Earth as Metaphor

(This blog was originally posted on January 25, 2017)

Photo by Rick Hustead

The metaphor of earth—and Earth, the planet we live on—are also useful images in hypnotherapy. 

In addition to providing stability under our feet and the ground we stand on, earth also represents growth, fecundity and prosperity. For example, trees, grass, vegetable crops, etc., grow in and from the earth. When the rich soil is rich, it provides the nutrients they need to create and grow sources of nutrition that humans and other animals need to survive. When the soil is arid, however, such growth is more difficult and may result in starvation or at least, deprivation.

Earth also represents strength and power. Consider the force produced when tectonic plates several miles below our feet move: Just a shift of one or two inches up, down, right or left creates a ripple effect that can be felt around the world as a powerful earthquake. Similarly, when a significant event happens in our own lives we might use this earthquake metaphor to describe how it felt as though “the earth moved” when it occurred. Or, when we are willing or have expended significant effort to achieve a goal or accomplish a particularly daunting task, another popular earth metaphor comes to mind: “It felt like I had to move mountains/draw water from a stone, but I got it done!” 

And then there are those times when we take on more jobs or responsibilities that we are not physically or emotionally equipped to handle at that moment. In our willingness to appear flexible and accommodating, the subconscious mind absorbs more and more pressures and stresses without expressing the discomfort that are actually, silently building up. Suddenly and to even our own surprise, that final small request to do something that we would not even notice or even register as an inconvenience becomes that final pound of pressure that releases a cascade of pent-up emotions in a potentially damaging outburst. After the dust has settled we are left wondering what happened and what could have been different had we addressed the first, second or even third issue before the compound weight of those pressures became so overwhelming. Perhaps that earth-shaking emotional outburst was needed to effect change, anyway.

Finally, there is the metaphor of the planet Earth, the person/place/profession or any other metaphoric center of our world. How often do we put the greatest importance or value on something or someone other than ourselves and our own well-being? Learning to appreciate, love and respect ourselves the way we deserve to be appreciated, loved and respected often produces the greatest (emotional) tectonic shift of all. The ability to incorporate all of these aspects of positive self-regard requires a solid foundation of personal awareness that hypnotherapy can help everyone realize, actualize and reinforce in our daily lives.

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®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2018

Water as Metaphor

Photo by Rick Hustead

I use a lot of different metaphors when I work with my hypnotherapy clients, but water imagery is probably my favorite. Let me tell you why.

As one of the four elements (earth, air and fire being the other three), water has great transformative power. Water gives and supports life as embryonic fluid and also comprises the fluid all life requires to survive. Of course, there is also a destructive aspect of this substance: Just three inches of fast-moving water can displace heavy objects such as boulders, cars, even slabs of earth. It can smooth pebbles or destroy crops/landscape/property. The devastating tsunamis in 2004 (Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami) and 2011 (Great Sendal Earthquake, Japan) took lives. 

But water can also heal. It washes away dirt and detritus from a wound. It provides refreshment, it cleans and cleanses. The sound of raindrops tapping on tree leaves or a roof during a summer rainstorm, or that of a babbling brook or ocean waves moving in and out on a tide, can bring great relaxation and comfort. A body of still water can provide an opportunity for reflection (metaphoric and literal) or exercise, for swimming.

My favorite metaphors of water feature its restorative/transformative powers. When it is heated, the water droplets become vapor (air). When it is frozen, it becomes solid as the ground even though the slippery characteristic of ice makes its surface much more difficult (but not impossible) to stand on. And when water is in its original liquid form, it can take the shape of any container or environment in which it is held. That is what I love most about water as a metaphor: it speaks to the part of and in us all that is capable of adaptation, change and transformation depending on the situation in which we find ourselves.

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®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017