Visualization has been practiced in the Orient for centuries, and has become a more and more accepted therapy worldwide in recent years. In the book by author Pauline Wills, 'Teach Yourself Visualization', you learn the simple techniques which allow you to create visual images of distinct clarity in your mind for various goals and purposes. This wonderful book has beautifully illustrated instructions on such items as: Remedying health issues, Body-image changing, Increasing self-value, Helping your career, and various daily living helpers.

For anyone who has ever wanted to change anything in their life, from speeding their career upwards, to changing their entire body shape, to even fighting a cancer, this book is a definite stepping stone on that path. You could not ask for a more clear, and concise, as well as truly simplistic teaching device, all in one easily read book.

Visualization is a form of mental imagery. When you use visualization, you form a clear, firm, and vivid picture in your mind of your goal. You do so in a manner as if the act, or attainment of something had already occurred. The use of visualization is very widespread, and professionals, from actors and musicians, to football teams use it. It's become celebrated, and widely used within the realm of psychotherapy as well. Although it is still widely seen within the pagan and occult communities where it first originated in western civilizations, it has become seen virtually next door to everyone today.

Today you find various terms, from visualization, to mental imagery, creative imaging, dynamic imaging, positive thinking, or imaging, all used for this same practice. Ancient civilizations had belief that the energy produced by our very thoughts, and mental images, and use of our will changed things. Psychologically this is often explained as when a person thinks so positively, and clearly of something, they actually change their ownself, and therefore change the circumstances. Which is correct, is of course entirely speculative based on your personal views.

With Pauline Will's 'Teach Yourself Visualization' book, one of the wonderful features included are the parts relating to 'mandalas'. The word 'mandala' originated in Sanskrit, and means circle, completion. In common usage, the term mandala has come to refer in a general way, any pattern (usually geometric in nature) which is representative of the universe, either on a metaphysical plain, or only in symbolic meaning, as well as a micro view of our universe from our menial human views.

In religious tradition, a mandala is oft used for the purpose of focus. It is used to focus laypersons, or novices, as a sort of spiritual teaching aid. Mandalas are also used to help create 'sacred (or personal) space', and throughout the world as a meditation device, or to help induce a trance state. Through it's more symobolical nature, it is viewed to help progressively enter the deeper states of the conscious mind, the subconscious. We have many levels of sleep, and the same subconscious states can be entered successfully through the use of meditation, via mandala and aid in a visualization attempt.