By the time he realised that the melted cheese was far too hot it was too late to spit it out. An intensifying sensation of pain radiated around his mouth. “Keep all cells alive! Keep all cells alive!” he thought suddenly, in the midst of the pain, as though he was calling loudly to his mouth. He repeated the entreaty again and again in his thoughts; “Keep all cells alive!” The pain finally abated, and he probed his mouth with his tongue. Everything felt exactly as it had before – soft and supple. His body had followed his instructions.

An experiment is supposed to have been carried out in the 1960s (apparently successfully) to find out whether blisters could be imagined into existence. I have not been able to find a source for this experiment, but it served as inspiration for the reverse experiment which is described in the story “Keep All Cells Alive”. The modified suggestion “keep all healthy cells alive” can be used during radiation therapy.

(From: Stefan Hammel: Handbook of Therapeutic Storytelling. Sories and Metaphors in Psychotherapy, Child and Family Therapy, Medical Treatment, Coaching and Supervision, Routledge 2019)