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Creative
Ways to Transform Challenges:
Challenge
as Teacher
Dialogue
with Illness William Collinge.
M.P.H., Ph.D.
The dialogue is between your wise, adult self, and an inner voice
that represents the illness. Set out two chairs or two cushions
on the floor. Let one seat represent your wise, adult self while
the other represents the illness.
In this process you will be physically moving back and forth between
the two seats. You begin with a few minutes of silence to prepare
your adult self to be completely focused on the process.
....Each time you ask a question, you move to the other seat to
respond as the illness. It is important to actually move in order
for the process to work.
When you ask the questions, do so with an objective, casual attitude....
This is not a confrontation or a healing process. If you have a
disdainful attitude toward the illness, its voice will not be as
clear and it will not be as forthcoming with information. Remember,
all you want from this is information.
In giving your voice over to the illness, it is important that you
take your time to relax, close your eyes, and go inside to find
an intuitive sense of what the illness might say. When you respond,
try to imagine that you are the illness talking. Respond as sincerely
and honestly as you can.
Begin with the following questions:
- What
are you here to teach me?
- How
well am I learning what I need to learn from you?
- How
do I make it easy for you to remain with me?
- What
will it take for you to leave?
- s
there anything else I should know?
...Each
time an answer comes, be sure to thank the illness for speaking to
you and helping you understand it. Always end the dialogue in the
adult seat....
From Recovering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Guide to Self-Empowerment
by William Collinge, M.P.H., Ph.D., Creator of the first mind/body
program for CFS, The Body Press/Perigee Books, The Putnam Publishing
Group, New York, NY 1993, pp. 190-191.
Copyright
© 1999
Life Challenges
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