Your thoughts help to keep you stuck in pain, in tension, in depression, but they can be flipped over and used to alleviate the very same conditions.

Focus in on one problem area to which you devote energy. Perhaps it is the chronic tension in your right shoulder, or the nausea you experience riding in a car or plane. Note as many aspects of it as you can:

• Is there a picture associated with the problem or pain? (For instance, tight, knotted nautical ropes, or a murky, stagnant pool.)
• Is there a sound connected with the problem or pain? (For instance, a grinding or gurgling sound.)
• Is there a texture associated with it? (A sore throat, for instance, might feel like rough sandpaper; an upset stomach might feel slimy.)
• Is there a temperature associated with it? (A headache might feel hot; a broken arm might feel cold.)
• Is there a smell or taste associated with it? (For instance, curdled milk or some nasty-tasting medicine.)
• Is there a movement associated with it? (Churning, pounding, stabbing?)

Now comes the flipping part. The essential question here is what the problem or pain will look, feel, smell, sound, taste like when it is alleviated or cured. For the image, substitute its opposite:

• Knotted ropes are slowly untied and loosely laid out on the deck.
• A stagnant pool is drained and filled with clear, sweet water.
• A dark cloud of pain in the head is penetrated with sunlight.
• A pounding sound is replaced by the sound of a waterfall.

As you relax, substitute a positive, healing image for each negative, painful one. Use words if necessary to reinforce the stimulus, like, My head is filled with billowy white clouds."

Put up reminders for yourself around the house, in the car, at your place of work. Whenever you see them, flip into your new set of images.

Don't be discouraged if you can't conjure up all the types of images we have suggested. Use the ones that are strongest for you. Be patient with yourself in anticipating results, but know that other people have used this exercise to great advantage. Give it a try.

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