Gerald Epstein_The Natural Laws of Self-Healing

THE NATURAL LAWS

OF SELF-HEALING: Harnessing Your Inner Imaging Power to Restore Health and Reach Spirit

IMAGING NOTEBOOK

Producer: Theresa Puskar Workbook: Theresa Puskar, Camilla Rees

THE NATURAL LAWS OF SELF-HEALING

TABLE

OF

2

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 I.

Applications of Imagery in the Western Tradition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

II.

Advantages of Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

III.

Listings of the Ten Laws of Balance, the Twelve False Beliefs, and the Twelve Natural Laws of Self-Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

IV.

Creating Your Own Personally Tailored Imagery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

V.

Your Imagery Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

VI.

The Correlations between Physical Issues and Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

VII.

Illustration of Applied Imagery: Prostate Cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

VIII. Illustration of Applied Imagery: Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 IX.

Illustration of Applied Imagery: Creative Expression/Writer’s Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

X.

Illustration of Applied Imagery: Relationship with a Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

XI.

Illustration of Applied Imagery: Leadership/Decision-Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

XII. 21-Day Imaging Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 XIII. List of Participants/Dr. Epstein’s Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

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T HE NATURAL LAWS OF SELF-HEALING

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to give credit to those persons who have been inspirational in the development of my work teaching Western spiritual traditions and mental imagery to patients with physical, mental, and emotional challenges. Primary amongst them is Mme. Colette Aboulker-Muscat of Jeru salem whom I have known for 29 years, and who has been the unquestionable foundation point of my work. A psychotherapist, mystic, and healer, she was known in WWII for using mental imagery to heal soldiers given up for lost, and later decorated by General Eisenhower as one of the “5 Mothers Who Saved the World” for her role in organizing the underground resistance against the Nazis. During a nine-year apprenticeship Mme. Aboulker-Muscat taught me the futility of helping patients with their daily life on the horizontal plane without first fostering a connection with the vertical, unseen reality for deep healing. This formative, lifelong relationship led me to embark on a different path both personally and professionally almost three decades ago. In addition, Valentin Tomberg and Robert Rhondell Gibson have been two shining lights who have illuminated much for me. Tomberg’s Meditations on the Tarot has been a constant source of wisdom and inspiration, and Gibson’s The Science of Man has long been a seminal source for key understanding of the natural laws of self-healing. I am also tremendously grateful to my students—the thousands of health professionals and others who have trained over the years at the American Institute for Mental Imagery and the Blue Gate School of Wisdom for the public. My life’s work in teaching this ancient understanding of the human mind in its historical and spiritual context would not have come to fruition without each of you. And I am grateful to my patients, in whom I have been honored to bear witness to extraordinary healing and transformation, reinforcing daily for me the importance of teaching this work to more people. Finally, I want to thank Nightingale-Conant, and in particular Dan Strutzel and Theresa Puskar, for seeing the potential and timeliness of The Natural Laws of Self-Healing, and Camilla Rees, my partner, agent, and gifted healer in her own right, for making The Natural Laws of Self Healing happen. Since my work in mental imagery with patients began in 1974 there has been an everincreasing interest in this process amongst the general population. And it has become popularized in the sports world with many reports coming to us of famous athletes using this process to create peak performance, such as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi, and Ted Williams. For professionals wishing to pursue it further, a number of academic journals have sprung up, including Imagination, Personality and Cognition (Yale University), American Journal of Mental Imagery (Marquette University), and International Journal of Mental Imagery. Clients and students at the American Institute for Mental Imagery span all fields today—from patients with acute, chronic, and life-threatening illness; mental health professionals; actors; artists; lawyers and CEOs. Should you wish training in mental imagery, please contact me through the American Institute of Mental Imagery in New York. Enjoy The Natural Laws of Self-Healing: Harnessing Your Inner Imaging Power to Restore Health and Reach Spirit —but don’t take my word for anything in it. Experiment and see if what you learn is true for you! With best wishes,


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INTRODUCTION Welcome to The Natural Laws of Self Healing: Harnessing Your Inner Imaging Power to Restore Health and Reach Spirit. This notebook has been created to assist you in your healing. By using your own power of mind through mental imagery, the Laws of Balance and the natural Laws of Self-Healing, you are provided with all you will need for comprehensive, self-directed self-healing in the Western tradition from any physical, men tal or emotional disturbance. With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Gerald Epstein has helped many people transform their lives with his unique gift as an expert on Western spiritual traditions and mental imagery. In practicing the techniques that Dr. Epstein outlines in this program, you can work with the stress in your life without becoming distressed over it. You will learn how to access images from your own internal wisdom, not from those dictated by external sources. You become your own authority as you learn to shed yourself of the “shoulds” in your life. Above all else, you will start to live in the present, no longer experiencing the distresses and pain of a life dictated by the past and the future. Working with imagery teaches you experientially how to be present. Dr. Epstein provides you with several examples of powerful imaging processes throughout the program, but encourages you to find imaging techniques that come to you spontaneously from the invisible realm and are specifically tailored to your individual needs. This notebook has been created to assist you in creating and tracking your own imaging processes. As a reminder, the imaging process is most effective when done three times per day: in the morning when you awaken, at sunset, and

just before you go to bed. It should be done in 7- or 21-day cycles, after which you should rest for seven days then, if necessary, repeat this practice again. Make sure that you do the practice sitting up, not lying down. And remember, do not discuss the exercise with others during the 7- or 21-day cycle ... make it sacred for yourself. It would be very beneficial to tape yourself so that you can guide yourself through the technique. You can use this notebook to write out the imaging process so that you can then record it for yourself and play it as required. Dr. Epstein also suggests that you focus on imaging one area of imbalance at a time. Practicing more than one technique in tandem will most likely confuse you and perhaps weaken the effects that the process can have. There is a list on page 10 to assist you in keeping track of imagery exercises you would like to do in the future. In order to gain the full benefits that this program has to offer you, we suggest that you take time out to act upon the invaluable insights and strategies that have been outlined for you. Ideally, you should listen to each audio session at least twice, preferably three times. Listening to the audio session several times allows it to sink into your subconscious mind as you make more and more discoveries each time that you listen. Be sure to keep a notebook nearby as you are listening to the program, and be prepared to stop the program when you hear an idea or technique that you are particularly drawn to and would like to work with. Feel free to go to any specific areas of interest that you are particularly drawn to. You are encouraged to follow your heart and focus on the subjects that you resonate with the most.

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I. A PPLICATIONS


OF IMAGERY IN THE

WESTERN TRADITION

• Restoration of health from physical, mental, or emotional disturbance (tumors, depression, infections, etc.). • Rapid relief from pain. • Uncovering hidden, sabotaging beliefs. • De-creating any hidden or conscious beliefs. • Reversing ingrained patterns of thought, mood, or behavior. • Restoring balance from stressful shocks. • Ending isolation through connecting to a supportive universe. • Sourcing self-esteem internally, not externally. • Ending “false emergencies” from man-made standards. • Amplifying potential, learning from oneself. • Learning to trust oneself. • Aligning with one’s life path. • Ending the slave mentality. • Removing the inner terrorist. • Getting to the bottom of any issue. • Feeling more alive. • Accessing the passion to serve. • Removing resistance to succeed. • Living creatively. • Manifesting what one intends. • Clarity in decision-making. • Expanding learning capacity. • Birthing your future from the present. • Bringing closure to the past. • Experiencing relationships as open systems capable of unlimited growth. • Resolving past or present relationship challenges. • Ending the pain of interpersonal competition. • Reflecting and facilitating freedom for others. • Learning to lead.

THE NATURAL LAWS OF S ELF-HEALING

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II. A DVANTAGES OF IMAGERY • Effectiveness: Unlike “self-help” books, tapes, and workshops telling people they must change their beliefs to improve their lives, Western imagery tools actually teach them how to do that. The majority of beliefs operate at the background of our consciousness. Thus, attempts to override negative patterns of thought, mood, or behavior using “affirmations,” “determination,” or “action” ultimately fail because the pertinent beliefs were never identified and dissolved. Only through learning the “language of imagery” can one discover these beliefs in one’s consciousness and then permanently remove them using imagery to restore wholeness and health. Imagery is the only effective means of working in the formless, invisible, unconditional realm to change direction and achievement in the visible world. As a “revelatory process,” imagery is also superior to conventional medicine in uncovering root issues related to physical health challenges—as it can speak volumes quickly —and it is a more desirable therapeutic option in simply, elegantly, and noninvasively triggering physiological changes through the action of an image occurring in the mind. Because the BodyMind is one and does not differentiate between the origins of an intervention, in almost every case it is preferable to rapidly address a health challenge with imagery. • Speed: Imagery practice takes only seconds to a few minutes to perform, providing a shock to the system like homeopathy. With some situations, the results can be immediate or take only seven days. Others can take either one, two, or three 21-day cycles for

the changes to take root, resting seven days between each cycle. The speed of imagery compares more favorably to most conventional approaches to physical, mental, or emotional health. • Self-authority based: Learning imagery does not foster dependency on a health care practitioner. Once the basics are learned, imagery techniques can be applied in every area of one’s life on one’s own. Unlike “guided visualizations,” classical Western imagery also relies on the person to internally generate the solution or correction, instead of being guided to a preferred end-point by someone besides oneself. Finally, imagery can be done privately without the need to report the experience to anyone, fostering self-healing and self-responsibility at the same time. • Protects freedom: Practicing Western imagery teaches how the mind can be used to protect us from a constant onslaught of external impressions, unsolicited advice, hypnotic suggestion, and mis-education. It teaches that there is no need to place blind trust in external authorities, and through it one comes to see that the pervasive misplacement of trust in external authorities is the greatest threat to our freedom, both individually and collectively. • MindBody connection: Using imagery, one actually experiences the MindBody connection. Imagery restores us to integration, or the healthiest, most powerful, most lifegiving place to be. Practicing imagery also restores the continuity between contemporary life and the ancient, medieval and early

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renaissance worlds, where there was no separation between one’s consciousness and the visible or invisible world around. • Self-confidence: Through taking an active role in the creation of health, imagery accelerates the development of self-confidence. One quickly comes to see how one’s power and authority have been eroded by aspiring to meet man-made standards, which invariably lead to a process of decay, dependency, and disease. With practice and success using imagery, an interactive trust builds with the universe with an impact in all areas of life. • No cost: Imagery is the most cost-effective, complete, whole-person diagnostic and therapeutic modality available. • Harmless: It is noninvasive, non-toxic, and harmless. • Effortless: Imagery practices are easy and can be done by anyone, anywhere. They are simple to learn, and simple to use. • Nonsectarian: Imagery is relevant no matter what one’s religious tradition or ethnicity. It was espoused by all three Western traditions in ancient Europe, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Greece. • Many applications: Imagery skills have application in every area of life—physical and mental health, career or life direction, financial health, relationships, leadership, etc. Virtually every area of life benefits through integrating the invisible with the visible.


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III LISTINGS OF THE TEN LAWS OF BALANCE, THE TWELVE FALSE BELIEFS, AND THE TWELVE NATURAL LAWS OF SELF-HEALING THE TEN LAWS OF BALANCE: 1. You and invisible reality are indivisible. Don’t let anything come between you. 2. Don’t make graven images with the mind, nor create idols; don’t idolize others. 3. Don’t disparage the voice of unconditional truth speaking to/through you. 4. Remember the Sabbath; take a day where you reverse habitual activity.

THE TWELVE NATURAL LAWS OF SELF-HEALING: 1. Awareness and Observation. Becoming vigilant about how you are thinking. 2. Suspending the Skeptic. Making adjustments to your past mis-education. 3. Choosing to Become Present. Removing the illusions of past and future.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

4. Remembering and Responsibility. Taking your divided self and making it a unity.

6. Don’t commit murder, this includes depression and all forms of self-murder.

5. Equilibrium. Practicing the Ten Laws of Balance.

7. Don’t commit adultery, or mix two things that naturally don’t go together.

6. Transformation. Changing your 12 false beliefs.

8.

7. Incorporating the Four Core Attributes of Balance into Your Life: Proportion, Measure, Rhythm, and Pace.

Don’t steal.

9. Don’t lie, spread rumors, gossip. 10. Don’t covet (act in greed, avarice, jealousy, envy, comparison, or competition).

8. Reversing. Stopping your habitual behaviors and changing your beliefs.

THE TWELVE FALSE BELIEFS:

9. Living the Three P’s: Purification, Perseverance, and Patience.

False Belief #1: There Is Such a Thing As Chance.

10. Invoking Your Self-Healer. Practicing your imaging techniques for 21 days.

False Belief #2: Experience Creates Belief.

11. Intention. Taking your focus off of goals and setting your will in a specific direction.

False Belief #3: Function Follows Form. False Belief #4: The Purpose of Living Is to Avoid Pain, While Seeking Pleasure. False Belief #5: Outside Authorities Know More About Us Than We Do. False Belief #6: It’s Important to Avoid Inferiority by Becoming Important. False Belief #8: It’s Important to Get Attention So As to Avoid Neglect. False Belief #9: It’s Important to Gain Approval As to Avoid Disapproval. False Belief #10: Truth and Reality Are the Same. False Belief #11: Gravity Only Runs in a Downward Direction. False Belief #12: Death Is Inevitable.

12. Commitment: Remaining steadfast to changing your life through inner practice.

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IV. CREATING YOUR OWN PERSONALLY TAILORED IMAGERY Dr. Epstein encourages you to create your own personally tailored imaging processes. To facilitate this process, we have included a listing of several body organs, glands, disease states, and their related emotions. Every part of the body has its correlated emotional representations. This occurs by the law of analogy. When you become aware of the emotional correspondent you can begin using imagery for that emotion, as well as imagery on the physical level. Do an inventory of the physical and emotional elements, and note those in which you experience imbalance. We have also included examples of cases that were based on physical, mental, creative expression, relationship, and leadership issues.

To recap on the process, you should: 1. Take three relaxing breaths, focusing on an elongated outbreath and normal inbreath, breathing out through the mouth and in through the nose. 2. State the name of the image exercise. 3. State the intention of your imaging process in the present tense. 4. State the intended duration of the process in the present tense. Do not worry about clocking it. Your biological clock will take care of that; it will stop your exercise at the correct time. For example: I am doing the Fireman’s Hose Exercise to remove inflammation and it’s taking me 15 seconds. Please Note: Do not speak with others about your imagery process during the 7- or 21-day cycle.

THE NATURAL L AWS OF SELF-HEALING

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V. YOUR IMAGERY LOG: In the space provided below, list any areas in your life in which you would like to apply the imagery process. Remember that you should only focus on one issue at a time, so keep this log so that you can track those that you would like to heal. Physical Health:

Past Relationships:

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

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Emotional Health:

Current Relationships:

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

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Mental Health/

Intentions:

Patterns of Thinking: _______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

_________________________________________

_______________________________________

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_________________________________________

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VI. THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PHYSICAL ISSUES AND EMOTIONS Physical Issues

Related Emotion

Adrenals

Glands connected with stress response.

Autoimmune

Toxicity issues, pollutants (many of the external variety).

Back

Overburdened in relation to money and/or relationships .

Bladder Bone disease

Fear, chronic anger. Structural or foundational life issues at stake; feeling that something in life is crumbling.

Brain

Overloaded with a mixture of swirling, troubling thoughts and high anxiety.

Broken bones

Breaking from someone/something in your life.

Cancer

Choosing not to go on living, depression over a loss; often toxicity related.

Diabetes

Bitterness.

Ears

Not wanting to hear something, turning a deaf ear to something.

Eyes Gall Bladder

Feelings of guilt, if afflicted; not wanting to see something; turning a blind eye. Envy, jealousy.

Heart

Love, lust, heartache/heart break, loss of a loved one, heart-rendering, sexual desire, lusting after, eating one’s heart out.

Kidneys

Indecision, lack of will.

Knees

Unwilling to stand up for self, bowing too much before someone, or refusing to become humble.

Large intestine

Hatred, rage, holding onto a long, lost love.

Liver Lungs

Anger to fury. Dependency, internal crying, call for freedom.

Muscle spasms

Constricted in life, contractions.

Neurological Problems

Loss of nerve, shock to the roots of our very being (usually connected with sudden relationship disruption).

Ovaries

Creativity or loss thereof.

Prostate

Afflicted: unhappiness in relationship, unexpressed guilt feelings connected with extramarital affairs.

Shoulder Sinuses

Carrying too much responsibility. Crying, sadness.

Small intestine

Feelings of neglect, anxiety.

Spleen

Humorlessness.

Stomach

Wants to control a situation.

Thymus

Gland of courage (shrinks as you grow older, apes pound on it to create strength).

Thyroid One foot in and one foot out the door, transition situation. Tonsil/sore throat Feeling sore at someone or something. Uterus

Producing or lack thereof.

Vascular system

Boiling over inside, hardening, drying up, and narrowing of one’s life experience.


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VII. ILLUSTRATION OF APPLIED IMAGERY Prostate Cancer A man was diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer and given three months to live. He had a PSA of 24 (0–5 normal range), needed to urinate 8–10 times a night and was told there was nothing else that could be done for him. He came to Dr. Epstein in 1994 as a last resort. He was asked to close his eyes and imagine himself in the region of the cancer, seeing the disfigured cells in the prostate and in the surrounding lymph nodes. Then he was asked to bring in whatever tool might be required to restore the area to health. He imagined the arrival of a small army, ferreting out the unhealthy cells and destroying them one by one. When all the cells remaining were healthy he was told to open his eyes. He was instructed to repeat the exercise for 21 days, three times a day. Before the end of the 21-day cycle, the man no longer needed to urinate in the night. He was feeling very well. Dr. Epstein explained from what the man described that it was likely he was healed and no longer needed to come back. The man had a sonogram several weeks later that showed no cancer, and his PSA returned to normal (0.2). He remains alive and healthy nine years later.

This is an example of changes or corrections made in the imaginal, invisible realm creating physiological impact. The body doesn’t differentiate between the source of change—physical or mental—and will respond physiologically to changes initiated in either dimension. Because we are a BodyMind, including the visible and invisible, one can work in either dimension to create physical change.

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Day 1: ____/____/_______

Date completed: ____/____/_______

I am doing the ____________________________________________________ exercise (Name of the Exercise)

to ________________________________________________________________________ (Healing intention for doing the exercise)

and it is taking me ________________________________________________________ (Intended duration of the exercise)

Write out the exercise, step-by-step, in the space provided below. Tape yourself describing the exercise in your normal everyday voice, and play it back to yourself to guide you through the exercise three times a day (first thing in the morning, at sundown, and before bed). You may also wish to make note of your experiences and any transformations you undergo in relation t o doing this exercise.


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Day 1: ____/____/_______

Date completed: ____/____/_______




Write out the exercise, step-by-step, in the space provided below. Tape yourself describing the exercise in your normal everyday voice, and play it back to yourself to guide you through the exercise three times a day (first thing in the morning, at sundown, and before bed). You may also wish to make note of your experiences and any transformations you undergo in relation to doing this exercise.

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Day 1: ____/____/_______

Date completed: ____/____/_______






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VIII. I LLUSTRATION OF APPLIED IMAGERY Depression A woman presented with a 13-year history of chronic depression. She was asked to close her eyes and to describe what image would describe the feeling of depression. She said, “The bottom of a pit.” She was told to then see herself at the bottom of that pit. She was then asked to look around the pit and see if she could find something that would help her get out of the pit. She discovered a rope ladder with hooks on the end. She threw the ladder up, the hooks engaging at the top. She then saw herself climbing the ladder to the top of the pit, noting how she felt lighter and freer as she was climbing. At the top of the pit she saw a wide-open space with light, sun, trees, and cows. When she opened her eyes, she was depression-free for the first time in 13 years. She repeated this exercise once a day for one week to reinforce her decision to climb out of the pit. She has been depression-free ever since.

This is an example of imagery being used as both a diagnostic and a therapeutic. The woman revealed the meaning of her depression imaginally and then changed the image to rapidly change the experience of depression. Mere determination or “affirmation” to be depression-free would never be successful on its own if the root of the problem is not imme diately available in the forefront of our con sciousness. Using imagery, one can find the root of the problem and solve it with a self generated, tailor-made corrective image.

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IX. I LLUSTRATION OF APPLIED IMAGERY C reative Expre s sio n /Writ e r’s Block A writer is blocked, unable to tap into the creative flow. Dr. Epstein instructs him to see himself in an elevator and have the elevator go down five floors. When it stops, he is to see himself walking down a long lit hallway until he comes upon a door labeled with his name in gold letters, thus: (your name)’s writing room. He is to enter, close the door, and describe the room he sees in detail. He is to go over to the desk, see an empty pad there, and sit down. He is to see himself starting to write and to see sheets of paper flying off to the right, stacking up on the table with the title page on top, until he is satisfied he has written enough.* He then sees himself leaving the room, shutting the door, walking down the hallway and getting into the elevator. When the elevator reaches the fifth level he is told to open his eyes. After this exercise the creative juices are flowing and the writer is able to produce.

This is an example of intentionally opening our senses to allow life force to flow through us in the imagination. The writer solves the problem in the mind to open up places that were blocked preventing him from expression. * If a computer is used, type on it and see the sheets flying out of the printer. Stack them to the right with the title page on top.

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Day 1: ____/____/_______

Date completed: ____/____/_______




Write out the exercise, step-by-step, in the space provided below. Tape yourself describing the exercise in your normal everyday voice, and play it back to yourself to guide you through the exercise three times a day (first thing in the morning, at sundown, and before bed). You may also wish to make note of your experiences and any transformations you undergo in relation t o doing this exercise.


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Date completed: ____/____/_______





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X. ILLUSTRATION OF APPLIED IMAGERY Relationship with a Boss A man felt uncomfortable around his new boss. He was afraid of upsetting him, felt he had to do everything just right, and didn’t feel he could have open and honest communication with him. It turns out he once had a similar relationship with another boss. That boss had been volatile and domineering, and so he quit. He remained angry with the former boss and had lost contact. The man was asked to close his eyes and see himself sitting with his former boss. He was to silently say to the boss anything that had never been said that needed to be said, and to speak from the deepest level of truth. He could take as long as needed. Then he was asked to imagine the boss responding from the deepest place of truth and to hear everything the boss had to say. Imaginally, he first saw the deeper truth that the job was not allowing him to have a life beyond his work and that he brought that frustration with him into the job and saw no way out. He imagined himself saying to the former boss that he was actually distraught that his life was about meeting company needs, with no time for himself, and that this wasn’t what he expected from life when he put himself through college by working three jobs. He saw himself saying to his boss that he was leaving the company because he wanted a life, and this decision had nothing to do with his boss whom he greatly admired and would miss a great deal. He said he was grateful for the opportunity to work for someone that talented, and he hoped they could stay in touch. When it was the boss’s “turn” in this imag-

inal exercise, he saw himself empathizing deeply, offering to hire as many assistants as the man needed. He told the man how much he was valued, something he had never said before, and thanked him profusely for his candor, saying he never would have suspected he was unhappy, as on the surface he seemed content and performed well. The boss even offered the man a sabbatical and/or the opportunity to transfer in the company. Finally, the boss acknowledged he was sometimes domineering and impatient and apologized if that added to the man’s stress. He acknowledged how much he liked and enjoyed having the man in his group and how refreshing it was to work with him. He said he would really miss him if he left, but would be fully supportive if that was his choice. After this imaginal exercise the man felt completion with the former boss and was no longer angry. Whereas initially he had thought the problem had been his boss, through the imagery exercise he now saw he created his outcome by not rising to his own communication potential. He returned to work at the new job and established an open, communicative relationship with his current boss and had no further problems.

This is an example of how imagery can be used to complete the past in any relationship— whether with a former employer, a former spouse, a parent, or a friend. Uncomfortable memories of the past that continue to generate stress or that perpetuate unproductive patterns of thought, mood, behavior can be changed by reinserting oneself in the past situation through the imagination and seeing both parties communicate from their deepest truth. This is because memories are malleable and subjective,

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and by changing the memory in the imaginal realm through imaging reconciliation one can erase the lingering mental or physical impact of former experiences. This is true imagery, not fantasy, as there is a productive action and transformation that takes place. This case also highlights the distress we can bring upon our selves by letting the work life filter into personal life, creating a disruption in the latter which then adversely affects the former. So work life and personal life need to be separated. This error in the man’s perspective was at the root of his problem.



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XI. ILLUSTRATION OF APPLIED IMAGERY Leadership/Decision-Making The CEO of an early-stage medical technology company faced a dilemma. As a publically traded company, it was important to the investment community that it meet analysts’ projected earnings estimates or its stock would likely drop. The CEO’s R&D department was behind schedule and new products in development were scheduled to come on stream much later than anticipated, thus lowering revenues and earnings. He held a meeting with the head of R&D, insisting that they do everything possible to speed up the new products’ launch to be on schedule, but he was told that in order to meet the launch deadlines that quality would have to suffer, making the products less reliable and possibly less safe for use with patients. The CEO deliberated. He felt paralyzed, contracted in fear. He knew his board expected better performance of him, and investors would be disappointed, which could impair the company’s valuation and financing potential. He also knew there might be other ways of making earnings look better if he chose to play with the numbers. The CEO was asked to close his eyes and see himself standing behind a golden scale on each end of which was a golden balance pan. He was asked to make two lists describing the advantages of each of the two directions—1) being completely honest regarding product development and accounting and facing any consequences and 2) forcing the numbers to be in line with the estimates through accounting maneuvers or quality impairment. He was asked to place the lists in each of the balance pans and see how they weighed. The direction became clear to him as the list to be honest weighed much more and tipped the scale. The

CEO was mobilized to action, energized and secure in his decision to present the business as it was knowing that the benefits of honesty in the short-term, the long-term, for him and for others, far outweighed what he would have to live with if he had chosen the other path. The company stock did drop, financing was impaired and cutbacks were required, a period of contraction that lasted two years before resumption of growth. During this time, at the height of the Internet boom in Silicon Valley, headhunters pursued his employees daily but this CEO was blessed as his entire team stuck by him to ride out the difficulties.

This is an example of circumventing one’s logical mind—which in this situation could have come up with many good reasons to force the numbers to meet analysts’ estimates. Instead, the CEO received direction from an analogical source, in the form of the image exercise, allowing a true intuitive response. He was mobilized to action with certainty and faith. In each moment, we have the choice to move toward either life or death. To move toward life, one can use the “unconditional language” of images to tap into intuition (or “unconditional thinking”) and arrive at deci sions based on the whole of life, thereby dis solving perceptions one is enslaved in some way by one’s circumstances or by “time.” In this way we are supported by our own self-love, and our integrity becomes a magnet and moti vator for others. The CEO here might have tem porarily pleased people had he forced the numbers to look better to meet the man-made earnings expectations, but he and his employees would have been compromised and many relationships ultimately impaired.


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Day 1: ____/____/_______

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Day 1: ____/____/_______

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XII. 21-DAY IMAGING CHECKLIST You may wish to copy this checklist and use it to track your imaging practices as you go through each of them. The first set of boxes is for a 7-day cycle. If you wish to continue on a 21-day regimen, you can track it by continuing to the bottom of the chart.

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XIII.

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LISTED BELOW ARE PARTICIPANTS OF THE LIVE NEW YORK DISCUSSION. WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THEM FOR THEIR VALUED INPUT IN THE PROGRAM:

Dr. Celia Blumenthal, M.D. Psychiatrist 47 E. 87th Street, #6A New York, NY 10128 212-410-9505 Linda Caigan, ACSW Mental Imagery Therapist 914-698-4246 Anne Carbone, M.A. Mental Imagery Therapist, Addictions 212-717-7192 Lydia Craigmyle, Ph.D. Mental Imagery Psychologist 212-772-6827/212-254-5252 Chaya Deyo Retired Special Education School Teacher 212-534-4536 Colin Greer Director, New World Foundation 216 W. 89th Street, #12A New York, NY 10024 212-787-4739 Holly Jaffe Creative Director, Advertising New York, NY 212-614-9005 John Horton Commercial Pilot 631-423-8392

Joseph P. Kneafsey Retired Civil Service Manager 718-4899-3014 Jennifer Lamonica, DC, CCN, LAc Chiropractor, Acupuncturist, Nutritionist Utilizing Kinesiology, Imagery & Face Morphology 219 Beebe Road Mineola, NY 11501 516-746-2025 Katherine Lee, CSW, Psychotherapist 212-332-9163 Elizabeth Ann Manhart Barrett, RN; Ph.D.; FAAN Professor Emerita, Hunter College, City University of New York; Health Patterning Therapist using Imaging and Therapeutic Touch 212-861-8228 Camilla Rees, M.B.A. Leadership and Entrepreneur Consulting; Imagery and Health Counseling; Corporate Constellations New York, N.Y. 212-876-6659 [email protected] Rheba Rosenbluth, M.S. Counselor, School Psychologist, Imagery Work 914-725-5810

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Adele P. Rosenkranz Business Development Manager 212-223-1882 Daniel Singer Alexander Teacher & Imagery Therapist 212-932-1624 Susan Soph-Rivera, CSW Clinical Social Worker in Private Practice Schoolwide Counselor in Elementary School So. Bronx 212-674-8357


If you wish to learn more about the Mental Imagery Process, you can contact Dr. Epstein at: The American Institute for Mental Imagery 16 East 96 Street, Suite 1 A New York, NY 10128 Telephone: 212-369-4080 Fax: 212-369-5646 E Mail: jer [email protected] Website: www.drjerryepstein.org

Please note that all that has been shared in this program are solely the expressed opinions and beliefs of Dr. Epstein and the participants of the seminar.


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