Destruction of Images

Threatening internal visual images can be destroyed, thus losing their frightening or alarming effect. The following exercises aim to destroy internal representations that are bothering or hindering you.

In principle, it is always advisable to perform an ecology check beforehand and extract the useful information, as amnesia often occurs after applying these techniques.

You can perform the ecology check as follows:

1. Let the image you want to dissolve appear before your mind's eye.
2. Ask yourself the following questions while you look at the image internally:
Is this image trying to draw my attention to something I should do in the future, or something I should avoid? Does the image contain another important message for me? If yes: What exactly should I do or avoid in the future? What exactly is this image trying to tell me? What do I need to do or change in order to let go of this image?

Light-Dark

Check if the image contains an important message for you.
Now imagine the image becoming darker. Like, for example, an image on a television screen getting darker as you reduce the contrast. Eventually, the image becomes so dark that you can't see anything anymore. Or, make the image brighter. Imagine a bright light gradually overshadowing the outlines within the image. Eventually, the image becomes so bright that nothing is visible anymore.
Now, push the completely dark or completely bright image onto the floor. Push it backwards so that it moves further away from your body. Let it go as far as you can until you can only see a tiny dot, and then it completely disappears.

Shattering a Mirror

Crazing is what happens to tempered glass — for example, the rear or side windows in a car — when it shatters. It breaks into a thousand small pieces and falls apart. Imagine that the visual image you want to get rid of is like a car window or has been painted onto one. Hit it hard with a hammer and watch it break into a thousand small pieces and fall apart. You may need to repeat this several times to completely and permanently shatter it. Then, gather the shards and dispose of them in hazardous waste.

Burning Images

Imagine you hold a lit match to the image, so that it starts to smolder, turning darker, curling up, and eventually becoming a pile of ash. Or imagine a fire, such as a cozy fire in a fireplace. Throw the image into this fire and enjoy watching it vanish in the heat. Another reference experience for destruction is watching a film at the point where the film stops, and the projector lamp burns a hole in the image. You can also simply burn the image to ash.

Letting Images Melt

Now imagine that water is dripping onto the image. The colors will melt like a watercolor painting left out in the rain. Eventually, only a blob of color remains, where nothing can be recognized anymore. Sometimes, this blob of color can actually have a certain appeal. Other useful reference experiences for destroying images include turning a kaleidoscope, watching a watercolor painting on a sidewalk in the rain, looking at an image in a breaking mirror, or on a pond that is being disturbed, etc.