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By Dr. Roxanne Daleo<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2026and that\u2019s true love!\u201d said my grandpa\u2026
his voice made my mind conjure up the entire scene: I see it as if it were real, mom serving
dessert after a big Italian-American feast for Thanksgiving Day, always prepared with love by
my parents in what I believed to be our beautiful New Jersey home. But the fact is, it was only
my grandfather\u2019s voice coming from an audio cassette player. A tape I nearly tossed in the
trash moments before to clear the clutter from my garage. So glad I have this priceless treasure
today.
Through \u201cimaging\u201d you mentally \u201csee.\u201d Your brain takes the audio input of a voice and provides
you a \u201cmental picture\u201d. In this case, it pulled out a memory of the past and my brain served up a
scene so vivid you relive it as if it were happening in the present. My grandfather\u2019s philosophy
about true love were his words of wisdom I\u2019ll treasure forever.
Your brain can also take an idea or visualization to create a future-self. Your brain can be
directed using mental imagery which is really a kind of storytelling.
When you add the auditory aspect, such as a voice, you add a person\u2019s energy because your
voice is the blueprint of your soul. Listening to the sound of your own voice is a powerful way
to imprint and direct your subconscious mind.
Add the background music and the brain automatically enhances the imagery experience as if it
were real. The mind makes no distinction between real and imagined information; this is why
using guided imagery narrations for relaxation are a powerful form of mind\/body medicine.
Scientists are learning how we manipulate and examine pictures of the mind and develop
internal states of awareness, resilience and balance.
Many world cultures have been using the power of mental imagery in the form of storytelling.
Let\u2019s look at the Native American culture specifically, they have been using the art of telling
stories passed down from one generation to the next as their primary form of wisdom
communication. Traditionally, Native Americans transmit by story their mythology, spiritual and
historical understandings of themselves and the world in which they live to their children.
Storytelling creates the mental imagery in the minds and hearts of the young, that which elders
did not want forgotten. In this way, the elders ensured young would not lose sight of their roots,
important knowledge that would allow them to live in harmony and cooperation with the natural
world.
So this Thanksgiving why not try to capture more voices of the elders in your tribe, the seniors in
your family. Allow them to pass on their words of wisdom to the children as part of the formal
celebration for which we are giving thanks and deep appreciation. In this way, you can be sure
your children and their children have your family\u2019s important knowledge through the beautiful
storytelling tradition.<\/p>\n