IMAGINATION AND HEALING: “One More Hour of Peace”

We don’t often think of imagination and healing at the same time. But our imagination can be a powerful ally on our behalf when we learn how to use it.

I awoke this morning feeling anything but peace. Still on the mend after dental work last week, I reluctantly crawled out of bed. The gloomy weather wasn’t helping. After my second cup of coffee I began to feel just enough better to force myself into motion. It’s not always clear to me whether it’s better to rest or to move. But, I decided to find out. My fury companion was eager for a long walk after several days of complacency. I would oblige.

It wasn’t long into the walk that I knew it was absolutely the right move. Walking, even on misty, cold days, restores my soul and my perspective adjusts easily. As I breathed in the moist morning air the cobwebs vanished and my imagination awoke.

IMAGINATION & HEALING EMOTIONAL WOUNDS

Our imagination is an essential part of the healing of emotional wounds. We can use it to expand our world view and see beyond whatever pain is plaguing us. Trauma and heartbreak often pushes us into a very dark mental cave. We are mentally shut off to possibility. As wounded individuals, our imagination often focuses on fear and pain, relentlessly manufacturing worse case scenarios in any situation that is the slightest bit uncomfortable.

In order to thrive after trauma, we must take control of our imagination and point it in the right direction. Sadly, those who suffer the most as a result of abuse and trauma may be the ones with the most powerful imaginations! If this is so, and I believe that it is, then the future bodes well for them as well. Unleashing the power of a vivid imagination in a positive and promising direction can help reverse the damage. Then the joy may be just as high as the pain was deep.

HARNESS YOUR THOUGHTS

It is difficult to see and accept that we have the power to harness our thoughts and use them to pull us out of the darkness. We just need the tools. If we have had a life long habit of trauma induced negative thinking, professional help can be extremely beneficial. But, we can begin today in very small ways to start redirecting our thoughts, to begin practicing the healing art of imagination.

For example, I recently submitted a few articles to an agent that admittedly for publication. I knew  it was a reach, but I was ready to try.  To make a long story short, I received a rejection letter.  I wasn’t surprised and yet the rejection triggered a spiral of negative thinking. My monkey mind went to work on me. My overactive imagination turned on me.

IT IS A CHOICE

It is in these moments, precisely in the midst of a downward spiral, that we must grab hold of our imagination by a force of will if necessary and yank ourselves back from the brink. It is a choice. It doesn’t feel like one, but it is. The trick is to catch ourselves the second we recognize what is happening. The more often we are do this, the more proficient we will become at it. In time this positive action will become a habit, replacing the negative pattern left by trauma.

Choosing to go for a walk this morning rather than wallowing in my misery was one more step in breaking the power that trauma still has on my life. My choice to walk not only changed the direction of my thoughts but it interrupted their flow. The stimulus of nature awakened my imagination and reminded me of its life-giving and sustaining gifts.

As I walk and listened to the damp woods, the trees, the rocks, and the rushing stream their message seemed to bypass my fearful thoughts and call me home. There I found the powerful force of my imagination busy at work. I returned home renewed and restored, aware that one more battle had been won, one more fear conquered, one more hour of peace enjoyed.

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