Imagination Travel – What’s That?
Imagination travel allows you to go anywhere in the world by using your mind. Take a virtual vacation when time or money are tight. Or, in uncertain times such as these. Remove potential health threats and transportation issues, by enjoying a mental vacation. The best part is, you can also use imagination travel to relax, unwind, and refresh. You can do it yourself whenever and wherever you want. Virtual travels are great in any season and for any reason!
How Did You Learn About This?
You may not know this, but I lived in New York City during the 9/11 terrorism attack on the World Trade Center. At the time, I was working at an internet design and development company. Having lived through such a traumatic experience, and seeing my fellow human beings struggling to deal with it all, I decided to follow a different path. I wanted to help people directly deal with the issues that we we were all confronting.
I came to run a group of wellness clinics that helped people deal with all kinds of personal issues. In the process I became certified in hypnotherapy as well as several other related disciplines. It was during my training that I began learning many techniques that use the power of creative imagery to relax, change unwanted behaviors, and even to heal. Imagination travel is one of my favorites!
After learning the power of these techniques, I dove even more deeply into the world of subconscious behavior. My skills evolved so that I could help people quit smoking, remove an irrational fear or phobia, learn better communication strategies and improve relationships, manage physical or mental pain, and make other changes quickly and effectively by using the power of their imagination.
Relieve Stress And Anxiety
Taking a virtual vacation has a variety of health benefits. Without any cost and in short order, you can manage stress, anxiety, worry, tension, and otherwise give yourself a break. After just a brief mental vacation, you’ll feel refreshed, relaxed, rejuvenated and like you’ve actually been on a real vacation. All this without having to concern yourself with logistics, tickets, plans, or cost. Virtual travels can be fun, relaxing, exciting, and certainly engaging. Your mind actually doesn’t know the difference between virtual travels and real ones.
If you like, you can do some imagination travel in the morning to start your day with the feeling of excitement as if you’ve just returned from a holiday – only it will have been a mental holiday. Or, take a virtual tour of a favorite spot during that time of the day when you’re feeling stressed and anxious. If you have a time when your energy is low, imagination travel can put back a little pep in your step too.
Imagination Travel For Sleep
One of the best ways to use imagination travel is to help you get to sleep. If you’re like a lot of us, your mind continues to race long after you’ve gone to bed. One of the best ways to relax and help yourself fall blissfully to sleep is by using imagination travel to provide a way to slow down your mind and your body, getting to sleep faster and more easily. Sound good? Let’s show you how.
How Do I Take A Virtual Vacation?
The process of imagination travel is really quite simple. There are only a few steps, but you need to do them in order to get the best results. Before you get started, you’ll need to find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down comfortably.
You also need to make sure that you will not have any interruptions. If you’re in an office, turn off the phone and computer volume (no lights or vibrations either because you will definitely sense these). If you’re at home, be sure that any pets are not able to jump up on you because they will distract you from the process. You can take as little as 5 minutes up to as long as you want for imagination travel. I usually find that 10-15 minutes offers me the results I want.
Step By Step Instructions
Read these instructions before you take your virtual vacation. They’re pretty simple but you’ll want to be able to focus completely on yourself and your virtual travels without having to refer to anything outside of your mind during the process. To make it easy, here is a list of the steps in order so you can easily enjoy your imagination travel anytime you want.
Getting Started
- Sit or lie comfortably without distraction or interruption.
- Pick a spot somewhere that is at a slight distance from you and slightly above your natural sightline. For example, if you are in an office chair, pick a spot on a wall (or a photo, note, etc.) across from you. Look at the spot without raising your head, such that only your eyes are tilting upward. If you are lying down, pick a spot on the ceiling above you that requires you to move your eyes upward but again keep your chin in its natural position without moving up. Only your eyes should be above their straight forward position.
- Take five deep breaths from your diaphragm. Breathe in slowly and deeply and exhale the same way. You can put your hands across your stomach to be sure you can feel your breath coming in below your chest.
- On the fifth breath, close your eyes and imagine a place you’d like to take your virtual journey. It can be a place you have traveled to in the past, one you would like to travel to in the future or an imaginary place. You can simply choose a beach or a lake or a forest or a meadow. Anywhere that makes you feel happy.
Taking Your Journey
- Use your creativity to imagine every detail. Engage all of your senses. What do you see, hear, taste, smell, feel? Imagine the sound of waves, wind, birds…Smell the flowers or taste a local dish…see the wildlife or people or scenery…feel the sun shining on you or the soft fur of a friendly alpaca…Make it all as clear and detailed as you can. Explore all the facets of each detail thoroughly. Leave no stone unturned.
- Keep creating slowly and comfortably and enjoy exploring during your imagination travel. Take as long as you like and make your virtual journey as complete as if you were physically there. Your mind does not know the difference!
Finishing Up
- When you have explored enough and are ready to emerge, breathe deeply and count backward from 3…2…1…0. On 0, slowly open your eyes and allow yourself a few moments to come back from your mental vacation. Breathe in deeply two or three times and welcome yourself back to your day.
- If you are doing your imagination travel right before bed, then you can skip step 7, the emergence step, and simply allow yourself to drift off to sleep. When your virtual travels have taken you somewhere very energetic and busy, transition to a calmer, quieter scene that will allow your mind and body to slow down. If you need to relax further, you can simply count backward from 5…4…3…2…1…0 and give yourself mentally the instruction that with every number you are getting sleepier and more relaxed.
Tell Me About Your Imagination Travel!
I love seeing where people go during their virtual vacations and hearing about their experiences. If you take a mental vacation, please let me know! I can’t wait to see how you enjoy your virtual holiday. Please feel free to comment or send me an email at [email protected] to tell me all about it. I look forward to doing a little more imagination travel on my own.
Happy Virtual Travels!
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4 Comments
I traveled in my imagination today and i went to Athens and i saw the Acropolis Museum
I think this is going to be the only way to travel for the next few weeks. I’m also going to try and eat the food of the places I want to travel to!
Hmmm…. I wonder if I can imagine away the current situation in which we all find ourselves. Given that hubby and I are choosing to self-quarantine for the next two weeks, at a minimum, this could definitely come in handy. Although… that picture of the beach looks mighty enticing to think about in the future.
What a great idea! I definitely will be virtually traveling to a beach in the Caribbean!