Transformational Imagery

Images are used on us everyday, thousands of times in a day. Have you ever watched television? Of course, you have. How about video clips on the computer? They flash thousands of images before your eyes. What about the radio? Radio gives you words and suggestions that then get interpreted into images in your mind. Advertisers use images and suggestions to make their product stand out to us at a supermarket.

So why is it so hard for us to believe in transformational imagery, when it comes to helping ourselves? Simple. Our conscious mind gets in the way and quickly dismisses it. This is why it can take so long for a new technique to benefit us. It’s not that the technique takes a long time. It’s just that our conscious mind gets in the way of change. Deep states of relaxation relax the critical filter of the conscious mind and allow subconscious patterns and beliefs to more easily be changed. Mere suggestions in a deep state of relaxation, allow for change to happen more quickly. And isn’t that what we want, a quick fix?

You've heard the statement, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Suggestions are good, but images are better. This applies to mental images as well as tangible ones. So we could say, "A mental image is worth a thousand suggestions."

Interestingly enough, when you can't even put into words what it is you are aiming for, you can still have a mental picture of it. One of my clients recently came to me wanting to be "successful." So I asked her, what is success to you. She had trouble putting it into words, but she said, "I sure know what it looks and feels like."

I helped her get into a state of deep relaxation encouraged her to tell me (and herself) what it looks and feels like. With just a few short weeks, I had her on the road to success; her vision of success. All we had to do was get her critical, disbelieving conscious mind quiet, so that she could tell her subconscious mind what she wanted to happen. A lot of hypnotherapist’s like to present these concepts as magical. They can seem that way, because of how quickly and easily the results can happen. It really is not that complicated.

Professionals sometimes believe that they need to explain things in complex terms so you feel like they are really professionals and worth the money you pay them. I believe in results. Transformational imagery is transformational because it works. If you allow the mind to use its creativity and imagination during deep relaxation, it works diligently and unobstructed on solving the problem. Our subconscious is limitless in its powers of creativity and imagination. It loses the ego and gets to work.

Here are three quick tips for allowing imagery to work for you:

First, you have to practice getting into deep states of relaxation. You can not practice this enough. The deeper the more open and receptive the subconscious is the better it will work.

Second, allow yourself the freedom to use your imagination; just like when you were a kid. See every detail.

Finally, have fun doing it. It’s not a religion. You don’t have to even believe in it for it to work. Have fun! Even if its nothing but entertaining to watch the things you want to happen go through your mind, like a movie, enjoy the movie. Have some mental popcorn too! You can eat as much of it as you like and you won’t gain weight.