Imagery - A Powerful Stress Management Technique

Imagery is a powerful stress management technique for creating deep relaxation . Through the use of imagination you mentally create a scene of calm and tranquility to break free of the noise, stress and pressure of everyday life. The more intensely you p

icture the situation the more relaxed you become.

The idea is to involve as many as your senses as you can to make the scene as real as you can. When you consciously use your imagination in this way it has a direct impact on your physical world.You see, stress is a symptom of the countless impressions, ideas and thoughts we willingly accept into our lives without examination or consideration.

Whether it be from the home, the office or our social environment, the physical symptoms of stress are the results of this past 'acceptance' and can only be undone when we consciously take control. Instead of being passive recipients of the mind's activity we learn to direct it consciously. One way of doing this is through mental imagery.

Imagery helps us learn how to consciously direct the mind. It goes much deeper than a temporary relaxation method because we are beginning to exercise our mental muscles. Just try and sit for ten minutes and create a tranquil scene. You will most likely find that it's not an easy process. All kinds of different thoughts will come into your head and it will be difficult to hold onto the scene for more than a few seconds, never mind a full ten minutes. This is because our mental muscles have grown weak! We allow external forces to influence our lives and we lose our way.

Often, we end up coping with stress in an inappropriate way to get some short term relief. In the long term this only makes things worse and is not the way to inner peace. Imagine how life would be if we could consciously direct our minds at will? If we could block unwanted thoughts and only use the mind for necessary tasks. Would we not then become masters of our mind and in control of our own destiny?It is difficult to maintain balance when we are not in control. This is why the symptoms of stress including amongst other things burnout, anxiety, anger and depression, eventually manifest themselves in our physical being in the form of disease.

A life out of balance leads to dis-ease!It should be clear then that to achieve a natural balance we must regain control of our mind. Imagery, as a stress management technique is one of many things we can do to help us achieve that control. The effectiveness of this technique is only limited by the degree to which we practice it. Not only will we experience the immediate calming effect of the exercise but the lasting effect of control over our environment.When we make a conscious effort to use imagery on a regular basis we begin to take control of the mind. Over time we are able to choose the thoughts we entertain at any given moment. When we begin to master the mind we become increasingly self-aware. With self-awareness comes balance, and stress becomes a thing of the past.

A You Under Mind Control ?

How do you determine if you're under mind control? It's an interesting question that you can pass around at a party or among friends. The fact is that you just don't know. In fact everything you are doing could be a response that fits perfectly into another persons plans. If you take that as a possibility you could simply just give up and yield to the fact that NOTHING is truly within your control but there is a healthier option.

It's quite simple, just ask yourself "Am I acting or am I reacting?" If you are reacting then you are respond to something outside of your control and trying to gain some control back, a potential sign of some form of mind control. No one likes to feel powerless and out of control. The solution? To do something intentional and positive that is NOT a response to the external environment. I want to emphasize the word "positive" here because an intentional negative/destructive act has to act on or destroy something pre-existing.

It would be then something to which you are reacting. This is much harder that it might seem because it requires four qualities that most "sheeple" find hard to implement. They are:

1) Thought.
People don't like to think, in general. That is why we have an unconscious (reactive) mind so it will do most of our actions for us. Most of us rely on it entirely too much or in the wrong way and allow it to dictate our every move by letting our emotions guide us. Advertisers, politicians, spouses and other manipulators know this and often seek to control you by fear, anger, threats and frustration. Thought requires that you determine what would be your best emotional response.

2 ) Creativity.
Creativity can be difficult because it requires taking action that is not linked to some external stimulus. This, of course requires thought, but one can train themselves and their unconscious mind to be very creative. Think of what Salvador Dali was able to do. Nothing he did in the field of art could easily be compared to anything prior to him. The same was true with his life.

3) Action.
Action takes effort. People (sheeple?) tend to not want to act instead they react and conserve their energy. What they don't understand is that by taking creative action in the manner described creates energy. Going back to Salvidor Dali as an example, his life was FULL of energy that he created. When his peers in the high brow field of art tried to control him he would turn his response into a new form of performance art. In so doing he would baffle the people trying to influence him and entertain everyone else.

4) Courage.
Why courage? Because when people recognize that they cannot control you through fear and anger they will severely escalate their attempts through threats and maybe even violence. To free yourself from any form of mind control is no easy task. But nothing so rewarding is easy.

We Have A Power

Admit it or not, we all have a need for power. Power provides each of us with several very essential things, the feeling of being in control, the feeling that we're right, a sense of security and the hope that we can accomplish what we want most for ourselves.

With Mind Control there is no doubt that it appeals to that very base need for power. Even the most introspective and peace loving have to admit that the real power of mind control comes in two forms

1) external - controlling others and the environment and
2) internal - the ability to control our own thoughts, feelings and responses.

Here is a little mind control tip that anyone can use that will appeal to both aspects of mind control. When interacting with someone what can you do to allow them to perceive as if they have power? A simple example is ask them to do something that is slightly outside of what they believe is their current ability.

In asking that give them the support and encouragement that they need to get the job done. Here are the benefits as they relate to mind control. First it will demonstrate to you that you have at least some power over people and your environment secondly, and most importantly, it will demonstrate that you have some personal and internal control over yourself to do it.

The main problem with people who suffer from shyness and want control is that they are too much in their own heads wondering "What should I do next?" or telling themselves "This is stupid." In so doing they are not truly aware of their external surroundings and therefore not able to control it. By taking charge in this small way anyone can begin to see the real benefits of mind control.