Friday, July 29, 2016

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan






   
      Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

  • “Be curious! A good question can take you a lot farther than a quick answer.” Jesse Lynn Stoner
  • “To give value to others, you have to begin by valuing yourself.” – Tim Fargo
  • “We are all damaged in our own way. Nobody is perfect.” – Johnny Depp
  • “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” – Tony Robbins
  • “Trust your journey, trust the process, raise your energy and the right people will come into your life.” – Steve Atchison
  • “If there is a solution to the problem, then don't waste time worrying about it.” – Dalai Lama
  • “Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.” – MayaAngelou
  • “Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” – Coco Chanel
  • "Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” – Eckhart  Tolle


Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2016

Thursday, July 28, 2016

How Hypnotherapy Can Change Negative Self-Perceptions



(This blog was originally posted on February 1, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead




"People are constantly changing and growing. Do not cling to a limited, disconnected, negative image of a person in the past." – Brian Weiss


When I saw that quote on a Twitter feed, I knew I had found my blog topic for the day. In addition to holding onto an outdated image of others, we often carry around the baggage of similarly disconnected and negative images of ourselves. The longer you held that perception, the more time your subconscious mind was bombarded with chatter to reinforce that negative opinion of yourself. Ironically, you may be the only person who continues to see yourself in that old light; but other people’s perceptions alone are not powerful enough to not persuade the subconscious mind to change a long-held belief about personal worth. No matter how much work you have put into changing or getting rid of an unwanted habit or belief, it can seem really tough to completely evict the negative perception about yourself that went along with that old behavior.

But tough is not impossible, and hypnotherapy is a very effective way to dismantle the subconscious mental scripts that no longer reflect the person you are and want to be.

A lot of these negative belief systems about perceived futility of change come from and are reinforced by low self-esteem and low self-confidence. If the person believes that he or she has or can never make a positive life change, lack of experience in actualizing a previous change in behavior only reinforces this negative belief system. Through hypnosis and therapeutic guided imagery, I help my clients imagine how it feels to be able to completely and effectively make the new, desired behavior changes. Since the subconscious mind does not know the difference between what is reality or pretend, it is ideal to practice and reinforce these new behaviors while in hypnosis, where a new positive mental script can be written.

Hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided-imagery techniques are also effective tools to further dismantle the former negative beliefs and replacing them with powerful new mental scripts to reinforce the client’s self-power, confidence and willingness to embrace the desired behavior change. Every time you “practice” the new desired behavior, confidence in your ability to make the desired change continues to grow and the realization that self-directed change is possible further increases self-esteem. Over time, repeated reinforcement of the new subconscious mental script—“I can do X, I am worthy, etc.”—replaces the negativity and self-doubt until you also believe that your power to change and the changes you have made are here to stay.




Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The Metaphor of Professor Moriarty



(This blog was originally posted on January 4, 2016)

Warning: this blog may contain spoiler information about Sherlock: The Abominable Bride. Please do not read any further if you have not yet watched and plan to see this episode.

Image courtesy of Microsoft




     I had an epiphany on Sunday evening.

     I’m sure many an English-Literature scholar has already analyzed the dysfunctional, symbiotic relationship between private investigator extraordinaire Sherlock Holmes and his arch-nemesis, Professor James Moriarty. While watching the recent episode of Sherlock: The Abdominable Bride, it suddenly became very clear to me exactly who—or what—Moriarty truly was: the little voice of negative self-talk, of self-doubt, the incarnate version of Sherlock Holmes as his own worst enemy.

     Professor Moriarty is that little voice in the back of the great detective’s head that nourishes self-doubt and self-recrimination. He is the niggling voice in that never shuts up, constantly reminding Holmes: “You’re not good enough/smart enough/strong enough, and you never will be, to defeat me.” Since the detective is already in a highly suggestible state courtesy of his affinity for the Seven-Percent Solution (cocaine), he is also vulnerable to the drug-induced paranoia that that feeds his innate insecurity and questions about self-worth and identity. In short, the great intellect and sleuthing genius that characterizes Sherlock Holmes also make him the perfect foil for Moriarty, the only criminal whom Holmes has not definitively bested or defeated.

     Two scenes in Sherlock: The Abdominable Bride particularly illustrated the men’s symbiotic relationship for me. In the first, Holmes hallucinates that Moriarty is visiting him at the detective’s flat on Baker Street. Their conversation, if it can be called that, is more like a verbal duel. Ultimately they each draw their pistols and face off. Moriarty challenges Holmes: “We don’t need toys to kill each other. Where’s the intimacy in that? What do you want?” When Sherlock says he wants to know “The truth”—presumably about the nature of their constant stand-off and how Moriarty, whom Sherlock saw die several months previously, is somehow always at the center of Holmes’s cases and in his life. The criminal merely smirks and says, “It’s not real. None of it. It’s all in your mind.”

     In the second scene, Holmes and Moriarty are shown fighting in the rain on a slippery cliff at Reichenbach Falls. Once again, the criminal seems to be having the upper hand in the verbal and physical battle, even telling Sherlock: “Congratulations, you’ll be the first man in history to be buried in his own mind palace.” When Holmes insists that Moriarty is (should be dead), his nemesis merely replies: “Not in your mind. I’ll never be dead there. You once called your brain a hard drive. Well, say hello to the virus. This is how we end, you and I: Always here, always together.”

     At one point during the fight Holmes tells Moriarty, “You have a magnificent brain, Moriarty. I concede it may even be the equal of my own.” But just as Holmes acknowledges that he may have met his match, Moriarty reminds the detective: "I am your weakness. I keep you down. Every time you stumble, every time you fall. When you are weak… I. Am. There. Don’t try to fight it. Shall we go over together? It’s always together. In the end it’s always you and me.” That statement—and what happened next—was a turning point in their conflict. It was also a great metaphor for Holmes (finally) realizing that he might need and even welcome some kind of (therapeutic) intervention to finally terminate the pathological relationship with his nemesis (himself).

     As if by magic, Holmes’s best friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson, appears on the cliff to protect and help save the detective’s life. Rather than use the pistol in his hand to shoot Moriarty, Watson gives Holmes permission to simply push his nemesis over the cliff. In order to truly work through the conflict in his subconscious mind and quiet that negative voice (Moriarty) forever, Sherlock Holmes had to make the first move. The time had finally come that the detective found Moriarty “a shade annoying” and was ready to make room for a new challenge outside of his own mind (palace).




Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
 © 2016