The Healing Power of Visualization
Since most people share the capacity for imagination, regardless of gender, race, or culture it is safe to assume that this is an inherent characteristic that played an important role in the survival of the fittest.
In prehistoric times, before leaving the safe confines of the cave to go to obtain fresh water, the ancient human would probably imagine an earlier encounter with a predator near the river. This image would then trigger the
"Fight or Flight"
reaction and cause his or her body to gear up to a higher level of alertness. Conversely, days after a kill, visualizing the dead predator would trigger the relaxation response and cause ones' body to save energy. Fantasizing a future hunt could be considered a mental rehearsal for the hunt. Today, such techniques are being used successfully in psychotherapy and in Sport Psychology.
We all can use imagination in order to affect our body and our mind. Our imagination can help us to relax, to reduce pains, to sleep better at night, to overcome fears and traumas, to reduce high blood pressure, to heal faster from physical injury and surgical operations as well as to improve our performance in sport.
It's a staple of science fiction: people who can control objects with their minds. At the University of Minnesota, a new technology is turning that fiction into reality. Students have learned to use their thoughts to steer a flying robot around a gym, making it turn, rise, dip, and even sail through a ring.
Click here to read about it an to watch the robot flying.
The Two Parts of a Story or Movie
All the mythological stories are based on imagination. All books and movies, that are not documentaries, are based on imagination. Most stories and movies have two parts: first, the hero of the story encounters a problem or a dangerous situation and second, the hero deals with the situation. While being exposed to the story, we usually identify with the hero and as a result, the level of our stress hormone increases. During the second part, the hero over comes the threat, and we relax. Imaginary stories and movies have a positive affect on us, since they enrich our life experience. We learn from the hero how to cope successfully with variety of situations. In case where the story ended in a negative way, we may learn not to imitate the hero. Children love to be exposed to such stories because they are in stage of life that they need to enrich their life experiences.
Coping with Threats by Applying Human or Superhuman Power
If one of the goals of all the imaginary stories and movies is to enrich our life experiences and to teach us how to cope with dangers situations, how come in some of them, the hero is extricated from his distress by applying human power, such as: agility like Robin Hood, physical force like Tarzan or intelligence like David in his war against Goliath, and in other stories and movies, the hero was extricated from his distress by applying superhuman power such as: Aladdin and the magical lamp, Batman or uperman.
I surmise, that the reason is, that there are two types of threats in every day life situations. Some where human powers are sufficient to overcome them, and others where superhuman powers we will be needed in order to escape defeat. Situations that call for superhuman power are: A ferocious predator that suddenly comes upon on us, a ship that sinks in the middle of the ocean, an elevator that is falling to the ground, an airplane that explodes in mid air, a suicide bomber that explodes near us, a rocket that lands close by or imaginary creatures such as demons and witches.
I received an e-mail from an Israeli, who lives in the town of Sderot which is a target for Palestinian's rockets during the last seven years. He wrote to me indicating that every member of his family has sleeping problems. He wrote in a cynical way: "In your website you recommend people, who have difficulties sleeping resulting from being afraid of disasters, to imagine Appling human or superhuman powers, in order to save their life. Do you really believe that if a rocket hits our home, in the middle of the night, the fantasy will save our life?" My answer was: "You have missed the point. The aim of the imagination is not to save your life while being hit by a rocket, but to change your mind's and body's reactions, when we anticipate being hit by a rocket. Our primitive brain relates to a rocket as if it is a ferocious predator. In the jungle, it is safer not to sleep too deeply, when you are afraid of predators, whereas in Sderot it is better to sleep deeply all night long so if a rocket hits your home you will have your strength to save yourself and your family." A few days later, he emailed me again and thanked me. He claimed that every member of his family sleeps much better, because they have listened to my relaxation CD before falling to sleep.
Imagination May Help Coping with Fears
Every person, a grownup or a young child, could cope better with their fears by applying this imagination technique. While experiencing fear or anxiety from an event, we could close our eyes and imagine that we are a director of a movie and also the star actor or the star actress. In the first half of our movie, the catastrophic expectations are almost upon us. If it is possible to overcome the threat by utilizing human power, we should imagine a happy ending to the movie. If the situation calls for superhuman powers to cope with the threat, the movie will be like a science fiction one, and the star will utilize whatever powers are required in order to have a happy ending to the movie.
Applying the method does not guaranty that after directing such a movie our fears will disappear. When the fear reappears, we should replay the imaginary movie. We can and help the star of the movie overcome the threat every time by using different creative techniques.
"Trophy"
There is a short film is being shown on various Internet sites. This short film demonstrates a new Israeli invention developed in the Raphael factory entitled "Trophy" (viewing is highly recommended)
"Click Here to View".
The film, which was distributed in March 2009, demonstrates how Israel developed a system of protecting tanks and other vehicles. The system involves an electronic "Protective Shield" that envelopes the entire tank (or other vehicles) on all sides and protects it from harm. Three years after this film was first shown on the Internet the system proved itself as being effective. On March 2011 an article was published in an Israeli newspaper describing how a missile aimed at a tank which was protected by the
"Trophy"
did not harm it. Many such occurrences have since been reported.
It is my hope that anyone who experiences fears and cannot cope with danger will view this short film and imagine a protective shield around him. Whatever the nature of the fear may be, such as a flight, the family car, our home, our loved ones or ourselves, let us imagine that this protective shield is surrounding us and protecting us from harm
The idea of developing the method of "Imaginary Protective Shield" was developed during the Gulf War in 1991 when Iraq launched missiles on major Israeli cities. At that time I was requested by the management of the General Hospital where I worked, to prepare a Relaxation Cassette in order to assist hospital workers and their families cope with the stress of war. I prepared, taped and distributed 1000 such cassettes entitled "Protective Shield" to the staff. The response to the tape was very positive and many were supported by it.
A poem by C. Edwards
A Plastic Bubble
My children live in a clear, plastic bubble.
It keeps them from harm.
I made it myself, so I can sleep.
With hawk eyed fingertips, I check it each day.
Inspecting for flaws, searching, for cracks.
Keeping it strong so it doesn't break, and I can sleep.
Imagination May Help Coping With Illness
We are all born with an immune system whose role is to fight germs and bacteria. The problem is that when we are depressed and stressed, our immune system slows down in order to shift the physical energy for the purpose of "fight or flight." This action contributed to the survival of primitive man, but detracts from modern man's coping with stressful situations. In ancient times the threat, when encountering wild animals, was short lived. There were only three possibilities of dealing with the situation: man triumphed, man fled, or the beast won. When man triumphed over the beast or succeeded in taking flight, he relaxed and in turn his immune system began working anew with much more energy. However, in modern time, anxiety and stress, as well as depression, can last a very long time. As a result, the immune system declines, and we may well suffer from viral or bacterial infections. Visualization and relaxation exercises will boost the immune system and intensify the healing process. The application of this technique is described in the chapter entitled: "Viruses and Bacteria."
When an illness is related to the poor functioning of one of the body's organs, the visualization technique will contribute to its healing. When we are in a state of relaxation, we can visualize the organ, as if we are watching a movie. In our imagination, we fix
the organ until it appears to be functioning normally.
During my work at General Hospital, many of my patients who suffered from a variety of ailments were treated with this technique. When they practiced it in my office and then continued exercising in their homes, they reported feeling healthier within a short period of time. Here are several examples:
ASTHMA: A child visualized that during an asthma attack a demon was pressing on his lungs, as a result of which he found it hard to breathe. In his imagination he chased away the demon and visualized that he, the child, is now able to take part in sports, an activity he was unable to perform previously due to his asthma. As a result, the asthma attacks decreased significantly and his mother told me, one night, when he was unable to sleep, she entered his room to help him and he told her that she can go back to sleep as he now knows how to fight the demon.
HIGH CHOLESTEROL: Patients visualized their blood vessels partially blocked due to the accumulation of cholesterol. In their imagination, they melted the cholesterol, cleaned their blood vessels, and visualized their circulatory system functioning normally. Some of them saw a significant change in their cholesterol level, and their medication was decreased. Some were completely taken off medication.
COUGH and COLD: There were many occasions where a patient wanted to reschedule an appointment due to a cold. In each instance I requested that the patient come in and bring the germs in his body with him as we will treat them together. Under my guidance, in the first stage the patient had to identify the stress that contributed to the decrease in the functioning of his immune system. In the second stage he visualized his immune system as a soldier fighting off the germs until the immune system won. Some of the patients destroyed them with fire, some with weapons and some chased them away from their bodies. Some visualized themselves transferring the germs to a person who
has hurt them. Most of them felt much better after 2-3 days.
CANCER: The patients visualized the cancer cells in their bodies in any way they saw fit, and they activated their immune system in order to fight them off. I cannot attest to the fact that the cancer totally disappeared from their bodies. However, I have no doubt that their quality of life and their moods were significantly improved.
Imagination May Help Learning from Past Mistakes
A known proverb says: "Any thing that does not kill us strengthens us." In accordance with my experience, the proverb should be changed to "Anything that does not kill us either strengthens us or weakens us." We can make a decision how to be effected by our mistakes. The best way to learn from our mistakes and gain life experience is by applying ones' imagination.
A few hours after making a mistake, we can relax and visualize the unhappy situation as if it is a movie. During the first part of the movie, we imagine what happened up to the point before we made the mistake. During the second part of the imaginary movie, we can see ourselves acting in a way that makes us proud of ourselves. It we find it hard to imagine a positive way to deal with the situation, we can think of people that we admire and imagine their behavior in such situations. We can imagine our self behaving the same way provided that it fits our personality.
Imagination May Help to Relax
In order to relax, one may visualize, for a few minutes, being in a beautiful, safe place. Some people like to imagine being around friends on a nice beach or on a cruise, whereas others prefer to visualize themselves on a deserted island or in their own private room listening to music. Any image that makes you feel safe and relaxed is OK for you. You may imagine a beautiful safe - place that you visited in the past or one that you saw in the movie or in a picture.
In my professional work, as a clinical psychologist, I have very frequently used the imagination technique or as some refer to it as the visualization technique. In the current website, I tell stories about many clients, with whom I have applied the technique with very positive results.
I would like to thank Dr. Joseph Shorr for his interesting book: Go See the Movie in Your Head. Popular Library, 1977. I highly recommend every one, how is interested in the subject, to read it.