Activating Healing With Imagery by Jeanne Achterberg Ph. D., Barbara Dossey R.N. M.S. FAAN., Leslie Kolkmeier R.N. M. Ed. Knowing the scientific basis for how imagery works can help you understand how you heal and can help you create your own healing images. Images are thought—forms that are very connected or in touch with the entire world of the bodymind. The preverbal images conduct information both ways — that is, to and from the tissues of the body. Receiving information from the body is a pretty straightforward function and is important for survival. But sending information to the body happens too, although it takes a little more explanation to understand how. Most of you probably know what it feels like to worry. Worriers are highly skilled imagers. What happens to your body when you have persistent images of your most constant worry? Chances are, your heart rate increases, acids begin to squirt into your digestive system, your chest feels constricted, and your throat tightens. Some of you may be such expert worriers that each worry is associated with a particular part of your body. In other words, you know just how and where to make yourself sick. In order to heal, however, you need to use your great skill to send loving, positive images to your body. That is the essence of using imagery rituals. The bodymind responds to vivid images "as if" events being imagined were actually happening in the outside world. If you imagine you are running, your nerves and muscles produce slight but perceptible movements that can be detected with an instrument called an electromyograph (EMG). When you imagine hearing or seeing an object, the part of the brain — the auditory or visual cortex — registers it as though you had perceived it in the physical world. The more intense the images and the more senses it draws upon, the more your bodymind recaptures the actual event. Imagery results in sparks of electricity and showers of chemicals permeating your whole being. An image, like any other type of thought, is an electrochemical affair. The electrical and chemical activity of the brain during imagery can be seen by viewing electroencephalogram records of brainwaves or PET scans, which show areas of brain activity. Visualizing a picture activates the visual cortex, and imaging sounds stimulates the auditory cortex. The effect of imagery on other areas can and has been measured by checking vital signs, looking at chemical changes, or taking other blood tests, such as the activity of the immune system. Several studies have measured the output of the salivary glands when the subjects are asked to think of a lemon. Try this yourself to test the connection between your image and your cells. You will note that the more senses you involve in your imagery — the color and sounds of the juicy lemon, the felt sense of swallowing, the pungent taste — the more response you will feel to it. The Neural and Chemical Bodymind Connections The types of showers and sparks that reverberate throughout your electrochemical self reflect the nature of the image. If you have sad images, you manufacture the chemicals of depression. If you have aggressive images, you make adrenaline, the hormone of "flight or fight." Images that cause people to feel relaxed have produced a natural tranquilizer that has a chemical structure like Valium. If a person is given a placebo and told it is a painkiller, that person's body can manufacture an actual painkilling hormone that is very much like morphine. Images that make you feel jubilant can trigger the activities of neuropeptides, which in turn can positively affect the activities of the immune system. The brain can be a powerful regulator — and reflector — of what we feel. Hardware and Software The bodymind has connections that can be compared to computer hardware and software. The hardware is the neural connections in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) that interact with connections throughout the body. At least one brain area — the anterior frontal lobe where some images are formed — is directly "wired" to the limbic system, where emotions are processed. From there, neural pathways go directly to the hypothalamus, which controls the homeostatic and basic drives such as eating, drinking, sex and sleep; and to the pituitary, the master gland that has influence over all the hormones. So far, we have discussed only the more basic bodymind functions in association with imagery's neural pathways. But imagery is also interwoven with higher cognitive functions, filtered through a morass of memories and meanings in the cerebral cortex. This complex and unique information stored in your brain gives your imagery its most individual character. An image is more likely to be processed by the right side of the brain than the left, as are dreams and other visionary or creative experiences. It is best for you to think of both the right and the left sides of the brain as being involved in imagery, however, since their activities are so heavily interconnected and interdependent. As complex as this hardware is, it is obviously impossible for every cell to be connected by neurons to every other cell in the body. Rather, chemical messengers convey images throughout the bodymind, since they are relatively free to travel via the bloodstream, lymphatic system, or even with other cells. These chemical messengers are analogous to a computer's software. These messengers are the neurotransmitters, hormones, immunomodulators, and neuropeptides. The neurotransmitters carry a neuron's message when they are released into a synapse, the space between one neuron and its neighboring neurons The message is then translated to one that tells which of the neighboring neurons to fire and which ones not to fire. Hormones are stimulated by the neural and chemical activity of the hypothalamus and pituitary, and affect the activity of all the glands. The chemicals of the immune system, the immunomodulators communicate the nature of the immune defense throughout the bodymind. And finally, the neuropeptides literally float through all fluids and may be the key to understanding how emotions are felt throughout the body. These chemicals are attracted to various receptor sites, where they are able to communicate their message, fitting into them like a key into a lock. Let us trace the route of a popular kind of image — a "favorite scene." Imagine a place where you feel totally safe and relaxed. You are surrounded by objects that bring you pleasure, and you are at peace with your inner and outer worlds. Move into the scene with more clarity, using all your senses. Feel the inside and outside movements of your body. Smell any fragrance or aroma, hear the sound, witness the surroundings with the eye of your mind. Memories and emotions begin to flood into your consciousness. Your brain weaves through a lifetime of information in an instant, selecting those ideas appropriate to the situation. Your images are thus laden with many thoughts and body feelings. The sensory cortex of your brain is bright with activity, for at this level of information—processing, the scene is very real. You may note that the motor areas of your brain have also received some information and some memory, and your muscles are relaxing as you settle into the experience. But there is still more. Imaging the scene has triggered the production of chemicals that communicate to many cells, tissues, and organs. You may be feeling a slight tingling in your fingertips — that is a sign that the sympathetic nervous system is less active. When that happens, the tiny vessels at the end of your fingers open up and your hands warm. Your heart rate is slowing down, and your breath is slightly deeper and more regular. As you progress, usually ten or twelve minutes into the exercise, you may feel a great sense of well—being. This is your own natural tranquilizer flooding your bodymind. Notice how this feels. Now imagine if you can, that as you relax more and more into the scene, neuropeptides are awakening and stimulating various cells of the immune system, starting their beautiful defensive activity on your behalf. Natural killer cells, especially, are awakened by these chemicals of relaxation. Sustain the images of relaxation as long as you wish, making a mental note of feelings and sensations. The clearer these feelings become, the more they are consciously recognized, and the more quickly you can attain this state. It is as if the pathways of connection get clogged up when we don't use them but open readily when we give such activity our attention. After you finish this imagery exercise, observe how different you feel as you go about your daily activities. You may have gained some cushion for dealing with the stresses, or you may have reset your own attitudes. Reprinted with permission. "Activating Healing with Imagery" is an excerpt from Rituals of Healing written by Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D., Barbara Dossey, R.N., M.S., FAAN, and Leslie Kolkmeier, R.N., M.Ed. Copyright ©1994. Published by Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. ISBN 0-553-37347-1; 360 pp; paperback $13.95. 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