I have been meditating for some time now, about 9 +/- months. I am able to calm my mind and not get many thoughts going on, usually.

But the one thing I can not do is visualize anything. I'm not sure if this is because of the many years, decades, of drug and alcohol abuse, or if my mind just doesn't have the ability. I used to be very artistic and could 'see' the picture in my mind while drawing it. But this was a long time ago. I also very very rarely remember dreams, I know we all have them, but to me I just wake up and not remember anything.

Is there a way to help in the ability to visualize while meditating?

Thanks for all your help on this

Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them~The Buddha~

Use a visual aid like a statue, thangka or deity card until the image is ingrained in your mind. And then just keep practicing, it gets easier. If you are trying to visualize seed syllables find and image of that and use it.

One should do nothing other than benefit sentient beings either directly or indirectly - Shantideva

Not so sure that past drug use has anything to do with it, I speak from experience as I abused heroin and all sorts of hallucinogens for years. You need to understand that the mental consiousness is not like the other sensory consiousness, so don't expect to get a clear and stable image right off. If you are doing deity yoga, there is much more to the process than just creating a visualization. You are using the imaginative abilities of the mind to create an overall "feeling" of being the deity. This of course needs to be supported by the transmission of empowerment. Alexander Berzin gives some great advice on visualization on his website www.berzinarchives.com. If you are using visualization for shamatha, it can be usefull to start by using an object for support, such as a picture of a Tibetan or Sanskrit syllable. It is just something that takes time so don't get frustrated. I had a really hard time learning to visualize Tibetan syllables facing outward, I was so used to seeing them in a certain way. It is still difficult for me after years, so don't get too hard on yourself and certaintly do not doubt you ability, just keep trying!

Have you read anything by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche? He is a master scholar and meditator of the Karma Kagyu tradition. I believe his teachings on meditation and the mind would be useful to any meditator, even if they do not practice in the Tibetan tradition. His website is www.rinpoche.com and there are a ton of profound teachings. Check it out if you haven't already. Hope this helps

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

I read about a nifty idea in which one begins small- with fingernail or an earlobe - and then visualizes that in detail, adding small parts of the image as each part becomes clear in the mind. It does seem effective.

For you, the foremost obstacle to visualizing properly is your worry that you've got it all wrong. Think about it--do you need to look in the mirror to remember what your face looks like? If you think about your apartment, for example, you can do it without having to remember every single thing in it, right? I found it tremendously helpful when it was pointed out to me that the visualization is holographic in nature, that every part of it is implicit in every other part. The important part is to relax and inhabit the deity fully, inseparably and with divine pride, then it won't be necessary to laboriously go from jewel to jewel to jewel and torture yourself that you're not getting it.

Chris

"All the sublime teachings, so profound--to throw away one and then grab yet another will not bear even a single fruit. Persevere, therefore, in simply one."--Dudjom Rinpoche, "Nectar for the Hearts of Fortunate Disciples. Song No. 8"