The Techniques
These involve visualisation and some comment needs to be made about this. Some people believe that they can't visualise because the pictures they imagine in their heads aren't anywhere near as clear as they get when they look through their open eyes (I was one of these people!) Think about it, though, really it's just as well that imagined images are different from the ones we see with our eyes open, otherwise how would we know the difference!? But it's this simple. You know what a telephone looks like, don't you. You know what a giraffe looks like, don't you. Just reading these words brings some kind of image to mind, and this is good enough. You don't have to make 3D glowing holograms in your mind, although these are fun when you get the trick of them. And if I go on to describe a herd of giraffes, moving in graceful slow motion across the savannah under a soft amber evening sky, your representation inside your mind is visual. See what I am saying?
The Way You Do The Techniques Is At Least As Important As The Techniques Themselves.
The techniques must be done slowly, very slowly, and gradually. The more softly you talk to yourself, as and when you do, the better. Be patient. These aren't the kind of techniques where you find the pain usually just switches off the moment you start. The process is a little more gradual. As you read, imagine an inner voice, deep and calm and tranquil, reading the words gently to you. You will have to read through the techniques a few times to get the details, as much of the time spent doing them is with your eyes closed.
Exercise One
From this moment on we will refer to the 'pain' as the 'feeling'. Get as physically comfortable as you can, sitting with arms and legs uncrossed if possible, and let your eyes wander over the room (presuming you are inside when you do this). Notice the objects in the room, their size, colour, shape and distance from you, the colour of the walls, the ceiling, the floor etc, and take a few minutes to do this because soon you will be closing your eyes and remembering the room in your imagination. Then close your eyes and picture the room, inside your imagination, as closely and gently as you can, as if your eyes were still open.
Before you open your eyes ask yourself the question, 'what else can I add into the picture inside my mind?' Then open your eyes and look to see how you can enrich your visualisation. Perhaps there are some objects that you hadn't seen. Notice, for example, where the light is coming from and if there are shadows and reflections. Glance down at your own clothing and become more aware of the colours and shades of the folds of the material.
Close your eyes again and add these details. Spend a minute slowly looking around the room in your imagination, then, once again quietly ask yourself what extra details you can add, and open your eyes once more.
Find additional detail if possible and then close your eyes again and enrich your internal image, and in your imagination float out to about ten feet in front of yourself and imagine what you, sitting in the chair, and the rest of the room, look like from this perspective. Remember, this doesn't have to be a crystal clear image, just a notion of what you look like calmly sitting there will suffice. If there is a wall or furniture in the way from this perspective, simply imagine seeing through it as if it isn't there. Notice, in the image, as you imagine yourself sitting there, ten feet away, and your rate of breathing, see the chair you are sitting on. Spend a minute seeing as much detail as you can
And then float around, in slow motion, clockwise, to a position about ten feet away from your chair to the right and imagine looking at yourself from this direction. If your chair is high-backed also float up a little so that you can see the top of your head. Once again, consider the colours, the things in the room, the light source, the shadows, and whatever else is there, seen from this perspective.
Gently floating clockwise, see yourself sitting in the chair from a position of about ten feet away to the left.. Consider the left hand side of your face, what your hair would look like from this direction, see yourself sitting in the chair, be aware of your rate of breathing and observe the room in as much detail as you are able to.
Now slowly repeat the above four steps from a distance of twenty feet, and then repeat from a distance of one hundred feet. From one hundred feet the room will be more 'dolls-house' in size, though you may still be able to make out features, colours and so forth.
When you have done this float up one hundred feet directly above yourself and look down into the room as though there were no roof or ceiling, and continue to float up so that things begin to dwindle and become very tiny. Continue to float up even when the picture of you has become too small to see. Make the sky clear in your mind and get a sense of the surrounding countryside/buildings and things dwindling as you continue to float up and up, until you begin to get an awareness of the curvature of the earth, and have the stars begin to appear and gently sparkle in your imagination. See the earth as a blue-green ball becoming smaller and smaller and become aware of the deep comfortable vastness of space around you...
Now ask yourself 'How is my head?' Typically the feeling will have noticeably diminished, and sometimes eliminated. If necessary, move to exercise two.
Pain Relief Excercise 2 »
