How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [93]
See how well you can visualize the following scenario, commonly used in self-hypnosis, guided-imagery therapy, and stress-relaxation programs. And remember, the slower you read, and the slower you speak, the more physiologically relaxed you'll become.
Find a quiet place to lie or sit down. Close your eyes and take five deep breaths, followed by four or five yawns.
Take another deep breath and visualize yourself lying on a warm, sunny beach. Feel the sun radiating through your skin and warming the muscles underneath. Feel yourself sinking into the warm, soft sand as you become more and more relaxed. Take another deep breath and feel yourself melting into the beach. Stay with this image for two or three minutes, and let your imagination take you wherever it wants to go.
Now, imagine yourself walking through a thick, humid, tropical forest. Take a deep breath and feel the warm damp air blow across your face. Visualize the path, surrounded by lush, green, tropical plants. Can you hear the birds chirping quietly in the trees? What do they sound like? What do they look like? What colors do you see?
As you walk down the path, you come around a bend. There, in front of you, is the most beautiful waterfall in the world. Watch how the water spills down the side of the mountain, over the rocks, and into a crystal clear pool of water.
Now step into the pool. Take a deep breath and feel the warm tropical water washing over your feet as you slowly step into the waterfall. Feel the clear, warm water gently flow over your head, washing away all of your tension and cares. Take three deep breaths, and with each exhalation, let the water wash all of your worries away.
Now feel your body melting into the pool. As you breathe in deeply, you feel yourself turning into a stream. As you and the water become one, you begin to slowly flow down the stream. Feel the sun shining overhead as you float down the river, far, far away from all of the tensions of the world. Watch where the river takes you, and continue the inner journey as far as it wants to go. When your journey is finished, notice how relaxed you feel.
When creating your personalized “vacation,” or when guiding a friend through these visualizations, remember to use repetitive words and phrases that evoke relaxation: warm, soft, deep, heavy, etc. For example, tell yourself that you are “feeling more and more relaxed … going deeper and deeper into relaxation … arms feeling warm and heavy and relaxed…” The repetition lulls you into a trancelike state of peace.
You can even use visualization and guided imagery with your children. At the pain management clinic at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, researchers found that a combination of guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation was more effective than breath-based relaxation techniques when working with children who suffered from abdominal pain and discomfort.29 This is why, to achieve the greatest effect, we recommend that you combine as many techniques as you feel comfortable with.
Visualization is an important aspect for setting any goal, since much of your unconscious brain is oriented around a visual construction of the world. If you want to do better in sports, many studies have confirmed that visualizing your performance actually improves your game.30 The same is true for work. If you visualize a possible solution to a problem, the problem is more easily solved because it specifically activates cognitive circuits involved with working memory.31
Visualization helps us distance ourselves from a disturbing memory or problem, yet it simultaneously brings us closer to our desires. Thus, if you envision a sacred or spiritual symbol, it reinforces your religious beliefs.