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There is an old tale about the Kublai Khan that illustrates the downside of misdirected anger. As you may know, the Kublai inherited the largest empire in Asia from his grandfather Genghis Khan and is remembered as the first Non-Han emperor to conquer all of China. What you may not know, is that he would often hunt in the forests of his homeland to relax and unwind from the stress of ongoing battles. On his hunting trips he would use a falcon that would help him to spot deer and other wild game in the forest. The falcon would fly in circles above the prey leading man and horse to the kill. The great Khan was known to have great affection for his companion animal and it could be said that they helped each other. In the year 1281, during the second Mongol invasion on Japan, the emperor was frustrated and angry after losing more than 100,000 soldiers in his second unsuccessful effort at conquering Japan. He went hunting with his closest friends but upon his return home, he dismissed them after a long and unsuccessful day in the heat. He remained in the forest with his falcon and sought out a freshwater spring to quench his thirst. It was a very hot summer many of the streams had run dry, so it was necessary to travel to the spring’s source higher up in the mountains. Upon arriving at one of his favourite spots, there was only a trickle of water, so he proceeded to fill his cup slowly drop by drop. After what seemed like an eternity, he went to lift his cup to his parched lips. His falcon suddenly flew to his right hand, knocking the cup to the ground. Remarkably, this happened on two more occasions with the Kublai getting angrier by the minute. On the third and last time the infuriated man tore the sword from his sheath and struck at the bird; killing it on the first blow. In his fury he also trampled his mug smashing it to a dozen pieces. The Kublai was unable to “see” and understand that the bird flying high above the ground could spot a dead snake higher up the cliff, its toxic body decaying in a small pool of water. He had killed his old friend in a blind fit of rage. It was only when he ascended the hill to drink the water with his hands he discovered the dead snake and realized his apparent mistake. It is said that he made a solemn oath to never react in anger again, and those who knew him said that he was a changed man after that experience.
I believe that all of us make choices about:
1. how long we want to stay angry
2. What we do with our Anger
3. How angry we choose to be
Every warrior has felt afraid of going into battle
Every warrior has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone
Every warrior has trodden a path that was not his
Every warrior has suffered for the most trivial of reasons
Every warrior has a least once, believed that he was not a warrior
Every warrior has failed in his spiritual duties
Every warrior has said “yes” when he wanted to say “No”
Every warrior has hurt someone he loved
That is why he is a warrior, because he has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is
Guided Imagery
What Is It?
Guided imagery is the conscious use of the imagination to create and work with positive images or “healing visualizations” to foster healthy and restorative changes in the body and mind. Creating mental images is natural to all people as we are all prone to daydream and fantasize, in fact most people I know still buy lotto tickets and can tell me a hundred ways to spend the winnings! Guided imagery works with this natural mental process through consciously working with the images and facilitating communication with the unconscious mind and soma.
Recognizing that the power of imagination can help people heal has ancient roots and is found in most cultures. With it’s emphasis on research outcomes, western Medicine began to appreciate the powers of the mind on the physical body with the use of Bio-feedback devices that measured heart rate, galvanic skin response(sweating) and respiration. Using biofeedback, health practioners could teach patients to slow their heart rate, lower blood pressure, or open lungs stricken with asthma. In the 1970s, O. Carl Simonton, M.D., chief of Radiation Therapy at Travis Air Force base in Fairfield, California, and psychotherapist Stephanie Matthews-Simonton, devised a program–today known as the Simonton method–that utilized guided imagery to help cancer patients. The patients pictured their white blood cells attacking their cancer cells. Simonton found that the more vivid the images his patients used (for example, ravenous sharks attacking feeble little fish), the better the process worked. Since then, a good deal of research into mind-body connections has appeared in mainstream medical literature. Guided imagery is now used in many medical inpatient and outpatient programs throughout the world. Furthermore, many holistically oriented psychologists, trainers, and counselors routinely employ guided imagery for stress reduction, smoking cessation, weight reduction, immune stimulation, improvement in sports performance, as well as for the relief of both physical and emotional illnesses.
How Does It Work?
Practitioners say that guided imagery works because, in terms of brain activity, picturing something and actually experiencing it are equivalent. Stimulating the brain with imagery has a direct effect on the nervous system which is directly linked to our immune system. When someone immerses themselves in the “virtual” image of lying on the tropical beach, their muscles will actually relax and they may report “feeling” the warmth of the sun’s rays. Likewise, if you imagine yourself recuperating quickly and effortlessly from gallbladder surgery, you are prone to heal faster and with less pain.
The brain’s visual cortex, which processes images, has a powerful connection with the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary activities such as pulse, breathing, and physical responses to stress. Soothing, uplifting images can actually slow your pulse and breathing and lower your blood pressure, as well as help trigger the release of hormones such as endorphins, which make you feel good and nurture your body’s restorative powers.
The Simonton Method works to:
• Strengthen the energy of life and improve your health
• Strengthen the motivation for life and increase hope and trust
• Strengthen self-healing forces (immune system)
• Promote Self-Understanding of one’s own stress patterns
• Teach effective daily stress management
• Relieve fear and pain
• Learn to follow your own inner nature, to follow your own path
• teach Awareness and encourage expression of needs
• Organize social support
• Review the meaning of the illness
• Foster discovery of the positive side effects of the illness and to give place to these effects in a healthy life
• Improve the quality of life and everything that is included in this special situation
• Plan to become old and be ready to die
• Develop a ‘peace of mind’, inner freedom and calmness..