Guided imagery is a powerful tool for healing and transformation.   It is a pathway to the unconscious which communicates to us in the form of images, symbols and other nonverbal sensory impressions.  The unconscious is the seat of our imagination and highest potentials, in addition to being a storehouse for repressed memories, emotions and instinctual drives.  When you access these layers of the psyche you are able to transform ways of thinking and being at deep levels of consciousness.  Desired changes with lasting results are more likely to be achieved than those that come from the conscious mind alone.

You can use imagery to harness your creative energy, access intuition, reduce stress, improve your health, achieve goals, develop strengths, enhance performance in any area of your life, overcome blocks, and more.  Helen, a client of mine, used guided imagery recently as part of her preparation for a job interview.  She spent 15 minutes every day for a week doing 'imagery rehearsal' before the interview, imagining herself the way she wanted to be: calm, confident, authentic and articulate.  To enhance the effectiveness of the imagery, she imagined the experience in her whole body, not just her mind.  She saw and felt herself maintaining good eye contact, heard herself speaking clearly and cogently, becoming increasingly confident as she  was speaking, and experienced her body as both relaxed and grounded as she sat in the chair.  She imagined and felt positive energy coursing through her body.  The interview went very well and Helen said that she actually enjoyed the experience.  She left feeling very good about herself and, yes, she got the job!  When used intentionally and systematically, imagery stimulates our seed potentials and brings them to life.  Helen had all those positive qualities latent within her.  The conscious use of imagery was the light and water they needed to grow.

I recommend doing this exercise daily with one quality at a time for at least a month.  You can imagine yourself expressing this quality in any and all situations (see #4).  Also, not everyone sees pictures when they do this work.  Some people experience kinesthetic responses, auditory impressions, or simply have a sense of knowing. There is no 'right way' to experience imagery.

 

Including external images in your process enhances the effectiveness of imagery.  You can cut out pictures from magazines that represent the quality you are working with, get some glue and poster board and make a Vision Poster.  Place it somewhere where you can view it often. Good luck with this imagery.  A picture is worth a thousand words!