Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Healing Visualizations



I could keep writing about healing visualizations, but if you've read what I've written already, you get the idea. If you know a bit about the physiology of what has to happen in order to heal an injury or illness, and if you've seen enough movies, read mythology or fairy tales, you have everything you need to create your own healing visualization.

Human imagination is a treasure, a wonder. We homo sapiens have possessed this gift for hundreds of thousands of years. We can give our imaginations some shape, because we are more or less conscious beings, but we can also let the imagination loose at times, let it create internal scenes of possibility, also of impossibility. How does it work? I'm not sure anyone knows.

In our society, we take great care to constrain our powers of imagination. The term Letting your imagination run away with you says it all. Don't be TOO creative; that will just get you into trouble.

In fact, it WILL get you into trouble, if it is allowed free rein. Balance is inherent in every state of good health. And, too, skepticism is a rudder that keeps us heading in the right direction. That said, too much skepticism is a big problem too, a different kind of imbalance. Giving our powers of imagination the cold shoulder impoverishes us, makes us think we need to buy a lot of STUFF, jam closets and storage facilities with more and more and more in a futile attempt to fill the creative emptiness. Yes? I say yes. Very sad, if you ask me.

Healing visualizations are productive, interesting and helpful, a very healthy way to use our powers of imagination. I could cite lots of studies that showed how much visualization helps in healing. In my experience, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't, but it is worth trying. Healing visualization costs nothing, hurts no one, keeps the patient engaged in something other than worry while they deal with the injury or ailment, gives caretakers a way to feel they are contributing to something that is, in most cases, completely out of any human's control.

My wish for all today is at least one beautiful, juicy daydream. Oh yeah. Shalom.

2 comments:

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I think I practice this healing visualization without knowing it. Whenever I've had a surgery, I talk to my body, explain what is going to happen and why. I ask it to remain calm and work on healing and finding a new balance. I have had many surgeries and am usually a very fast healer :)

Reya Mellicker said...

I think it really helps though I'm sad to learn you've had many surgeries. Yikes.