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I know a little girl who could make herself ‘catch’ anything by just thinking about it!
One day she was seated across from a child who had warts on her fingers, “I wonder what it would feel like to have a wart?” she thought. She imagined it in vivid detail as she watched the other child disembark from the bus. The next morning she awoke with a wart on her middle finger.
After many such experiences, she realized that it might be an idea to apply her imagination more productively, like using it to help her overcome for example insecurities, worries, procrastination, anxiety or even colds. As far as I know, she still finds it more effective than any pill.
Visualization is a term given to the conscious use of the imagination for a purpose, and has long been recognized as a powerful tool for both healing and personal growth. Interestingly, as with many self-help modules, we adults often overlook it when it comes to our children. Is this because we forget, or do we just consider it to be inappropriate for children? This question has always fascinated me, because in my experience (from my own childhood, as a mother, and working with children -), visualization is absolutely natural and even effortless for most children – far more so than for adults, as they have considerably less ‘baggage’ to distract them.
But before I further delve into just how effectively visualization can be used to benefit children, let me first clarify why it’s important to pay attention to our imagination, and exactly how our innate human capacity for imagery affects us, deeply and persistently, in just about every way.
We all think in images, ‘visualize’ constantly, from the day we are born until the day we die. Research has shown that over 90% of us visualize literally – we ‘see’ images in our minds - and almost the same amount of us are also able to ‘hear’ images, while many experience images kinaesthetically. Some people experience all three types of images simultaneously, others only one or two types. Still others simply think about the words in an image. Regardless of how you experience images, the fact is images are occurring internally, in your mind, 24/7, whether you are conscious of them or not. We feed the images in our minds with our emotions, which in turn are fed by more images, and we can very easily end up in a perpetual cycle. For most of us, little conscious consideration is given to this internal process, allowing it more or less to determine what we feel and how we act moment by moment, constantly having to 'react,' or being at the mercy of outside forces, of having life ‘happen to us’.
Naturally, when we are in the midst of any such a cycle, especially a negative one, we are often not aware of it and tend to project our angst-ridden images onto the people in our environment, which include, of course our children. And we unknowingly teach the very process that is damaging us – extremely effectively in most cases – to our little ones.
Happily, I’m delighted to report, it’s never too late to interrupt and change this cycle! And visualization -taking charge of your imagination – is a key tool! In addition to making that change for yourself, utilizing visualization as a tool with children can be a pure delight, for here is a way to use their sponge-like absorption of parents’ words (and ways) to positive effect. It is also especially rewarding as it is usually near second nature for them. Children have both a natural need and an ability for creative play that makes consciously applied use of imagery almost effortless for them. It certainly makes more sense to them than many other things they are taught!
Being such a natural tool for children, visualization helps them to grow up far more aware and centred than they otherwise would, developing skills that allow them to stay connected to and take charge of their own internal imagery and emotions. The immense significance of this tool shows itself most clearly in the increased self-confidence and sense of inner security that children who use visualization have – not to mention their increased ability to self-soothe, self-motivate, concentrate, learn, and even boost their own healing from illness or injury. And of course, all these benefits apply to anyone of any age who applies the use of conscious visualization, in whatever context.
But how does one begin using this tool with children? Well, the best way I have found to teach and integrate visualization with children is to first start practising it yourself!
Try it out with one of our guided visualisations on our ‘VIDEO’ page (under Media), or check out one of the books that offer scripts, including Creative Visualization with Children, this month celebrating being published for 30 years - and still selling, - the content is probably more applicable now than ever, but that's another blog :-)
See you again soon!
*Photo of children's group that led to the book Creative Visualiztion with Children - A Practical Guide (Element Books 1994)
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