These exercises are celebratory in their own right. They are also powerful ways of building associations which can be used by an individual to maintain or regain their rational Person when under stress conditions. The stress may be generated entirely by Patterns or may arise because an external emergency is activating patterns. The versions given here are as used by Tom Sargent and bear his name. The account follows the description in an article by Tom in 'Self and Society' 1980 No. 8.
Imaging and association (relaxed)
Short relaxation exercises are used. Often these will include breathing instructions and tension followed by relaxation. Sometimes participants are merely instructed to relax. Music is used both to develop associations and to cut out any background noise. Tom used the flute and harp music of either Rampal or Galway, preferably the western sounding Japanese music, because it has few associations which will intrude upon the exercise.
With the music on and the people comfortable and relaxed, they are asked to go to a Special Place for them, alone. They are urged to use a wooded place, a beach or a mountain, and are told that a quiet room or the like is fine. For the first exercise, the leader describes some elements of such a place. This is annoying to some and necessary for others. The leader uses a quiet and firm voice tone. The people are told to look around the Special Place, with eyes closed to keep out the interference of the room they are in.
As the participants look around their Special Places, they are asked to notice how the environment feels on their bodies, and say their first names.
"Say your first name and feel the breeze or the sun, and how your body stands, sits or lies on what you are on, and say your name. Now reach out and touch some things around you, and say your name. Select one thing to touch, and say your name, and touch what you touch. Your name and touch. Look around and notice how all the things in your Special Place are different, one from another. Say your name and touch what you touch. See how you are different, and the trees and the rocks are different, and you are different, and say your name and touch. Now notice how you are different, and some things about you that you appreciate, and say your name and touch. Now select one of these appreciations, and touch and say your name and the appreciation of yourself. And now start to come back to the room, and say your name, touch and appreciation. Say your name, touch and appreciation, and when you feel like it, open your eyes and say your name, touch and appreciation."
Even this shortened version, read and without music, will provide the exercise. For most, the touch is the magic ingredient. Recalling the soil or the rock that is touched will bring it all back. Gradually extensive areas of self appreciation are integrated through this exercise. It is a beautiful vehicle for both personal exploration and structured recall.
It is usually the touch that provides the most powerful association for use in life situations that are distressing. It is useful, as a foundation for the association, to practice returning to the Special Place and building up a sense of your strength and skills, associated both with your name and the Place. Then, within a counselling session, practice taking your Special Place into a future situation you anticipate having difficulties with.
The next step is to imagine you are taking your Special Place with you in the real life situation. This can be enhanced by having an object with you that gives you a touch sensation from your Special Place. This could be a pebble or piece of bark or material, carried in your pocket. The evoking of your Special Place by the touch will return you to rationality and access to your strengths and skills. It will act as a 'ladder out of distress'.
For some situations, particularly ones where emergency situations require action, it is worthwhile using a more energized version of your Special Place. Tom describes it in the following fashion.
Imaging and association (energized)
In this case, the relaxation exercises are those that will relate to standing, and centering; for example, imagining a cord up the center of the spine and out of the top of the head. This is pulled and relaxed as breathing exercises are done. The music is Spanish Guitar, with the most unfamiliar music available.
Participants are asked to go to a highly energized and pleasant Special Place, such as skiing, sailing, motorcycling, or running. Here, the body sensations are important; the strength, coordination and energy. The participants are asked to feel the environment on the body, as they stand with their eyes closed. The leader uses the same associations, but the voice will be louder, excited and firm. The whole exercise tends to move much more rapidly. The associations are brought back to the room in the same way. They will bring back a variety of touches, a mast stay, ski pole, motorcycle handle bars, and maybe even a periscope handle.
This particular exercise is most useful for recovery of the image in high stress situations. It is less useful for self exploration. Making an association between a touch image from your Special Place and an object in the environment where you could be under high stress will mean that it can provide a ladder out of Distress when an emergency occurs. This means that touching the object will switch attention out of Distress and back into rationality, and facilitate the use of strengths and skills.
Tom gives an example of a surgeon in New Jersey using this method to maintain his flexibility and awareness during stressful situations which may occur during an operation. The instruments which he uses remind him of the exercise, in which he re-experienced himself on a ski hill. He can feel the ski pole in his hand, the flexiblity of his body and of his response to the environment. The surgeon focuses emotionally on the ski hill; this allows him to also focus awarely on the events of the emergency. Another example is a nuclear power plant engineer making an association between the handlebars of his motorcycle and the handle of one of the turbine controls. If an emergency occurs then his hand on the control brings back both the exercise and his cognitive flexibility and enhances his ability to cope.
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