Imagery pinpoints life events
connected with a particular dysfunction
and provides tools that can help it
By Susan Beck
Woman Magazine -- April 2000

I HAD BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME BLOCKAGE and frustration in my work life, having difficulty moving forward. A therapist suggested that I close my eyes and picture my mother and father standing together. She then asked me whether my mother or my father was standing on the left. When I told her that my mother was, she asked me to picture instead my father on the left and my mother- on the night - and then to fell her whether seeing them in this position was in any way difficult for me. I did as I was told, then we discussed how it had felt. The upshot of our discussion was advice to hold in my mind the image of my father on the left and my mother on my right. This, I was told, would help me to move forward in my life. Much to my surprise, I found that it did.

The process the therapist involved me in was what is called eidetic imagery. The word “eidetic” derives from the Greek word eidos, meaning "to see form". "Eidetic imagery, also referred to as "consciousness psychology", is the study of the images people naturally store in their brains, and the use of these images as tools to uncover one's potential or to resolve personal difficulties. The study of eidetic imagery has been pioneered largely by the work of Dr. Akhter Ahsen. Founder of the International Imagery Association and editor of the Journal of Mental Imagery.

According to Ahsen, every life event gets recorded in a person's brain in images. Also stored in our brains is information about our wholeness - the way we were meant to be if we had gown up in a perfect environment. However, the development of one's personality is also greatly affected by life events and experiences, which often are causes of problems and difficulties.

Eidetic imagery pinpoints exactly what life events are connected with a particular dysfunction, and also provides a person with image tools that can help them to overcome dysfunction so people can become who they were originally meant to be.

"It's very scientific, although it doesn't feel that way when you go through it", says Jaqueline Lapa Sussman. A Weston-based therapist, she has been working closely with Dr. Ahsen for over 20 years. Sussman reports that eidetic imagery can help people overcome difficulties in a wide variety of life situations. "In one's work life, mental images can be used to help identify blocks and inhibitions. They can be used to help connect a person to his or her main passion or drive, and to give them the energy or power to 'go for it'. A helpful exercise for identifying one's passion is to envision yourself with the wind swirling around you, and to see another 'you' coming out of your body. This second 'you' is the whole you, the real you." Sussman says. Eidetic imagery can also be helpful in resolving problems with particular people in the workplace. By identifying past situations that may be triggering an inappropriate knee-jerk reactions. The images are far more effective than general advice.

Finally, eidetic imagery can be a very effective tool in helping people resolve problems in the area of sex and relationships.

Images can be used to help men and women approach members of the opposite sex, and to ignite or reignite passion. Sussman is currently writing a book on the use of eidetic images in the area of sexuality, Images of Desire, due out next year. She believes that the sexual images from ancient myths can be used to bring awareness and knowledge, and to lead people on a psychic journey into their sexual selves “in a very deep and profound way.”

''Images of Desire", a seminar on the tools eidetic imagery and rediscovering one's sexuality will be presented on Thursday. April 6 at 6 p.m. at The Westport Inn. Sussman can be contacted at 203-544-8409 or 203-544-7124.