Last week I had the honor to be interviewed by Walt on his Show Stand Up & Speak Up.
Walt says, "We all have things in our life that we wish were different. They are often caused by a lack of alignment between our subconscious mind and our conscious mind. Learn how daily affirmations can help you, by putting your two minds on the same page."
Listen to the rest of the interview and my special announcement by downloading the mp3 here or on via iTunes!
We are always in transition. From summer vacation to the school year, from summer to fall, from high school to college, from college to the workforce, from one job to another. We have a choice to either embrace that change or fight against it. Humans want their lives to remain constant. One of the first things I was taught at Hypnosis Motivation Institute was about homeostasis. Homeostasis is about keeping everything the same. Even if we say we want to change, there is a part of us that does not want change. In hypnotherapy, clients resist change. Part of my job is to help clients be able to accept change. With hypnosis, we can work on the subconscious mind to make transitions and change easier.
Affirmations about the transition you are going through in your daily life can be very helpful. They could be as simple as, “I embrace change.” “I love my new job and its challenges.” Read and write them at night and read them in the morning. Choose one for your mantra each day, “I enjoy the challenges of 12th grade.” “I embrace the challenges of being a new mom.”
If a transition involves going somewhere new or taking some new action, practice doing the event in your mind. Our minds cannot tell the difference between an imagined thought, state or condition, and an action actually taken.
If you can, it’s always good to actually try and experience the event prior to your first time. I always took my children to their schools before the first day of school and walked around with them so they could become familiar with their school. Then, when they were at school on the first day, they had already experienced the environment.
Life will provide us with opportunities to transition and change whether we like it or not.
Why not embrace the change and use it in a positive way to move forward?
Stage Hypnosis v. Hypnotherapy
If you ever want a good laugh, just go on YouTube for Stage Hypnotists, there are some great ones. They are really funny AND the amazing part is that the participants have no idea what they did. Let me explain how it works.
STAGE HYPNOSIS
The stage hypnotist is very clever, quickly sorting out, from the volunteers, those who are most likely to be easily hypnotized and those who will be happy to go along with the act. The stage hypnotist’s job is to put on a show that the audience will enjoy. It is what his or her future success is based upon. Once the volunteers have been selected, the proficient stage hypnotist will say something like: “Now, you six are the cream of the crop – the best, which is why I selected you. And the ability to accept hypnosis has been proven to be linked with intelligence, so that says something about you all…” Just think about that statement for a powerful suggestion!
Once they have been selected, on stage, after a very brief induction, the participants are told to ‘sleep’. There are not a lot of people who would have the nerve, in front of an audience and under stage lighting, to say to someone who is known by all present to be a hypnotist: “Sorry! It hasn’t worked!” Many will believe it has not worked, but they will not think the fault lies with the hypnotist – they will think it lies with them! Plus, of course, they have been told that the ability to accept hypnosis is linked to intelligence and they are not about to reveal that they are not intelligent after all. So they ‘sleep’, whether they feel as if ‘something’ has happened or not.
Now they have done it. They have tacitly accepted that they are hypnotized, and because everybody knows they are hypnotized, they will have to do whatever they are asked to do – within reason. Some will know ‘it’ has worked; they were the ones who believed without question that they would ‘go under’, believed almost without question that some special force is at work. Their belief system ensured that they would have become hypnotized as soon as the hypnotist so much as looked at them. But they will not actually feel so very much different from the others.
Hypnosis tends to make people feel relaxed and more confident within themselves, less inhibited, so those selected will cheerfully perform the small ‘tasks’ that they are asked to do. We cannot know for sure whether or not they would perform such acts in a normal waking state – shyness, introversion and inhibition will cover a multitude of secret wishes and desires, in both men and women.
They volunteered knowing full-well what was likely to happen. But it’s important to be clear… they are not being MADE to do anything – they are being ALLOWED to do something. Hypnosis will not ‘make’ people do things that they genuinely would not WANT to do. It is the moral code, the true underlying belief of what is wrong and what is right that cannot be breached by hypnosis. Remember, the hypnotist has sorted out those who actually want to be there, want to join in with the fun and who are very well aware of what is expected of them. Besides which, they will often have been told that they can easily ‘disown’ anything they want to afterwards by simply saying: “Well, I was hypnotized, wasn’t I?” But at all times, they most definitely do know what they are doing – which is usually nothing more than they might do for fun at a party after a drink or two – and will often believe they are only pretending to be hypnotized. They are wrong. They are hypnotized, but there really is no such thing as a hypnotized feeling, so they cannot recognize that fact. Stage hypnosis is not a ‘con’ but it is showmanship.
HYPNOTHERAPY
So how is clinical hypnotherapy, what we do together, different? Well, for one thing, with me, our sessions are always one on one. You decide what your goals are and we work together to make those goals into reality. In the first part of the session, we talk cognitively about what your goals are and what you want to change. We explore how your fears, limiting beliefs and negative thoughts may be blocking you from achieving your goals. Then in hypnosis, positive thoughts are planted deep into your subconscious so that they make changes in your behavior. AND those changes are also your affirmations so that you can reinforce what we are doing in hypnosis by yourself.
Summer brings a change of weather and for many a change of scenery. If your travel this summer involves relatives or friends, hypnotherapy can help in at least two ways with some of the stress that can trigger.
Affirmations can give you a more positive attitude so that when events occur that would normally cause stress and anxiety, you can focus on your affirmations. For example, if once again Uncle Bob is late, very late, or even rude, focus on your affirmations, “I am grateful that I am able to enjoy travel.” “I am happy to be in a new environment.” “I am grateful that I can afford to travel.”
An anchor, which anchors in the relaxed feeling you feel in hypnosis to a specific pair of words, can also be used for relaxation and stress relief. Your hypnotherapist can help you with this or you can install the anchor by completely relaxing and then focus on your special place as you breathe in and say the name of the place or time to yourself and breathe out as you say the positive feeling to yourself that you feel when you are in that place or time. To recreate that feeling of relaxation when you are in a stressful situation (not driving) close your eyes and breathe in and out, saying the keys words to yourself.
If you would like help with the stress that the behavior of family and friends can cause, please call me to see how I can help.
Is your body ready for summer? Did you try on your shorts from last year and found they were a little tight? If so, hypnotherapy can help with weight management.
Hypnosis can help to change the subconscious image you have of your body. Do you have a realistic picture of how your body looks or is it out of sync with reality? Using affirmations, we can work together to focus on a weight goal and what it will take to get you to that number or size. Maybe you want to focus on eating healthy and exercising more. This can also be included in your affirmations.
Some questions that we may discuss in our sessions could include: What has the fluctuation of your weight been over the course of your life? When were you heavy, when were you thin? Why are you needing to manage your weight? Did you have a trauma that is encouraging you to hold on to excess weight? How was food used in your family growing up? Was it a reward or a way of your parents showing love? What would your life be like if you were able to manage your weight?
There are lots of questions that we can explore together to come up with a plan that would work for you to manage your weight. I will use different techniques from my toolbox, NLP, Therapeutic Imagery or EFT, to help you change your view of food and/or your body. I have had a lot of success with clients losing weight and maintaining that weight loss.
Hypnotherapy today is much different than in the past. Yes, we still do traditional hypnosis, 5,4,3,2,1 Deep Sleep, but there is much more available now for us to utilize to help clients.
I use many different modalities in my practice. Two methods that benefit my clients are Therapeutic Imagery and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). In Imagery work, clients are asked to visualize problems or issues as actual physical images. They can then deal with the problems on a different level and frequently can dispel or conquer them.
NLP also has some interesting techniques to deal with problems. One that works well is Timeline Therapy. In this work, a client visualizes their life as a timeline through space. They float above the timeline to a time prior to a traumatizing event and re-experience the event through their eyes as an adult. This often helps the client heal from past hurt.
When you come to see me or any hypnotherapist, there are 2 parts to the session. First, there is a discussion about what the issue is and the change that you desire. Then, at the end of the session, you are hypnotized and the changes that you want are implanted in your subconscious. Very subtle and very powerful.
The current model of the conscious and subconscious mind is that 10 to 12 percent of the mind is the conscious mind and 88 to 90 percent of the mind is the subconscious. If you take a look at this it is easy to see why changing a behavior is so very hard.
Imagine you were driving a car. 88 to 90 percent of the engine was being used to go in reverse and 10 to 12 percent was being used to go forward. How hard would that be to get anywhere at all? Hypnotherapy can help with different techniques to get both parts of your brain working together.
Hypnosis began because there was no anesthesia for doing medical procedures or surgery. Doctors discovered that by “distracting” or occupying the mind, they could lessen the patient’s discomfort during surgery. Hypnosis is still currently used during childbirth, dental procedures or surgeries when the patient does not want to use an anesthetic.
In 1779, Dr. Franz Mesmer discovered that the mind has power over the body. From his name MESMER comes the word mesmerize, which literally means to hypnotize or spellbind.
James Braid, a doctor in England, gave hypnosis its name from hypnos, the Greek God of Sleep in 1849. He is widely considered the “Father of Hypnosis” and original he thought that hypnosis was actual sleep brought on by eye fatigue and that’s why people think of hypnosis as looking at a watch or bright object back and forth in front of your eyes. When he realized that it wasn’t actually SLEEP, he tried to rename hypnosis, but it was too late, the name had already taken off and it stuck to this day.
The Law of Attraction and the Law of Allowing are important Metaphysical Laws (Laws of the Universe) affecting relationships. The Law of Attraction can help you identify exactly who and what you are looking for in a relationship and let you be available. The Law of Allowing can help you be open and receptive to a relationship.
The human mind is very powerful. You become and manifest what you focus on. If you expect good things, good things will happen. Very simply, if you decide you will not be able to find a partner, you will not find a partner.In my practice I encourage my clients to do this, plan for a great day and you WILL have a great day.
Focus on having a wonderful relationship with your partner. Just allow the relationship to be. If you are looking for a partner, be open and focus on what you want to attract.
HypnoNews You Can Use: "What 'Get Out' Gets Wrong And Right About Hypnotism"
You may have loved or hated the movie "Get Out” but it is getting critical acclaim. In fact, on December 5, 2017 "The Atlantic" magazine's states "Get Out will probably stand both as the definitive film of 2017 and as the one with the longest cultural shelf life, in part because of moments like the hypnosis scene." It is not a realistic portrayal of hypnosis. Hypnosis cannot make you do things you would not normally do.
Every year I say to myself, this year I will be more organized, this year I will not be stressed. BUT before I know it, it's December 15 and I'm way behind doing what I need to be doing and I just want it to be over. THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT! This is how I'm going to do it...
This summer at HYPNOTHOUGHTS LIVE 2016 in Las Vegas, I took a wonderful class -- The Anti-Anxiety Workshop taught by Melissa Tiers. Melissa was a very entertaining speaker but more importantly, she had lots of information about how to actually re-wire the brain to interrupt our anxiety. I now teach these techniques to my clients and it is helping them.
Here are a couple:
Heart Coherence - fancy words for focusing on breathing from your heart throughout your body with calmness and intent. As you focus on your heart and all the healthy blood pumping from your heart throughout your body you can really feel the energy it is radiating throughout your body which will cause you to slow down and relax.
Peripheral Vision - focus on a point in the distance straight in front of your eyes then, keeping your eyes straight ahead, see how far out you can see on the right and left of your vision. By focusing on what you are seeing, you interrupt the internal dialogue that has become a negative. Do this technique 3 or 4 times and feel yourself slowing down and the tension melting away.
Both of these exercises are simple and can be done anywhere, no one needs to know that you are calming and centering yourself. Using these tools can help you focus and enjoy the holiday more this year!
I am honored to be featured as Member of the Month on the National Association of Women Business Owners website.
NAWBO Mission is to: propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social, and political spheres of power worldwide by:
If you are local woman business owner I highly recommend joining!
Word of mouth is really the best way for me to promote my work! I love feedback in all forms and I am thrilled to share my first video reference - THANK YOU Bob Friedenthal!
We all want to be more successful and I will share some information that I hope will help you to move in that direction. A couple of years ago, I took a seminar called JUMPSTART. I received some helpful information for me and I would like to pass it along to you this morning as a way to help you Jumpstart your business.
We are going to begin by thinking about accomplishments that you have completed in the past year and how they related to the goals you may have set at the beginning of last year.
Did you write those goals down?
Did you refer to them at least once a month?
Do you know where those goals are?
Whether or not you have goals from last year, you can always make a list of what you did accomplish last year. Let’s have a few examples:
(hired new employees, raised rates, got a bigger office, attended BNI regularly)
GREAT! Now let’s move on to what you would like to accomplish this year.
What goals do you have for the year?
What are some obstacles that may be in the way?
I’m going to suggest that you pick 2 or 3 specific goals and write them down. Take a careful look at those goals and really consider,
“Do I believe I can reach these goals?”
“Why are these goals important to me?”
“What are some obstacles that I might have to overcome to reach my goals?”
“Can you commit to doing one thing differently each day that will help you reach your goals?”
What are some thoughts about what might make a difference?
I’m going to suggest that an Inner Coach might be a great help. An inner coach can be anything or anyone that your imagination can think of that can be there for you as a cheerleader – encouraging you when a job falls through or an escrow doesn’t close. Only you will know that you have it or them, but you can access it whenever you want.
Let’s take a moment and close your eyes, take a couple deep breaths. Open the door to your imagination and allow an image to form that represents your inner coach. It may be a feeling or presence or you might actually get a visual image. Know that whatever comes is right for you; trust that your subconscious is finding just the right person or thing for you.
Let’s think for a moment about the Law of Attraction – attracting positive energy and events by projecting positive energy and expecting the same in return. This will also work with focusing on your goals. You will attract what you focus on. Once your goals are concrete and on paper it is easier for the mind to integrate them from the conscious to the subconscious mind. I would suggest putting your goals on 3x5 cards and posting them where you will see them each day. Whatever you are focused on when you drop off to sleep each night will tend to enter your subconscious. Instead of the horrible car crashes and news of the day. Take 2 minutes each night and review your goals. You might want to even think of an action you may take the next day to move you closer to that goal. Remember, the subconscious mind is 88-90% of our mind, let’s work to get it in sync with our conscious mind. Imagine 100% of your mind working toward the same goals!
I greatly enjoyed the Hypnothoughts Live Conference in Las Vegas - 3 days of communing with other Hypnotherapists and learning a lot!
