In this guided imagery we will be on a journey and find a place to rest. We can take a look back, re-organize the bundle we carry, and maybe receive a gift to help us during the next part of our journey.
This exercise is especially helpful in times of change. Maybe we finished a bigger project or reached some of our goals. Maybe we are about to start something new. It can help to re-organize ourselves for a new season, big or small. You might want to do this exercise at the beginning and end of inpatient treatment or your vacation, to start a new year or when you move into a new phase in trauma treatment or in your job.
There is the optional chance of receiving a gift. Some people have minds that bring up incredibly helpful ideas from their subconscious, or well-meaning parts add their wisdom and good wishes. For other people it can be problematic to allow the mind to come up with something because there is trauma on the surface of the subconscious and it slips into the imagery. If you know from experience that tapping into the subconscious will open the door for something negative to slip in, you can skip that part of the exercise and just imagine a place where you can rest. Your ability to receive helpful gifts can improve as your grounding gets better, so it might just be something to try later in your therapy.
We wrote the exercise with people with OSDD/DID in mind, so it will include options for other parts. If you don’t have dissociative parts you can just skip that.
Please find a comfortable position that makes you feel safe and supported. Take a moment to check if you are satisfied and make small changes as needed. You can close your eyes or soften your gaze or take turns, whatever feels right today. Take a few deep breaths that help you to arrive in the present moment and gather your thoughts.
Then your imagination can show you the path that you have been traveling on for this past season. I don’t know, maybe it is in the mountains or in a forest or maybe you feel like you are in a desert or a swamp. Maybe things have been flat and straight for a long time or maybe there are so many bends and turns that you never know what will happen around the next corner. And if you are traveling with other alters, you might notice them too, maybe inside of the body or like companions.
As you walk on this path that is your current life you can notice that there is a place of rest in front of you. It could be a campsite next to the road or an inn or some other place that is safe and inviting and that offers shelter and a place to rest. When you reach it, you just know that this is the ideal place for you to take a break.
You can find a place to sit down that makes it possible to see the road. Take a moment to look back down the road you have come from. What has the weather been like on that stretch of your journey? Was traveling easy? Were there any roadblocks or problems? Did you meet other travelers and maybe people who shared your journey with you? How was traveling with other parts of your inner system? What are the things you have learned? Look at all the progress you have made. Life isn’t perfect but you walked the walk and it got you this far. You surely have changed a bit on the way.
And when you are ready, you can look in the other direction, the path that is ahead of you. Maybe you can see it clearly and it is brightly lit. Or perhaps there are shadows and you have no clue where the path will lead you. You might already see a big mountain in the distance that you know you will have to climb. Or you might have talked to others who walked the path you are planning to take, so you have heard stories of what is ahead of you. Take a moment to think of your plans. The future can be scary but it can also be exciting. Change is full of possibilities.
If you want to, you can now take a closer look at all the things you have been carrying with you on your journey. Maybe it is a bundle or a backpack or something even bigger. You can open it and look inside. Some of the things have always been in there and it is not the time to pull them out, you already know you will carry them with you for a while longer until you can figure out what to do with them.
Maybe you feel like some of your burdens are other parts that you have been carrying. And maybe these parts know of their own burdens that cannot be shared yet. You might even notice that sometimes they carry things for you. There is a lot of carrying things for each other going on and it will continue for a while longer until you can figure things out and that is ok. It just is what it is.
Now when you look deeper into your bundle, what are the items that are your most important tools that you use all the time? Just notice what you can find. Maybe you also find something that should be among those everyday tools but you keep forgetting about it.
What are the treasures you are carrying? Were they a gift? Or did you work hard for them?
When you keep looking at the things from your bundle there might be things you picked up on your journey and now is the time to decide if they will be useful in the future or if you can leave them behind. Not everything we pick up is really helping and some things might just be useful for a short time before we grow out of them.
If there are other parts inside they too can look through their own little bundles to see if there is anything they want to leave behind now. No parts can be left behind, that is not how it works. But things could get lighter and easier to manage when everyone just checks themselves to see what is necessary and needed, what is a treasure, what still needs attention and care and what they could let go of because it isn’t serving any purpose anymore. Nobody has to give up anything they love, this is just for old stuff that gets in the way.
Then you can take your time and, one item after the other, you can put back the things you will keep, at least for a little while longer. And when you look around there is a bin somewhere, where you can leave everything else.
When you are done with re-organizing your bundle you will have new space in it for new things. Take a deep breath and sense how that feels.
And because your resting place is a little bit magical you can find a mysterious chest somewhere when you look around. It is magical because every time someone opens it it will contain just the item that is needed for the next bit of their journey. It is free and you can just take it with you. When you find the chest, examine it and see what it looks like. Maybe it is plain wood, maybe there are ornaments or some writing on it. If you want to add something extra to your bundle, you can now open the box, it is never locked, and see what it will offer you today.
Maybe you recognize what it is right away. And maybe you need to ask the item what it is supposed to mean because it is a symbol for something. Sometimes the item comes from stories you know or it is a reminder of important events. Sometimes it used to belong to a meaningful person and now you get to carry it. It could have spiritual meaning or maybe it is something you thought you lost. Take your time to make yourself familiar with the meaning of the item and how it is going to be helpful on your way.
And if you travel with other parts they might want to open the magical chest to receive their own items. Everyone can have one. Just get in a line and one after the other can open the chest and see what they got. Take as much time as you need for this.
When everyone who wants to receive a gift has got one, make sure to store it safely within your bundle. There, now it will be within reach when you need it.
And I don’t know, maybe you want to stay a little longer and just rest for a little while. Then you could put up your feet and lean back and enjoy that there is nothing you have to do right now.
And maybe the road is calling you. Then you could pick up your bundle and continue with your walk for today.
Then you can slowly become more aware of the room around you, all the sounds, where you touch other things like a chair or the floor. You can stretch and open your eyes and fully return to this room.
Audio female voice
Happy new year!
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