Guided Imagery for Self-Healing: An Essential Resource for Anyone Seeking Wellness

by Martin L. Rossman

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2nd. ed. Tiburon, CA: H J Kramer Book, 2000. 280 pp $14.96 11pp Refs.

Martin Rossman, medical doctor and holistic healthcare pioneer, presents an easy to follow guide with very specific scripts for connecting to the inner wise part of one’s being, which he terms the ’Inner Advisor.’  Using scripts to dialogue with the mind and body, the meditator gains essential information in support of health and well-being.  This book is an invaluable asset to the Intuitive Spiritual Director/Counselor, as well as to the individual in pursuit of self-healing. Rossman’s complementary approach provides inner communication, spiritual contact, inspiration, insight, and direction to the professional and layperson alike.

Where the individual is usually familiar with the conscious thoughts and desires prevalent in the left brain, there may not be a balanced brain approach which integrates the unconscious needs and desires experienced in the right brain.  Using imagery allows the individual to communicate with the right side of the brain to integrate conflicting thoughts and feelings.  “Imagery gives the silent right brain a chance to bring its needs to light and to contribute its special qualities to the healing process” (p. 23).  Offering a highly personal form of communication, this inner dialogue enriches the healing process with informative symbols.

Rossman combines the use of basic stress reduction and relaxation techniques with meditation to deepen the imagery experience.  Using progressive relaxation as a staring point, his exercises build confidence in one’s ability to de-stress the body, thus enabling a more relaxed and pointed focus on the healing concern.  As the meditator gains experience in evoking the relaxation response, the techniques become less concentrated on progressive relaxation and more geared to developing a rapport with the mind/body.  

The aim of the meditation now becomes to communicate with the Inner Advisor. “An Inner Advisor is a symbolic representation of that inner wisdom and experience... a friendly guide to these valuable unconscious stories, an inner ally who can help you understand yourself more deeply” (p. 83-84).  Meeting the advisor requires that you allow yourself to relax fully, go to an inner special place, and simply allow an image of the Inner Advisor to appear.

Other scripts take the meditator to a conversation with symptoms, an inner critic, resistance, or anxiety.  Calmly confronting these aspects brings the meditator to an empowered understanding of these ongoing tendencies.  Oftentimes, these images have protective intentions which have been initiated by the individual in response to past trauma.  He states, “Your purpose is to discover what your unconscious response may have been to a difficult situation so that you can more consciously play a role in your recovery... (then) you have a chance to develop ways to fulfill that purpose that may not require you to be ill at all” (p. 123).

Other scripts are offered to allow the meditator the opportunity to develop a plan of action, to receive an inner progress update, or to use as a preventative wellness strategy.  Emphasizing the use of ’passive will,’ the author advocates a detached focus.  “While you image the outcome you desire, you maintain a relaxed, almost detached state of mind.  Trying too hard can actually block the effects of your imagery” (p. 172).  Reference is given as to how to locate a certified Interactive Imagery practitioner should the meditator require outside help in directing the imagery process.

Rossman considers how imagery also helps “solve practical problems, develop insight into yourself and others, improve your relationships, enhance your self-confidence, and help you reach the goals you have set for yourself” (p. 17).  These insights give the meditator self-regulating ability by staying aligned with “feelings, values, purpose, and (a) sense of well-being” (p. 177).

Recognizing the mind/body/spirit interaction, the author offers a variety of terms to denote the spiritual connection, including high self, angel, and spiritual guide, all of which are ways of connecting with inner wisdom and creativity.  Rossman also uses the energy model of stress and speaks of replenishing and revitalizing chi in the body.  These concepts bridge between energy medicine, spiritual healing, and allopathic healthcare.  He devotes an entire chapter to reviewing the past, present, and future application of imagery in healthcare.

Interesting updates in the field of the neuroscience of mind/body healing are presented, including brief synopses of the work of psychoneuroimmunology to explain how images can affect the immune system. Rossman concludes with several outcome based research studies in support of imagery and offers combined imagery approaches to dealing with specific medical conditions, including stress, pain, addictions, cancer, heart disease and infections.  Ample resources are cited for further imagery research .  

Rossman’s experiences with the clinical application of imagery offer a great deal of information to those in pursuit of a more conscious manner of living.  Revealing considerable insights into the mind/body connection, these scripts give the reader a substantial advantage in self-care and self-healing.  A foundational must read for those desiring a conscious relationship with the inner, wise, and creative self.

Book review by Deborah Lallier

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