Healing stories are essentially Visualisations and meditation adventures. For decades olympians and top sports personalities have used visualisations in order to improve their performance. There has been research demonstrating the effectiveness in anxiety reduction and pain reduction using imagery techniques such as hypnotherapy. Meditation and relaxation have also been shown to reduce anxiety. Healing stories use the power of our mind when it’s in a relaxed state to discover what is important to us and to make changes in relationships, career, eating habits and self love.
More information about Visualisations and Healing stories:
1. Purpose: Most traditional stories have a purpose of entertaining/ educating/ frightening or sometimes promoting a subtle or not so subtle moral message to the listeners.
The purpose of healing stories is to enhance relaxation, reduce anxiety and negative self talk, prompt insights and accompany the listener on healing adventures to relaxing locations and even to explore and soothe the subconscious mind.
2. Suitability: Healing stories are recommended for adults over 18 years. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of any story (including our regular stories) then I suggest you listen to the story first and then, if you are sure it will be suitable for your particular child or vulnerable adult let them listen to it. Some healing stories can be helpful for people who are suffering from anxiety, depression, OCD, relationship problems, midlife crises etc. However, if you are suffering from a moderate to severe mental health problem then it is necessary to consult with your specialist before listening to a healing journey. The reason for this is that some of the healing journeys suggest that you contemplate areas of your life where you might perceive pain or dissatisfaction. For most people this is helpful but for some it could be distressing especially if you are not with a therapist or close friend to support you. Having said that the vast majority of the stories are really gentle and give subtle prompts that can be easily ignored if you do not feel ready to explore your inner world!
3. Structure: Because one of the aims of healing stories is to access the part of the mind that can heal itself, the first part of the healing stories is usually a gentle guided relaxation. The mind becomes less busy and more open to healing suggestions. However the listener is always completely in control of their journey and their own thoughts. All healing stories are invitations to explore, never commands.
4. Tone: The tone of voice in healing stories is purposefully gentle and relaxing with a lot more repetition and soothing words to encourage a state of relaxation and to quiet our busy minds to leave us more open to the inner exploration and healing. There is usually background music or tones in the background at specific ‘healing’ frequencies that are believed by some to promote healthy emotions and physical calm and restoration.
5. Position: instead of sitting upright, the best position to listen to healing stories is lying down on a comfortable sofa or bed. Make sure you are prepared for a session of 30-90 minutes and ensure you will not be interrupted by your devices or people in your home. Bring a blanket, glass of water and a journal to take notes on insights or action plans immediately following the visualisation.
6. Mindset: As you start to listen to a healing story it is helpful to have an open mind and to accept whatever images or lack of images arise for you. Some people are able to visualise in vivid multicolour and intricate detail whereas others do not feel that they visualise at all or just have vague images or ideas in their mind’s eye. Remember not to judge or compare your own experience-any level of detail will allow the healing to take effect even no visual image at all provided that you listen to the words. The mind often has intrusive thoughts unrelated to the visualisation-if this happens just allow the intrusive thoughts to pass gently on their way like clouds floating through the sky and bring your attention back to the visualisation again and again as many times as needed without judgement. It helps if you have an open mind and take the chance to allow yourself to explore the ideas within the visualisation even if they seem unrealistic or bizarre, trusting yourself to find meaning and value in the visualisation.
7. Creating a safe space: for most healing stories there is space devoted to allowing the listener to create what is called a ‘safe place’. This is a unique place for each listener where they can feel totally peaceful and safe. At any point during the visualisation they can take themselves back into this safe space and then when they want to they can rejoin the adventure once more. It is recommended that anyone who feels they may be sensitive or vulnerable should go through the safe space visualisation prior to going on any other visualisation adventures to ensure that they are easily able to summon up the feeling of safety at will.
If you would like to contribute a visualisation or healing story please email your submission to: mystory.wsc@gmail.com
For longer videos, it is best to use a file-sharing service like Wetransfer or dropbox.
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: The Five Fountains
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: Journey to the Emerald Island
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: Message in a bottle
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: The Waves of Wonder
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: Your recipe for a delicious life
What’s it about?: Meditation exercise about how to create the life you like.
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: Tree of Life
What’s it about?: Meditation exercise about getting back to nature and remembering who you really are.
Name: Lucie Andersen-Wood
Home: Hertfordshire & Marrakech
Category: Visualisation.
Title: The Garden within
What’s it about?: Meditation exercise about getting back to nature and remembering who you really are.
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