Enhance Health, Healing and Wellness
Personal instruction for
Visualization, Guided Imagery, Meditation
& Self-hypnosis
Introduction
Visualization
Guided Imagery & Psychoimmunology
Meditation
Self-hypnosis
Introduction: Visualization, Guided Imagery,
Meditation and Self-hypnosis are useful for many purposes and can be applied in virtually limitless ways to support and enhance health, healing and well-being. Each method derives its potential by means of an
altered state of consciousness. Within the altered state realm exist many, perhaps even infinite opportunities of subjective exploration and experience waiting to be discovered. Accessing an altered state of
consciousness allows a person to transcend the limitations and restrictions of the conscious mind with its years of conditioning and programming with regard to what is "real" and what is possible. Visualization, guided imagery, meditation and self-hypnosis all share two things in common: 1.) Each is a subjective/lived experience; and, 2.) Each employs
the use of an altered state of consciousness. Beyond that the similarities begin to diverge in subtle yet fundamental ways. One method is not better than another. Each serves a particular purpose
offering a unique set of benefits. Each of the methods can serve a key role in the health, healing and transformation process by way of actively involving the person in very real and deeply significant
ways. Learning the techniques of altered state work and exploration through private instruction accelerates results and provides the most direct and efficient way for beginning and deepening your
experience. Through private instruction you and the facilitator, or guide, work together to discover the methods and techniques that are most useful to your situation, interests and objectives. Each method
provides a clear and direct way to unlock and work with the incredible potential of the mind in creative and purposeful ways. Visualization Many people who can greatly benefit from visualization don't bother to do so because
they are convinced that they are not visual or cannot visualize. The term "visualization" causes confusion regarding what the experience of visualization is like. The very term implies that you are supposed
to "see" visual pictures and images of vivid color and exacting detail. Some people experience visualization in this way; the majority of people do not.Visualization is more correctly thought of as
perceiving or simply receiving inner impressions. The impressions are sometimes nothing more than a clear thought or idea. The "visualization" you receive can come to you in the form of thoughts, intuitive
feelings, inner sounds or even as a simple "knowingness" that is hard to accurately describe in words. You can use the following exercise to
explore how you receive inner impressions. To do so, read the following questions one at a time; then close your eyes and observe how the answers (inner impressions) come to you. Take time to notice and
observe the details of the setting or situation presented by the questions. Notice how the images, shapes and colors of your visualization experience come into your awareness.
1.) What color was your first car (bicycle)? In your mind, "see" in detail what it looked like. Visualize with as much
clarity and detail as you can. What did it look like? 2.) Go back in your mind to your grade school years. What kind of clothes did you wear? What was your hairstyle like? What did
your room look like? What did your school, town, and classroom look like? 3.) Recall a good movie you've seen recently. Where did you see the movie? Visualize some scenes
from the movie, what takes place? 4.) Play a song that you enjoy listening to. With your eyes closed,
visualize the essence of the song in your mind. What images come to you? If you were to make a music video for the song, what would it look like? 5.) Visualize scenes from an enjoyable vacation you have taken. Visualize going there in your mind. Where were you? What did the setting look
like? What did you do? Was anyone with you?
There are an incredible number of ways to use visualization to enhance and facilitate health, healing and wellness; including:
~ Creating a special place you can go to and visit whenever you choose in order to experience inner comfort, peace and guidance.
~ Seeing and inwardly experiencing yourself and your body healed. ~ Using visualization to detach from, objectify and dialog with pain, illness, disease.
~ Traveling forward or backward in time to attain insight and awareness on life matters ~ Healing the mind, body and emotions with energy using various forms, shapes and colors.
~ Contacting and developing conscious relation with the different aspects of one's Self. ~ Detaching and inwardly distancing oneself from unceasingly difficult situations or circumstances to restore
balance and retain inner strength
Guided Imagery & Psyhcoimmunology Guided imagery and psychoimmunology are specific and focused forms of visualization that are most commonly used to support healing of the physical body. These methods
of altered state work tend to be more highly structured in their use and application for healing. Guided imagery can take literal or symbolic forms. A literal form of guided imagery is the experience of
being guided, or guiding oneself to a beautiful and refreshing pool of healing water of some type. As you make your way to the pool of healing water you are guided in the process of becoming healthier and stronger
with each step you take. As you get nearer to the pool of water the images surrounding you become more healthy and vibrant, reflecting the health and vitality strengthening and expanding within. Once at the
pool of healing water you enter more fully into the healing process by immersing yourself into the essence of health and healing, via the images surrounding you. Symbolic guided imagery might include
the experience of working with pictures and images of a building or house that is in need of renovation or repair. Using clear and focused thought, you actively imagine and inwardly experience the structure being
fully repaired and restored to its pristine condition. Before awakening you then translate the restored structure to that of symbolizing the health and condition of your body- healthy, repaired and fully
restored. In doing so you absorb the symbolic images which serve to renovate and restore health to the body. The conscious use of images and symbols in the healing process is especially powerful because they
provide a clear and direct link of communication with the unconscious mind and preconscious aspects of oneself. The language of images and symbols can serve to bridge communication between the mind and body.
In psychoimmunology a person uses their mind to move into body consciousness and awareness which is facilitated by the use of an altered state of consciousness. While in an altered state you can travel in and
throughout your entire body. You can go to specific areas or places of the body in need of healing and 'see' the healing taking place. In a session you might go to a tumor and see it shrinking or being fully
contained and dissipated of all energy. You might envision healthy cells actively moving throughout the body ridding it of unhealthy, cancerous cells (much like the Pac Man video game). A primary objective
is to strengthen and enhance the immune system using the power of the mind to help the body heal. Meditation Meditation can be experienced in many different ways and can serve many
different purposes. There are many forms of meditation and considerable differences exist between them. Entering into the meditative state can be facilitated in a number of different ways as well.
Meditation can be informal or it can be rigidly structured with formal protocols involved that are designed to strengthen one's mental discipline and focus. There is no one form of meditation that is best.
The right form of meditation is the one that engages the individual on a deep level and supports her or his inner healing and development process. Because the different forms of meditation produce unique and
different subjective experiences many people incorporate several preferred meditative practices into their healing and transformation process. Through personal instruction, Mark provides you the direct
experience of entering into the meditative state and teaches you effective methods of meditation you can use on your own to experience the value and benefits mediation has to offer.
Meditation can serve many purposes, including:
- Detachment. Detachment from the body, conscious mind, and emotions.
- Self-inquiry and self-awareness
- Moving beyond and outside of the limitations of time and space
- Reconnecting to source
- Entering presence
- Non-attachment and acceptance
- Enhance mind/body healing
- Experiencing Oneness
- Transcending emotions (inlcuding fear, anger, worry)
- Receiving inner awareness and direction
- Deepening compassion
- Transcendence of the personal self
- Developing Subtle, Causal, Spiritual body awareness
Self-hypnosis
Self-hypnosis is largely aimed at working directly with the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind represents the 95% of the mind we do not consciously use while in full waking consciousness. Nonetheless
the subconscious affects and influences our thoughts, feelings and emotions. It strongly influences our outlook, what we notice and our perceptions. Self-hypnosis is used to work more consciously and
constructively with the subconscious mind. A person can use self-hypnosis to condition the subconscious mind to support health and healing. Past programming, negative beliefs and negative expectation can be
released and resolved using self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is commonly used for symptom relief. It is also an effective method for reducing and controlling pain in the body. There is a
difference between self-hypnosis and working with a hypnotherapist. Most notably is that with self-hypnosis you are acting as the facilitator and experiencer at the same time. This requires a greater degree
of conscious involvement since you will be attending to the details of conducting the session. When facilitated by a hypnotherapist your conscious mind can more easily let go and relax completely. By not
having to facilitate the session you generally reach a deeper state of hypnosis more easily and quickly. Furthermore, the hypnotherapist uses and applies their experience in developing the content of the session
which can be of significant value when dealing with therapeutic issues. A formal hypnotherapy session is most often experienced as being more focused and direct than a self-hypnosis session. Although the
subjective experience may vary, hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis both serve important purposes. Self-hypnosis can be a very useful tool to employ as a complement to treatment and therapy. Inducing a
self-hypnotic state is not difficult. With a little practice most people can soon get to the point where all they need to do is count themselves down from ten to one, and by the count of one find themselves in
hypnosis. The important question does not concern how to get there (into hypnosis), rather it deals with what to do, and not to do once you are there. The subconscious mind functions quite differently than the
conscious mind does. It is important to know the differences and to learn how to effectively work with the subconscious mind. Personal instruction provides this and much more so that you can effectively use
self-hypnosis in positive and constructive ways. |
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