Dr. Win Winger developed the concept of image streaming which is explained in depth in his Project Renaissance on www.winwenger.com.
Image streaming focuses on the individual’s ability to obtain answers to questions, enhance his awareness and increase his intelligence quotient. We don’t think he would go as far as guarantee you a reserved seat in the Mensa Society or in the ten other high IQ societies like Prometheus, Tops and the Giga. Dr. Wenger makes no such claims; his mission is to help us sharpen our awareness and thinking abilities, by experiencing a marked improvement in the way we reason out and describe objects around us. Nor does he promise that we would develop into another Einstein or Socrates, although he refers to these two great thinkers frequently in his discussions.
Dr. Wenger does say, however, that we should engage in image streaming and use the 10/10 test.
“If, after at least 10 minutes per day of Image-Streaming for at least ten days, you don't find your life positively and miraculously transformed, then ignore everything we've said and do something else instead. But if you do find Socratic and other miracles happening in your life, please do continue the practice of Image-Streaming: no matter how good things become, they can become even better for you! — Fair test?”[62]
Theory of Image Streaming
The key phrase here is “visual image.” We may tend to think of image streaming as echoing that of visualization. Our reading of Dr. Wenger’s theory, however, does lead us to think that while it may include visualization elements, image streaming goes beyond that. In fact the original intention was to refine visualization skills, but people have reported experienced a higher degree of creativity and intelligence.
The images we see in our daily life carry with them essential ideas and insights from those ideas. The concept of day dreaming is a vital component of Dr. Wenger’s theory, pointing out that Einstein's theory of relativity came about as a result of his day dreaming.
By verbalizing these images that come within our vision and consciousness and describing them aloud, these images become sharper and clearer in our mind. The mere act of observing produces what Wenger calls a feedback mechanism that results in producing more imagery.
The role of image streaming is to form a connection between a person’s verbal and thinking abilities, therefore increasing his intelligence. How this is achieved is not yet clear. The evidence at best is anecdotal.
While Wenger’s goal is not to transform us into a great thinker deserving of the Nobel, he does describe image streaming as a process that combines the Einstein method of day dreaming and the Socratic method of repeated questioning. These two methods make it possible for individuals to acquire more mental imagery skills that bond our visual and thinking capacities together.
Image Streaming: Procedure
Detailed instructions on how to image stream are available on Dr. Wenger’s web site, www.winwenger.com; we will cover the highlights of the procedure here.
The idea of talking to ourselves may seem funny, but the idea is to think aloud; more specifically, describe aloud what we see. Wenger suggests talking to a hand-held tape
describing aloud what your five senses are telling you. You have to come up with a rich description with texture and detail. At first it may seem “forced” or “exaggerated”. Don’t let this bother you. Continue describing what you see. Notice that more details will come to you. The more you describe, the more data will stream into your consciousness. These images gradually become fuller in texture and more “picturesque”, producing almost symbolic or metaphoric elements.
2. Say it begins to rain hard. You can hear the raindrops crash against your window pane, and they get stronger as the wind picks up velocity, making the rain really loud and persistent. Instead of saying, “this is rain” or “the rain is falling hard”, you describe it using all five senses. You can say, this rain smells so good, it’s washing off the dust and grime from the window sill. The sounds of the rain drops are similar to that of Niagara Falls (Canadian side). The pounding reminds me of bongo drums that follow the rhythm of music coming from nearby. I see large stubborn drops of water falling on the ground, nourishing the oak trees and flower bushes outside in the garden…continue with this thought pattern.
3. As you’re describing the details, describe them as rapidly as you can. Wenger says describing it quicker will tell you whether something else is worth mentioning. Go ahead and let the images flow through. Do you feel that your oral description is bringing other images into focus?
4. Try doing this with your eyes closed. It can be done, Wenger says, because your “inner visual circuits” don’t get distracted and other details appear at their fullest. Keep your
eyes closed so you see more freely.
And by the way, that isn’t a contradiction in terms!
Give each image streaming session 10 to 20 minutes daily. Accord importance even to the most trivial of images and describe them in such a way that you’re looking at something too magnificent to behold. If you commit to do this consistently 10 to 20 minutes at a time, you will gradually acquire the basic skills you need to make visual thinking work for you, and you begin to enjoy the other benefits of improved intellectual performance and creativity, Wenger explains.
Note: it may happen that your initial attempts will not produce mental pictures. Wenger offers a series of 24 back-up procedures on his web site to get you on your feet. If you use them and you start getting a picture in your mind – no matter how small or transient – “describe the dickens out of it” he says. As you warm up, pictures will start streaming in and more will come. If you don’t experience any problem getting images when you start, then don’t use these 24 back up procedures. They would only slow you down in your image streaming practice. The idea is to go ahead and start experiencing. These back-up procedures would only be useful for people who have a complete mental blank or if you’re planning to teach it.
The objective of image streaming techniques is that when your description is relayed to a tape recorder or computer or another live being, re-reading them would enhance your understanding of what you’ve just described and would s-t-r-e-t-c-h your imagination to new dimensions. Your job is to nurture the pregnant meaning from what you’ve visually captured.
As you surf on Dr. Wenger’s web site, you will see that he has written other articles on personal development and growth and exploring scientific discovery, technical invention and innovation, with image-streaming as his guiding principle.
Dr. Win wants you to win with streamin’! Yon stream, whose sources run
Turned by a pebble's edge,
Is Athabasca, rolling toward the sun Through the cleft mountain-ledge… (Oliver Wendell Holmes from his poem,