The Beginners Handbook To The Art Of Guided Imagery

My first experience with guided imagery relaxation was well over twenty five years ago when I was in a therapeutic environment myself for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I was brought into a group with a doctor that, as a part of his treatment structure, used guided imagery. They called it “guided visualization.” During the imagery I remember that I had a very difficult time relaxing. To be honest, I was not excited about closing my eyes in a room essentially comprised of strangers. Early in the experience he used a now common relaxation technique, moving through the muscles one set at a time. This was helpful for me (a not so trusting person at the time) to relax and become very focused on the present moment. This calming effect allowed me, while still feeling safe in my own space, to have a better experience. As the imagery moved forward, I felt myself lifting out of my body. As scary as that may have sounded upon suggestion at the time it continued to feel quite comfortable, in fact, relieving. He suggested that we go to a place that was safe in our memory, that we might consider sacred. I remember my mind thinking of several different places and feeling sad, struggling, because I could not come up with a place in my mind where I had felt safe. When I began to relinquish my control and release myself to the imagery as he continued, suddenly and spontaneously I saw Jesus surrounded in bright light above me. This did not come from a significant religious belief, because at this point I had determined that I did not like the dogmas of many religions. However, I wanted to have a spiritual connection. As I saw Jesus in the very bright light above me, the light came down and surrounded me, pulling me upward into the arms of Jesus. As it did, I changed from the adult into a small baby and by the time I reached the arms of Jesus I was a baby in his arms. I felt safe, free, loved and wanted. That was truly a blessed experience for someone who struggled greatly with the belief that she did not know love and was unlovable. This touched into a part of my heart that was very well hidden from the world due to traumas, experiences and self-induced difficulties, allowing or creating a doorway into that hidden part of my heart where the deepest part of healing could really begin for me.

Freedom

I have a sacred place I call “Tree Church”. It is a patch of woods near the city. As I enter onto the pathway I am, in my heart, entering a great cathedral. A spiritual space, where my Creator’s quiet beauty blesses me. Near the entrance is an arch of trees, and as I pass under them the world begins to fall away. In the spring the path is muddy so I find dry logs to sit as the geese cry above. The rising sun is warm and I have often fallen to my knees and raised my arms in gratitude. Grateful, for the renewal of the flowers, trees…and my soul. During the summer the plant life grows so tall I have to raise my arms to walk through it and am rewarded with the beautiful spectacle of a heron rookery. Large heron chicks, crying to their mothers to bring more food and looking over the edge of the nest contemplating the fall. The fall leaves come down like colored confetti on the pathway in front of me, celebrating my spirits arrival. I dance in the falling leaves like a child on her birthday. The air is cooler, crisper and enables be to breathe deeply, the soil and wildflowers. An owl swoops downward overhead, followed by another as they move from tree to tree. The frightened deer stop and look at me, wondering. So I sit quietly in the tall, brown grass that has prepared for winter, as two young bucks vie for a does’ love. As winter comes and leaves my cathedral sparkling with ice and snow I fall to the ground in joy and laughter making snow angels. And from my angelic pose I look up to the heavens that seem so much closer here, and I know I am free…truly free.

Freedom Imagery

Closing your eyes… begin to breathe… deeply… and without judgment… saying three times… to yourself… “Peace Be Still”… “Peace Be Still”… “Peace Be Still” ... allow yourself… to be immersed… in this statement… allow it… to take over… your state of being (pause 1 min). Visualize… your Creator… above you… and the earth… beneath you… each… represented… as a triangle…the triangle above you… with the point facing downward…and the triangle beneath you… as a triangle …with the point facing upward…the two triangles… move towards each other… until… they interlock…becoming… a six pointed… star of light (pause 30 sec). The star of light… sends… a beam of light… to you… surrounding you… in a protective… circle of light…loving light… that seeps… into your muscles….into your bones…into the deepest… cells of your body…cleansing… and releasing… tensions… and anxieties…purifying… your entire being…and as the tensions release…your body… mind… and spirit… begin to become free… of its bindings (pause 1 min). The circle of light… around you…free…and airy…begins to carry you… upward…up… to the sky…past the clouds…into the solar system…enjoying… the freedom of flight…freedom of movement (pause 30 sec). Looking downward… you see… a small… tropical island…you make your way… down to the beach… and find yourself… standing… on the warm… white sand…with the emerald ocean… flowing in… and out…you take a seat… on the beach… feeling… the warmth of the sun…hearing seagulls… call in the distance…watching… the waves… move smoothly… onto the shore… and then… retreat back… into itself …here… there are no rules… about who you should be… where you should be… or what you should be doing…there are no “shoulds” here… only being… in the present moment… of freedom… and peaceful stillness…the stillness… of a soaring bird… high in the sky… cutting through the skies air…the peaceful stillness… that is the fish… smoothly moving… through the water… all sound… drowned out by the oceans depth…and the peaceful stillness… that is you… sitting alone… on the warm beach… nestled… in the grains of sand…and you can breathe… in the freedom… that is… this present moment (pause 2 min) In the sand…near you…is a seashell…as you pick it up…you see…somewhere within it…a symbol…a symbol representing…your freedom (pause 2 min).