“There is never nothing going on.
There are no ordinary moments.
Where are you? Here.
What time is it? Now.
What are you? This moment.”
Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Video Credit: DMBgirl129
Image training is a visualization technique. This is like a driving simulator which prepares the driver for practical situations.
There are different levels in image training. Let’s go one by one.
Level 1
You should use the public transport. First study the bus’s specs, weight, tech data, route, course and be familiar with it. Then get ready to take a ride. Be comfortable and sit. As once as you sit close your eyes. Then see the road with your mind’s eye. Imagine everything from switching on the ignition, signalling, engaging first gear and slowly moving on, shifting up, accelerating, braking, shifting down and coming to a stop. Listen to the sounds: feel the vibration, movements and force. Then use your brain and think what is exactly the driver doing and why is he doing that?
Why is he slowing down? Is another vehicle come to contact? Or is that a bus stop? Is passenger getting in? Or getting out? Are you on a bend? Are you having road problem? Is there a road construction coming up ahead? Are you on a narrow road? Which gear are you on? Why isn’t the driver gaining? What is the reason? Etc.
This is a mental exercise which requires all your attention and focus. And this exercise will occupy your entire mind. You should think and analyse. Then you should clarify. You can open your eyes sometimes to clear your doubts.
At first you’ll find it’s very difficult to finish the journey (your task). In most cases it’s because you’ll run out of concentration. But don’t worry. With time it will get to you.
You should learn how to stay calm and go to your goal without getting distracted. It is the only thing that matters.
Once you practice enough the level 1 you can move on to the next level.
Level 2
This exercise will require course knowledge. You should do this in a course you are familiar with.
Ask a friend to drive and get in to the passenger seat. Wear a blindfold and try to stay in the moment. Now use your mind’s eye and analyse every movement. Speak to driver and clear the doubts.
Conclusion
For most people mind is just a reflex organ. It reacts to everything; fills your head with thousands of random thoughts a day. But at the end of the day, none of those thoughts reveal any more about you than a freckle does at the end of your nose. Don’t get it wrong. It is not saying that you should get rid of those thoughts. Without them you can’t do decision making; therefore they should stay. But the end result is you should stop gathering information from the outside and start gathering it from the inside.
What you are trying to achieve here is learning to stay in the moment. In order to do that you need to empty the trash. Trash is anything that is keeping you from the only thing that matters: this moment. That’s part of your training ― Learning to throw out everything you don’t need in your mind. Once you do that you’ll be amazed at what you can do and how well you can do it.
Thank you.