Читать книгу Creating Happiness Intentionally - Sandy MacGregor - Страница 14

You can improve your performance by using the 30 second relaxation technique before:

Talking in a group

Talking in front of the class or an audience

Debating

Drama

Asking for something

Sporting events swimming, surfing, tennis, etc.

Painting, writing, sculpting.

We will be using the Peaceful Place method described in this book to facilitate relaxation. (I love that word facilitate. It comes from the French word ‘facile’ to make easy). You first build the Peaceful Place inside your mind and then get back to the same relaxed state, the Alpha brain wave state, in three minutes. Once you have done this there is an induction process using further guided imagery to take you into the deeper relaxed state of Theta, that is, to the meditation state. Once you’re in the state of theta, even more guided imagery helps you to direct your subconscious mind with your conscious mind. You can do this with any topic you choose. It’s a powerful way of achieving goals, changing habits, releasing pain, improving your immune system, using creativity and more (a list of the guided imagery tapes available in the Peaceful Place series is on page 289).

So firstly, let’s go to “Building Your Peaceful Place”. During this entire exercise you have total control whilst journeying to a place inside your mind – to a place where you know you have previously experienced relaxation. You reconstruct this place in your imagination, describing it to yourself in pictures, sounds and feelings.

From this place of relaxation a magic pathway opens up. You go along it to what is called your Peaceful Place. This can either be a place you know in reality or one of total imagination. Maybe even a combination of the two.

It is a setting where you have perfect peace. Every time you go to this place in your mind you will experience automatic relaxation and stress will vanish.

You are in fact going to be the architect, the designer and the builder of this setting inside your mind. You will build the walls, floor, ceiling, (even if they are made of air) inside, outside, every detail.

Your ultimate aim is to be able to get to your Peaceful Place in a couple of minutes. It just takes practice. Remember, every time you go to your Peaceful Place, relaxation is automatic.

First of all just read a summary about the steps to building your Peaceful Place:

Step 1 Building My Peaceful Place

This takes twenty minutes; you just follow the guided imagery on Sandy MacGregor’s Peaceful Place tape No. 2 Guided Imagery. If you do not have this tape, there are other methods you can use to complete this exercise with the help of a friend, or make your own tape, slowing recording your own voice reading out the guided imagery words.

Step 2 Getting there in 3 Minutes

This takes only 3 minutes. Play the second track of the same tape or repeat the method you used for Step 1.

Now, before you start, you need to be in what is called a Comfortable Position. Sitting down in a chair, with your feet flat on the floor is probably the best position. Put your hands on your knees. Maybe you could sit in a yoga position, absolutely comfortable, with loose clothing, and seated in a chair. You then commence to breathe deeply down to your abdomen. This helps you relax. And remember, 20% of the oxygen in each breath goes to feed your brain.

STEP 1 BUILDING MY PEACEFUL PLACE

You now use guided imagery to build your own Peaceful Place, a place where relaxation is automatic and stress goes.

1.Allow yourself 20 minutes of uninterrupted time in a quiet place to complete the next stage.

2.Get into a comfortable position.

3.EITHER ...

A)Play Sandy’s tape, Peaceful Place No 2 – Guided Imagery, Side 1, Track 1 (the words are below)

OR ...

B)Play some baroque music and your friend can slowly read out the guided imagery words to you (the baroque music I have is at 56 to 64 beats per minute so that the heart beat gets, and stays, in time with this beat then you’re in the Alpha state the relaxed state). A two-tape set called “Accelerated Learning Music Tapes” with baroque music from the Masters is available – see page 293.

BUILDING MY PEACEFUL PLACE

First, get into a comfortable position a good idea is to sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor your hands resting on your thighs. Now ... take a deep breath ..... And let it all out ...... And take another deep breath in, feeling it going right down to your abdomen and ... this time ... let out any tensions and anxieties as you breathe out. Let them all go. And now, softly breathe in and gently ... close ... your ... eyes ...... and as you listen to the sound of my voice, you follow along the guidance offered ..... with the music in the background, knowing at all times that you and you alone are in control ....... Now in your mind .... seek and find .... a relaxed place ..... a relaxed place that you know that you’ve been to before ... and there you had such perfect relaxation ...... now in your mind .... rebuild that scene .... using your five senses ...... first of all .... bring in all the sights .... that are around you .... are you in the open .... is there green grass ..... are there flowers .... is there a forest ..... are you on a mountain top ..... is there snow ..... or are you inside a house ... or a special place ..... see what’s around you... and now recall and hear the sounds ..... can you hear any wind .... or ocean ... or water .... is anybody saying anything to you ..... and now you just get a sense of that place ..... like touching ..... and feeling ... and smelling ... all the things that are around ..... and from your relaxed place .... you look around ..... and you either get the sense of, or you see or you feel yourself being drawn to a magic pathway ..... it’s a pathway that's just opening up ..... and leading off .... where is it leading to ..... is it going up in the air ..... is it going to mountain tops ..... is it going across the sea .... is it going to another universe ..... is it going through parks and gardens .... or forests ..... and as you feel yourself being drawn along this magic pathway .... you go ... because you know .... whatever is at the end of this pathway ... is just so real for you ..... so wonderful ... so magical .... because it is your Peaceful Place ..... you are the architect .... you are the builder .. and you are the owner of this Peaceful Place ..... and every time you get to this Peaceful Place ..... you are relaxed ... and stress goes ..... you start building your Peaceful Place by deciding on the floor .... what is it made of ..... is the floor in fact grass ..... or is it timber ... or is it cloud ..... is it air ..... is it glass ..... whatever it is you build it ... so do that now ..... and now you build the walls ... in the same way ..... you choose the material ... do you have any walls ..... or is it out in the open ..... whatever it is you choose the material and you build it .... and now you build the roof in the same way ..... do you have a roof or .... are the stars your roof ..... is a canopy of trees your roof ... or glass ..... or tile or timber ..... whatever it is you build it .... and now inside your Peaceful Place .... you look outside .... you may need to put in windows ... so you do that ......... and as you look outside you put in all the scenery ... that you either see or you want to see... from your Peaceful Place ... so whatever it is, you do that, right around you .... and now, inside ... your Peaceful Place ... you put in all the things that you really want with you ... what are they? Do you have your favourite furniture, your favourite pictures? Do you bring in your favourite hobby? Whatever it is ... you bring in, and decorate your Peaceful Place. And now, in your Peaceful Place, you place a chair ... do you sit on a special chair ... something that's soft that you sink right into ... or do you sit on the ground, or the floor. This magical chair, it has so many wonderful powers for you. Every time you sit in it, you know that relaxation has begun, and that stress goes ... and you’re able to do anything you want in this magical chair ... So now you stand up, and you walk through the entrance of your Peaceful Place ... You give yourself some sort of combination, or some sort of switch, some sort of sign perhaps, or some sort of word you use, to gain entry into your Peaceful Place. So as you exit, you look back, knowing exactly how you gain entry. Do you press a button? Or is it your body that just lets you through. And so now you move down the magical pathway, knowing that at any time you will be able to get back to your Peaceful Place, and that any time that you get back there, relaxation has begun, and stress goes. So as you move down your magical pathway, you move into the first place you started from, which was your relaxed place, so that once again you become familiar with it ....... What is there around you ......what do you see and hear and feel? ........ And now from your relaxed place you return to the present .... on the count of 5, you’re going to open your eyes.

And when you do, you will be relaxed and alert and well, and invigorated, and ... you will know that you will be able to get back to your Peaceful Place at any time, and when you do, you have relaxation and stress goes. ... so on the count of ONE, you can feel the blood flowing to your fingers and your toes ... on the count of TWO, you move your fingers and toes a little bit, and THREE, you stretch your body a little bit ... and FOUR, you just move your head ... and FIVE, your eyes open, wide awake, alert, well, healthy and invigorated, knowing that you can get back to your Peaceful Place at any time.

STEP 2 – GETTING THERE IN 3 MINUTES

Step 1 took about 20 minutes to do. Now you are going to go back to your Peaceful Place again, this time in just a few minutes.

1.Allow yourself 5 minutes of uninterrupted time in a quiet place to complete the next stage.

2.Get into a comfortable position.

3.EITHER ...

A)Play Sandy’s tape, Peaceful Place No 2 – Guided Imagery, Side 1, Track 2 (the words are below)

OR ...

2) Play some baroque music and your friend can slowly read out the guided imagery words to you.