Recurring Dreams

(This blog was originally posted on June 24, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

      Have you ever had the same dream—or a dream about a specific topic—more than one time? These are recurring dreams, and they occur when the subconscious mind is unable to release or vent the content of the dream for one reason or another. You are likely to continue dreaming about this topic until your SCM has worked through, resolved or released your subconscious attachment to that issue. If this has happened to you, don’t worry: recurring dreams are your mind’s way of letting you know that you need to let go of a behavior, emotion or attachment that is preventing or hindering your personal growth.

     In his book, Professional Hypnotism Manual, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. observed that an individual may also have recurring dreams about a stage of development that they may have missed. He theorized that the person’s dreams repeatedly address a specific literal or symbolic representation of a conflict, whereby the subconscious mind tries to relive and work through whatever is keeping the person “stuck” in that stage. Those dreams would likely cease once the person consciously or subconsciously resolved the conflict, thus releasing him or her to enter a new stage of development.

     For example, if someone seeks hypnotherapy to “stop” his or her recurring dreams about a former partner or aspect(s) of that previous relationship, I would first help the individual to analyze those dreams. I would specifically be interested to know what his or her dream interpretation reveals. What new insights does the client have about the behavior, emotions or beliefs associated with that former partner or relationship? In other words: What are you subconsciously holding onto? What do you subconsciously not want to give up or refuse to release? Next, I would incorporate this information into the hypnotic script(s) to encourage the client to give him- or herself permission to release any remaining emotional attachment to the person/relationship that may be preventing personal growth. I would also incorporate information about the positive lessons and experiences that the person acquired through this relationship, which my client could apply in a future and more successful or rewarding relationship. Finally, I would give the person a hypnotic suggestion to release residual emotions or behavioral attachment to the former partner or relationship—specifically, to the habit of dreaming about them—in early-morning venting dreams. Such release will not only provide a resolution for the conflict(s) that the person’s SCM has been working so hard to resolve, but will also enable him or her to pursue other goals that will facilitate continuing personal growth.

    I have addressed the psychological and physiological benefits of dreams, and hypnotherapy and how to analyze dreams, in several previous blogs: Dream Therapy, Part 1; Dream Therapy, Part 2; and Dream Therapy, Part 3.

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/.

© 2015

 

Hypnotized Sharks

(This blog was originally posted on August 14, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., people escape or flee into hypnosis when they perceive a threat or danger.  As I learned during my hypnotherapy training at HMI: “Hypnosis is created by an overload of message units, disorganizing our inhibitory process (Critical Mind), triggering our fight-flight mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind.”

           Apparently, sharks do a similar thing.

Last year, I watched a fascinating documentary about shark behavior in a Shark Week episode titled Zombie Sharks on the Discovery Channel®. In it, Eli Martinez, a shark expert, explained a neuro-physiological phenomenon called “tonic immobility.” According to Martinez, sharks can be rendered immobile whenever they are turned over onto their backs or, in some cases, by touching an area of a shark’s face. For all intents and purposes, tonic immobility temporarily paralyzes the shark until the contact is removed and/or it may rotate its body to a normal position.

Apparently, this area of the face and down the back is loaded with sensors which can quickly become overloaded by sensory stimuli. For example, an overload of sensory stimuli would occur when a researcher places his or her hands on the animal’s face or flips the fish onto its back to subdue it when inserting a tracking device, or if a larger predator, such as an orca, catches it and turns the animal onto its back as a predatory behavior. To complete this picture, imagine the psychological stress that a shark experiences when another animal—whether it is a human or another predator(s)—is swimming and lunging with hands or an opened toothy mouth, to catch it. There would be even more stress and anxiety for its survival when the fish is cornered and caught. In some instances, as in the case of the researchers and videographers for Shark Week, there would be additional sensory stimuli from the cameras and extra lighting in the ocean. By the time the shark is subdued on its back, it has endured an incredible overload of sensory stimulation. It is no wonder that the fish zones out.

This phenomenon sounds a lot like hypnosis to me.

For more information about tonic immobility, check out the articles at the following links:

• “Tonic Immobility on Sharks”: http://www.sharkaidinternational.org/report_tonic_immobility_on_sharks.html

• “Discovery Channel’s ‘Zombie Sharks’ Explores Tonic Immobility”, Woodlands Online at  http://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=53506

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/.

© 2015

It's Shark Week!

(This blog was originally posted on August 10, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

                I am not a fan of sunbathing on the beach or swimming in the sea, but I am an avid supporter of preserving the ocean and the animals that live in these waters. I admit that part of my reticence about playing in the surf stems from a primitive fear of the creatures that live in the deep ocean water. Perhaps the blockbuster film, Jaws, which is based on Peter Benchley’s best-selling novel, feeds my anxiety about encountering a great white shark. But every summer since 1988, the Discovery Channel® broadcasts a week’s worth of documentaries about sharks called “Shark Week.” Over the years it has become a popular, even a celebrated, event. A few years ago, one of their advertising campaigns incorporated modified lyrics from the popular holiday song, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” to promote the annual event. Indeed, it is.

                Some nail salons offer ocean- or shark-themed manicures to celebrate Shark Week. Lady Di’s Cookie and Sweets boutiques sell a shark-week themed cupcake that features a frothy-sea frosting design, topped off with a blue gummy “shark” candy. In some cases, fans of this annual shark festival get together with friends and family to watch the week-long series, a la Super Bowl celebrations.

                In addition to nail-biting videos of great white sharks launching themselves out of the water to attack an unknowing seal and the requisite programs about shark-human encounters, the documentaries also provide tips to survive such an encounter. In addition, many of these shows also includes facts about other animals—fish and mammals—that share the water and even the over-all health of the world’s oceans. Let’s not forget the cute icon of a fin sliding across the bottom of the television screen followed by a great white taking a big bite out of the Discovery Channel® logo or the new design—a burst of fireworks in the shape of Great White sharks—before and right after a commercial break. Those are great.

If you want to indulge your wild side, join me in virtually swimming with the sharks this week. Shark Week is really a lot of fun to watch and educational. With the Super Bowl still about six months away, this is an annual event that you can really sink your teeth into.

Happy Shark Week!

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/.

© 2015