Want to learn Guided Imagery?

For those of you interested in Guided Imagery Therapy as part of your treatment, Tricia is willing to teach you. Read her post on the "Hypnosis..." topic. I've had good results with this in the past and didn't want the opportunity to slip by all of you.

Thank you, Tricia!

Love and light,

Lisa

I am interested.
Mickey

I am interested too. Pam

How shall we go about it? I could send individual emails to those interested or post here or--? Any ideas? It could be done in just one long post, but I am thinking it would be better done in shorter segments. It isn't hard to learn, since we all do something similar ourselves all the time, sometimes positive and often negative. I would just be giving some pointers and sharing some of the things I've learned and which have been valuable to me in my long fight against BC. Let me know how you would like to go about it. I'm willing! Hugs, Tricia

[StephN]

We would love for some advice, Tricia.
I posted some thoughts on my own prior experience with hypnosis and guided imagery under Lyn's query a bit down the list.

A good friend who survived a terrible case of breast cancer about 10 years ago gave me a guided imagery tape by Belleruth Naparstek not long after my diagnosis. Ann said that tape gave her a lot of comfort and help concentrate her mind on healing.
It is called "A meditation to Help You Fight Cancer."

I found that once I reached a state of real relaxation and comfort through hypnosis the suggestions from this tape could reach into my cell structure as it does go so far as to instruct the body's cells on how to fight the cancer cells and I could really picture the cell death and removal process going on at my innermost molecular level.

From this point I decided that knowing EXACTLY what each drug I was taking did to kill cancer cells would also help expand on those thought pictures. I learned what "microtubule" and "antimitotic" drugs did as they attacked the cancer cells and tumors.
These thought picture were also programmed into my imaging. I asked that this become my new state of being, and left it in God's capable hands. A human cancer fighting machine - and that is what I have done.

Being the first patient to have a complete response in an early clinical trial for hard-to-treat mets somewhat puzzled my medical team, and they wanted to know all the things I did, what supplements I took and how I ate. This was an actual interview. Not that they did not accept that the drugs worked, just that my case was actually more aggressive than some women who did not make it. After one month my tumors as big as my fist in my liver were shrinking dramatically. My doctor refered to me as a "star" patient.

I just know that I am alive and have to attribute my ability to make a difference internally as part of my success against my cancer to this point.

One needs to have a peaceful and gentle setting, without interruptions to do this internal work. Before falling alseep was my best time to work in this way.

I truly hope some of the rest of the ladies here will find some use in persuing this therapy as part of their treatment and healing process.

I am interested Tricia

Thanks
Tami

Stephanie, your comments were perfect---that is exactly what guided imagry to fight cancer is--total relaxation of the body to allow the subconscious to hear the instructions for healing. The subconscious does whatever it is told to do. I will give a little more thought to just how to go about this---probably the very best thing would be for me to suggest a "script" of sorts that any of you can then record yourselves or have someone you love and trust record. I personally think recording for yourself is good, because who better to tell your inner self what to do? And your subconscious is used to listening to your "voice"! Some people don't feel confident enough to do it themselves, though, and so may want someone else to record for them. The "script" would be one that could be added to for your own circumstance. I really like Steph's idea of incorporating what you learn about each chemo or treatment, so you customize your script, so to speak. That's something I have tried to do, also, and kind of what I did with the PET scan mantra. Give me a little time and I will come up with something for you under a specific new topic. I don't claim to be an expert, only someone who has done some research and studies and definitely practiced guided imagry for quite a few years. If any of you have specific suggestions of what you would like me to do, I will, and if you want to give me specific ideas or requests to be included in a script, I could even help you customize your particular script via email. Let me know if the script idea sounds good. Hugs, Tricia

Dear Tricia- This all sounds great. Please count me in. I like to learn all I can. I bet if we use everything at our disposal we could even end up with a healthier body than when we began this fight. Thanks so much for sharing. God Bless You- Cathy

Count me in!! Thanks!!

Tricia--Count me in--anyway you want to do it!
Steph, I am also interested in your idea about learning exactly what a cancer drug does so that you can visualize the battle!
I am on Taxotere and Herceptin. I guess I don't have a clear grasp as to how they work.
Janet

I am also interested in this terrific offer any way that is easy for tricia!

Count me in too...the woman who posted about the liver mets reminded me of mine. I also tried some walking meditation while being treated as my acupuncturist totally had to give up me ever LEARNING to "quieten my mind for real meditation"...any way...for what it is worth, when I would do my walk I would say aloud or inside my head this mantra "I am healthy I am strong liver spots are long, long gone..." Like the other woman who posted, I showed DRAMATIC decrease of more than 12 liver lesions in only about 5 doses of Hercetpin in just under 6 weeks of treatment...my doctors had never seen anything like it ...having given me at best about 2 months to live prior to trying the Herceptin...granted...like her, I was doing other things..good diet, supplements, walking in the sunlight, etc., but I swear that mantra helped. I also had some experience with Wayne Dyers Sound meditation tape. You form the sound AHHHHHH at various pitches for the morning meditation , then the sound ommmmmmm at various frequencies for the night meditation. My son always had trouble falling asleep so we would do the sound meditations together...very soothing and great for breath control and some folks even swear it helps you to lose weight..so yes, though I am NOT a very good subject for uh mind quietning, I would like to try whatever you propose. Take care every body, Gina

Please count me in too Tricia.
Thanks.