Hi Smac-
Here's my personal aproach - I'd start with centering. Notice that you are in the center of your own universe, shared by all others, yet your own. From the instant of the Beginning, the point of Oneness from which all emerged, you have embodied a spark of the Divine, and in a very valid sense you are God. This is especially true within the spirit world, as we are free to create there. So center yourself in the unity that you share with everyone and everything else.  So long as you operate from that perspective, whatever you project is valid, at least in the spirit world.

For "pretend ..." read "project the situation in which ..."

The basic idea is to notice what is sticking these people into immobility. Once you have an idea about that, alter the definition of the situation in such a way that it is no longer necessary to be stuck. (That's called "reframing" in hypnosis work.) The easiest way is often to descrbe a way to fulfil the needs of the stuck person.

For example, a person who is frightened and hides because of shame over some past action might be reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son.

A person who is terrified of being sent to hell because of some fire-and-brimstone preacher in the past might be reminded that the essential nature of God is love. Nobody has found a place called "hell", but a lot of us have created our own private versions because we felt unworthy. The solution is to feel loved and simply resolve to not mess up again.

The techniques useful in this kind of thing are essentially those of "Rational Emotive Therapy" if you want to look it up elsewhere. But the key is to be loving, caring, and patient while calming the fear and other negative emotions.

Hope this helps-
dave

That is a really interesting experience. So all communication really occurs within the mind - but people (like you) gain knowledge from it -- proving that there is something really occurring.

Does anyone else have such stories?

My theory of work is, when pretending such things, you actually send out a request in nonverbal language, and, hopefully, get answers in the same language. Bruce says, "imagination as a means of perception".
Proofs can be for example, when informations are permitted to you in this "pretended" scene, which match with informations you get from other, physical sources, informations you couldn't have had through physical ways.

Spooky