Writers are accustomed to reading newsletters such as WritersWeekly.com to get practical, concrete information and tips on writing, marketing, and publishing. Occasionally, however, we get advice on how to harness our own powers of creativity, positivity, and spiritual energy to achieve happiness and success. This is one of those articles. We now enter the realm of the subconscious. Or as some people I know call it, the “woo woo” zone.

In his book Visualize and Achieve, author Remez Sasson describes creative visualization as a “mental technique that uses the imagination to make dreams and goals come true.” He says on his website, SuccessConsciousness.com, that using this technique can “cause events to happen, and attract money, possessions, work, people and love into our life.”

It’s a concept that never occurred to me to use in terms of my writing, until recently. A friend told me to use visualization to help me get the job that I want. The trick, she said, is to put a picture of something that represents what you want directly in front of you so that you see it every day.

Let me share with you her personal story. She is originally from New York and moved to Florida about 12 years ago. Changes in her life threw everything upside down and she needed to somehow start a new life. Her nephew, who was starting up a new communications company in New York with his brother, offered her a job. She accepted, so she packed up and moved back to New York.

Here’s where the visualization part came in: On her computer at her job (in Florida), she had put as wallpaper a photo of New York City that she particularly loved. Also on her desk, in her direct line of vision, were photos of her with these same two nephews. So, every day she looked at photos of NYC and herself with her nephews. Next thing you know, she was back in New York working for these nephews.

Now, I don’t know if that really was the result of visualization, the power of suggestion, kismet, or just plain old coincidence, but I figure anything that you can do to bring what you want to youóas long as it doesn’t hurt or inconvenience anyone elseóis worth a shot. Pile on the ju-ju, if you will.

What does this have to do with writing? Well, I see this as an un-invasive, unaggressive, non-obnoxious, free tool to use to improve our rate of acceptance and sales. Creative visualization has many components to it, some of them meditative, some of them physical, but I’m only going to talk about one particular method of employing the technique. Here’s what you do:

Download an image that is appropriate to what you want. So, if you’re a book author and are hoping to publish with a particular company, download that company’s logo. If you’re an article writer and want to be published in a particular magazine or anthology, or want your book reviewed in a particular magazine or venue, download one of their covers or logos. Maybe you’re working on a novel and are having a rough time with it. Draw (by hand or with an art program) what you imagine your cover will look like and print that out. Use it as inspiration to finish your novel. After all, you can’t sell your novel if you don’t complete it. If your book has already been published and you want to sell more copies, print out the cover image and images of money. If nothing else, the images will serve as reminders to you to keep looking for promotional venues.

Tack the images up where you work or where you spend most of your time. They have to be right in front of you. Not to the side. Not tucked into a drawer or in your locker. Right in front of you where you can see them every day, all day long.

I’m not an expert in this stuff, nor do I know if it works, but I am open to it. I think most things are open to interpretation and that a lot of things are possible. That doesn’t mean that I will believe you if you tell me that if I hop on one foot, tap myself on the head, and recite the Star-Spangled Banner, I will win the lottery. It just means that I think we are capable of more than we realize. There is untapped energy all around us and if you believe in the power of the human mind and open yourself up to it, you may just achieve a little (or a lot) more than you thought was possible. Ultimately, doing it hurts no one and costs nothing, so why not try it?

With that, I’ll leave you with these words from a man who was a philosopher, poet, and ahead of his time: Rod Serling.

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man.
It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground between light and shadow,
between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears
and the summit of his knowledge.
This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call…
The Twilight Zone.

Roberta Roberti is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. Her cookbook, What, No Meat? Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way, is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers. Roberta is an editor and a culinary school graduate. She looks forward to the New Year’s weekend every year so she can watch the Twilight Zone marathon.

Her blog can be found at https://www.MizChef.com. Follow her on Twitter @MizChefCooks, and check out her food photos on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/mizchefcooks.