Over the past 9 years I’ve been through the mill.  I’ve suffered 3 miscarriages, then had 4 years of infertility, and three IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatments.  I’ve watched friends and relatives get pregnant, filled with envy, anger, grief and discouragement.  My mind filled up with negative, sarcastic, disparaging self-talk.

I knew I needed to do something to combat the negative internal messages.  I have some hypnosis training, so I bought a dozen hypnotic and guided imagery CDs, loading them all into my MP3 player so I could check out the tracks and decide what to listen to. 

For me, Belleruth’s voice and words stood out immediately as something I could connect to.  I hate it when the narrator tells you to “let go”.  It’s very stressful to be asked NOT to be stressed!  But I relaxed when she started by acknowledging and validating the feelings I did have (“I know there are times when I become frightened, angry, impatient, jealous or sad, and I accept what I feel as my inner truth of the moment.”). For me, this was reassuring and uplifting - to first be allowed to accept the feelings I have, THEN to let them go.

I first heard this dazzlingly heart-opening story (told without a trace of cheesy sentiment or self-pity) on the car radio and was blown away, couldn’t leave ‘til it was done, in spite of the fact that I was late for an appointment.  I just couldn’t leave this story.

I’ve since found it and played it for anyone who will listen, and they too are riveted.  It’s Alan Rabinowitz,  the world’s premier jaguar expert, telling his story – in spite of the fact that he was such a severe stutterer as a kid, that for years he couldn’t talk at all. Treat yourself.  Click here and go to the second set - The Moth Radio Hour #2 . It’s around 20 minutes. You won’t be sorry.

We love getting birth announcements from our peeps.  Sometimes these come from people who had fertility struggles, maybe a series of miscarriages; sometimes we hear from people who had difficult pregnancies; and sometimes, like the message below, we just hear about a regular birth experience made a little easier.  We still are hoping for a systematized study of guided imagery in childbirth, but until one of those comes down the pike, we’ll settle gratefully for postings like this one:

This has been the month of dramatic thank you notes that attest to the power of guided imagery for anxiety, panic episodes, OCD and posttraumatic stress symptoms.   The HJ staff never tires of reading these emails, whether dramatic or tepid - we don’t care.

Here is what one fellow had to say:

Hi.  Can someone tell Belleruth (may I please be so informal?) and the HJ staff that the Panic Attack CD saved me from harming myself?  My sister, who is a cancer survivor and fan of Health Journeys, turned me on to this a few weeks ago when I started experiencing panic attacks and lost control of my life.  I got the CD, listen to it every night when I put myself to bed and again when I wake up, and I'm recovering.

Thank you, thank you, thank you - you literally saved my life.

Warmest regards,
Dean D.

This exquisitely written note was so moving and so heartfelt, it brought tears to the eyes of everyone on our staff.  We all say thank you for thanking us. 

A friend of a friend wrote us this note about a cat who chills to guided imagery – we’d heard this about dogs but this is the first time we got a note about a cat.

Health Journeys got this wonderful note last week:

Hi. Thank you so much for all the things you do.   I am a victim of child sexual abuse and rape. I've been through years of therapy, but I absolutely LOVED the CD, Healing Trauma. The first time I listened to it was the first time I slept without waking up in the middle of the night or having a nightmare. It has been a major blessing.

I am now a child-adolescent therapist myself and work with a variety of issues. I've already used a few of your Guided Imagery CD's during sessions, but I'm curious to know if you have anything that deals with ritual abuse?

[Ed. Note: We have nothing geared for ritual abuse per se, other than the materials for posttraumatic stress. This seems to have been adequate for the ritual abuse survivors who’ve given us feedback.]

My sister Debbie was told by her OBGYN that her baby was too big for a vaginal delivery and to get mentally prepared for a C-section. She was overwrought, as, for better or worse, she had set her heart on a standard delivery.

Very quickly she got extremely fearful about what lay ahead. Instead of her usual, high-energy, enthusiastic personality, she was withdrawn and depressed. I did not recognize my sister!  Weeks earlier, she was on top of the world!

On a hunch, I got her the guided imagery for pregnancy and delivery. Pardon the pun, but it was just what the doctor ordered. She listened devotedly, once or twice a day.  I saw the change right away.  I can honestly say it turned her whole attitude back around. She regained her belief in her own body and her old Can-Do confidence in herself re-emerged. She was smiling and happy again.  This is not an exaggeration but a straight report.  That CD hit her sweet spot – that is the best way I can relate this.

We got this wonderful email as part of a chain, and even though I never do this, I’m passing it along – it’s simply too terrific to miss.  Check it out:

This is 'Faith'

This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. He was born with 3 legs - 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which had to be amputated. He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him.

His first owner also did not think that he could survive and he was thinking of 'putting him to sleep'. But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him. She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself.