Experience: Dialogue with a Symptom

Follow along with this script

Sit comfortably for a moment, breathe deeply in and out through your nose, and relax. Close your eyes if you like. Let an issue, problem, or symptom come to you... just take whatever comes. The unconscious seems to know better than we do what we need to explore. It could be something physical... “I have a pain here” or “I have an illness and I’m wondering what it’s all about.” It could be something emotional... a concern that you have, a conflict with someone, a feeling of sadness or anger, or an anxiety that you have that you don’t really understand. It could be something in your life that you need to make a decision about... “What kind of changes do I need to make in my life?” or “What kind of work should I really be doing?”

Next, open your eyes and begin to write down the dialogue between yourself and your problem or concern, using abbreviations or initials to expedite the process (for example, “S” for stomach and your initial for yourself). You will be writing for about 7-10 minutes. Write as fast as you can without analyzing what you are writing. First thought, best thought. Just let the dialogue unfold. You can ask the problem or symptom questions and receive back answers or other questions. Be sure to ask your symptom for concrete advice about what you need to do to relieve or understand it better. Let the dialogue flow freely, asking and answering specific questions, back and forth.

When you’re finished, take several minutes to read over what you’ve written.