5
Think of your breath with statements or im-
ages, such as: “With each breath in, I breathe
in health and with each breath out, I remove
unwanted feelings and thoughts.” “With each
breath I’m becoming more and more calm
and relaxed.” You may even be able to imag-
ine your inhalations in colors, textures or
temperatures. For instance, “I breathe in a
cool, smooth and gentle blue breath.”
4. Now, imagine being in your favorite safe and
comfortable place. When you have decided
where that is, imagine it in all of your senses,
increasing your sensory awareness, one sense
at a time. First use sight – imagine yourself in
the park. You can visualize yourself meander-
ing, seeing all the things that are going on
there, or focus on a single item in the park.
Visualize a big knotty tree or a flowering
shrub. After you “see” what’s there, you can
imagine the park with your other senses. What
do you hear, smell or feel? If you have a good
imagination, you can even smell the trees and
GUIDED IMAGERY
Cont. from page 3
foliage. The longer you “stay in” the place you
choose (you can always decide when you
want to leave) the more relaxed you’ll be. If
you are afraid you will fall asleep and miss an
appointment, you can set an alarm or ask
someone to check on you at a certain time.
5. When you are in this very relaxed state of
heightened awareness, you can think of vari-
ous suggestions for stress reduction or self-
improvement. If you perform this exercise (or
any other one that is contained in the re-
sources below) at least two to three times
weekly, you will probably feel immediate re-
sults. The more frequently and longer the
sessions and the more appropriate the imag-
ery and suggestions, the more positive results
you will feel.
Other stress-relieving activities may include
meditation, visualization, prayer, time shared with
a friend or family member, a massage, or therapy,
etc. Most importantly you must have positive
feelings and thoughts about what you are experi-
encing.
_____________________________________
Darcy F. Wallen, CSW. is the program coordinator for
BiNetSM,Inc. and Comprehensive Outreach.
IT’S NOT CHILD’S PLAY
Cont. from page 1
kill thousands of people they don’t even
know for no good reason. But I couldn’t
say that. I don’t believe in lying to chil-
dren. They find out the truth anyway
and then they learn not to trust their
parents. Random violence leaves adults
feeling out of control and powerless.
But for a child whose world view was
grounded in the triumph of good and
the toppling of evil, random violence is
completely devastating. It’s the demoli-
tion of the metaphysical “blankie” and
the annihilation of all innocence.
As the weeks passed, I noticed Mo was
progressing from lack of comprehension
to a dogged determination to rebuild some-
thing positive. He became obsessive about
constructing Lego towers and shutting his
baby brother out of the room once he was
done. Predictably, each time he built, there
were two structures.
“These are the twin towers,” he ex-
plained, “and I’m not going to let any-
body destroy them this time.” And then
with a sneaky smile, “That’s why I can’t
let the baby in.”
Reading the paper and watching the
news, I see that Mo’s views and actions
mirror those of many of the adults in this
country. After the shock came a deep de-
sire to somehow help out in a tangible
way and finally, we sought revenge with
the war against the Taliban.
In Mo’s mind, dumping the rubble in
Afghanistan is akin to revenge of the most
about whether he will lead a happy and
carefree life is creeping over him. Like
most children, he has always had great
fun projecting what life will be like
when he is grown. “I’m going to build
my own house. I’ll be the Daddy and
you’ll be the Mommy.” He’s pronounced
this hundreds of times, but last week
his face darkened when he repeated his
fantasy. He looked at me straight on,
without blinking, and asked, “Will
Osama still be around then?”
”Not if you have anything to do
with it, Mo,” was my earnest answer.
No, not if you have anything to do with
it. In an instant, his face brightened. He
smiled broadly and somehow I felt then
that hope would sprout anew before
long. Mo’s generation will yet reclaim
its childhood.
Ellie Schlam is Director of Public Relations at
the America Kidney Foundation. She is the mother
of four children and contributing writer to The
Comprehensive Network Newsletter.
…trauma leaves debris in
the brain that needs to be
cleared out before victims
can heal.
satisfying kind. They brought this horror
on us, so let’s make them suffer with the
remains, he was undoubtedly thinking.
His plan would once again restore justice
to the world.
But beyond the actions and thoughts
of today, my little boy’s vision of his own
future is clouding over. A new uncertainty
JUST ONE
MORE STORY
On September 11th, Susan Elgart who has
been “manning” our
reception desk since
1989 was busy call-
ing out as well as
answering calls. Her
son, Jeffrey, who
works at what has
become known as
“Ground
Zero,”
could not be found.
We were all immensely grateful when her daugh-
ter-in-law called a few hours later to say that he
had just managed to get to a phone to let her
know that a strange set of circumstances had
delayed him that morning. By the time he ar-
rived at work, the first plane had already hit the
building. He never got to work — but he did
eventually get home. Only a few months before
he was offered – but turned down – a more
lucrative position in the WTC Building Two.
The people interviewing with him and the in-
Cont. on page 6
