Online Recovery Programme Session 15
Welcome to your Practitioner Recommended Session
The Healing Power of Meditation & Visualisation
Before you get going, watch this short video message from Elaine.
Follow the link to listen to the audio version of session 15:
Introduction
According to Voltaire -
‘The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease’.
This session is designed to help you access the natural mechanisms in your body that will heal you.
Today we are going to explore meditation and visualisation, not as something simply to amuse you but to enable you to activate your body’s natural healing process.
You might be thinking ‘that sounds great but.......’
In our experience people often say 'I have tried meditating and it doesn’t work for me' or' I’m no good at visualising'.
If you can relate to either of those statements you are in the right place.
Elaine Story
I was one of those people who thought meditation wasn't for me too. I would always say I could never do that.
I just can’t switch off and as for visualisation I never felt I was doing it right and my mind always wandered.
However, if you are as sick and tired of being ill as I was, you, like me are probably ready to give it your best shot, which is fantastic, because learning to meditate will have such an amazing impact on you.
Before you know it you will become a passionate advocate of both meditation and visualisation. I had heard about the benefits of meditation but I thought it was what hippies from the 1960s did and it just didn’t seem like something I would ever do.
Still, I was prepared to do anything, so I bought a book called Teach Yourself to Meditate by Eric Harrison and it was one of the best things I ever did, because my mind was so wired and confused that I didn’t think I would ever be able to get it to be still.
I don’t sit on a rock cross legged, but I do go into deep states of relaxation and I can clear my mind. In the exercises this week there are some different ways for you to create deep relaxation in your body and mind.
It took a bit of time to get going with my meditation but the thing that pushed me to persevere with it was when I understood the why and how of meditation.
This made all the difference to me, so before we get into the ‘how to meditate’, let’s remind ourselves of the reasons 'why we need to meditate' which we will explore in the next module.
Why Do We Need Meditation?
Well, according to Eric Harrison who is Director of the Perth Meditation Centre in Australia, the benefits are pretty astounding.
‘The benefits of meditation ripple through everything we do. It is to have more energy, to be healthier, to think and work more efficiently and enjoy life more. Being relaxed and aware is the mental equivalent of being fit and healthy’.
He also explains why relaxation is the key to health and so much of his teaching helps us to understand why our bodies break down.
He tells us that we can lose our ability to relax effectively after we have experienced a severe crisis in our lives or after years of chronic stress. Think of the amount of people having to take sleeping pills to do something as natural as sleeping.
We know that in M.E. the system is stressed and we have talked in depth about the toxic effects of cortisol and adrenaline inside the body when the stress switch is left on. It's worth reminding ourselves of the impact that has.
Cortisol is the "stress hormone," and the more of it you have, the more stressed you feel...the more susceptible to disease you are and the faster you age.
Stress & Your Natural Painkiller
The digestive and immune systems shut down; sugar, insulin and cholesterol are all released into the system and the body releases Endorphin which is a chemical that has ‘endogenous opioid’, which is present in morphine, methadone and even heroin.
It is also an ingredient of one of the strongest painkillers in the market – the one that relieves cancer pain! Endorphin is a neuropeptide and is actually known as the body's natural painkiller. It numbs pain when we are stressed and gives us a natural high. Endorphin highs are addictive.
Have you ever heard the term ‘Adrenaline Junkie?’
We may feel good when we get that rush and it is why people get addicted to overdoing things that give them that feeling.
So neuropeptides affect emotion: and emotion switches on neuropeptides, it’s a two way street. It is now crystal clear that the way we think and feel causes a cascade of changes in your body.
M.E. forces us to rest and this is when we have to come down from the drug- like effect of adrenaline and endorphin and we experience pain.
Think about a time before you had symptoms. Did this ever happen to you? After being really busy, you stopped and crashed out, only to experience a real low mood and all sorts of aches and pains.
So to avoid this you got into a cycle of avoiding relaxation because of that low mood or downer.
This sets up a need to have that ‘fatiguing adrenaline fix’ of activity. Harrison says ‘rather than wind down we may prefer to distract ourselves with something stimulating’, and this keeps us numb, blocking our feelings and emotions. It allows us to avoid facing up to what isn’t right in our lives.
Stress becomes our armour.
We love to be seen as having an energetic way of life, busy, busy, busy. We are upbeat and sparkling when we are tired because we don’t want people to know how we really feel.
Emotions that we don’t feel able to express literally get trapped in our cells. That is why writing your journal or talking with someone about exactly what is really going on for you will release the stuff that causes pain.
When we suppress emotion and keep active to avoid facing it, the chemicals and stress dependency damage us to the point of collapse.
As we relax we come off the self-generated pain killers and stimulants and experience the after effects: pain, weakness, exhaustion– this is where our M.E. symptoms kick in.
This is nature rebalancing the system. The trouble is we then fight the process which stops us relaxing and the cycle self-perpetuates.
Relaxation is the opposite of stress and tension is exactly what we need to reverse the process. The trouble is when we relax, the changes we want happen slowly in tiny almost imperceptible increments, which is not the quick fix we want.
However, Meditation can take us to a very deep level of relaxation.
Holosync Meditation
The answer is that there are many ways and that is great news as if you have tried one method that didn’t suit you, there are lots of others that will. I tried general meditation CDs and relaxing music & deep breathing and that did help me fall asleep! (Don’t quite think that was the idea, but it was just trying to give my brain a rest from this 'I wish I felt better, my head hurts, I am resting but what’s the point, life sucks' mentality).
So this was one thought process. Taking some time out to focus on my breathing and trying to avoid those thoughts did help to make me feel more relaxed and less stressed, but it didn’t last long enough.
Then I discovered a form of audio technology that induces the brain wave patterns of deep meditation but in a much faster time frame. It’s called Holosync.
What is Holosync Meditation?
When I was researching Holosync, I learned that it increases happiness and feelings of wellbeing, dramatically reduces stress and anxiety, generates better and more restful sleep and a general heightening of mental abilities, creativity and problem-solving skills.
The Holosync organisation promises to help you meditate as deeply as a Zen monk! I was so impressed with the stats about the effects on the body as their tests showed that, on average, people listening to the Holosync soundtracks saw a 46% drop in cortisol production with 68% of people having reported a positive effect.
Some people saw cortisol levels drop by as much as 70-80%. These are the exact results we need to reduce inflammation and get the body in a healing state and it is all down to the effect the sounds have on our brainwaves.
There are four levels of brain waves and when we understand them we can see how important it is to access the right one.
Beta (14-30 Hz)
This is the wave best for concentration, arousal, alertness and cognition. Higher levels are associated with anxiety, unease, feelings of separation and the one that comes into play with our fight or flight response. This is the one we get bogged down in the anxiety loop of M.E.
Alpha (8-13.9 Hz)
This is a relaxation level where we begin to access the unconscious mind. It is here we experience a more relaxed focus, as if in a light trance. This wavelength increases serotonin production.
You get into this zone when you are absorbed in a good book or are watching a television show. Alpha is often associated with what is known as "super learning"—the ability to learn, process, store and recall large amounts of information quickly and efficiently.
Theta (4-7.9 Hz)
We are in Theta when we are asleep and dreaming or in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Theta increases the production of catecholamines which are vital for our learning and memory and increased creativity. It is during this phase of sleep that we integrate our emotional experiences. We can access this during deep meditation or hypnotic trance as it gives access to the unconscious mind.
Delta (.1-3.9 Hz)
Delta is the ‘healing’ wavelength when we drop into dreamless sleep and the Human growth hormone is released which is responsible for cell renewal and repair. It is so deep that we are in a non-physical state and we lose awareness of our body.
I have been using Holosync with incredible results. I just pop my iPod on at bedtime and the technology impacts the vital component of health, DHEA which act as a buffer to the stress hormones and melatonin which help to create restful sleep.
It allows me to feel calm, sleep better and cope so much better with difficult situations. It turns my mind chatter OFF! It has allowed me to access my ability to visualise the way I want things to be.
We have said it before and we feel it’s worth saying again and again that ‘whatever you think about, you bring about’.
Visualisation Creates Our Reality
Are You Visualising Sickness or Wellness?
The work of Dr David Hamilton helps us to understand the way the mind affects what goes on in our bodies in his amazing book It’s The Thought That Counts – Why Mind Over Matter Really Works.
Here he explains:
‘Visualisation, including the feelings associated with the images, inspires genes to switch on causing the growth of protein and cells. The more you visualise and the stronger the emotional charge, the more cells you construct.’
Wow!
That means we can choose first-hand what we want our body to do. We can all visualise/think about a special memory or a big event in our lives, and how often have you replayed the scenarios in your mind?
When you do this you are literally producing neural connections in your brain.
Similarly genes get switched on and off in response to our repeated visualisations. This is why so many people stay sick.
I know how much I focused on every ache, pain and symptom. I would be invited somewhere and keep imagining that I might be too ill to go - I just think I was switching off the healing mechanism without realising it.
Are you doing that?
What’s worse is that when we believe that we have unhealthy cells and organs, we are helping to create that in the cell memory. It was only when I started to imagine being fit and full of vitality over and over again that my health started to come into alignment with my thoughts.
I spoke about being on my healing journey rather than moaning about being ill. It takes the belief that you will get well and an utter determination and faith in your body to heal, alongside making the shifts and changes in your diet and lifestyle.
It’s a miracle!!!
In cases of spontaneous remission, where we read of cases when people have experienced overnight healing, Dr Hamilton identifies the link between switching on the gene interlueken 2 which turbo charges the immune system and immediate healing.
The exercises today will give you some inspiration on how to create your own personal healing visualisation. Get creative. You may imagine a shower washing all the pain from your body. You may imagine M.E. as dark little gremlins that live in your muscles.
What can you visualise that could eliminate the gremlins and restore healthy pink shiny muscles? You will need to repeat this over and over again.
The great thing is that your body is responding to your every thought so you can begin today - meditating to get into a healing state and visualising to create new healthy cells with no memory of illness.
When you are meditating and visualising you may get distracted. That is completely normal. A few minutes a couple of times a day will build up your ability to switch off all those damaging stressful thoughts and give your mind and body the space it needs to mend.
Eventually you will get to a point of experiencing deeply relaxed states of consciousness which heal, slow the ageing process and create energy.
Forget Trees - Hug a Person!
Here is another amazing thing while we are talking about creating relaxation and healing.
Did you know that when you hug someone, the body releases oxytocin which is a powerful hormone?
Ray Sahelian, M.D. identifies the benefits and notes oxytocin helps to:
- Relax and reduce blood pressure and cortisol levels
- Increase pain thresholds
- Has anti-anxiety effects
- Stimulate various types of positive social interaction
- Promote cell growth and healing
With so many benefits, it is easy to see why it is worth investing time to find a way to enter a deeply relaxed state using a method that works for us.
So hugs are important too!
‘Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.'
Interview: Elizabeth Bailey
Elizabeth is an author and Reiki healer. She shares her M.E. story from the onset to her full recovery - and remarkably how she coped with her teenage son suffering from M.E. at the same time!
Listen to the Interview
You can listen to the interview with Elizabeth online or download a copy to your computer from the Downloads section.
Expert Interview: Bernie Siegel
Bernie Siegal has touched many lives all over our planet as he assists in the breaking of new ground in the field of healing and personally struggling to live the message of kindness and love.
He talks to Elaine about his work and why he uses stories to inspire his patients.
Watch and Listen to the Interview
You can watch and listen to the interview with Bernie online or download a copy to your computer from the Downloads section.
Top Tips
Top Tips this week come from Dianne Bennett, renowned Co-Founder of ‘The Pioneers of Physical Culture’.
Dianne and her late husband have a lifetime experience in body building and were mentors to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Body
Life is movement.
If you are bedbound, do wrist turning and ankle twisting, tighten and release muscles, visualise that you are walking.
Start walking and remember you are not paralysed. If you can do 50 yards then rest and increase it a little each day.
Reward yourself with a little treat when you manage it. This will create a positive re-enforcement in your brain linked to movement.
Mind
You can’t be happy unless you know what makes you happy.
Make a list of what makes you happy and make sure you include those things in your life daily.
Spirit
Laughter lifts the spirit. Who is your favourite funny person or what is your favourite funny film?
External World
Don’t make your illness the centre of your life. It is only a part of your life.
Distract yourself with music, speak to others.
FACT - when you are not thinking about yourself pain reduces.
Dianne’s mantra comes from English Essayist Joseph Addison 1672 -1719
‘The Great Essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.’
Wellbeing Exercises
Some Meditations for You To Enjoy
Meditation: Vivienne Bouchier (15 mins)
Meditation: Jane Montague (30 mins)
Meditation: Diana Powley (40 mins)
And Finally
Inspirational Quote
"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
- Buddha Quote
Recommended Reading
Teach Yourself to Meditate - Eric Harrison
Its The Thought That Counts: Why Mind Over Matter Really Works - Dr David Hamilton
Enjoy your week and remember to update us in the Facebook Group.
Love & gratitude,
Elaine and the Team x
