I decided to write a response to the article by Frances Smith Goldberg & Louise Dimiceli-Mitran entitled “The Central Tenets of The Bonny Method of GIM: Consciousness and the Integration of Psychotherapy and Spirituality.” This article sounded interesting to me because I have always been curious about the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, its use of consciousness, and also the way that psychotherapy and spiritually play into this process. The article gives an over view of Helen Bonny’s experiences that led her to create her method, as well as difficulties she encountered in dealing with the spiritual aspect of GIM. The spiritual nature is due to the fact that the Bonny Method “addresses transpersonal experience that is part of universal human consciousness,” (Goldberg & Dimiceli-Mitran, 2010). GIM practitioners are trained in various theories of spiritual growth and consciousness because these areas are so central to the concept of increasing human development and awareness, which are a few of the goals of this method. Transpersonal psychology and experiences are also emphasized as an integral part of GIM.
My recent experiences have led me to a greater interest in the transpersonal, consciousness, and spirituality. I have begun a process of inner-work which involves listening to and interpreting my dreams as well as accepting and understanding parts of myself. This process has been very enlightening to me, and I have realized dreams as an amazing tool for learning about the self. This truth that I have experienced is that all humans possess the resources needed for growth. This is also a tenet of the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. I have realized the similarities between dream states and the altered states of consciousness present in a GIM session. I believe that these similar states allow us to tap into our internal resources which can present a mirror into the soul or self of a person. I also noticed similarities in the mandala work presented this article from the case study of Emma. She drew mandalas to symbolize what she had seen in her imaging during the sessions. These drawings represented different parts of Emma and what was going on inside of her. In my dream work I often draw the images from dreams to help further realize the information presented in the dream. I know that drawing, dancing, and other ritualizations can be very helpful in making inner work into an outer phenomenon, and thus bringing it more into our lives and consciousness. I believe this type of work is missing in many aspects of our daily lives, but I am glad to see that it is being used in the healing work of GIM. I firmly believe in the power of dreams to help us to grow and change into the people we wish to be. Realizing the common principles behind dream work and GIM affirms my interest and curiosity into this method of music therapy and drives to continue to learn more about it. I believe that by deeply studying ourselves we can truly become at peace with who and what we are, and then we may share this knowledge with others and help them to reach the same state of consciousness.