Magical
Inner Theater [MIT]
Tools for Transformation
by John Hutchinson, M.Ed.
Tools for Transformation
by John Hutchinson, M.Ed.
Part I - Introduction
What
is the Magical Inner Theater [MIT]?
‘MIT’
is a structured tool that can be used in guided imagery sessions, either with individual
or groups in which a guide facilitates the imagery journey. It can also be practiced
and used by individuals as a self-guiding tool for personal and spiritual enhancement
and transformation. I first developed MIT back in the 90s and used it in private sessions and workshops with clients friends, family, and actors to try out it's effectiveness. I have continued to use it over the years in various settings. Recently, my computer crashed and I lost a lot of files from yesteryear. This is a re-creation of the process with some added comments and introductory remarks.
Example
of uses:
- Changing emotional states
- Releasing unwanted connections/energies
- Activating positive qualities
- Assessing current state
- Anchoring and enhancing theater or other performances
- Moving away from unsatisfying roles or identities
- Receiving answers from the positive unconscious
- Dis-identifying from unwanted emotional or mental states
- Transformation of energies
- Increasing motivation and will
- Building an ideal model or positive goal
- Guiding healing and cleansing energies
- Providing resolution to internal conflicts
- Re-framing external problem areas
- Connecting with inner wisdom
- Renewing spiritual connection with Life Energy
Using
our Imagination
The
Magical Inner Theater [MIT] technique uses the power of visualization and
creative imagery. You may be strong in visualizing and perhaps you are more
verbal than visual.
The MIT
process is designed to be used in sessions and workshop setting with a
facilitator or guide prompting you through the imagery process. The written
form can be just as effective and may take a few practice runs if you are using
it for self-guiding.
Visual
learners
with an easy access to ‘seeing’ in their imagination will find it easy to get
some prompts and then simply go off on a journey in imagery. I suggest you read
through the entire script to get an overview, then begin again and do one step
at a time.
Verbal
learners
who may seem to have less access to ‘seeing’ with closed eyes, will be able to
follow the process through the written word. In my experience working with both
types, the MIT process provides equally satisfying results.
Kinesthetic
types,
who primarily sense things in their body, may want to record the imagery script
so they can simple let their body experience the process. Until a recorded
script is available, I would recommend everyone recording the script so they
can relax into the process.
All
types may experience simply making it up as they go through the process… and
this is exactly what happens with the use of our imagination… so, you may
consider whatever is happening is exactly the right thing to be occurring.
In addition,
we all have access to all the characteristics mentioned above. Some are more
developed in one area than the others. The purpose of this distinction is only
important to emphasize whether you think you can or think you cannot use the
MIT tool, my experience is that it will be effective at some level for
everyone.
Outline
of the imagery process
- Preparation – Relax in quiet place
- Transition to the world of imagination
- Journey to our magical inner theater [MIT]
- Entering our MIT
- Discovering and Using our MIT - Required elements
- Leaving our MIT and Returning Home
Part II – Introductory Journey Script to our Magical Inner Theater
- Preparing for the journey – Relax in a quiet
place
Find a quiet place and time to do the MIT process allowing 20-30 minutes. You may wish to use headphones with some soft and relaxing music that allows you to drift into the imagination.
“Simply be aware of your breath as you relax… Breathe normally and feel your body relaxing and letting go of any tension you were holding onto… take a few moment until you sense you are ready to continue…”
- Transitioning to the world of imagination
“ Now imagine that you are walking from where you are now and as you are walking… as can happen in your imagination… you come to a bridge that takes you to a an area that is quite natural in appearance… just begin walking across the bridge and if you feel anything other than trust and peace, simple see a symbol or something you can take with you that provides all the protection you feel you need… you may want to imagine you are surrounded by a protective bubble of white light if you wish to do so…
Continue to walk in a relaxed manner into nature… your scene may be a forest…or a park area… or whatever seems pleasant for you… notice the sights and sounds of nature all around you and soon you have moved farther away from the bridge…”
- Journeying to our magical inner theater [MIT]
“As you are comfortably moving along on your walk, you will notice up ahead a building that is coming into view… this is your magical inner theater… simply notice or create what it looks like… this is your journey so your magical theater can be anything you wish… Continue to move closer until you see the entrance… you can notice as much detail as you choose… “
- Entering our MIT
“ Now… when you are ready… enter your magical theater… notice what it is like… notice where the stage is… it may be empty or it may not be empty… simply focus on the actual theater for now…”
- Discovering and Using our MIT - Required elements
Certain things are needed and there inclusion will be explained later.
Required elements include:
a. Balcony
with seating
b. Stage
with curtain
c. Lights
and sound systems
d. Empty
audience seats below balcony
“Now as you taking some time to explore your magical inner theater, notice that there is a balcony and see where the stairs are to get to the balcony… you can climb the stairs and find a comfortable seat in the balcony from where you have a good view of the stage below… relax into your seat and notice or create what the inside of your theater looks like… notice the stage and the curtain… is it open or closed… play with it so you can see it opening or closing… now let the curtain remain in the open position so you can see the stage…
Imagine the lights come on…you may even
see different colors… when you have played with the lights a bit allow them to
be at a comfortable level… Since you are the director you may also control the
house lights over the audience… just dim the house lights now and notice the a
friendly clown comes on stage carrying a microphone… the clown greets you in
some way and you can hear he or she uses the microphone to talk… then there is
some dancing music that begins and the clown enjoys the music with a dance…
simply enjoy the scene and you can make the music louder or softer… and of course
you will hear any characters onstage with or without a microphone…
Take as much time to enjoy the clown
show… if you wish you may join the clown and dancing onstage…for as long as you
wish…
And when you are ready, return to your
seat in the balcony and say goodbye to the clown for now…. Watch how the clown
exits… then see the lights on stage dim and the curtain close… next the house
lights come up to full strength… notice if the audience seats below are still empty…
look around and notice the inside of
your magical inner theater again…”
- Leaving our MIT and returning home
“Now…. make your way back down the stairs and return to the entry area…. It is time to return home… as you move out of your magical inner theater and onto the path back to the bridge, you may want to take another look at the outside of your inner theater… any changes you notice?
Continue…. Now… back the path to the bridge… and cross
back over the bridge … you find yourself feeling refreshed and relaxed knowing
that you can come to your magical inner theater at any time… return to the
place in which you are seated and look around until you are sure you are
oriented to this time and space before driving or using power tools or sharp
knives!! …. You may even want to get up and imitate the clown dance… whatever
that may be…”
This
introductory imagery is to give you the experience of how you might do visualization
exercises, even if you are not primarily a visual learner. The MIT tool can be
used for all the suggested uses listed in Part One and more.
Part III – Example for Changing an Emotional State
For any
future journeys to your MIT, you can go through the entire process or you may
simply cross the bridge and be in your balcony seat…
For
this section, we will assume you are feeling a certain uncomfortable emotion
and wish to explore it… possibly see it transformed..
- Do as much as you need to in order to find yourself in your MIT balcony seat.
- Notice the stage curtains are closed.
- Allow yourself to really feel the uncomfortable emotion…
- Now as the curtain opens, allow an image, person, symbol, or scene to be present on stage that represents your unsettling emotion…
- Always trust the first image that appears on the stage below, almost like a dream… trust what you imagination produces for you…
- Notice the image on the stage below and see what it is doing and hear what it may be saying…
- From your place above in the balcony, you can start a conversation with the image… a few suggestions…
a.
Find
out [ask] what the image wants…
even if it is not a ‘person,’ just assume that any image, symbol or even a
scene can communicate with you as you are in the balcony…
b.
You
may explore these wants as much as you wish, they may or may not be realistic,
practical, or possible… just accept that they are what is wanted…
c.
Next,
ask what the image or person really needs….
There is often a huge difference between wants and needs… often a need is
something you can do for this aspect … it is part of taking care of our own
needs, which we will discuss later…
d.
After
dialoguing a bit, it is good to reassure the aspect or part onstage that you
care for him, her or it…whatever the image may be…
e.
One
of the final steps is to imagine there is a special solar spotlight that is
above and behind you… I like to imagine it take the light for the sun and
focuses through power lenses in the spotlight… Now, you can focus this spot
light onto the image below…. Let it flood our and completely surround the
person or image on stage below… We never know what changes or transforming may
happen… simply watch as the energy from the sun floods the image below… notice
any changes that are happening… allow this to go on as long as you wish…
f.
When
ready, see if there is anything more the image wishes to say, if there is an
image there… then see what you need to do to complete this process… depend on
what image remains, you may choose to merge go down and be with it at the
audience level as you are ready to leave the inner theater experience.
This is
just one example. It is always easier to have a trained guide to help you
through this process a few times. Having someone guide you provides a model to
use as you are learning to trust you own process and move toward self-guiding. Other
examples will be provided. Before moving to more examples I wish to share a bit
of the theory and dynamics behind this imagery.
Part IV – Some theory and energy dynamics of MIT
The MIT
process emerged from various areas of my training and experience along the
journey.
·
Why
the bridge into nature?
The bridge provides a shift from the world of flight/fight everyday consciousness to a more relaxed, intuitive and imaginative space. If can also be seen as a shift from left brain activity to the more right brain creative way of using our awareness. In the imagination, as we let go of the left-brain control, we can begin to trust what emerges, rather than trying to think about what is logical. The shift facilitates the imaginative work necessary to access these areas of our psyche.
The bridge provides a shift from the world of flight/fight everyday consciousness to a more relaxed, intuitive and imaginative space. If can also be seen as a shift from left brain activity to the more right brain creative way of using our awareness. In the imagination, as we let go of the left-brain control, we can begin to trust what emerges, rather than trying to think about what is logical. The shift facilitates the imaginative work necessary to access these areas of our psyche.
·
Why
the theater image?
The theater provides a structure of sorts which can be a fun place and provides certain features we which to use in guided imagery. It is uniquely personalized according to each person’s experience and imagination. It represents a safe place to do some inner work that is separate from the pulls and pushes of everyday life.
The theater provides a structure of sorts which can be a fun place and provides certain features we which to use in guided imagery. It is uniquely personalized according to each person’s experience and imagination. It represents a safe place to do some inner work that is separate from the pulls and pushes of everyday life.
·
Why
the balcony seat?
The balcony seat represents placing us in an “observing” position that is above what is going on down on the stage below. It may be seen as being in a bit more mental place, but I prefer to see it more as a neutral observer… of course depending where we are in our growth process, it might be a heady space or it may be more of a higher and inclusive perspective. For those familiar with energy centers or chakras, it can represent movement up to the 6th or 7th energy centers combined with the heart center… which is another way of saying what was described earlier.
The balcony seat represents placing us in an “observing” position that is above what is going on down on the stage below. It may be seen as being in a bit more mental place, but I prefer to see it more as a neutral observer… of course depending where we are in our growth process, it might be a heady space or it may be more of a higher and inclusive perspective. For those familiar with energy centers or chakras, it can represent movement up to the 6th or 7th energy centers combined with the heart center… which is another way of saying what was described earlier.
·
Why
the stage with all the curtain, lights, and sounds?
The stage below actually represent the first 3 chakra, especially the 3rd energy center or solar plexus where many of our personal feelings reside… especially ones associated with unpleasant situations, people, attachments, and disappointments… sometimes generalized as suffering. The thinking process can also be tied to the solar plexus, since our mindset and world view can greatly affect how we feel about certain events.
When images show up on the stage and we are in our observer position in the balcony, it provides a health dis-identification or dissociation from a troubling feeling, sub-personality, or other aspect of our psyche.
The stage below actually represent the first 3 chakra, especially the 3rd energy center or solar plexus where many of our personal feelings reside… especially ones associated with unpleasant situations, people, attachments, and disappointments… sometimes generalized as suffering. The thinking process can also be tied to the solar plexus, since our mindset and world view can greatly affect how we feel about certain events.
When images show up on the stage and we are in our observer position in the balcony, it provides a health dis-identification or dissociation from a troubling feeling, sub-personality, or other aspect of our psyche.
As we interact with an aspect, we are
tweezing apart various elements of our personality to make changes and or
finding more satisfying ways to take care of ourselves. All the elements of the
theater provide us with the tools to become the director of our lives rather
than being controlled unconsciously by shadow aspects.
·
What’s
the purpose of the spotlight?
In Psychosynthesis and other models of transpersonal or spiritual psychology, the importance of the Higher Self or Source of Life Energy is an important element in the process. Jung would say that healing and change only occur with the help of the “numinous” or Spirit of Light and Life. The sun has often been a natural symbol of the Creating Source of Life and so it is introduced in this ‘Spotlight’ in the theater. I also use a skylight above the stage sometimes that allows the sunlight and energy to flood the stage during the later parts of any ‘scene’…
I have also used the spotlight effect that is focused through the heart of the person in the balcony down to the stage below, which can help to have a direct loving energy experience. Of course, this is not mechanistic in any way and we must realize that the whole inner magical theater in the person who is using it or the client who is being guided through the process.
In Psychosynthesis and other models of transpersonal or spiritual psychology, the importance of the Higher Self or Source of Life Energy is an important element in the process. Jung would say that healing and change only occur with the help of the “numinous” or Spirit of Light and Life. The sun has often been a natural symbol of the Creating Source of Life and so it is introduced in this ‘Spotlight’ in the theater. I also use a skylight above the stage sometimes that allows the sunlight and energy to flood the stage during the later parts of any ‘scene’…
I have also used the spotlight effect that is focused through the heart of the person in the balcony down to the stage below, which can help to have a direct loving energy experience. Of course, this is not mechanistic in any way and we must realize that the whole inner magical theater in the person who is using it or the client who is being guided through the process.
·
Leaving
and returning home is a way to make sure we incorporate the energy shifts
experienced in the MIT imagery to the everyday world in which we live… more can
be done in imagining any changes happening in any everyday scene on the stage…
we can also test the process by seeing if we can get back into the
uncomfortable feelings and then shift to the new state… this is particularly
helpful when using a situation that is uncomfortable or conflictual.
There
is much more that can be said about various principles and practices involved
in Psychosynthesis, Neurolinguistic Programming [NLP]. And various teachings
about Energy. The fun thing about the MIT process is that it works for many,
perhaps even more so without knowing a lot of the whys and wherefores!
Part V: Example of using MIT for Actors
I have
used the MIT process with professional and community actors to help integrate
and solidify their character development and provide keys or anchoring symbols
that can instantly switch him or her into the appropriate energy for specific
scenes… or just for the role in a general way.
Most
actors are probably quite good at trusting their imagination which makes the
MIT process quite effective.
Abbreviated
version assuming introductory process has been done:
It is important not
to do this before you begin to research or learn the role… I would suggest it
is best done in the last week or two of rehearsals…
Also, decide if you
wish this MIT process to be focused on your character in the play in general…
or are you going to do this for specific scenes… I would suggest beginning by
doing it for the character in a broad and general way… then you can add
specific scene anchors at a later time…
On with the MIT show…
1.
Imagine
yourself in your MIT balcony seat with the curtain closed.
2.
With
the curtains closed, imagine your unconscious mind has already put together all
the work, research, studying, memorizing, direction, blocking, motivation,
back-story and every other thing you have considered about the character and
role you are playing…
3.
Identify
as much as you can with the thoughts and emotions of your character…
4.
Now,
when the curtains open, you will see on the stage below… an image on stage that
integrates everything within your mind, both your conscious and unconscious
mind… so when you are ready, just allow the curtains to open and trust what you
see onstage… allow the image to do whatever it wishes to do…
5.
In
imagery of course you can simply be on stage by deciding to do so… So, now, if
you wish to do so, you may be on stage with the image or symbol or person and
interact in any way you choose…You may want to become the image to get the
fullest experience of all it holds for you…. And if you merge with the image,
allow a flood of sunlight to spotlight you on stage to help becoming one with
the character…
6.
And
when you are ready switch back to being in the balcony and seeing the symbol on
the stage again… is there anything you wish to say or dialogue about?
7.
When
you have finished any dialogue, simply try switching back and forth a few times….
Become the image on stage… then back to the balcony, seeing the image onstage…
8.
When
that feels complete, make a note of the image or symbol on stage and make you
way out of the theater and cross back over the bridge and back to the place you
are sitting right now… and orient yourself to the time and space…
9.
Now
to try what you experienced, visualize or think of the symbol or image and see
if it elicits the character as if you are ready to go into a scene…
10.
Then
imagine you are working or doing your laundry… and how that feels… and now it
is time for the show to begin and you again use your symbol as an anchor to pop
you into the character… then flip back and forth from you the person who does
laundry and also act in plays… to the character in the play… until you know
that your anchor is working…
11.
If
you need more anchoring… go back and repeat the MIT process and pour some more
sun energy into the merging process…
12.
If
you wish you may do this for individual scenes as well…
