Why Are You Still Carrying It?

(This blog was originally posted on January 11, 2016)

Photo by Sara Fogan

Many years ago, a yoga instructor read a story at the end of class that continues to resonate with me. The tale goes something like this:

Three monks set out on a walk to a monastery. Each monk is carrying a heavy load of clothing and other goods to donate to the poor. In addition, each one has taken a vow of silence, so they cannot pass the time talking during their journey. They come across a fast-moving river, where they see a young woman struggling to cross the water. She is losing her balance trying to keep her parcels dry, at risk of slipping into the water and drowning. One of the monks puts his belongings on the ground and goes into the river to help the stranger get across safely. He may have spoken to her at some point, just to reassure that he would help her get across the river to the other bank. Or, maybe he did not; but he was a gentle person with a kind heart, and the woman instinctively knew she had nothing to fear. Since he was very strong, it was easy to pick her up and carry the woman and her belongings the rest of the way across the river to the opposite shore. Once she was safely deposited there, the monk returned her bow to acknowledge her gratitude and crossed the river again to finish the journey to the monastery with his colleagues.

When they started walking, the first monk could immediately sense the other men’s great disgruntlement and frustration. Their strides and posture told him that they were very unhappy, maybe even angry, and he wondered what could be wrong. Finally, one of the other monks stopped and turned to glare at him. He said: “What did you think you were doing? We have taken a vow of silence! We have sworn to avoid the company and contact with women! And what do you do? You stop to help a maiden cross a river!”

“You touched her and you spoke to her,” the third monk exclaimed. “You broke your vow of silence and your promise not to have contact with the opposite sex! How dare you?”

The first monk sighed thoughtfully. Yes, he had done those things; but the woman was at risk of drowning in the fast-moving current. What else could he have done, except try to save her?

“Yes,” he said. “I did those things. But I put her down three miles ago. Yo­u are the ones who are still carrying her.”

This tale reminds me that it is usually a waste of time, energy and emotion to dwell on an event that has happened in the past. That action is over. There are rarely opportunities for a do-over. Often, we must make a split-second decision how to behave, think or even what to say in a conversation. Each of those decisions will be contingent upon the context in which they occur. As Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., liked to say, we all do everything exactly the right way at exactly the right time. That is because our existing subconscious knowns, which are created by previous experiences and beliefs, have programmed our subconscious mental script that dictates how we will behave in that situation. Perhaps if the river’s current had not been so fast or the woman had not been burdened with packages to carry, the first monk may not have stopped to help her. Whatever earlier-life experiences the first monk had or the beliefs he held about the value of a vow of silence or celibacy versus the importance of saving a woman’s life, dictated his decision to rescue her. And who knows? If that monk had not decided to rescue her, maybe one of his other companions would have done so instead.

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/.

© 2017

Why Do You Look So Familiar?

(This blog was originally posted on January 19, 2016)

Photo by Sara Fogan

It is human nature to draw comparisons between things (and even people) we see in the world around us. How many times have you looked at someone and said, “He reminds me of so-and-so”? Have you ever mistaken a large tree stump or branch as an animal or even a prowler lurking near your house before realizing what the object actually was?

Sometimes I wonder why these inanimate objects take on shapes or images that are so familiar to so many people. Psychologist Carl Jung wrote about collective metaphors and believed that humans all over the world shared images and meanings regardless of their background or geographic location. Hypnotherapist and Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., might consider these images subconscious knowns, created by information that is shared from one generation to the next to help make sense of the world. Our suggestibility—how we learn—facilitates this process.

For example, this Good Morning America segment featured a special-interest report about a rescue cat named Kory, whose physical features seem to eerily resemble those of Adam Driver. For those who don’t know or recognize the name, he is the actor who portrays Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Apparently an animal shelter originally posted the kitty’s photograph on-line just to attract potential adopters for the stray. Their strategy worked, big time. Internet browsers quickly noticed and commented about the physical similarities between Kory the cat and the Star Wars bad guy. Now Kory the Cat’s new Forever Family know him by his new moniker:  Kylo Ren. I wonder if the cat would have received so much love and attention quite so quickly if someone had not pointed out this resemblance to other Star Wars fans out there. How much of their interest was in adopting an adorable adult cat versus the idea/fantasy of having a cuddly, real-life, feline representation of the blockbuster film living in their home?

Last week, someone posted a photograph on Facebook of an image she had seen while taking pictures of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). The picture featured an image of a running wolf. The woman didn’t even need to include text with her post to explain the shape she had seen. Since it was shared on a Facebook page that is dedicated to wolves and wolf conservation, no explanation was needed, anyway. We all knew what the shape represented, and many people commented that they had seen/recognized the wolf right away. I certainly had. Again, though, I had to wonder: was the shape a Jungian icon that our collective subconscious minds immediately recognized? Or, did we recognize the wolf image because we saw it on a specific forum that is dedicated to honoring wolves?

On other occasions, people have shared pictures of clouds that took on the shape of a dolphin or orca (killer whale). Just a couple of days ago, someone posted a picture of a sunrise where rays of the sun perfectly intersected at right angles, just like a cross.

While I have never yet seen anything so impressive in a cloud formation or sunrise or sunset, I have noticed a lot of repetition in the shapes and forms of various objects that seem to occur naturally in the environment. Case in point: A couple of years ago, the chocolate-chip cookie dough formed the shape of a heart while it baked in the oven. Or, so it seemed to me. This shape probably came about because I inadvertently cut the cookie when I slid it off of the tray. I was so impressed by this image that I took a picture of it (and the symbolism of its shape) to keep for posterity. When I bake, I like to think and tell people who enjoy my treats that the secret ingredient that makes them so yummy is that I bake them with love. In this case, my secret ingredient took on a literal form.

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/.

© 2017

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.

• “Not every good opportunity is the right opportunity.” – Sam Dei Lune

• “There are some things you simply must ponder in your heart. Your heart has the answer that you cannot get from anywhere else.” – Iyanla Vanzant

• “Silence has a mysterious calming effect, allowing your soul to be at peace with your thoughts.” – A.D. Williams

• “You never meet the right people at the wrong time because the right people are timeless.” – Kenneday Carmoon

• “The lies people tell us do far less damage than the lies we tell ourselves.” – Bruce Van Horn

• “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” – Confucius

• “Beauty starts in your head, not in your mirror.” – Joubert Botha

• “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” – Oscar Wilde

• “Energy flows where attention goes.” – Michael Bernard Beckwith

• “Be perfectly willing to be perfectly human.” – Lolly Daskal

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/.

© 2017     

Using the Drishti While Riding

Photo by Rick Hustead

When we practice balance poses during my yoga class, the teacher reminds us (the students) to focus on our drishti to stay in-tune with the work and control our body. Recently I asked one of the instructors about this concept. She explained that the drishti refers more to looking inward with the third eye to control behavior/habits and attention in daily life, not just focusing on a random spot in the near distance to maintain balance in the tree pose. This made complete sense to me and reminded me of something that horseman Chris Cox frequently reminds students and attendees at his training clinics.

“Ride with your eyes.”

It makes sense that when we look at something, even for just a few seconds, our attention is focused on it. The physical body makes tiny adjustments to maintain balance and mobility (even standing still). Unless you make a conscious effort to stay perfectly still or in one position, it is natural to lean toward or into the object of your fascination. Next time you have a conversation with someone, notice if you or the other person leans or moves slightly closer to each other.

If you ride horses, you are probably familiar with the warning that looking down at the ground is like picking your spot to land when you fall. Indeed, looking four, five or even six feet down from the back of an animal can disrupt balance our proprioception (body awareness) as the muscles in the body alternately tighten and release to stay on the horse. While you are distracted by what is going on the ground, you are more likely to miss what is going on around you that the horse perceives and reacts to. Before you know it, you’re on the ground wondering what just happened.

When Mr. Cox advises to ride with the eyes, it is a great way to focus (softly) on the environment around you as well as the specific direction where you want to go. This kind of focus widens the periphery of your visual field to nearly 180 degrees—the closest humans can get to being able to see the same kind of landscape horses perceive. In a way, this experience creates a kind of subconscious overload as the mind scrambles to process the various message units (perceptual stimuli) to create—you guessed it—a state of environmental hypnosis. The wonderful thing about this state is that it is actually a state of heightened awareness of environmental (and physical) stimuli even as the physical body becomes more comfortable and relaxed. When you are so focused, breathing begins to slow and the physical body relaxes while the subconscious mind remains aware of what is going on around you. You remain completely aware of your surroundings so you can communicate with and respond to your equine partner’s reactions and behavior during the ride.

  

 

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