Visualisation & Meditation
"Have you ever closed your eyes and imagined yourself succeeding? That simple act is called visualisation. It is a powerful practice that our brain responds to in remarkable ways."
Looking back over my life, I realise that visualisation has been one of the quiet companions that has helped me through many different challenges. Long before I understood the science behind it, I was already using my imagination to picture positive outcomes and build confidence from within.
For me, visualisation became the practice of creating clear mental images of the life I wanted to experience or the goals I hoped to achieve. It was like mentally rehearsing success before it happened. Whether I was preparing for an exam, facing a new challenge, or stepping into an unfamiliar situation, I would picture myself feeling calm, capable, and confident.
With only a few minutes of practice each day, those imagined experiences gradually began to feel familiar.
Instead of focusing on what might go wrong, I learnt to picture what could go right.
One of the earliest examples I remember was while preparing for an important examination. Rather than allowing anxiety to take over, I would imagine myself sitting calmly, understanding the questions clearly, recalling what I had studied, and completing the exam with confidence. I even imagined receiving excellent results.
At the time, I simply believed it helped me feel more prepared.
Years later, I discovered there was a scientific explanation for why it had been so effective.
Research in neuroscience has shown that when we vividly imagine performing an action, many of the same neural pathways become active as when we physically carry it out. Every time those pathways are repeated, they become stronger. In many ways, our brains learn through mental rehearsal as well as real experience.
Understanding this fascinated me. What I had practised for years was supported by science.
Visualisation wasn't simply positive thinking—it was helping my brain become more familiar with confidence, success, and possibility.
Throughout my work, I also witnessed visualisation helping other people.
One friend had developed a deep fear of dogs. Together, we worked on gently changing the images her mind associated with them. Instead of expecting fear, she repeatedly imagined meeting a calm, friendly dog, remaining relaxed, and gradually reaching out to stroke it. Over time, those new mental images began replacing her anxious expectations with calmer associations.
Another friend wanted to improve her health by losing weight and becoming more active. Rather than focusing solely on the number on the scales, I encouraged her to imagine the life she hoped to create. She pictured herself choosing nourishing foods, enjoying movement, feeling more energetic, and becoming increasingly confident in her own body. By repeatedly visualising the choices she wanted to make, those healthier habits gradually began to feel more natural.
For me, this has always been the real power of visualisation.
It gently shifts our attention away from fear, doubt, and limitation, and towards possibility.
Over time, our thoughts begin to influence our emotions, our emotions influence our behaviour, and our behaviour helps shape the life we create.
In many ways, what we consistently focus on quietly grows stronger.
A Personal Memory
When I think about where this all began, my thoughts always return to my grandparents' garden.
I was around nine years old, playing with my younger cousin. We were taking turns jumping over a small fence and some hedges.
My cousin confidently cleared one of the taller hedges, but when it was my turn, I stopped.
To me, it looked far too high.
My grandmother noticed my hesitation and walked over.
She smiled and gently said, "Put out you can't, Jean, and think you can."
Then she pointed towards my head and asked, "Can you see yourself on the other side?"
I closed my eyes and pictured myself making the jump.
Then I ran. For a moment I felt as though I was flying.
When I landed safely on the other side, my grandmother smiled warmly and simply said,
"I knew you could do it."
I didn't realise it then, but I was learning something that would stay with me for the rest of my life.
She had shown me the power of believing in what was possible before it became reality.
Looking back now, I recognise she was gently introducing me to visualisation without either of us knowing it at the time.
It became something that strengthened my confidence, helped me overcome self-doubt, and reminded me that sometimes the greatest barriers exist first in our own minds.
Meditation
If visualisation taught me to imagine what was possible, meditation taught me how to clear my mind, increase focus and regain a sense of calm by releasing tension held in my body.
For me, meditation and visualisation naturally went hand in hand. While one encouraged me to look forward with hope, the other gave me the opportunity to rest, restore, and renew my sense of wellbeing. It offered a place where I could slow down, breathe, and simply be.
Over the years, meditation has helped me observe my thoughts without becoming overwhelmed by them. Rather than trying to stop my mind from thinking, I gradually learnt to notice my thoughts with kindness, allowing them to come and go without judgement.
With regular practice, I noticed I felt calmer, my anxiety eased, and the connection between my mind and body grew stronger.
Whenever life felt overwhelming, meditation became one of the simplest ways I could reconnect with myself. Walking with the shadow of cancer, meditation has once again become an important part of my daily life. It reminds me that peace can still be found, whatever life brings.
It has never taken away life's challenges, but it has changed how I meet them.
Over the years I have explored many different forms of meditation. Sometimes I focus on my breathing as it flows naturally in and out. No control, just observation, helped strengthen my attention. At other times I practise a Body Scan meditation, noticing sensations throughout my body from head to toe, noticing areas of tension or discomfort, and softening them with awareness and breath. Walking meditation allows me to bring mindfulness into each step, deepening my awareness and appreciation of the many benefits of being in nature. While at other times I have found comfort in repeating a simple word or phrase, or quietly offering thoughts of kindness towards myself and others.
Each practice has offered something slightly different, but all have helped me feel clearer, stronger, and more secure within myself.
A Personal Memory
When I think back to where meditation first entered my life, I find myself walking once again beside my grandfather.
I was about ten or eleven years old when we spent an afternoon walking through the hills surrounding the little town where we lived. We stopped first at Jacob's Well, a small natural spring where fresh water flowed directly from the hillside.
From there we continued until we reached the river that flowed through the town we lived in.
We sat together beside the water.
After a few moments my grandfather gently said, "If you want to feel calm and happy, just listen to the sound of the water. Let your mind wander. Listen to your breathing until you feel peaceful."
I did exactly as he suggested.
I remember listening to the flowing water, noticing my breathing, and feeling an overwhelming sense of peace.
At the time, I thought we were simply enjoying a quiet moment together.
Looking back now, I realise my grandfather was introducing me to meditation long before I understood what meditation was.
Just as my grandmother's way of encouraging me to visualise stayed with me, so did those moments with my grandfather.
Sharing Meditation with Others
Years later, meditation became something I was able to share with others.
Some of my happiest professional memories are of leading guided meditations alongside my daughter Jodie during our workshops and introducing them into my one-to-one sessions with clients.
Watching people gradually relax, release tension, and reconnect with themselves was always a privilege.
Often they arrived carrying stress, uncertainty, or self-doubt.
As the meditation unfolded, I could almost see those burdens becoming lighter.
Many discovered a greater sense of calm, clarity, confidence, and self-awareness. Some simply enjoyed giving themselves permission to pause for the first time in a very long while.
Those moments reminded me that meditation is not about escaping life.
It is about learning how to meet life with greater presence and compassion.
Reconnecting with My Higher Self
Looking back now, I believe it was during my late twenties that I consciously began rediscovering a deeper part of myself.
For me, this is what I came to understand as my Higher Self.
I don't think of it as something separate from who I am. Rather, it feels like the truest, most authentic part of me — the quiet place beyond fear, self-doubt, and the constant chatter of everyday life.
It is the part of me that remains calm when everything around me feels uncertain.
The part that responds with compassion rather than judgement.
The part that reminds me of what truly matters.
Meditation became the doorway back to that place.
Throughout my life there have been moments of uncertainty, fear, grief, and transition.
During those times I would often sit, breathe deeply, and simply ask for guidance.
The answers never arrived dramatically.
Instead, they came in unexpected ways.
Sometimes through a feeling.
Sometimes through a quiet knowing.
Sometimes through a sense of peace that allowed me to trust the next step.
Over the years I came to realise that this was my own way of reconnecting with my Higher Self.
Its voice never shouted.
It whispered.
It never panicked.
It reassured.
It reminded me that the wisdom I was searching for had never been outside me.
It had always been there within me.
When I look back over my life, I realise that visualisation gave me the courage to believe in what was possible, while meditation gave me the stillness to trust myself along the way.
Together, they have become an important part of my life, helping me navigate both joyful moments and life's more difficult ones with clarity and resilience.