Lorraine Ham           

Most people who have looked towards a healer or complementary practitioner for treatment are quite open to using creative visualisation, which can open them to new ways of relating to their problems.  Visualisation may overlap with hypnotherapy, which can also be used to create new ideas and attitudes.  These techniques are extremely effective both in a positive and negative way, because a person who is open to positive changes through suggestion may also be susceptible to negative suggestions.  So if either technique is being used to assist someone in their healing process, it must be used with caution and with consideration for the sensitivities of the person you are working with.

  The type of visualisation should suit the individual, and - as with hypnotherapy - careful attention must be paid to the scripting and delivery of each therapy, as illustrated by two vignettes of people who had cancers.

  'Selma' was told a lump in her breast might be cancerous.  Her approach to the healing process was holistic.  She asked her consultant for six weeks to work with natural healing methods and visualisation.  She promised to return after this time for another checkup and to take any advice he had to offer.  He agreed to her wishes and she left with his blessing, knowing that he was backing her up. 

  To begin with she changed her eating habits, using the Hay system diet and taking advice from the Green Farm Nutritional Centre she started a programme of vitamin and mineral supplements.  Meditation sessions lasted 20-30 minutes twice daily and her visualisation was incredibly realistic.

  To Selma the growth in her breast was strong.  It was growing in the body she had to find energy to match or overcome that strength.  She was obviously tired.  In her original visualisation, the tumour was green, slimy, obnoxious - a gremlin, a beast with horrible odour, an odour so horrible and real that she could actually smell it.  She rebelled against it and imagined little 'flour grader' type men (her white cells) and a ring of fire which went into the roots to destroy them.  The fire closed in and the tumour, within the contained area, became a shrivelled walnut.  The white cells were then sent in to finish it off. 

  Then it changed.  The tumour became a slug and the flour graders used laser beams.  The white cells would munch up what was left and she would then wash it all out with Vita Florum, a homoeopathic remedy which provides energy to overcome psychological blocks and enhances the ability of the body to heal itself.

  Initially she worked alone but then she sought me out because she felt 'stuck'.  Meditation had become difficult, the visualisation had changed and she was anxious.  Together we reviewed the visualisations.  Subconsciously Selma had chosen images that symbolically represented many aspects of her life, both past and present.  There was a lot of unfinished business to take care of and much healing to do.  Gradually we worked through the layers.  Using imagery we worked with childhood traumas, introducing healing attitudes and changing perceptions.  She wanted to carry on working with a visualisation for the tumour but was finding it very difficult.  It was hard to concentrate.  Selma felt her ability to visualise was slipping away because she kept losing the thread of it.  Due to her anxieties her meditation was also suffering.
 
  In fact Selma was actually getting better.  There was no longer a need within her for green, slimy monsters.  No wonder it was difficult to focus on them!

  Whilst Selma was relaxing during a session, a new visualisation was suggested: beams of sunlight gently but powerfully shined down upon her, filling her with peace and love and healing energies.  There were many tears as she realised what was happening.  Over the weeks that followed she continued with her transformation, letting go of old guilts and fears and taking back her power.  It was a painful and exciting time.

  At Selma's six weeks check up her consultant said that he could find nothing there.  She felt positive and strong, content, confident and happy.  She couldn't stop singing.

  In this case the negative type of visualisation (something horrible and distasteful) was used in a very positive way.  It was the patient's choice and was right for her.  As she changed the visualisation changed.  Her difficulty was in seeing the changes taking place and changing her methods to suit.

  Visualisations in another instance were quite different.  Ronnie was a gentle, creative type of person who responded to rainbows, sunbeams, moonlight and cascading stars.  She enjoyed the countryside, animals, the sea and especially dolphins.

  When I asked if Ronnie had tried visualisation for her tumour, her response was one of distaste.  Ronnie had been advised by someone else to visualise 'badness being eaten away by some horrendous creature'.  She grimaced at the thought of it and the look of disgust on her face as she recalled it said everything.  She felt worse when trying to visualise and became despondent.  From this reaction Ronnie had actually told me two very positive things.  First, she could visualise; and second, it worked - albeit for the worst.  Whilst the big, bad monster imagery was a perfect start for Selma, it obviously wasn't for Ronnie. 

  Ronnie's new visualisation began as a simple, 'what if' story.  Imagine you were walking through a field of rich, green grass in a place that is very special to you.  Somewhere that you feel safe and secure.  The sun is shining softly, casting golden red beams of light all around you.  Everything is glowing in the warmth of the sun and you feel very happy and peaceful.  A little way off there is a tree and you decide to sit for a while beneath it.  Leaning against the trunk you feel the strength of this huge tree.  An energy like the sap rising begins to move through your body in gentle waves and you feel relaxed yet energised by this experience.
 
  And what if in that beautiful blue sky above, a tiny little rain cloud formed and spilled its raindrops while the sunbeams danced.  Rainbows would play for you, painting the skies just for your pleasure.  And what if it were possible to find rainbow's end, to sit there and feel the tiny coloured sparkles sprinkling all around you and through you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes - as if they were washing away all negative energies within you, washing away anything that was no longer serving you well, leaving you feeling clean and revitalised.

  And what if when the raindrops had gone and the rainbows had faded you realised that dusk had fallen, and rising in the darkening sky is the moon in all her glorious, silver splendour.  Stars are shining, sparkling and glittering.  Imagine now that you can feel the beautiful light energy that is emanating from the moonbeams and the stars.  Imagine that it is filling all the spaces left by that negative energy which has gone, filling you with light - healing light that is loving and peaceful, leaving you feeling filled with love and peace and harmony.

  Ronnie responded immediately, feeling comfortable and secure that the story was 'safe', and she relaxed very quickly.  Soon she became absorbed by the story and at this stage contact healing was also given.  During the healing session she was told that she may or may not feel something but as we worked together the healing energies would be flowing gently yet powerfully into her whole being.  The suggestion grew more potent as the idea of healing energies became associated with the various symbols we were using in the story.

  When people are able to use visualisation it can help to promote the whole healing process.  They are taking an active part in their own recovery and by taking responsibility for their own health they are taking back their power and managing their energies in a positive way.

  During the weeks that followed Ronnie became more peaceful.  Friends commented on her improved appearance and attitude.

  There were still areas to work on and as she gradually improved the story line changed with her progress.  At each stage of her development a 'chapter' was added or removed to assist in the transformation.  For instance, we extended the story:  The grassy field was at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea.  There was a path down to the beach.  Ronnie created a small beach house for herself and this became a focus for many of her future visualisations and healing sessions.  When she needed grounding it was from here that she walked, allowing her feet to sink down into the soft, white sand - or she would lie down, noticing the sand moulding to her body.
 
  It was from here that she swam with dolphins, healed herself with sunbeams, energised herself through her contact with palm trees, used the ebb and flow of the ocean in rhythm with her breath, cleansing and healing with the moving waters.

  We changed every little setback into an opportunity, every little negative thought or feeling into a positive one.  Any little aches or pains were changed into sensations of healing.  Recognising any darkness in the body, we filled it with light.  We made contact with the cells and sent them love, sometimes as easy and simple as that.  Other times we did it in great detail.  We did whatever felt right at the time.

  One day she mentioned a friend who had been in the hospital bed next to hers.  They were both diagnosed at the same time with the same type of cancer.  Her friend had died.  Apparently she thought of this friend daily but was unable to tell me until then.  So we worked with death and dying and what it meant.  By using visualisation and imagery she was able to imagine her friend visiting her at the beach house.  They talked together and she gained great comfort from this.  Some may say that this was more than visualisation.  Perhaps it was.  It really doesn't matter.

Lorraine Ham is a hypnotherapist and healer in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

You may quote from or reproduce these editorial clips if you include the following credits and email contact:
Copyright © Daniel J. Benor, M.D. 1993 Reprinted with permission of the author P.O. Box 76 Bellmawr, NJ 08099 www.WholisticHealingResearch.com   DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com

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