Paths of Faith: The Road to a Better Life - Using Imagination

How can we harness the power of imagination to better cope and improve our lives?

• Imagine Positive Experiences and Coping

We can use the powerful force of imagination to envision positive experiences and successful coping. The subconscious will accept this as if it actually happened in reality, building new positive subconscious beliefs.

When we fear a certain experience, we can recall a similar experience where we succeeded, imagine that experience and see it again and again in our mind. We can really smell the scent we smelled then, hear the sounds we heard, immerse ourselves in the positive experience or imagine success even if it hasn't truly happened, or success we want in the future. Imagine it strongly, and then the subconscious will think it is occurring in reality and turn our success into a subconscious belief.

For example, when we are about to do something for the first time, such as teaching in class or going for a job interview, we naturally feel a little anxious. If we imagine ourselves succeeding, truly picture going through it now and coping successfully, imagine what we will wear, how the class or room will look, what the smell will be, and what sounds we will hear, etc., the subconscious will interpret it as if we already went through this experience positively, reducing our fears significantly.

• Ease Coping Through Imagination

Even if Hashem does not bring us immediate salvation because it is for our benefit now, the imagination can help us cope until the salvation arrives. As we said, even when it's tough, if we imagine ourselves in a good place and that salvation has already arrived, it will be easier to cope.

A Jewish Prisoner of Zion, who was exiled to Siberia for many years because of his involvement in Judaism in Russia, related how sometimes he stayed in a dark, cold cell. When asked how he survived, he replied: 'I wasn't there. I saw myself in Jerusalem, imagined the Western Wall, the streets of Jerusalem, saw myself in my mind getting married in Jerusalem, building a home, and having children. All this happened after I was released from Siberia, I came to Jerusalem, got married, and had children.'

• Influence Healing Through Imagination

We can use the power of imagination to boost the body's healing with Hashem's help. When we imagine ourselves healing and our body strengthening, the subconscious activates the body in that direction.

Mark Hyman proves that during a strong memory, the brain secretes the BDNF protein, which repairs damaged tissues in the brain and starts creating new cells, aiding in the body's healing.

A woman who suffered from a cyst imagined a small 'Pac-Man' character (a form from children's video games) entering her body, traveling the path to the cyst, and eating the entire growth, just as Pac-Man eats all the dots in the game. She did this while praying to Hashem for healing—until she felt, by the grace of Heaven, she had nothing, then retook the scan. To the doctors' amazement, nothing was found. The body actually did what she imagined.

• Strengthen Faith Through Imagination to Attract Salvation

When we are sure that we will merit salvation and imagine it as if it has already happened, we enhance our faith in Hashem's salvation, which prepares us to receive the good from Hashem. This is what the Ben Ish Chai of blessed memory says about the verse in the Book of Deuteronomy: "See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which Hashem has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and their descendants after them." (Deuteronomy 1:8)

The Ben Ish Chai asks: How does the Torah say I have set before you? They were still in the desert and had not yet seen the land? Rather, one of the foundations of faith is to feel as if the matter has already been done, and only because of this will Hashem bring things to be, because they will see in their mind's eye that Hashem has already set the land before them. Because of this, they will merit seeing and inheriting the land.

• Imagine Positive Goals to Help Achieve Them

When we have a goal for change, we can imagine ourselves achieving it, and this will help us reach it with the help of Hashem. It is possible to imagine weight loss, closer relationships improving, and more.

How Do We Activate Imagination? What Is Guided Imagery?

Imagination can be powerfully activated through guided imagery. In emotional therapy, it is more powerful and faster; it can also be done alone with strong concentration.

Our sages instructed us: "In each and every generation a person must see themselves as if they had gone out of Egypt." Not only must we envision the Exodus, but truly imagine that we were ourselves in Egypt and emerged from there, imagine being slaves in Egypt, working hard and being subjugated to Pharaoh, and how Hashem takes us out of there in one day with great miracles.

This is essentially the basis of the guided imagination method, and this is how to proceed:

A. Imagine a situation where we want to be—with all details and tiny details. For example, if you want to lose weight, imagine yourself slim, imagine yourself in fitting and flattering clothes, imagine yourself at an event where everyone compliments your new look, hear the voices of the compliments, smell the food at that event, imagine it with all the senses. The stronger and clearer the picture you see and experience in all senses, the stronger the influence.

Rabbi Aharon Margalit tells how he managed to undergo difficult physiotherapy treatments because his mother made him like guided imagery and constantly said: You will get out of the wheelchair, and I will play tag with you, and you will catch me. Every time he found it hard, he saw this picture in his imagination, and it gave him the strength and desire to invest.

B. Imagine without preconceived notions—anything is possible, there are no laws, no rules. There is no logical or illogical. For example, a woman who stutters due to trauma and wants to break free from it should picture herself speaking fluently, even if it currently seems illogical to her. Imagine yourself succeeding, progressing, and changing for the better, and Hashem will help us.

To purchase Rabbi Esther Tolidano's new book "Paths of Faith" on Hidabroot ShopsClick here