Imagery has been used throughout history by shamans and healers for its therapeutic applications as far back as ancient Greece and Egypt. Dreamwork, storytelling, hypnotherapy, and creative visualization all involve the use of imagery to communicate with the subconscious mind. Before we learned words, our first thoughts were in the form of mental images.

A guided imagery session involves a relaxation process to get in touch with your creative, intuitive mind, then a series of prompts and questions are provided by the facilitator to invoke something like a spontaneous daydream. Next, we work with the symbolism that arises – just like working with a dream – to uncover the meaning and messages of the symbolism. This allows you to obtain answers from your own consciousness, without a coach or therapist telling you what to do.

Imagery is the symbolic language of our inner world, and guided imagery allows us to communicate with the subconscious mind through it’s own language (pictures, metaphors, and stories). Interactive guided imagery engages all of the senses (so it’s OK if you are not a visual person), and it uses the imagination in a focused, directed way for a specific outcome such as healing, relaxation, spiritual connection, or peak performance. Our mental images are at the core of our beliefs about ourselves and the world around us, what we believe we need and deserve, and how motivated we are to take care of ourselves.

Guided imagery can help us release painful emotions, heal physically and mentally, connect with our authentic self, and regain purpose and motivation. Using only the conscious mind to try to incorporate change will only get us so far, but working on the deeper level of the subconscious can create powerful, lasting change.