How To Take A Virtual Vacation

Everyone loves a break away from all the everyday hustle and bustle, but when we are busy, it isn’t always possible to head for the beach, the lakes or your destination of choice. Many people have a place they go to year after year where they can unwind, relax and truly have a proper rest. For me, that place is Beer in Devon. Beer is a quiet little fishing village on the South Devon coast. Every year, my family and I descend on Beer for a week of pure relaxation. We always stay at the Bay View Guest House- a friendly family run establishment with wonderful views, unsurpassed hospitality and a two minute walk to the beach (thirty seconds to the pub, in case you are interested!).

I probably shouldn’t be giving away all this information on my favorite place- I don’t want to lose my regular yearly booking due to a sudden influx of readers (all ten of you!!), but I mentioned it as I’d like to think my description built a mental picture of this magic place in your mind. Who knows, maybe you even imagined some sounds and even the feeling of the sun on your face, the smell of fish and chips on a warm summer day, possibly. or maybe it got you thinking about your special place where you go to relax.

In my Hypnotherapy sessions, I often take people off to imaginary or even real places where they can feel good and take a mini-break inside their mind and it is very effective. I do it in my self-hypnosis practice and often teach the technique as part of my “Mental Kung Fu” trainings. You don’t need to know about self-hypnosis to do this technique although this is, again, a part of my Mental Kung Fu sessions and helps to enhance the process greatly.

So today, I thought I’d show you just how you can get away from it all without going anywhere and have a Virtual Vacation! It’s is a process that becomes easier the more you do it so if you find it hard the first couple of times, keep at it- like anything, practice makes perfect!

I’ve laid out the process in stages below. If it helps, record the steps on your phone and play it back to yourself with headphones.

1. Find somewhere quiet (or even noisy) and get comfortable (or not)

2. Decide on the place you want to visit in your mind. I’ll assume it is somewhere you have been before. You could choose somewhere new, but you won’t have the full advantage of knowing exactly what the place is like.

3. Close your eyes and in your minds eye, imagine you are there. Imagine you can see all around you and make that experience as perfect as you can including everything you need to see to make it the perfect scene in your mind.

4. Now notice the sounds- again, imagine all the sounds you would expect to hear in a perfect visit to that special place.

5. Now as you notice what you see and hear, notice the feelings you have. These could be internal feelings like happiness and relaxation, but also notice the external feelings of temperature such as the sun on your face, the wind in your hair etc.

6. Apply virtual sun cream as necessary!

7. As you notice the sights, sounds and feelings, add in any smells or tastes to go with that. For example, if you like swimming in the sea, the smell of the sea and the taste of it will add to that experience in your mind.

8. Let all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feelings intensify to the best they can possibly be to you. I sometimes think of this like having an internal remote control that can adjust the brightness and colours in the internal picture as well as being able to adjust the volume and the intensity of the feelings, tastes and smells.

9. Enjoy the experience of being in that wonderful perfect place for as long as you wish, doing anything you want (it is your virtual vacation after all!)

10. When you need to come back (which you may not want to do, of course) bring yourself back slowly. I do this by counting from one to five as I do during self-hypnosis and in sessions with my clients. This allows you to return to your normal state of daily activity gradually. Perhaps tell yourself that you will open your eyes feeling refreshed and alert, ready to continue with your day.

And there you have it- my Mental Kung Fu method for having a Virtual Vacation or a Holographic Holiday if you don’t like Americanisms!

Try it out, enjoy it and contact me if you have any questions.

Check out my blog about Mental Kung Fu with details of how you can sign up for your free Mental Kung Fu Goal Setting session here: http://leeshuttlewood.com/mental-kung-fu/

Happy Holidays!

Lee