Using Guided Imagery Exercises or Scripts

BY ARLENE HARDER, MA, MFT

You can create a mindset for meditation and use guided imagery exercises when you understand how to make your experience just right for you.

Here are a few suggestions to make the best use of written guided imagery exercises or scripts (both terms apply to these techniques).

1. When you print one of the imagery scripts from the Childhood Affirmations website or when you're using one you find in a book, read it a few times to get a sense of what the author has in mind and to get you into an imagery-creating mood.

2. After several readings, if you feel you know the purpose well enough, simply close your eyes and notice what happens as you follow the ideas as completely as you can. Then when you finish and open your eyes again, re-read the script to see if maybe there was something you forgot and, if so, just go back and try again. You aren't being graded on your memory.

3. If you have a tape recorder, you or a friend can record the script, pausing at all the places that have several periods ( . . . ).

4. Try not to let the sound of your voice distract you. After all, most of us are initially disconcerted to hear our recorded voice. That's because when we speak we experience the sounds we make both through our ears and through the vibration of the bones in our head. Our voice on tape is only heard with our ears. So if your voice seems unfamiliar, don't be surprised. Remember that the uniqueness of who you are includes the "print" of your voice when you speak, just as your finger "print" identifies you out of billions of people. So celebrate that part of you as you use the script to expand your imagination. After all, no one but you needs to listen to the tape.

5. If there is anything that bothers you about some part of the script, substitute your own ideas. One-size-doesn't-fit-all any more in written scripts than it does in tapes.

6. When reading, follow the words at a moderate pace, taking time during the breaks ( . . . ) to experience that part of the script in whatever way feels most natural for you. If you do the exercise more than once, you may find that at one time you get a fairly strong sense of "seeing" things; another time you might be aware of other senses, like hearing, touching, tasting and smelling, as well as a whole-body kinesthetic sense of movement. Whatever you experience will be just right for you.

7. As noted in the introductory classes on Imagery, don't be concerned if you aren't aware of "seeing" something, or if what you see isn't as bright as you experience it in the outer world or when watching a movie. That's as it should be. We need some protection in our inner world from the bombardment on our senses in the outer world. In fact, we often close our eyes to get away for a moment from all those sensations. Nevertheless, our inner landscape reflects (to one degree or another, depending on the person) the senses we experience when our eyes are open.

8. For suggestions on how to set up a time and place in your environment where you can best use written script and tapes or quietly meditate, see Setting the Stage.

9. Incidentally, you will notice that often "And" appears at the beginning of a sentence, which may seem grammatically incorrect. The reason is that when you listen to an imagery tape, your images tend to flow more freely if one idea is connected to another with a word or phrase that moves you from one to the next. (I mention this only because my editor once wondered why I wrote that way and you may wonder as well.)

© Copyright 1997, Revised 2002, Arlene Harder, MA, MFT