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Getting Well, Staying Well
Over fifteen years ago a health food store
owner described how visualization helped cure her cancer.
She then handed me a copy of her visualization bible, Getting
Well Again. Never one to doubt the power of the mind, I bought
the book with the rationale that if visualization does wonders
for someone with cancer, then visualization can also help
someone like me who is in good health. O. Carl Simonton, an
oncologist, and Stephanie Matthews-Simonton, a psychologist,
co-wrote Getting Well Again, a pioneering technique in mind-body
medicine. In their book, the Simontons outline the theory
behind visualization, explain the Simonton method, and detail
case studies. Getting Well Again is no longer in print, but
more recent Simonton visualization work is available through
bookstores. My clients report that the Simonton books and
tapes help support and enhance their hypnotherapy.
In my clinical practice I find not all cancer
patients are willing or able to practice the Simonton method.
These patients maintain they lack the creativity to conjure
up images or talent to draw out the pictures. It is the hypnotherapist's
job to encourage and elicit as many positive images from the
patient as possible. However, I agree with a small percentage
of patients who say they are not creative or visual; of course,
they are blessed in other ways that are helpful to their hypnotherapy.
Stone's light technique (SLT) is a form
of guided-imagery that aids clients who have less creative
or visual talent. Hypnotherapists and patients may complement
other techniques such as the Simonton method with SLT. It
is the nature and practice of hypnosis and visualization that
clients who have more choices and variety often fair better.
Stone's light technique does not replace chemotherapy or radiation
treatments, nor does SLT replace age-regression, hypnoanesthesia,
time-distortion or any other hypnotic technique. SLT supplements
and enhances other treatments. So far, I have applied SLT
to the following health problems. After that, there is an
in-depth description of one case study. Applications of SLT
Table 1
| Bone Fractures |
Graves' Disease |
Kidney Cancer |
| Brain Cancer |
Heart Disease |
Liver Cancer |
| Breast Cancer |
Hepatitis C |
Lung Cancer |
| Colon Cancer |
Hypertension |
Pancreatic Cancer |
| Diabetes |
Infertility |
Pregnancy |
| Eyesight Problems |
Irritable Bowel |
Prostate Cancer |
SLT Case Study
Betty is a self-made, forty-five-year-old
African American business woman who received scholarships to
top undergraduate and graduate schools. Despite her financial
success and standing in her community, Betty felt plagued by
her family's history of alcohol, drug and mental health problems.
Betty who had never been in an automobile accident before, went
to an eye doctor after she had two car accidents within a week.
Betty's eye doctor immediately noticed her bulging eyes; lab
results confirmed that Betty had Graves' disease.
A doctor recommended immediate surgical removal
of Betty's thyroid. It was explained to her that Graves' disease
is an auto-immune illness; the same virus that was destroying
her thyroid gland was also destroying her eyesight. Betty did
not like the finality of a thyroidectomy and being drug dependent
for the rest of her life, so she began exploring other alternatives.
Besides hypnotherapy, Betty tried homeopathy, nutritional supplements
and dietary changes.
Because of her poor eyesight for driving, several sessions were
conducted in Betty's home. Age-regression, NLP, therapeutic
metaphors, and visualization were used in conjunction with SLT.
Within six weeks, Betty reported that her thyroxin level, one
of the markers for her Graves' disease, had returned to normal.
Betty has not had surgery although eighteen months have elapsed
since her first session.
SLT Script
The following SLT script, tailored to Betty's
unique needs, began after a brief hypnotic induction:
1. "Feel a warm, healing light enter through your toes and soles
of your feet. Through the wisdom of your imagination, pull the
warm, healing light up to your ankles. Through the power of
your mind, keep the light below your ankles …. With each self-perpetuating
breath you take, the light becomes brighter, stronger and warmer
.… Wherever you feel light, you feel love, … and wherever you
feel love, you feel light .…
2. Each time you inhale, slowly pull the light
and love up through your calves and shins. Throughout this peaceful
meditation, feel all of your bones absorb the light and love.
Now through the power of your own self-directing breath and
self-directing mind, feel your warm, healing light move in,
around and through your knees. With each self-healing breath,
the light moves up the front and back of your thighs.
3. Through the strength of your will, lift
the light inside your pelvis. The warm, healing light circulates
a plentiful and healthy blood supply through your pelvis and
reproductive organs. During this quiet and serene stretch of
time, feel all your organs sponge up your light and love. Your
mind and body are starting to anticipate how good the light
will feel when it reaches your neck and thyroid. With your self-guiding
breath, allow your warm, healing light to naturally flow into
your abdomen. Whenever you feel light, you feel love, … and
whenever you feel love, you feel light .… Thanks to the love
and light, after this deep relaxation, you will maintain complete,
healthy and thorough digestion.
4. Through your self-evolving breath, raise the light to your
upper chest and back. As your heart naturally continues to circulate
your blood, it automatically sends around the healing, loving
light to all your cells, organs and glands. Your love and your
light will consciously and unconsciously sustain a healthy blood
pressure and normal heart rate after you open your eyes (an
accelerated heart rate was one of Betty's graves' disease symptoms).
5. Silently determine the greatest source
of the light's love … and love's light .… Now quietly reveal
to yourself other sources of light and love … and where else
you will experience them ....
6. With each self-correcting breath, feel
the light and love move into your neck, thyroid and parathyroid
glands. Feel the love and light brighter on the top half of
your thyroid gland than on the bottom .… Now feel the light
warmer on the bottom half of your thyroid than the top .… Feel
your entire thyroid equally bright and warm with love and light.
(Top and bottom: see Table 2 for how to incorporate SLT for
this and other diseases.)
7. Through the intelligence of your own imagination,
feel the right side of your thyroid illuminate more light and
love than the left side .… Let the left side of your thyroid
illuminate more light and love than the right side .… Both sides
are now equally illuminating light and love .… (right and left
Side)
8. Feel the center of your thyroid radiate
more light and love than the outer edges .… At this moment,
your thyroid's outer edges radiate more light and love than
the center .… The center and periphery of your thyroid radiate
an equal amount of love and light. Upon awakening, your light
and love will let your thyroid continue to function healthy
and normal. (center and periphery)
9. Your confidence increases as you feel the
warm, healing light move from the top of your thyroid to the
bottom .… Your confidence continues to increase as you notice
the light moving from the bottom of your thyroid to the top
.... Though you may not always be aware of it, the light and
love will continue to properly circulate between the top and
bottom of your thyroid gland. (Movement: to and from the top
and bottom.)
10. The healing energy of your faith guides
your light and love from the right side of your thyroid to the
left .… The power of your love directs your healing light from
the left side of your thyroid to the right .... The healthy
flow of love and light is constantly occurring in your thyroid
even if you don't notice it. (Movement: to and from the right
and left side.)
11. With each self-regulating breath, observe
your love and light flowing from the back of your thyroid to
the front, … and now with each self-improving breath, you are
aware of the light shining from the front to the back .… Your
love and light continue their joyous dance even when you don't
think about it. (Movement: to and from the front and back.)
12. When you open your eyes today and in the
future you automatically search for and discover signs that
your thyroid is working naturally and regularly … as you routinely
find signs of your healthy and normal thyroid, you go about
your business with calmness and confidence.
13. With your self-healing breath, extend
your light and love to your face, head and brain. Increase your
love and light's intensity in any areas of your brain that you
used to associate with your illness .… Through the awareness
of your mind, scan your body for any remaining dark spots. As
you continue your self-healing breaths, naturally transform
the dark spots to brilliant places of light and love .… Your
abundance of love and light will stay with you until your next
rejuvenating relaxation.
14. Picture your love and light encircling
your entire body. The love and light naturally form a protective
shield or bubble around you. Emotional or physical harm are
unable to penetrate your protective shield of love and light.
You feel safe and secure as you unconsciously know your protective
shield will guard you even when you are not aware of it.
15. When you are ready to maintain your calm
mind and relaxed body in your usual state of consciousness,
open your eyes.
Patient, Heal Thyself
Light has long been used to induce relaxation,
deepen hypnosis and suggest healing; SLT takes what has been
successfully done with light and adds a little something to
it. Research shows that more active visualizations achieve greater
success than less active. In SLT, active visualization occurs
every time the light changes from front to back, side to side,
top to bottom (paragraphs 6-8), and active visualization happens
when the client experiences the light moving from side to side,
up and down and front to back (paragraphs 9-11).
Studies also indicate that the more control
one has during visualization, the greater the chances of attaining
the desired outcome. In the above example, there were more than
a dozen embedded suggestions for the patient to take control;
for instance, the patient took charge when she heard, "through
the power of your own mind," "through the strength of your will,"
and "through the intelligence of your imagination." Other empowering
suggestions were given in the form of "self-healing," self-guiding,"
"self-improving," etc. The patient is given ultimate control
because the self in self-healing, self-guiding and self-directing
is the patient's self. During SLT, the patient is the one who
does the healing, guiding and directing.
SLT also includes the critical element of
focus. In the above case, Betty focused most of her love and
light on the site of the problem, her thyroid gland (paragraphs
6-11). Stone's Light Technique is an extremely flexible method
that can focus on just about any illness or injury. Stone's
Light Technique is adaptable to any part of the body because
all human organs and bones have the four opposites listed in
Table Two. It is as simple as focusing the light and love on
the area in need of relief. For example, for infertility, ovarian
cancer or PMS, during most of the visualization the ovaries
are soaking up the light and love. For cirrhosis, hepatitis
or liver cancer, the light and love is mostly absorbed by the
liver. For asthma, lung cancer or shortness of breath, the lungs
are the primary recipient of the light and love.
The table listed below will help you and your
clients focus the light and love where it is needed the most.
For quick and easy reference, write down Table 2 on an index
card.
Here is an example of how SLT was modified
for pancreatic cancer. The patient was a sixty-five year-old
out-of-state psychiatric social worker and hypnotist. The patient
chose to have chemotherapy in Chicago so he could be near his
children and ex-wife. He claimed several nationally recognized
hypnotists were unable to get him into a deep trance. The technique
was the same as the SLT script above until the light and love
reached his pancreas. Suggestions were given to feel more love
and light on the top half of the pancreas and then on the bottom,
more light and love on the right side of the pancreas and then
the left side, and more light and love in the center of the
pancreas and then at the periphery. Next the patient guided
the light and love from top to bottom, side to side and front
to back through his pancreas. As with Betty, instructions were
then given for the rest of his body to absorb the light and
love. The intervention ended with the client experiencing the
protective shield and bubble of light and love. At the end of
the session, the elated client said, "This is the first time
I experienced amnesia!"
Table 2
|
Column A |
Column B |
| 1. |
Top |
Bottom |
| 2. |
Front |
Back |
| 3. |
Right Side |
Left Side |
| 4. |
Center |
Periphery |
SLT Summary
Step one: Start with the light and love progressively
rising from the soles of the patient's feet.
Step two: Empower the patient by suggesting
that the light and love flow "through the power of your mind,"
"through the wisdom of your intelligence" and "through the strength
of your will." Include the embedded suggestions of "self-healing,"
"self-correcting" and "self-evolving breath."
Step three: Once the light reaches the diseased
organ, gland or bone, use the opposites listed in Table 2 to
direct the light and love's healing energy. Suggest that the
light is brighter according to the places listed in columns
A and B (paragraphs 6-8).
Step four: Suggest that the love and light
move through the diseased organ, gland or bone by following
the opposites listed in columns A and B (paragraphs 9-11).
Step five: Gradually suggest that the remainder
of the body absorbs the light and love.
Step six: Recommend that the patient surround
herself with a protective shield or protective bubble of light
and love (paragraph 14).
Step seven: Instruct the patient to open her
eyes when she feels she can maintain her calm mind and relaxed
body in her usual state of consciousness (paragraph 15).
I thank Dr. Mary Sinclair, a University of
Illinois kinesiology professor, for her help with this and other
articles.
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