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Bypassing
the Critical Faculty:
Accessing
Intuition through Guided Imagery
by
Carolyn McDonough, C. Ht. |
I'd obviously lost touch with
my intuition, finding myself laying lifeless and stiff
in the hospital approaching my 29th birthday, tethered
to the bed by way of stitches, tubes and my "Saturn
return" astrologers have since relished in telling
me. With a simultaneous sense of gratitude and horror, I
saw the really long way back to life ahead of me,
physically and emotionally.
I had become increasingly
alienated from my intuition through a seriously
misguided career choice that turned into a stress and
pressure hell. Working in sales, I was slowly worn down
by the daily physical strain of hand carrying product
samples along with a heavy briefcase of PR material on
sales calls around Manhattan, as well as by the
psychological intimidation of a sadistic manager.
Not surprisingly, the combined
stressors of physical strain and psychological battery
eventually disconnected me from my intuition altogether,
though I was not really aware that this was happening. I
just thought I had a lousy job and that after a year
with the company, I'd start looking for a better one.
What I didn't realize was that the abnormal had become
normal for me, which is far worse and more dangerous
than just having a lousy job, as I bought into the
bullying and negative reinforcement straight out of the
movie "Glen Gary Glen Ross" spiraling
downward further each day.
One of the constant invasions
to any moments of serenity I did enjoy was that the job
required I work from my home, an invasion of privacy,
which is true of many sales jobs today. The most
destructive aspect of the job to my intuition, however,
was the company's weekly Friday meeting during which we
were verbally abused by various managers after the
week's account calls, always sufficiently jamming my
circuits for the weekend. My super suggestibility, a
quality that I didn't fully understand until becoming
certified in hypnotherapy, made me very receptive and
had worked in my favor in academics and the performing
arts, but was taken full advantage of by ruthless
managers. Being easy prey for such individuals along
with a conscious tuning out I'd developed as a survival
mechanism to get through those Fridays, created a shut
down response that in hindsight created the biggest
obstacle to my intuition.
While in "life
recovery" from my surgeries and this experience, I
came across the phrase "bypassing the critical
faculty" while reading an article on hypnotherapy
and the hypnotic state. Something in me clicked.
"That's what I need!" Something to get me back
to my essence and override the ingrained self-criticism,
which unlike my intuition was still highly active from
the managerial brainwashing. I wondered if bypassing the
critical faculty would be the Autobahn back to my
intuition. A curiosity was born that dovetailed nicely
with the meditation practice I'd developed in recovery,
so I began the quest to find out. I've since come to
believe that learning how to recognize and work with the
critical faculty can indeed provide great access to
intuition, simply because when you're not engaged in a
constant inner dialogue of your own or another's making,
you're essence is freed up and open to receive
information from other sources.
I also learned that like
computer software programs, intuition requires a lot of
RAM so that it can be loaded up at a moment's notice
without slogging through obstacles that can often cause
it to crash before it can even launch. I've found that
the really empowering moments in life to be when you're
fully present in the moment with your intuition,
engaging with it during the choice making process in
whatever situation you may be facing.
One of the dreams I had in
recovery which my guided imagery technique developed
from and that assisted me greatly in re-establishing a
deep connection with my intuition took place in a
vineyard. Connecting with such a beautiful and symbolic
place, even virtually, can be like a doorway to the
fertile land of intuition, from which we can cultivate
healing and new manifestations. Here then is the Virtual
Vineyard guided imagery meditation to help you begin
bypassing the critical faculty.
Get into a comfortable
position, either sitting or laying down, preferably with
spine straight, yet still within the bounds of your
comfort zone to read or listen to the meditation. And
now put your attention on your breath and find out where
it is in your body at this moment. Bring your awareness
to the belly area and start to relax by breathing
comfortably in and out from the belly area, as a
continuous stream of air and connected motion.
Inhale and exhale gently and
slowly and repeat this for five rounds of breath while
imagining you're breathing in a word like
"energy" and exhale fully, preferably longer
than your inhalation, while breathing out a word like
"peace." Feel free to substitute your own
"power words" especially those that come to
you in this state. Breathe at your current rate and
rhythm without forcing the breath.
With body and mind now focused
on breath allowing it to center you, find yourself in a
spectacular setting like a vineyard. The sun is very
brilliant, high and hot and its warmth relaxes you
completely. As you rest in this beautiful setting,
really notice all the details. Perhaps you see the lush
green hills and valleys of the landscape, hear birds
singing, and the grass rustling with colorful vibrancy,
as you smell the sweetness of the bounty all around you.
In the distance you see a path
that stretches out before you. Take notice of your path
here. Is it paved or foot trodden? As you explore your
path, you come upon a guide, so allow yourself a few
moments here for a clear image of your guide to come to
you. This may be a friend or mentor, human or perhaps
animal, who has come to visit you here. Just allow
yourself to open to all possibilities and if no guide
appears don't force an image, just continue and be open
to communication from your guide later on, such as in a
dream.
If you do encounter a guide,
see yourself communing with this being who you may
already know or may have never met. You exchange
thoughts and feelings, you admire and respect each other
and as you spend this time together, you gain insights
about yourself. You may even come to embrace your flaws
and negative experiences, because you have now met this
mentor who you can call on anytime you need support, to
remind you of these valuable lessons.
In this beautiful place, you
are free to explore your hopes and wishes and also to
let go of anything that you sense may be blocking you.
So let's take a moment now, to breathe out anything
you'd like to let go of, without judgment, to create a
space for intuition. Notice all the mind and body
sensations as you repeat this breathing exercise three
times, breathing out anything you are letting go of and
breathing in consciously to create physical and
emotional space for your intuition. And take a moment to
allow the energies and experiences that have been
brought forth to resonate deep within you, so that you
may bring them into your day and life vision with you,
returning to them whenever you want or need. As you
prepare to transition out of meditation feeling
purified, centered and energized, you may want to
reconnect with your body by moving your hands, feet,
head and neck slowly, allowing yourself some time to
adjust.
Summary with
Tips/Tools/Reminders to access your "Intuition
Program"
- Connecting to intuition is
easy once you have a tool for getting the critical
faculty out of the way. A favorite of mine was and still
is simply saying to myself the very phrase
"bypassing the critical faculty" anytime I
feel a lack of clarity and need my intuitive faculties
to remain sharp.
- Conscious tuning or blocking
out constricts intuition, which thrives in the opposite
environment of openness or release. It's likely that
wherever you're consciously blocking, your critical
faculty is fully engaged and needs to be set aside so
your intuition can have room to help you in this area of
your life.
- Become aware, that
is--Beware--of stressors in your life. Taking an
accounting of them is often a good idea to avoid their
harm in the short term and the gateway to
intuitive-based action in the long term. Decisions
rooted in such intuitive clarity may be the most
powerful we ever make.
To hear Virtual Vineyard in
RealAudio: http://www.desktopmeditations.com/meditation/vine-1.html
Virtual Vineyard,
Desktop Meditations and Bypassing the Critical Faculty:
Accessing Intuition through Guided Imagery © Carolyn
McDonough 1999-2003. All rights reserved.
Carolyn McDonough, C. Ht., is Founder and Producer of
DesktopMeditations.com and was Associate Producer for the Spirituality
Channel of Beliefnet.com, a multi-faith religion and spirituality
website. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Media Studies
from The New School and holds a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
from Vassar College where she graduated cum laude. She also studied at
the University of Florence and was awarded a museum fellowship to the
Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy, where she became Assistant
to the Director.
In 1993 a major health challenge and subsequent life transition led
Carolyn to study meditation and yoga for self-healing. From this experience her singing
voice re-awakened and she began recording again while also becoming a
Certified Hypnotherapist, developing Desktop Meditations, a spoken word
guided imagery technique based upon night dreams of her recovery and
genesis of the WellNet with Carolyn RealAudio/Video netcast of online
meditation now located at DesktopMeditations.com. Carolyns technique was
created to assist others in self-healing through the guided imagery
modality from her positive result with it. As the netcast and its
website content expanded to include mind/body wellness, the original
mission remains and has been featured extensively online as well as by
The New York Times MindBodyHealth E.com Directory, Working Mother
Magazine, PC Magazine Online, The Silicon Alley Reporter Winter, and
CNNFN. You can email Carolyn at carolyn@desktopmeditations.com. Visit
her website at: www.desktopmeditations.com.
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