Should You Visualize in the 1st or 3rd person?

What do you think?  Should you Visualize in the 1st or 3rd person?  Both methods are valuable and helpful for different reasons – but if you use the wrong method at the wrong time, you’ll be well into your next lifetime before you manifest what you want.

Before I go there, let me explain what I mean by the 1st and 3rd person.

1st person, how to visualize in first person would be through your own eyes, or in an associated state.  In this case you are in fact the dreamer doing the visualization.

3rd person would be from outside your body, or in a disassociated state. In this case you’re the observer – or ghost – watching the dreamer.

Visualizing as the dreamer triggers the emotional or subconscious mind to develop feelings for the things you want. This feeling triggers a change in vibration. Attraction is preceded by vibration.  Get into the right vibration and you will attract the things you want.

How do you change your vibration?

By changing your feelings.  Here is a quick test to do exactly that.

Just be the observer at this point.  Imagine that you’re on the beach somewhere hot, maybe the Caribbean.  Now picture yourself sitting on the beach, lying in the sand staring up into the sky. Notice how you feel.

This time become the dreamer.  Actually step inside your body and look through your own eyes; this is a first person visualization.  Feel the heat radiating from the sunshine and the sand beneath your feet.  Hear the waves crashing upon the shore line and the breeze whispering in your ear.  See the beautiful colors in the sky and the brightness of the sun. How did you feel this time?

Remember that being in the dreamer state is the way to develop powerful feelings.  Being the observer helps you distant yourself – or move away from experiencing your feelings.

If you don’t trigger feelings during your visualization, you won’t attract the things you want.  You see, your subconscious mind “speaks” in emotions.  It doesn’t understand much of anything else.  The more often you create powerful feelings, the more frequent you are speaking to your subconscious mind.  That’s how you change your vibration.

Be mindful that your feelings are representative of your vibration.  A stronger feelings indicates a higher vibration.  And when you vibrate at a higher frequency you become a magnet for things to come to you.

3rd Person Visualization

Visualizing as the observer has it’s benefits too.  This is like watching the person visualizing. Here are a few to consider:

  • As the observer you can see yourself in a new light when dealt with challenges; a new perspective is sometimes all you need to tackle tough obstacles.
  • Being the observer allows you to distance yourself from negative feelings.  In some situations this can provide more clarity and calmness of mind.  And with calmness of mind comes better thinking power.

Remember, as emotions fall, intelligence rises;

  • You can uncover blind spots by being the observer.  Think of it this way.  When you see the faults in others it’s very obvious to you.  You can’t understand why others don’t see this in themselves.  Being the observer allows you to see how others see you.  It might be all you need to uncover those areas that are unknown.
  • When you’re the observer you can add more clarity to your clear mental image.  Maybe there are details you hadn’t considered when looking through the eyes of the dreamer.  Be the observer to notice the things you haven’t yet noticed.

Regardless of which method you use, both are important.  Learn how to use them both.   Once you become masterful at how to imagine in the first person, begin visualizing as the observer, then mix them up, become the dreamer and dream bigger dreams.

14 Comments

  • Raymond Burton

    Reply Reply January 8, 2009

    It’s a subtle shift but I think it’s really important. It’s something that I am going to keep in the forefront of my mind. I’ll switch between the two tonight before bed to experiment with the feeling. When I think about it, I usually go to the observer.

    Perhaps this is why my visualizing for manifestation is not nearly as effective as my goal and intention writing is for manifestation.

    How bout that then eh? Who’d a thunk. Threw the ‘eh’ in for the Canadian readers…

  • Steve

    Reply Reply January 8, 2009

    You’re funny Raymond – I always get a chuckle from your comments (here or in the Pavlina Forum)

    I don’t usually put the “eh” in when I’m writing but with conversation, it’s a different story.

    – especially when I talk really fast, the “eh” comes right out and then it becomes obvious that I’m Canadian!

    Can’t fool anyone :)

  • Melissa

    Reply Reply January 15, 2009

    I have a natural tendency towards the 3rd person visualization, I suspect because of the programming from watching TV, movies etc. Yet I find when I make the effort to visualize in the 1st person my emotions are definitely stronger. My most prized visualization is about walking my daughter home from school in the afternoon. That would mean I am working from home. I have gotten it so clear in my mind that I can feel her little hand in mine and I can feel the breeze and the weight of her backpack on my left arm (yeah, I’m gonna carry it for her). Makes me very happy.

  • Steve

    Reply Reply January 15, 2009

    …ooohhh, that sounds really nice :)

    I’m going to borrow that for my own vision (for when I have kids)

  • Interesting distinction and – although it’s obvious in retrospect – not something I’d really thought of.

    We use some visualisation in our presentation skills training but I’ve always tended towards first person stuff: I’ll try using third person on today’s training course and see if people find it more useful.

    Cheers…. Simon

  • Anna

    Reply Reply January 29, 2009

    Posted @ Widows Quest Carnival of Positive Thinking saying “…Not many people know this, but I’ve been trained in NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming. With this training I’ve been able to change thought patterns fast. How fast? I’m talking seconds, not hours, days or even months. In this video I’ll show you exactly how I change thoughts fast using NLP…”

  • Bekirabi

    Reply Reply February 2, 2009

    I always found that visualizing in the third person tends to create an ideal you that you observe. The ideal me actually makes me feel more distant from that which I visualize. I feel that I will actually have or do X once I am Y (the ideal me).

  • ann

    Reply Reply July 27, 2011

    Interesting approach, I’ll have to try it. Thanks for sharing.

  • LD

    Reply Reply April 28, 2012

    Bekirabi, I think you’re right! My 3rd person visualization has me looking far cuter than reality, and that keeps me holding on to “I need to lose weight and get new clothes before I will manifest this.” Forget that! I want it NOW!

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