Visual Imagery Activity

Close your eyes. “See” in your mind’s eye a beautiful beach. The sun is shining warmly, the breeze coming from the ocean is soft and warm, palm trees are overhead and a few seagulls circle about. Imagine walking barefoot in the warm sand, feel your feet sink in the sand with each step. Walk toward the water’s edge and let the water roll over your feet. Jump in the water; it is warm, gentle and very refreshing. Come out of the water and walk to your big beach towel, lay down and relax. Rest for a while in all the peace and beauty surrounding you. Imagine how it looks, how it sounds, how it smells. Breathe in deeply the warm ocean air, stay as long as you like.

When you are ready to leave, go to the edge of the water and throw in anything that has been bothering you, anything you wish to be rid of in your life, anything you are feeling sad or angry about, anything you worry about. This could be anything like problems at home, problems at school, issues with friends. Picture it as a big rock, a chain, a heavy bag over your shoulders, or any image that helps you see it as undesirable. Throw it in the ocean as far as you can. Watch it sink and get taken by the waves. When the “visit” is done, be thankful for burden being gone, the problem, the worry; then walk peacefully back through the warm sand and take a rest on your beach towel. When you are ready, open your eyes.

Ask the following questions:

Where did your visualization take you?

Do you feel more calm/relaxed after going through this exercise?

What did you see, hear, feel, smell during your visualization/did anything in particular stand out?

What was it like throwing your burdens into the water? How did it feel?