What Is Guided Imagery And Visualisation And How Can It Help Me?
You may have noticed that I make many references to "active meditation" as the therapy I use in helping people change their thinking to change their feelings (emotions) to change their behaviour. I include active meditation in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy to cater for the number of people unable to manage conventional meditation. DBT is 50% Psychology and 50% Buddhism philosophy.
Our Conscious mind operates on 12% and our sub-conscious mind on 88%. The sub-conscious mind does not want to change. It prefers old habits. Why is it so hard to lose weight or stop drinking alcohol? One step forward (12% of the conscious mind) and 2 steps backwards (88% of the sub-conscious mind).
Our sub-conscious mind is our EMOTIONS. That's where our feelings come from.
Feelings are not facts — between a feeling and a fact there is always a thought. Remember the Freezer Wagon story.
In my article "Do you ever jump to conclusions?" The supervisor talked himself into dying from hypothermia. Our sub-conscious mind does not know what is real and what is not. We can program our sub-conscious mind through practice. Turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts producing favourable feelings and behaviour.
Do You Understand Your Brain Wave States?
Different Brain Wave States: Beta - 13 to 28 cycles per second.
Beta is the only state you can experience stress.
Alpha - 7 to 13 cycles per second.
Theta - 3-1/2 to 7 cycles per second and Delta — 0.5 to 3-1/2 cycles per second.
The BETA state is the only state you can absorb stress.
Alpha and Theta release stress. In the Beta state we can think of 9 things at once.
In the Alpha state — we are relaxed (watching TV, reading, taking a bath.)
In the Theta state — we are meditating. In the Delta state — we are asleep.
We swing from Delta to Theta state through our 7 — 8 hours sleep at night.
Average 2 hours Delta — 1 hour Theta, 2 hours Delta — 1 hour Theta…… until we finally wake up.
It takes 20 to 30 seconds to get into Alpha (with practice) and 7 minutes to get into the Theta state (meditation). How to use your senses to visualise: 85% of people can see inside the mind and 15% can't but 100% of people can use their imagination.
You can expand your comfort zone (sub-conscious) through visualisation. Don't step out of your comfort zone — step into your comfort through active meditation. Stepping out of your comfort zone produces STRESS! The Lemon Tree - Try This Test
Here is an example for you. As you read the words, it is not the print or the words that make change happen, it is how you interpret each word that makes all the difference. Imagine you are in front of a large lemon tree. You might have one in your back yard or a friend might have one in their back yard.
Close your eyes and imagine the following picture:
The lemon tree is full of green leaves and large yellow lemons.
Image you can see the bubbly texture on one particular lemon.
See yourself reaching up to that lemon. You take it in your hand and twist the lemon off the tree.
You can feel the cool bubbly texture and the weight of the lemon in your hand.
Go inside to your kitchen and get out your chopping board. Now imagine cutting the lemon into 4 quarters.
Bring the lemon up to your mouth and as you squeeze on the lemon, suck the juice and taste its bitter sweet taste. Keep sucking the lemon until your saliva glands are responding to the taste of the lemon.
As you open your eyes you may notice the amount of saliva in your mouth. Did it increase? It is not the words that make the change; instead, it is your interpretation of the words. As you create the thoughts in your mind, your body reacts and changes take place.
Using creative visualisation as a tool to change your toxic belief system does work. If you "see yourself" through your imagination, achieving your goals, your subconscious will work to make them a reality.
It takes practice — lots of practice. Is it worth it? Yes! Some medical experts have used this concept to heal cancer patients with remarkable results.
Try Dr. Bernie Siegel's CDs: Meditation for Peace of Mind and Meditation for Difficult Times available on www.Amazon.com.
Sports people use visualisation to enhance their ability to win. You can use it to change your belief system about yourself and win the battle of emotional overeating or alcohol dependency.
