Subject: Childwrite Project: ISing Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 13:38:28 -0500 From: "Win Wenger, Ph.D." To: John McPherson , anakin@dur.mindspring.com, mcole@napanet.net, mjoyner@botree.com, GeoNelson@aol.com, "Rolls Straveca (SRCS)" , "Swcgluck@aol.com" , RickAshby@aol.com, Kuene@cts.com (Corbin/Kueneman) Gentlepersons - this is the first context-clogger I'm sending you. --The same one I sent as an attachment yesterday in the mailing that didn't reach everyone. There are two major pieces in the following.... >Original and most detailed description how to teach Image Streaming to a >child, excerpted from the now out-of-print An Easy Way To Increase Your >Intelligence.... > >A Beginning Nucleus of Development-Enhancing Procedures for Children >Between 3 and 10 Years of Age: > > If you are involved in any way with young children, the following will be >of some interest to you. > > Like removing some of the grit from phonograph record grooves and >discovering for the first time what some of the music might actually sound >like--- > > Here are some simple steps to help a child develop with truer fidelity >toward what s/he could and should be. These steps can be engaged between >the time that the child becomes reasonably verbal and the time that the >child's turn and span of interest will support the more sustained, involved >experiences we work with. Even very young children develop amazingly, >rewardingly and richly, if they are already reasonably verbal--and are in >the mood for a different kind of fun when you and they follow these next >instructions: > >1. Have, or get, your own Image Streaming or spontaneous imaging pretty >well practiced. For fun, and to greatly improve the integration and >development of your child's brain plus your child's visual thinking plus >your child's language faculties--say something like this to your child: > > "John (or Mary): I think that even when we are awake, we still have dreams >going on somewhere inside of us -- let's see -- when I close my eyes and >look inside to see what's going on there, I see.... > > (such as: 'two green bushes, must be springtime because most of the leaves >are dark green but some are smaller and almost golden toward the tips of >the branches, two entirely different sets of leaves on the same bush. The >grass is just starting to turn green. I see a moss-covered brick sidewalk >in the sunshine, just in front of the bushes....') > > "--O.K., for fun - John (or Mary), when you close your eyes, tell me what >you see there...." > > Usually it's as simple as that to get your child started describing on his >or her interior and subtler perceptions the more detailed and extensive >description of which, the better. > > If need be, "play the mind's eye describing game" with another adult or >older child to model the process. Then the young child joins in. > > Because of shorter interest span, a young child responds to this modelled >approach far better than the adult forms for training Image-Streaming. > > Often, a very young child will just name objects instead of describing >them. Although this is a valuable start, you want to get the child into >describing details - whether of things actually visualized, things just >made up, or things present in the here and now and objectively looked at. >The more word-picture sensory-evocative the details described, the sooner >and stronger the resulting brain and language development. If this is >performed with eyes closed so the visual feedback effects can build up, the >sooner and stronger the development of visual thinking abilities. > > If need be, model this describing aspect as a separate game, with another >adult or older child until the young child joins in. If need be, for >starters go around the house seeing how colorfully you can make richly >detailed descriptions of even the most familiar, ordinary, objects and >situations. Even without the visualizing, this is an invaluable way to >develop the left brain of the child, together with the child's entire >perceiving and reasoning apparatus and intelligence. > > Until now, the strongest known method for integrating left and right >brains in young children was to teach them to sight-read and play music. >That is still a very effective way, especially if done early enough to make >much difference in the maturation of the corpus callosum, entirely aside >from the high value of the music as such. Now it appears that to describe >from ongoing spontaneous mental visual mental imagery is far more powerful >even than that, and far easier to accomplish. Teaching young children to >sight-read and play music, however worthwhile for other reasons, requires >months or years of sustained effort. Teaching young children to Image >Stream is only a few moment's attention at any given time and appears to be >even more powerful at helping develop both sides of the brain and at >integrating between those sides. > > The impact upon language, brain, perception and understanding in the young >child is so great and so immediate, that to see those immediate effects in >action has been, time and again, this writer's most rewarding experience ever. > > Each time you have a young child Image Stream, in the days ensuing you >will find remarkable improvements in that child's quality of perceptiveness >and insightfulness from then on! What is now known about the brain in >relation to such processes makes it appear that such improvements will >always result from a young child's Image Streaming. > >Beyond Image Streaming: > > In the following process, not just cognitive faculties but the whole being >of your child may be greatly enhanced. Together with spontaneous images and >impressions, important breathing dynamics are created in the "Velvety >Smooth" process below. This is an easy but profound way to "clean the grit >out of the grooves" so that your child's potential is expressed with truer >fidelity.... > >2. The Game of Velvety Smooth: > > Find a garment or piece of rich deep velvet. (Silk will do as well if you >change the name and wording of these instructions.) If possible, this piece >should be some attractively rich color - preferably violet, blue or green. >Get the child to feeling it, admiring it, enjoying its rich smoothness. >Then say to the child, > > "Now I'm going to make my own breathing feel that way to me, all >velvety-smooth and no stops between breathing in and breathing out all just >one velvety smooth continuous b-r-e-a-t-h-e -- like this-" > > --and enjoy your own breathing as richly and smoothly as possible for a >minute or so. Make it obvious to the child without your having to say so, >that this way of breathing feels incredibly wonderfully good to you: >"Um-m-m -- that makes me feel velvety smooth all over.... Now, Mary (or >John), can you breathe all velvety smooth like this?" > > Whether this time or a later try, get the child to feel his whole body and >being, inside and out, as velvety smooth all over or, even better to >imagine that his breathing is stroking him smoothly just like he (or she) >was just stroking the strip of velvet. > >Same session or later session, reach this point: > > "Now Mary (or John) -- is there any part of your body which doesn't yet >feel velvety smooth to you?" > > * Get that part of the body identified. Have the child talk out what it >feels like, to describe or at least to put a name on the feeling. > > * (with luck) See if the child can bring to mind any present or past >situation, or hurt or difficulty or image, in conjunction with that part of >the body. Whatever it is that this part of the body somehow reminds him or >her of. Get the child to identify that and to describe it out. Encourage >and support your child since this may be a difficult experience for your >child to let out, but don't pry or be too insistent. > > * See if your child can then, having talked it out, breathe around and >through and strokingly through that experience and that part of his body, >get both that experience and part of the body also "all velvety smooth." > >An optional finesse to try with "Velvety Smooth," if your child's interest >span will support your doing so---again don't pry or be too insistent, only >supportive--- > > * While finishing memory and talking and breathing out one such >experience, see if your child can remember an even earlier experience that >somehow felt the same way. Even if it is surprising to you, treat that >experience in much the same way. --Then fish for even an earlier such >experience that felt the same way and get that one also smooth. > >Another such finesse: > > * Play games with the odors on your spice rack. Once an experience has >been processed out, have the child breathe in deeply some delicious aroma >"as deliciously as possible" for a few moments, with his attention referred >to that just-completed experience. (Do this only after the experience has >been processed fully "smooth.") Also play games with actual and remembered >and imaginary delicious aromas. > >(To add even further finesse, examine "Calm Breathing Patterns" in the book >Beyond O.K. to study the ways in which deliberate patterns of breathing can >be used to re-condition both present and past stimuli.) > >The main thing: > > The main thing in any case is your patience with, interest in, and high >regard for the child. > > The more you enjoy and appreciate the child as s/he is now, the more >readily s/he will develop, and the more soundly. Your unvoiced feelings and >attitudes have more effect on these things than what you say out loud to >the child! > > Admire the adventure of what it is to be a human being who is being that >child, the wonder of what it must be like to be seeing life through those >fresh young eyes. Dig just how long and rich already even the history of >this young child already is, as an experiencing, perceiving, thinking, >sensing, feeling, insightful, associative and meaningful human being..... > > Of immense value will be your building this perception within yourself, >silently - even if at first it seems to you to be an artificial game. Your >unvoiced attitude is one of the most powerful shaping influences you can >wield on your child. > > To help this powerful influence take the desired shape: picture to >yourself, experience profoundly within yourself, that your child is an >expression of perfection and beauty and light almost too bright and >wonderful to look upon! Build this impression until you find yourself >internally exclaiming at the sheer wonder of it! > > >Copyright 1987, 1998 by Win Wenger, win@thebestweb.com or 301-948-1122, or >Psychegenics Press at Box 332, Gaithersburg, MD 20884-0332 U.S.A.