Physician Healer
Self-imaging into Transformation
Recently, I came across an amazing book and discovered audios of it called Psycho-Cybernetics by plastic surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz, and uncovered a topic that was both fascinating and relatively unfamiliar to me. I certainly have never read this in med school nor has this book ever been on any of my reading lists in any university I attended.
This surgeon’s observations and research explain why some people are able to turn every aspect of their lives around with ease while others remain in a frustrated rut. Having knowledge of this has certainly helped me to empower my clients to more successfully achieve their health and other life goals, whether it be to heal themselves from depression and anxiety, navigate weight management, or enable them to cut back and eventually discontinue their prescribed medications.
Dr. Maltz observed that while some patients changed their personalities in a positive direction after he removed disfiguring scars, altered their noses, or other facial structures, others remained the same, negative and self-critical, adamantly maintaining that they were still ugly despite a perfect surgical correction.
This is when he discovered that we all have 2 images of ourselves, an inner and an outer image and as long as both images were incongruent or in conflict, the patient was unable to benefit from any surgical change that was performed to alter their external appearance.
This also clarifies why change for some individuals are never permanent. For example, many people lose weight only to gain all of it back in a short time. According to Dr. Maltz’s findings, in order to facilitate and maintain a permanent change, we must change our internal image of how we see ourselves first and then a new model of us emerges to become a lifelong change.
This phenomenon can be further explained using the example of a thermostat in the home. When we set the temperature at 75 degrees, let’s say, and if a window is open during a colder season and causes a drop in the temperature, the heating mechanism is then turned on automatically to bring the temperature back up. Likewise, if a window is open during the hot summer months and causes a rise in the temperature inside, the A/C would turn on, bringing the temperature back down to the preset mark.
Another illustration is maintaining the altitude of an airplane. Once the optimal level is established, if the plane is detected as flying too high up, the cybernetics program brings the plane down enough to meet the preset program and vice versa like when the plane drops its altitude below pre-established goals, the plane rises automatically.
How do we then go about making changes in our lives, whether we are talking about our health, being successful in our business or at our job, being a better student in school or even participating in a successful relationship? We take committed steps to change our self-image through repetition, persistence, and discipline via our ability to rekindle our innate and sometimes dormant ability to imagine, which proved to be a powerful mechanism when we were kids. We live and act as the person we wish to become and then we inevitably assume that new persona.
Studies demonstrate that any unhealthy obese person can become and remain a thin healthier person. An individual on the shy side can eventually become more outgoing and make more friends. Kids who have inappropriately been labeled that they are losers can be valedictorians or accomplish anything on their agenda. And, a previously person of compromised health has the potential to reverse the health status and can thrive indefinitely in life.
Although the technique is simple, it can be a challenge for many to perform and stay committed to because it goes against our preprogrammed mindset or what is referred to as paradigms that keep us in the infamous comfort zones, making it very uncomfortable to change out of an identity with which we’ve lived for so long.
Some basic instructions to get started are as follows:
1) On a piece of paper or in your journal, write down how you wish to feel and what you desire to accomplish.
2) Write down how you see yourself behave and what different activities you would be doing if everything in 1) did happen for you.
3) List specific characteristics and personality traits of people you admire.
4) Spend 3-5 minutes in the morning and at bedtime acting out the person you wish to be and anchor this exercise with emotion.
5) Think, behave and become that person through out the day. Through practicing consistent repetition, the subconscious paradigms begin to take on change. The self-image begins to shift and a new identity develops rendering the old one inactive, which will naturally fall away with time due to natural neglect.
6) Remember in order to change, we cannot fight existing reality. A new model has to be created. (Buckminster Fuller, architect). Dr. Joe Dispenza works this theme in producing the healing outcomes he discusses.
Have fun on your journey of transformation!
Relaxation and Meditation
1) Find a quiet place, sit up comfortably and close your eyes gently. Breathe in slowly through your nose or pursed lips and follow the breath down to the belly (5-7 seconds). Then, exhale slowly through pursed lips while focusing on pushing the belly towards the spine (5-7 seconds). Repeat for a total of 3-5 times.
2) Access the following Meridian points or choose a set of your own:
—Chest points, one or both sides
—Top of head
—Ribcage or under the armpit, one or both sides
—Chest points, one or both sides
—Blade of hand, one side or alternate both
—Brow point near the forehead, one or both sides
—Corner of eye, one or both sides
—Under the eye, one or both sides
—Under the nose
—Under the lower lip at the dip
—Chest point, one or both sides
3) Intentional Statement-Questions to use with Meridian Meditation
—Why are so many incredible things happening in my life that I didn’t notice until now?
—Why are so many amazing things happening in my life that I didn’t notice until now?
—Why do I have such fantastic health that I didn’t notice until now?
—Why is everything going my way that I didn’t notice before?
—Why is my life so exhilarating that I didn’t notice before?
—Why is my life full of possibilities that I didn’t notice before?
—Why have everything I set out to do have been done exceptionally well that I didn’t notice before?
—Why has my life been lived with grace and ease that I didn’t notice before?
—How have I transformed my life effortlessly that I didn’t notice before?
4) Conclude with breathing exercises in 1) and choose to sit longer in quiet reflection if time permits.
5) Remember to do your gratituding in the morning and in the evening and spend a minute with each to truly feel them. Linking the emotion is very important.
Remember also that you can compose your own statement-questions that may be more specific to your particular situation.
Until next time, I send you blessings of having much to be grateful for each and every present moment!
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With Love and Gratitude ♥️🙌
Dr. Celeste Amaya 🪷🌻🌞
