New Tests

(This blog was originally posted on December 8, 2014)

 

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

       The first time I competed in a first dressage competition in 2011, I rode Candy, a part-Arabian mare I was leasing from Silver Gate Farms, the barn where I was training at the time. I can still remember the patterns for the classes we entered. Candy was (is) a wonderful, kind little mare who helped me get over some of my anxiety about showing my first time out. After all, she was a pro—a schooling horse who had been to (and won ribbons at) various competitions. I knew I could trust her to take care of me while we were in the arena and practicing in the schooling arena. So long as I remembered the patterns and when to apply my aids correctly I would be good to go.

          When the United States Dressage Federation announced that the new dressage tests were published for the 2015 competition season, starting December 2014, I must admit that my stomach dropped a little when I heard that news. I could still vividly remember each of the patterns I rode three years ago, and now I would have to learn new ones. During a dressage seminar at the 2011 Equine Affaire, Axel Steiner, a former dressage champion, explained that the organization updates the tests every three years. In fact, he had been on the panel that helped to construct the “new” tests, which would be out at the end of that year. He said that these revisions were made to hone and fine-tune elements that would challenge the equine and human participants while making the transitions less physically strenuous for the horse. I was and am all for making things more comfortable for the horse; however, the idea of having to memorize new patterns was a bit anxiety-inducing, to say the least.

Next time I ride in a show, I will be aboard my own horse, Galahad. Unlike Candy, who had been trained primarily as a hunter, Galahad is a dressage horse. He has the conformation for and self-carriage that is desired in the sport: every one of his movements comes from his hindquarters, from his measured walk to his rocking-horse canter. When he is training, the gelding often learns new schooling patterns quicker than I do. He enjoys doing transitions, and is happy as a clam executing them on a long or a short rein. Having said all that, unlike Candy, he has never been to or in a show arena. To borrow a sweet expression I once heard a competitor use to describe her horse, which was also his first competition, Galahad will be “a green bean” our first time out. 

No worries. I will approach training and preparing for our first competition the same way I help my equestrian clients get ready. Even though our first competition is many months away, I will start learning and memorizing the test(s) I plan to ride, now, so I don’t have to cram all of the elements in at the last moment. My trainer and I will continue to school Galahad as we have been doing, teaching and reviewing elements from the next level and incorporate portions of different tests I plan to ride, with what we are working on. I will take him on walks around the neighborhood to get him more relaxed and comfortable away from “home,” as it were, and to show him that the outside world is fun and exciting rather than scary and dangerous. (So far, to my relief and delight, Galahad is more curious about what goes on around him than afraid or wary.) And, as it gets closer to the time when I plan to take my horse to our first competition, I will arrange to bring him to a show or two to school him. I want to give him an opportunity to experience (see, hear and smell) what goes on at these events before we actually compete—to reassure him as well as me that everything is okay, comfortable and will be fun.

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

Time Sure Does Fly When I'm On-Line

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

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

                Scene #1: You’re sitting at your desk writing a report for work or a term paper when you realize that you need to find one more reference to complete your project. You steel yourself against temptation to browse the internet for anything unrelated to your question and type a key phrase into the Google or Bing search engines. “This should only take a couple minutes,” you tell yourself as you wait for the search results. Scene #2: You are answering a very important e-mail or posting a response on your Facebook page. Then, to your exasperation (but secret delight) you notice something very interesting on the Internet and decide to check out one more post.

In both scenarios, not only have you forgotten what you were originally looking for but an hour (or several) has passed. Where did all that time go? And why—how—could so much time pass without your even noticing?

If your answer or explanation was “hypnosis,” you are right. While you were on-line, all those images and words that you were looking at on the screen gradually, subtly overloaded your subconscious mind with information (message units). Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. explained that this phenomenon occurs when sensory stimuli bombard the subconscious mind with information (message units). This sensory overload disorganizes the inhibitory process of the subconscious mind, which triggers the fight-flight response and produces the hyper-suggestible state we recognize as hypnosis.

As I explained in my blog titled “Natural States of Hypnosis,” there are many common instances of this trance-state. I think computers and smartphones, which have operating systems and web-browsing capabilities, likely induce a form of environmental hypnosis whenever we go on-line. The instant we connect to the internet, the subconscious mind is confronted with a cornucopia of information. Somehow it must interpret and process information that often includes audio and visual data designed to pull browsers into the virtual worlds they are exploring. Then there’s the tactile (touch) stimuli that the mind must process as you type on the keyboard and manipulate the cursor, whether that is the computer “mouse” or the index finger on one of your hands. A final source of this data overload will come from your conscious mind: whatever you are thinking about or your motivation to conduct that on-line search or interact with friends is an important source of subconscious overload. Many of us eat or drink, or simultaneously talk to someone on the telephone while we are doing internet searches or interacting with friends and acquaintances on-line. It’s no wonder that the conscious mind temporarily “checks out” until there is less sensory stimulation going on.

When we come out of this trance-like state, we may feel temporarily disoriented and even forget where we are for a little while. Following are some tips to help you remain aware of yourself and your physical environment while you are on-line so you can be alert and aware of yourself and your surroundings when you (finally) log off.

·         Limit the amount of time you spend working on the computer. Take a break from the activity every hour or so: put the device on sleep mode (or silent mode, for the smart phones) and walk away from the screen. Work on another task for a little while or at least take a genuine break or time-out from the on-line conversations and hashtag trends.

·         Regularly count yourself out of this hypnotic state while you are working on the computer, etc. Say to yourself: “One, two, three, four, five. Eyes open [say your name], wide awake and in a fully alert and aware state.” Repeat this mantra as necessary.

·         Stand up and stretch and take deep breaths. Do jumping jacks or run in place for a minute to get your body moving and switch your focus and awareness to your physical environment.

·         While you are working or interacting on a social-media site, eat nutritious snacks that contain protein to keep your mood even and reduce your suggestibility to things you see, hear or read while you are on-line. (For more information about the role between nutrition and suggestibility, go to my blog titled “Nutrition and the Development of Phobias.”)

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

Defense Mechanisms: Denial

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

            A baseball player rejects the doctor’s diagnosis that even if the injury heals completely, the shoulder will never again be strong enough for pitching on a Major League Baseball team. A man refuses to believe that he is terminally ill and books a Mediterranean cruise for Christmas 2017. A mother continues to set a place for her daughter at the dinner table even though the girl ran away six years ago and has never contacted her family since she left home. You continue to wear your wedding band even though your spouse has just served you with divorce papers.

These are examples of denial, a defense mechanism in which the mind blocks external events from entering our awareness by abolishing (negating) their very existence to reduce fear of the unknown (“pain”). Like other defense mechanisms, denial is: 1) unconscious; 2) self-deceptive; 3) and it distorts reality through thoughts and action. “Change is a threat to the subconscious mind,” said John Kappas, Ph.D.  According to the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder’s Theory of Mind, everyone is subconsciously motivated to maintain and/or restore a known physical and emotional status of comfort and security. The primary role of a defense mechanism is to protect the subconscious mind from what it perceives as a threat or “pain” of having to deal with an unknown.

It is possible to successfully “avoid” suffering emotional pain by temporarily ignoring or refusing to accept its existence, and such denial can go on for a very long time. However, our level of success (comfort) in negating an unpleasant event or emotion can only exist as long as we continue to believe our subconscious deception. Over time, becomes increasingly difficult to nurture this defense mechanism as we continue to perceive and process more and more information (message units) to contradict our fictional reality. Eventually, we must address the primary issue that has triggered the defense mechanism in order to resolve it and achieve personal growth.

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