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.
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 Superman.
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 over come 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.
Appling 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.
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.
