Garrison Imagery In You: Mining for Treasure in your Inner World

1. Auflage 2006
ISBN: 978-1-62488-141-1
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 205 Seiten

When you give attention to the images that you hold in your soul, you are moved to your own wholeness. Your inner images offer a treasure troveof information, stories, and surprises that can teach, comfort, and heal you. This book will show you how to quiet your mind and call forth the images that are waiting within to make themselves known to you.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Garrison, Jenny

Leseproben

Chapter 5

Enter the Emerging Story

When you turn your attention inward and call forth an image, you have engaged your inner world. It now becomes essential to stay with what is happening. When I learned this aspect of imagery, my teacher taught me that the movement of staying connected with one’s imagery was similar to that of stitching cloth with a needle and thread. The needle weaves in and out of the cloth while always returning to it, always connecting the thread (your questions, thoughts, and feelings) with the cloth (the image that has come to you). You receive the image, you take it in, and then you return to the image with a question, acknowledgment, or other response. You respond to what you have heard or been shown.

And so the “conversation” becomes a flowing thing, and it flows between you and the image that has come to you.

Getting to this level of inner conversation requires some focus, but your thinking mind can help you get there. It can stand “sentry,” seeing that you stay connected with your imagery. In essence, you give it a job.

This step is not necessary if you are working with a guide, someone whose job it is to keep you connected with your imagery. If you are doing your imagery independently, you must to stay connected with this back-and-forth flow of conversation by using the five essential ingredients.

6. Greet the image. Thank it for coming

7. Ask the image whether it has a message for you, something to show or tell you. “Listen” with all of your inner senses for an answer. Respond honestly.

8. Ask the image whether it needs anything. Listen” with all of your inner senses for an answer. Respond honestly.

9. Ask whether anything more needs to happen. “Listen” with all of your inner senses for an answer. Respond honestly.

10. Thank the image for coming. (You may ask the imagery for a parting gift of words, images or a gesture.) Say “good-bye” in a way that feels right.

You are immersed in the imagery, and on another level you are remembering to stay connected with it and to include the five essential ingredients.

Part of you is witnessing the imagery that is occurring. If you find yourself drifting, return to your imagery with self-compassion. This drifting is very common and very human. By witnessing what is occurring within you and returning to it, you develop skill for staying present and connected with your imagery.

Using the Five Essential Ingredients

1. Greet the image. Thank it for coming.

When you have the sense of the image you have called forth, acknowledge it with a greeting. Let the greeting be natural. It may be a simple “hello.” It may be a bow or a nod of the head. Greet the image in a way that feels right for you.

You will be helped here by remembering and following simple rules of courtesy. This image is an invited guest. Greet it and thank it for coming. This thanking becomes an acknowledgment that the inner world is revealing itself to you at your request.

Even after hundreds of inner journeys, this step remains essential. It is like counting your blessings. When they are acknowledged, they increase.

When your inner world is respectfully acknowledged, it becomes easier to access and more fully available to you. It “increases.”

2. Ask the image whether it has a message for you, something to show or tell you.

The particular image that comes to you has come for a reason. It will let you know why it has come. This may happen in a clear, succinct way, but more likely it will “tell” you in stories and metaphor, showing you things, taking you places, and teaching you in its own way through anecdotes, images, feelings, memories, and inner travels.

Ask these questions: “Do you have a message for me?” “Do you have something to show or tell me?” Then open all your inner senses as you wait for a response. “Listen” to what you hear with your inner hearing. Allow yourself to become very receptive. Respond honestly to that which you are being told or shown. If you have feelings, questions, or a need for clarification, let the image know this. Ask it. This keeps the two of you connected. This step in the five essential ingredients may take just a moment, or a whole scenario might unfold. Remain attentive and let the message come to you in its own way.

3. Ask the image whether it needs anything.

A very old custom reminds us to offer food, drink, and rest to a guest. This custom embodies a demonstration of hospitality. It allows a guest to feel welcomed and received with attentiveness. This sets the tone in which this question enters your imagery.

Ask the question “Is there anything you need?” Once again, “listen.” Be receptive and alert. Open your inner senses and “hear” the answer.

Ask yourself whether you are willing to give the image what it has asked for. Be honest. If you are able and willing, go ahead and give the image what it needs. If you are not able or willing, tell the image. Tell it why. Be true to who you are, for the image is part of you, too. Dishonesty yields no benefit in your inner world. Be as honest as you can be. This practice of self honesty becomes easier as you work with it. You will notice that this in itself will help you to grow in ways of understanding.

You have resources in the inner world that are not available to you in the physical world, so be creative. If the image asks for food, know that you have within you the imaginative power to produce the exact food that has asked for! Don’t hesitate to honor a request from the inner world if doing so feels right.

4. Ask whether anything more needs to happen.

This question enlarges the inner response. It allows the inner world to show you what it feels you need to know. Perhaps some aspect of this teaching will move you toward wholeness. Subject matter of which you are consciously unaware may come to light. Part of the beauty of “looking” inside is this offering by the inner world of information that you don’t even know you need! Many times that which is revealed is exactly what you need to know, even though you are unaware that this is what you required.

A physician friend of mine who uses imagery in his work says he finds working with imagery to be very efficient. Something that may take a long time to uncover using other means comes forward readily from the subconscious when using imagery.

So ask the image that has come to you whether anything more needs to happen. This request “passes the ball” back to the inner world, which then comes forward with a response of its own.

If the response or sense that you receive is that nothing more needs to happen, accept that response as invitation for closure. The imagery then moves to completion with the fifth essential ingredient.

5. Thank the imagery. Say “good-bye” in a way that feels right to you.

A gesture of closure is important. You are leaving the inner world and are nearly ready to return to the outer, physical world. At this point of closure, you may ask your inner world for words, a gesture, or an image that you can carry out into your physical world. These words, gestures, or images act as a reminder to your everyday awareness. They help you to hold and recall the messages and energy of the inner imagery. Metaphorically, this parting gift is akin to returning from a trip with a photograph or souvenir that reminds you of where you have been. This reminder from your inner world helps you to recall the energy of your imagery and the learning that accompanies it.

Say good-bye to the images that have come to you, and thank them. Sometimes, the image or images will want to say good-bye to you in a certain way. Sometimes you will want to say good-bye to them in a certain way. The possibilities are endless. Energetic differences (handshake/kiss, formal bow/hug, spoken good-bye/gesture of good-bye) will depend upon the type of imagery that has occurred for you and the relationship that has developed naturally between you and the images that you met. Allow room for this natural parting.

Many times, more than one image will come forth in the course of your inner traveling. Thank them all, giving acknowledgment to each of them as part of closure.

As crossing to the inner world becomes more frequent and more comfortable, the impressions you receive there will weave themselves into a story or “journey.” The natural movement of your inner world is toward wholeness, toward your center, and toward reconnection with your sacred self. Allowing the inner world to reveal itself brings forth teachings, information, and sometimes suggestions and advice within the unfolding story.

Your ability to allow this unfolding requires trust and letting go. You have the faculties you need to do this. You were born with them. They are gifts. Just trust and follow what is happening. When questions arise, stay connected with the imagery by posing your questions to the image. When feelings arise, honor them by voicing them to the image. Honor emotions, too. Laughter and tears are part of you. Let your emotions be part of your inner work, staying connected with the imagery instead of breaking away from it. When you are unsure of what you are experiencing, ask the image for more clarity. If you don’t understand something that is happening, tell the image about that lack of understanding. If you find yourself doubting your imagery, be honest, express your...