will effectively shut down. A stimulating environment, on the other hand, will awaken any dulled senses and begin to inspire and uplift you.

The images and decor in your home and workplace will dramatically affect your mood and thinking processes. Make your environment more inspiring and you will be more inspired.

The Visual Arts

This is perhaps the most obvious arena where your visualization skills are stretched, but investment in this area will give you more than the ability to paint. It will open up a whole different way of thinking about the world.

There are two ways to delve into this area:

Firstly, you should look at the history of art, to see what has come before. Visit galleries and get out books and just stick to the pieces that you like. If you don’t like modern art, then don’t worry about it, just look at what you do like. When you find pieces that you really like ask why it is you like it. Is it purely its aesthetic appeal, or is it more the ideas it represents? Also, read about the artist and try to get a sense for why they created it and what it means to them; by doing this you will be viewing life from different viewpoints.

Secondly, try to create art yourself. If you don’t know how to draw, you have locked a large portion of your potential away. Everyone can learn to draw, but most people believe that they cannot learn if they don’t innately know how. If you want to learn, Betty Edward’s Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a great book for beginners. It is especially good because it teaches you how to get in the right frame of mind for drawing.

Once you’ve learnt to draw, you will probably want to introduce colour in someway, maybe go into 3D sculpture or even take it onto the computer. You can, of course, start on this straight away; but learning to draw will give you a solid foundation on which to build these other skills.

Visual Mediations

When I found out that there were people that couldn’t see visual images when they closed their eyes, I was astonished. They were so much a part of who I was, I couldn’t see how anyone could function without these images.

It turns out, this conclusion wasn’t far wrong, for everyone has a faculty for visualization. Everyone has these mental images running through their minds, otherwise certain thoughts would be impossible. Yet most people have learnt to ignore them.

When I started to think about this I realised that my visualizations were actually very vague. They were enough to be able to think with, but I realised that there was a huge potential to make these images much more real. Since working on improving my visualization skills I see incredible images in my head that sometimes become as real as when I have my eyes open.

As well as obviously helping me draw better, my improved visualization skills have been extremely helpful in problem solving, memory and creativity. In fact it has been extremely useful in all aspects listed at the top of this page.

There are two methods I used to enhance this ability – the first will help with doing the second.

Find a beautiful and complex object (I find things from nature to be the best). Sit in front of it and study it carefully. Try to memorise every nuance, every line, every colour... Describing this in words will help, describing out loud will have an even greater result. Once you have studied it for a minute or so, close your eyes and try to recreate it in your mind by re-describing what you can remember. When you have visualised the object as much as you can, open your eyes, look at the object again and try to remember more about it. Keep repeating this exercise until you can hardly tell the difference between the real object and what you can remember.

The second method is a procedure called image-streaming, which was inventing by Win Wenger. If you can dedicate a decent amount of time then Win’s visualization technique is well worth your time and effort.

Games

Games, especially ball games, are very good for building up your depth perception and your hand/eye co-ordination.

Computer Games

Computer games are often cited as one of the major causes of an increasing average IQ in the last few decades. The games are becoming more and more complicated and the players have to learn to cope with increasingly complex environments. If our visualization skills don’t reach a certain level, we simply won’t be able to progress through the games.

When you close your eyes, can you still see? With good visualization skills, you will be able to see new worlds, new ideas, new dreams and new possibilities. If all you can see is the darkness of your eyelids, you are missing out on an incredible ability.. but luckily one within your grasp.

The ability to manipulate visual images in our imagination is a key component of most IQ tests and is even more important in everyday intelligence. But what if you cannot visualise?

If all you can see is your eye lids, this doesn't necessarily mean you have no visualization skill at all. It simply means you have difficulty in consciously recognising those visual images. It all happens unconsciously, and when you try to focus your attention on it, it disappears.

While we can certainly cope very well without being able to consciously see our mental images, there is a huge benefit in being able to. When we can consciously analyse our mental images we can specifically work on improving our visualization skill. Since visualisation is such a huge part of IQ, this is likely something you want to put some effort into developing.

In this article you will learn a method of gaining awareness of your visualizations. And if you can already visualise, this will improve your visualization skills so that the images become clearer and easier to work with.
Have Faith

First of all you need to believe you have the ability to visualise. Many people are convinced they just can't visualise, when in fact they just have trouble consciously doing so. If I ask you what the colour of your front door is, it is highly likely that you would find the answer by remembering a visual image of your door. Some people also know that they can visualise in their dreams. If you can do that, you can also visualise when awake.

Here's a little thought experiment you can do right now. Read the following passage, and then answer the questions that follow:

Imagine you are standing in a quiet street. You're waiting for someone, whom you've never met. It's night time, but you can see quite clearly because a streetlamp lights your way. Shops line the street on both sides except for the railway station behind you. Between a couple of the shops, an alleyway cuts through. The area is built up enough that you cannot see around the corners at either end of the street.

The man you are meeting may arrive from either end of the street, or maybe through the alleyway, or even from out of the train station.

It's quiet, but occasionally the odd person drifts through. Some arrive from the train station, some through the alleyway and others from around the corner at the end of the street. You're on the lookout for you acquaintance so you look at each person as they come and disappear from each of these entrance points.

And then you spot him.

Imagine that scene and then answer the following questions. The text doesn't reveal the answers, so imagine what you think the answers could be.

1. From where does your acquaintance come from?
2. What is he carrying?
3. What colour is his jacket?

If you can understand the passage and answer these questions, you can at least unconsciously visualise.
State of Mind

One of the biggest barriers to tuning in to your visualization skills is your state-of-mind. I find my best images come about just as I am trying to get to sleep. I'm still conscious, but I'm peaceful and near to drifting off. When we are drifting off to sleep, our brains operate at a different frequency (called theta) to during the day time, and this different frequency allows us to see visual images with more clarity.

Ironically, the harder we try to become consciously aware of our visual images, the harder it becomes to see them. If you feel any sense of frustration, stress, boredom or any other negative states-of-mind you will find it much harder to visualise. If you find this a particular obstacle, it would be wise to get some practice with a meditation for clearing the mind.
The Imagestream

Imagestreaming is a visualisation technique developed by Win Wenger. Using this technique you simply close your eyes and describe the images you see to either a live listener or into a tape recorder. There are many reasons why this may have a positive effect on your intelligence, but one reason is certainly that it helps develop your visualization skills.

One of the rules is that you describe the images you see in rich sensory detail. So if you saw a car you wouldn't say that you see a red Ford saloon with alloy wheels. Instead you would describe the shine, the colour, the shape, the speed it was travelling, the subtle curve of the roof and so on. In other words, instead of naming parts like wheel, door, etc, you use basic sensory descriptions such as line, distance, colour and texture. This encourages you to see details where before there was nothing, and so you gradually improve the detail of the images. It's a very similar process to drawing, only you do it all in your mind.

Describing what you see out loud to a live listener or tape recorder is not vital but highly recommended. It seems to enhance the process, probably because you put more emphasis and energy into what you describe when you know it will be listened to later.

You can read more about imagestreaming here.
Imagestreaming real objects

The exercise I'm going to describe is based on Imagestreaming, but also combines an exercise I believe originates with Leonardo da Vinci. He used this technique to improve his own visualization skills. Da Vinci's visualisation skills, of course, were a huge part of his genius.

The exercise is as follows:

1. Select an object to describe. Choose something you find particularly interesting. Flowers are particularly good because they are interesting and full of detail for you to describe.
2. If possible find a partner to listen to you, or at least a recorder to record your voice.
3. Place the object in front of you, and get into a comfortable position with a good posture.
4. Spend two to three minutes describing out loud the object you see in front of you. Use only sensory descriptions such as line, texture, colour, et cetera.
5. When a few minutes have passed, close your eyes and begin repeating that description. Try to recreate the image of the object in your mind. As you describe you will probably get a sense of distance and general shape, but probably won't see any images at first. Concentrate on what you can perceive and remain open to any new perceptions.
6. Repeat 4 and 5 until you decide to stop

Can you do it?

Some people have a lot of trouble developing this visualization skill so this may require a lot of work. On the other hand, other people will get it straight away. If you are one of the people who really struggles, you will actually gain the most benefit from this and improve your intelligence more than those who find it easy.

As I said, try not to force it. Trying will actually make it more difficult. If you start to feel bored or frustrated, stop and turn to practicing a simple meditation for concentration instead. You can then come back to this later.

To increase the chances of getting really good images, I find sessions of around half an hour usually starts to reveal the best images. However, the more you practice, the faster they come.

On occasions I can see images so realistic you could almost mistake them for reality, but you don't need to get to that level for this to be useful. However, it's something to strive for, because it is incredible when it happens.