Creating an Image of Healing

Imagery Class Nine by Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT
— Photo by Fabian

Classes 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10

Imagine that on a vacation you walked along a meadow and came upon some marsh marigolds. You were struck by the contrast between the yellow flower and dark green foliage. Then, as you stood watching, you felt a strong sense of calm and inner peace that seems to emanate from their simple beauty.

Now, many years later, you can draw upon those memories to calm anxiety and relieve physical distress. This class will show you how. However, I don't think you need a lot of explanation from me, since the best way to develop healing images is to discover which specific memories could work best for you and then practice using them until they become second nature. Besides, after eight other classes, I figure you're ready to plunge ahead with only a few paragraphs to set the stage.

A Brief Introduction

For many years no one told us of the powerful effect our thoughts can have on our bodies. We didn't know that we could do something to enhance our body's natural healing mechanism. All we knew was that we were told to visit the doctor when we got sick and to take the pills he or she prescribed. We assumed there was a clear division of power between our thoughts and physical health.

Today, however, we know that our minds and our emotions greatly influence our bodies -- and our bodies influence how we think and feel through a mechanism that might be called mind/body communication. Although there is much to learn about this highly complex system, we do know that the language it uses seems to be that of images.

In fact, many people who have no physical problems do imagery exercises on a regular basis as a preventive measure and to create a greater sense of well-being. They create images of their body functioning as it should function and that seems to act as a blueprint the body uses to maintain health.

Of course, it is always possible to create an image when you are in pain or feel uncomfortable and tense. But sometimes your attention is so focused on how you feel physically that it's hard to concentrate. It's far more helpful to create images when you are feeling well, or at least not feeling terribly bad. This way, when you need healing images, they are available to relieve your discomfort.

Class Exercise One: A Visit to Your Mind-Body Control Center

Within each of us is an interface where the body interacts with thoughts and emotions. This exercise helps you create images that draw upon that connection so you can not only more easily influence physical sensations, but also tap into the body's natural healing mechanisms.

Because different images work for different people, the ones you will experience in this exercise are examples you can use to jump-start your own creative imagery. They are based on the fanciful idea that the part of your mind that monitors the body is not located in your brain, but in a "building" called a "mind-body control center." I invite you to follow along for an imaginary trip to this place, doing so in whatever way feels right to you. At the end of the exercise you will have a chance to experiment with your own images.

Incidentally, although the exercise was initially written for cancer patients, you will find it helpful in dealing with many different physical problems. For example, in the exercise I describe an image for calming legs that twitch when you're falling asleep, a most annoying condition which is called restless leg syndrome or RLS. In fact, this is a method that I discovered one night when my leg was driving me crazy and out of desperation I went to my mind/body control center. (You would think that someone who teaches imagery wouldn't have to be desperate before trying techniques that work for others, but that's what happened.) Anyway, an image soon arose that I've used hundreds of times since.

Not only that, I shared this image with a woman who had RLS for twenty-five years without relief and she found it worked extremely well for her. Naturally, she experienced the image in her own way, but it helped and, as I said in the first class, plagiarism of images is encouraged.

Hope you enjoy a fanciful journey to your Mind-Body Control Center.

Class Symbol: Your Healing Image

The symbol for this class is anything that can reinforce the healing image you discover when you visit your mind-body control center.

© Copyright 1997, Revised 2002, Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT