Image streaming

I’ve always been fascinated by the untapped powers of our minds. In this short article I’d like to introduce you to a way to use these powers to generate ideas and solve any problem you may have in your life. Just think, your own mind contains a wealth of resources and solutions, if only you just take the time and effort to tap into them! And this technique is the perfect method for doing so.

Psychologists now believe that the vast majority of our thinking is unconscious, an idea that fits with the reports of countless writers, scientists, artists and composers throughout history who claim that their inspiration comes from parts of their mind that they are not consciously aware of. Therefore your unconscious mind is far more likely to come up with powerful solutions and creative ideas than your conscious mind is.

In their book ‘The Einstein Factor’, Win Wenger and Richard Poe teach a practical technique for tapping your unconscious mind for ideas; they call it image-streaming.

The biggest mistake you can have with image-streaming is to dismiss it as ‘just another mental technique’. This one is special. This works and its very powerful. All that you need to do is actually try it, and practice with it.

Image-streaming is based on the idea that just as you have a constant inner stream of words (your conscious mind, when you are talking to yourself), you also have an unconscious stream of thought in images. But most of the time we are not even aware of it! By closing your eyes and paying attention you can cultivate your ability to tap into this stream of images.

Most of us have become so used to thinking in words – talking to others constantly, talking to ourselves – that we forget that we also have a non-linguistic intelligence. A picture can say a thousand words, and this is often the case with the images that your unconscious mind produces.

This is how you do it: get a tape recorder or Dictaphone that you can talk into and make a recording. Then sit down somewhere where you can relax and will not be disturbed. Close your eyes and ask yourself the question that you wish to find the answer to. Then pay attention to any imagery that pops up. To begin with you will probably find it hard to see anything. Keep practising, and the images will get stronger. Afterwards listen to your recording and jot down some notes on what you think it means. You’ll find that sometimes the images suggest a literal answer, other times they are more cryptic. If no apparent solutions are forthcoming, or you don’t understand the images you’re getting, simply try again.

This method allows you to make use of the extraordinary power of feedback. We tend to learn things at an accelerated rate when we have good, accurate feedback. By hearing yourself describe your inner imagery, your ability to become aware of that imagery starts to increase massively.

Here are three more tips for making image-streaming work:

Don’t just describe the basics of what you see, try to include any details on movement, colour, brightness, and even texture, temperature and sound. Use all your senses.

Stick to describing the sensory details of what you’re experiencing, and leave analysing what they mean until afterwards.

The answers you get will be as specific or vague as your question: be as detailed as possible in how your frame your question. So, rather than ask “How can I earn more money?” a more useful question might be: “How can I earn at least £1,000 a month, working at home using my computer part time at weekends?”

Ultimately, like any technique, it will only work if you use it. The more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Finally, there is also an audio course on image-streaming available if you wish to go a lot deeper into the subject. It’s available in the UK from www.Lifetools.com and the deluxe edition has some very interesting tapes of a Scottish image-streaming teacher called Michael Campbell. However, the course is pretty expensive compared to the price of the paperback book, and – in my opinion – doesn’t give all that much more information.

Even if your sceptical, please give it a go, you may be surprised at the results!

Finally, if you have tried this technique, or begin to try it after reading this email, please send me a note to let me know how useful you found it!

‘The Einstein Factor’, Win Wenger and Richard Poe (1996), Prima Publishing, New York.