mental imagery :: text option excercise : page 1 : page 2

Background:

You have drawn a concept map about the eagle sighting, and are ready to go on into the discovery section.

Objective:

To experience an event or activity formerly experienced by others, and/or to help you pay more attention either to details or aspects that might influence the whole perspective.

For example: You have drawn a concept map for an eagle hunting scene.

Exercise

Step one:

Choose what you want to be:

1. The eagle

2. The foxes

3. The rabbits

4. The observers

5. The eagle chicks

Step two:

If you choose any of the above, imagine you are in its situation at the moment the activities are reported to the radio station.

For example: If you are an eagle, close your eyes:

Imagine your body changing. Feel the hairs on your arm,--they are growing, growing and growing until they become feathers. If you have ten feathers on the right arm, you will have ten feathers on your left arm. Now your arms are no longer arms, but a pair of wings.

Imagine all the hairs on your skin are now growing until they become feathers too.

Use your mind's eye, and look at your fingers. They are no longer fingers, but are becoming talons. Your fingernails are growing longer and longer, becoming sharp and hard.

Now flap your wings. You are rising higher and higher in the sky. As you ascend, you feel warm air under your belly. It feels comfortable and you become lighter and lighter.

You soar through the sky with your wings spread at their full length. You weigh only nine pounds. Keep soaring for a while. Take note of your surroundings.

What do you see? What do you hear?

Now you elevate to about 1000 feet up in the sky and look down below. Your eyesight is incredibly keen. You see every blade of the green grass; you see every single movement on the ground.

It is a sunny day, a good day to hunt. You are hungry, and so are your chicks.

Suddenly, you see movement on the ground. You see four animals. Two are significantly smaller than the other two. You begin determining which one of these animals will be the easiest prey.

You focus on the smaller ones, then the smaller of those two. These two smallest animals are foraging on the grass.

You are determined, very determined, that you will get this prey. You start circling. You circle once, twice. Then you circle one more time, calculating the best moment and angle to attack.

You control your turns and height. Then, you dive towards them.

They are running and you are getting closer and closer to the ground. Now you extend your powerful talons, ready for the kill.

Alas! You missed!

Now open your eyes.

Go to page 2