Ignite true health with creative visualization.
Ron (who suffers with multiple sclerosis) describes his remarkable recovery after nearly dying from pneumonia.
“I felt my life force ebbing from me as I struggled to breath in my critical care bed. Shooting hot pains ripped through my tongue. I asked for healing. An image of my cat, Tom, appeared. Tom’s a big white, fluffy cat with green eyes. I felt the warm softness of his fur.
I heard his rhythmic purr and felt its subtle vibration. I could even smell a hint of his animal nature. My heart opened and I felt an enormous outpouring of love. That love filled me with peace and healing. My breathing eased, the pain in my tongue vanished. I continue to call on Tom [his image] whenever I feel scared or need comfort and healing.”
Ron recovered from his pneumonia. He still has multiple sclerosis (MS) but he now views it as essential to his life’s purpose. He became a counselor specializing in helping people cope with chronic disease. His talent for helping others stems from his personal experiences with MS. He loves his work. And… even though it isn’t perfect, he loves his life.
Health & Healing
Health exists within you. It may be a dim ember, but it is there awaiting the conditions for its full expression. It is your true self, your birthright.
Healing is the movement toward health. The word heal is derived from the old English word “haelan” meaning to restore wholeness. True health exists in the full expression of who you are…body, mind, and spirit. You may have an incurable disease or an injury so extensive that a function is forever lost, but you can always heal.
Health begins on the inside. It’s mainly determined by the choices you make in how to live your life every moment of the day. Your thoughts (mind) and feelings (heart) determine how you chose to act or behave. Sure, your genes play a role in health, but it’s minor (only 10 to 30 percent) compared to the powerful role your mind and heart play.
What is mind? It’s a lot more than the three-pound mass of brain that lies inside your head. It’s your thoughts (including beliefs and attitudes) that drive feelings, choices, and behaviors.
What is heart? Your heart’s more than the amazing 10-ounce muscle pumping blood through your body. Your heart is the symbol for your spiritual nature. It’s where you feel the strongest of emotions like love, anger, and fear.
Too often, our thoughts are on automatic. Automatic thoughts come from significant people in our lives like parents and teachers. Over time, we become so accustomed to them we accept them as fact. When they are positive and support our health and growth, we benefit from them. But, when they are negative or critical they harm us.
You do not have to stay on automatic. You have an awesome resource within you that you can access at any time to create the life and health you desire… your imagination.
Anyone Can Use Creative Visualization
Sometimes people think they don’t have an imagination or they’re not creative. We all have and use our imagination. Let’s try and experiment. Just answer the two questions below:
- What were you doing on your last birthday?
- Imagine taking a bite out of a juicy lemon.
You probably saw yourself doing something (even if it’s a vague image) in response to question one and you may have even noticed more saliva in your mouth as you imagined taking a bite out of the sour lemon in question two. You used your imagination. Creative visualization, or guided imagery exercises help you use your imagination in an intentional way to create the life and health you desire.
Now, let’s harness the power of your mind and heart through creative visualization. These steps include all of your senses: seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling (not just visual as the name suggests). The more vividly you experience all the senses the more real and effective creative visualization becomes. Just follow these three steps: get ready, do it, and reflect on the experience.
Creative Visualization: Get Ready
Getting ready is all about getting relaxed. Chose a time and place where you are free of distractions. Let others know, if need be, that you want to be quiet and alone for 20 or 30 minutes. Get comfortable. Loosen your clothing, take off your shoes and sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
You may want to play relaxing background music or record this script along with the music to guide you. Or, you may find that after practicing a few times you recall these creative visualization steps easily.
Creative Visualization: Do It
Now that you are comfortable, take ten easy, deep breaths. Imagine filling your lungs with healing oxygen from the air you breathe in. Say to yourself “relax” as you breathe out. Imagine releasing all tension and dis-ease as the air flows out. You can close your eyes, if you wish.
Body Scan: Now scan your body for areas of tension. If you notice an area of tension, breathe into the area and as you breathe out imagine releasing the tension. If the tension persists, tighten the area and hold it for several seconds then let it relax.
Choose a Personal Healing Image: When relaxed, imagine a healing image that will flow through your body. It can be a clear or colored light; God’s love, universal love, universal healing energy, or whatever image has meaning to you.
Now, imagine this image (I will use golden light from here on) is flowing down through the crown of your head. Then it flows over your forehead, around your eyes, cheeks and into your jaws and lips, healing and relaxing as it flows. It flows down the back of your head and into your neck and throat… healing, nourishing, and relaxing.
Continue to breathe in the golden light as it flows down your shoulders and into your arms, wrists, and hands… healing, nourishing, and relaxing. Now direct the light into your lungs and your heart… healing, nourishing, and relaxing. Take a few moments to feel and experience the healing golden light as your hold it in your heart. Feel its energy filling your heart and radiating out into every cell of your body.
Now continue to direct the golden light with your breath into you abdomen and pelvis… healing and relaxing. Bring the light down your spine and into your hips… healing, nourishing, and relaxing. Then bring the light into your thighs, knees, lower legs, ankles, and feet… healing, nourishing, and relaxing.
Take a few moments to experience this peaceful and healing state. Soak the healing golden light into every cell.
Recall a Special Place: Now recall or imagine a special place that was healing or nurturing for you. It could be from a vacation, your childhood or purely from your imagination. It’s a place where you feel safe, peaceful, and relaxed.
Now, notice and experience this place.
What do you see? Is there water or trees, blue-sky, white puffy clouds or a gentle rain?
What are the sounds of this place? Is there the sound of water flowing over rocks in a river or stream, or the sound of waves lapping at the shore? Or, perhaps there is the sound of the wind in the trees?
What do you feel in this place? Do you feel the warmth of the sun’s light or the gentle summer breeze on your skin? Or, the invigorating tingle of the ocean spray as it blow across your body.
Are there smells that nurture you… like fresh baked apple pie, or the sweet smell of honey suckle in full boom, or the salty smell of the ocean in the breeze?
Perhaps there is even a taste associated with this special place. Perhaps it’s the taste of sweet berries, or cool ice cream on a warm summer day.
Take some time just appreciating and experiencing your special place. Experience its deep peace, relaxation, and comfort.
Ask for Guidance: If you like, you can ask for guidance on something that is concerning you. This guidance may come from within you, or from an image such as a light. Or it may come from an animal, bird or a higher power. Take some time to be with this wise source, just relaxing and listening, being open and peaceful.
When you’re ready return from your special place. Focus on your breathing, appreciating that this is your special place that you can return to at anytime. It is always there for you by following this simple process.
Choose Your Personal Reminder Signal: Now choose a signal that reminds you of this special place. Your signal can be a simple act like holding your thumb and index finger together or taking three deep breaths. This signal can bring you back instantly to the peace and relaxation of your special place.
Return: Now take a deep breath in and as you breathe out say to yourself, “I am well” as you gently open your eyes and return to noticing your surroundings.
Creative Visualization: Reflection
Give yourself a few moments of feeling profound gratitude. Soak up and appreciate your experience. Recall that this experience is always available to you and that you can access it at any time with these simple creative visualization steps and/or your signal.
Congratulations, you just completed a creative visualization exercise. Like anything you do, the more you practice the easier it becomes.
This exercise is a guide. Please modify it to fit your unique style and needs. Don’t worry if you found yourself getting distracted. Just bring yourself gently back to focusing on feeling your breath. And, don’t worry if you didn’t notice any guidance from a request. Some times the guidance doesn’t come in words, it can come in any form and you may be absorbing it without even knowing it.
Creative visualization works. That’s why athletes use it to improve in their sport and therapists use it to help their patients heal. Studies show that creative visualization has many positive effects on health and personal growth. It can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose blood levels. It can also heighten short-term immune cell activity and lessen pain.
You may want to use professionally prepared guided imagery CDs to speed up your learning.
If you are dealing with a significant health issue, you may want to work with a therapist skilled in using creative visualization. The Academy for Guided Imagery provide a directory of certified imagery practitioners (see resources).
However you decide to do it, begin now to use creative visualization to create the health and life you desire.
Resources
Academy for Guided Imagery for information, research articles, and a certified imagery practitioner directory at http://www.academyforguidedimagery.com/
Wild Divine for training programs at http://www.wilddivine.com/wilddivine-demonstration-page.html.
