Healing rituals

I come to you, oh Blogosphere, with a question:

When supporting medical care for chronic conditions with energy work, magic, etc., what sort of guided imagery do you use?

I'm looking at starting some guided imagery to help someone with a chronic condition, and am wondering what sorts of imagery are effective, both for the practitioner (to get in the right headspace) and to tell to the recipient. Anyone have any resources/books/advice?

Comments

Unknown said…
In a case like this I favor Spring imagery; the season implies vitality and a return of vigor after a depression of life force (winter). The colors green and yellow seem to work best for me, as well as spring-time sylvan flowers and fruit; evocation of deities such as Ceres, Hator and Dionysus can also help to put you in a mental state of overflowing vitality: if you want to send life and healing energy, it will be a good idea to have it in you in the first place. You could also boost your rituals with diet and exercise, keeping a very healthy and energetic lifestyle for their duration.
Barbara said…
As someone who has a number of chronic illnesses, I can tell you we often suffer through periods of health and set-backs (also called flares).

I think including imagery that will encourage them keep faith during flares is helpful. Perhaps meditation on the wheel of fortune or turning of the seasons may help them keep hope in their heart. I do find it helps me.

Also, I would include mediations and mantras for Kuan-Yin or Tara. They are not only symbols of healing, but also compassion and self-love.
Unknown said…
I like to do trees: roots to the center of the earth drawing nourishment up, leaves in the sun, gentle breezes. Trees also have some useful connotations without pushing a specific set of symbolism.

So I induce, deeper and then let them establish the tree-as-personal-energy-system. The things that are the anchors for the chronic condition are then characterized by weeds or vines that use the tree as support and without the tree's support, they die off and turn to dust...

Any energy "lost" comes up through the roots or down through the sun or whatever fits context.

I'm working on documenting how this makes changes in gross somatics and kinesiology, so that's been my main focus - having noticable quantitative changes in posture and motion. YMMV.
Lavanah said…
It has already been said, but I use trees for imagery. The variety of tree and growth type, habit, etc, can vary with the person and condition that you are working with.
Unknown said…
I tend to guide the person with the illness to their own image of a place filled withhealth and joy-having them share that first in a guided visualization-and then using imagery that "fits in" with it. So, if the imagery provided by the person involved a white temple, with delicate Ivy and a statue of Imhotep, I would involve those elements in the healing work. That's worked alright thus far...
Unknown said…
I was reminded of another metaphor I use. I'll use colors as part of my process. I'll call them out "out of order" (if you map them onto chakras or planets or small yappy-type dogs) and let the spread throughout the body, then make shifts to put them "in order (using the symbol set of preference) by basically doing "towers of Hanoi" with the ordering.

I've also been working with non-awareness/void states more frequently in hospice situations than before. Not quite what you're asking, but there will often be spontaneous glove anesthesia happening. Useful for when there are acute episodes with the chronic ones.

Guided imagery isn't normally my thing - if I'm inducing deep trance phenomena, I'll just induce deep trance phenomena and be done with it. I've actually found that using the models in Bandler's Trance-formations and Tad James' Timelines as frameworks for creating guided imagery/meditations on the fly have been quite a bit more helpful than just a library of scripts.
Hello! My wife's experiences include the gamut (as she has multiple physical conditions). The most powerful has been guided imagery going within the body. Going to each particular organ and literally dialoging with it. This often leads to visions and other dream-state communication from the organ in question. Worked for her (with a professional hypnotherapist).

When I work with her, I usually bring her into a 'light' hypnotic state, a physical location that is out or her normal experience, but giving as little description as possible, and then once getting her there, asking her to describe the environment with particularity; usually, she takes over from that point and there is little guiding necessary.

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