Spiritual Dimensions of Guided Imagery and Music

As its creator Helen Bonny conceived it, Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is both a powerful approach to music-centered psychotherapy and a way to explore the outer reaches of consciousness. This book explores those outer reaches, bringing spiritual experience directly into focus. Drawing on the author’s forty-five years of experience in music therapy and twenty-five years practicing GIM, this insightful work presents an array of themes related to the spiritual quest: the importance of detecting dangerous inflation in clients who are pursuing a spiritual path; the mystical insights of clients with autism; the integration of meditation and mindfulness in GIM practice; Gestalt dream work, subtle energy healing, and mandala analysis as methods for enhancing spiritual insights through GIM; the transformative potential of spiritual breakthroughs in GIM to heal grieving; the kundalini experiences of a dedicated meditator and GIM trainee; and the weaving of GIM into a Buddhist chaplaincy internship in hospice care. The chapters include case material illustrating these various paths to spirituality, and throughout the book, the author describes how her own consciousness has evolved in relation to GIM and its myriad spiritual dimensions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Mystical Origins of the Bonny Method

Chapter 1: An Evolution of Spiritual Practice

Chapter 2: Hazards of Spiritual Inflation in GIM

Chapter 3: Spiritual Insights of a GIM Client with Autism

Chapter 4: GIM as Mindfulness Practice :

Chapter 5: Gestalt Dream Work and GIM—Partners for Spiritual Practice

Chapter 6: Enhancing Spiritual Openings in GIM with Subtle Energy Healing

Chapter 7: Inspiring Spiritual Growth Through GIM and Mandala Analysis

Chapter 8: GIM for Spiritual Lessons in Healing Grief

Chapter 9: GIM and Kundalini Awakening

Chapter 10: GIM at the Threshold of Dying

Epilogue: The Nature of Spiritual Practice

References

Discography