Healing Visualizations: Creating Health Through Imagery

Fascinating topic if the reader is open to digesting this as clinical narratives are presented and curated carefully by the author's lifetime research and exposure to the subject at hand.As someone from a traditional Western Higher educational background who analysis and processes information via the Scientific method lexicon, this is a rich and inviting narrative that goes beyond traditional medical and scientific recommendations- or at least what we classify within those terms. It explores an aberrant from traditional thought, yet attainable subject of imagination and visualization and the potential benefits found within.I give it 5 stars as I have been able to be open to the exercises and practices that provide within the vast and unexplored inner self (our neurofeedback and psychological realms of the self). The author expands on his educational upbringing via a Freudian psychoanalytic approach- yet is able to present his personal journey and openness as he becomes cognizant of the possibilities that exist within the world of Imagination.

In 2001, my trigeminal nerve was crushed during a routine oral surgery. I was 27 years old and completely unprepared for the radical change that occurred as a result. I went into surgery one person and came out another, and the transition was difficult, to say the least. Part of the problem was facial paralysis in the affected quadrant, which I was able to (mostly)correct with intensive physical therapy over a number of years, but a lingering and complex complication was intense, constant nerve pain.Nothing could solve it. Nothing and no one could help me. I was told that only a coma could actually resolve the pain, but then I'd be back in pain when I woke up. (Darn!) I went from being a healthy and active young woman to a zombie zonked out on narcotics, just so I could somehow make it through the day without going out of my mind in pain. I saw countless specialists, and at least none of them did me the discourtesy of telling me that I just had to follow one protocol and the pain would go away. But that presented another problem: hopelessness.A few years into this journey, I met a nurse practitioner at a pain management center. In addition to helping me with the routine medication regimen, he asked me if I was interested in learning some healing visualizations and guided imageries. Sure, why not? I took the photocopied paragraphs with a promise to follow them exactly as indicated for a month. I was too seasoned a pain patient to expect much, but I did as he asked.Anyone who's read  Healing Visualizations: Creating Health Through Imagery  knows how this story will go; slowly but surely, I did start to feel better. I continued the visualizations past our next monthly appointment, because they were the one thing in my life that actually truly helped. It didn't happen overnight, but the visualization did what nothing else could. It gave me hope and a feeling of power. The wonderful nurse practitioner moved on (God bless him -- I owe him so much!) but I kept with it. Over the years, I continued to see other doctors, but I steadily decreased my drug use. I had MRIs and CT scans that showed the nerve damage itself was still there, but it was my response that was getting better. I was training myself to heal. I decided to buy my own copy of the book so I could find out more.Now, nearly 12 years later, I only take one pain medication. I have a great quality of life. I have hope for the future and I feel healthy. I do live with pain, but I know how to do that now. Every day, I do a guided imagery and I meditate, using the skills I learned in Healing Visualizations. For me, this book was a life-saver. If you are suffering from chronic pain or another chronic disease, please read this book and give it a chance. You have nothing at all to lose and a world of healing to gain.

This book delivered! It was exactly what I was looking for. The author lays a good foundation around visualizations, giving you some things to think about and a "how to" section for creating your own, plus he gives a lot of samples of healing visualizations as well. Based on all of this I created my own visualization which I will be doing daily for the month of August.Also, a good thing to note, I am not a visual person. When I took a test in school around this I tested highest for auditory, then kinesthetic and visual was last. He has a small section where he discusses this and how to increase your visual skills. He has you use your stronger skill set to tap into the visual. This has been helpful for me. My hope is that by the time 30 days has passed I will have results and I will have increased my visual capacity as well!1/9/19 Update - I used my new found visualization skills to create a healing visualization after a medical procedure. CCSVI. This is son that often has to be redone or people end up needing stents for permanent results. All of these years later I am still doing well. I attribute this in part the visualization that I created after reading this book and learning about my condition. I did it at least 2x daily for over 30 days. An impi aspect to my healing. I highly recommend this book to help you build your own healing visualizations.

The treatment is explained very well in the book, but more examples and cases from patients and the results obtained with the treatment should be needed to convince the reader that the treatment really works. It is clear that to have success with the treatment, it is required high doses of faith in it. Therefore the author should explain cases of people cured with such treatment to make easy the reader to believe in it, an as a result increase the likelyhood his curation.

This book was recommended by a colleague and therapist.It is an extraordinary book. Every person should have it in their library.

I recently bought three books of this author and loved them all, to say the least. In Healing Visualizations, Dr. Epstein's oldest book still in print, I very much liked the concise and easy to understand introduction to visualisation. His explanation of the relationship between emotions, images and sensations was a true revelation to me: "An image is the mental form of a feeling. But there is also a physical form - sensation." You can't put it plainer and this realisation alone to me is worth the purchase. Also, the advice at the end of the book on how to develop my own imagery proved very valuable.I found the image exercises clearly worded, easy to perform and convincing. Of course, I tried out only a few. So far I have experienced no physical healing but things look much "brighter and clearer". And thanks, Dr Epstein, for all the encouragement along the way!

He is a bit of a windbag and does go on and on. However the technique itself is simple and what is best of all it works. Highly recommended.

This book is very good. It explains the mind-body connection and gives clues as to which mental outlooks beget certain ailments, as well as giving solutions to reverse the mindset creating those problems.

I am grateful to Dr. Epstein for delivering to the world this esoteric knowledge in simple language. I have tremendous faith in the methods/ visualizations described as I have been able to heal myself. It should be read by every healer to understand the healing process at the deepest level.

Love this book. The imagery helps you feel you are doing something to help yourself, and the majority of the various 'exercises' only take minutes to do.

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