A Primitive Fear

Photo Courtesy of Microsoft

 

                I was born and spent the first few years of my life in the Midwest. I can still remember the way the clouds turned pea-green, almost the color of bile, in a summer sky just before they erupted into a big thunderstorm. There is nothing like the booming and cracking sounds of thunder during one of those Super-Cell thunder storms, and I was terrified of that thunder. My mother would comfort me when I got scared; when I got a little older she taught me how to count the seconds between flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder so I could determine how far away the storm was getting. At the time, this technique gave me an illusion of having control over the weather, I guess. It was certainly distracting—at least until a burst of thunder crackled at the same time a bright fork of lightning lit the sky brighter than the sunniest day. That combination was too much for me and would send me diving under my covers or under a bed for protection.

                Just when I was finally almost over my fear, I happened to watch two television shows that featured a thunderstorm in the storyline. The first was a movie about Frankenstein’s monster, or it had something to do with Frankenstein, but not the original story. I stopped watching the show right after the scene in which a prisoner was hoisted to the top of a mast on a ship during a thunderstorm: lightning flashed, thunder boomed and then only a skeleton remained where the prisoner’s body had been. Equally traumatic for me was an episode of the 1960s’ television series, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. In it, the main characters sit out a tremendous storm called “The Big Train.” During this storm, which occurs every 10 years according to the legend, someone “disappears” and is never heard from or seen again. The family survived the event unscathed, but not my nerves. These shows almost permanently derailed my progress to overcome this fear.

                John Kappas, Ph.D., the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, postulated that people learn every one of their beliefs and behaviors except for two: a fear of loud noises and a fear of falling. This leaves us plenty of opportunity to learn how to manage these reactions—or not. Maybe. Sort of? Since I completed my hypnotherapy training at HMI, I realize that my original fear of storms was originally a phobia since, at the time, I had never personally experienced lethal danger from a big storm. First, I watched those programs on television when I was probably less than eight years old. I would have been very suggestible at that age since the capacity for logic, powers of reasoning, decision-making and will-power had still not fully developed in my conscious mind. Combine that factor with the natural fear of loud noises with which everyone is born, I was understandably terrified by what I saw happen/heard about happening during big storms. It would be a natural next step to develop a phobia about them. Like kids tend to do, I would try to distract myself from my distress during severe weather with cookies and milk or by eating a bowl of ice cream during a storm. Ironically—and unbeknownst to me at that time—I was more likely exacerbating my symptoms of anxiety when I turned to these sugary snacks for comfort. (For more information about the relationship between nutrition and development of a phobia, check out my January 14, 2014 blog titled “Nutrition and Hypnotherapy.”)

                Another thing that really helped to ameliorate my anxiety during and about storms—which I actually started to do back then—was to learn about how, when and why they formed. When I found out that the sound of thunder is a by-product of lightning and not the other way around, the loud noise stopped scaring me so much. I pored over information about them in Encyclopedia Britannica; I watched documentaries about extreme weather on Leonard Nimoy’s In Search of series. Eventually, after repeated virtual exposure (systematic desensitization) to big storms via television documentaries about them, my fear turned to fascination and even exhilaration when I heard thunder. I learned which precautions I should take during a storm—stay indoors and away from windows, avoid using electric appliances, don’t swim or take a bath or shower, etc., so I could stay safe during them. (I still haven’t worked up the nerve to find out if that legend about The Big Train is more than an urban myth, though.)

                During the summer, even Southern California gets its share of extreme weather. Electric storms typically pop up in the local mountains and deserts, triggering flash floods and warnings about severe weather that could affect nearby regions. Occasionally, these storms also hit valley and beach communities; and on July 27, 2014, lighting killed one person and injured twelve others at Venice Beach when a freak storm blew in from the ocean. That news chilled me to the bone and instantly revived my old anxiety about being caught in thunderstorms. I have even had a few close calls myself. The first time, I was riding in a car when forked lightning almost hit the hood (bonnet) of the vehicle, thus transforming my phobia into a legitimate fear of thunder storms. The second time, a bolt struck a commuter jet I was flying in to Chicago. Obviously, I survived both events and was apparently never in any real danger either time. But the people who were affected by the storm that hit that Southern California beach community a few days ago were not so lucky, and I am truly sorry for their pain and unspeakable loss.

               

 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/

 

Circle of Life (on Network Television)

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

 

 

                More and more frequently, I notice that the change in weather and the lengthening and shortening of daylight aren’t the only ways I mark the passage of time. It turns out that television is a great time-keeper, too. And that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

                I remember a time when there were only thirteen television channels that audiences could watch, including PBS—which aired Masterpiece Theater, hosted by Alastair Cook, and Sesame Street. Now there are hundreds of channels to choose from, including three that broadcast current and older episodes of Masterpiece Mystery on three different days and times. I can’t even count on both hands the number of reality programs that currently air on network and cable television channels. Did these types of shows even exist when I was growing up?

                Back in my day, the new season of a television series started in September or October and ran through May or early June. Thereafter, networks were inundated with sports broadcasts, reruns from those series and the occasional made-for-TV movie. In the past few years, new “tester” series are aired during the summer. These series only last a few months at most; the lucky (successful) programs get renewed and are even scheduled to continue during the year if they attract enough viewers. Or, not: Sometimes, the renewal means the series will return next year, to keep viewers watching that network until the regular television season begins.

                On the one hand, I always know that it’s summertime because Shark Week returns to the Discovery Channel, usually at the beginning of August. (TV ads to celebrate this annual event should start hitting the airwaves any day.) Apparently the third season of the new series of Dallas will also be back at the end of August. ABC is already advertising the return of their hit series, Scandal, which starts in September, when the show’s summer-replacement ends its season. Reminiscent of seasonal programming when I was growing up, the CW re-runs previous episodes of its hit shows about the supernatural throughout the summer until the new season begins again in October.

Great Britain gets to catch up with the goings-on at Downton Abbey in October. Meanwhile, there are so many opportunities (risks) of catching spoilers about the show on social media until Americans get to see the series in January/February of 2015. I won’t even get started about the frustration of having to wait until who-knows-when to watch the next season Game of Thrones. And when Alison Sweeney, an actress on the long-running daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives recently announced that she is leaving the show for good this season, fans took up a vigil to make sure they wouldn’t miss her final episode…whenever that happens to be. It could be months until that happens, yet they are counting the days until something they don’t want to occur actually takes place.

Even Real Time with Bill Maher goes off the air during the summer, until he returns after his well-deserved summer hiatus in September. Wait. Maher still has one more episode of his series before his break. Why am I moaning about his vacation right now, before he’s even left?

That is exactly the point I am trying to make. Despite the great efforts of network executives and their advertisers, television is not the end-all-be-all source of entertainment and enjoyment in our lives. We are so much more than just a fan/someone who gets caught up in the drama of and behind our favorite television shows. Sure, we feel a twinge of emotional pain when something changes in our entertainment routine. But that is because this routine is familiar and enjoyable. More important the familiarity of watching and looking forward to watching these programs has become comfortable, even comforting. The same is true of the fondness we develop and feel for the characters and talk-show hosts that we see day after day or week after week. We feel like we really know them after all the time (sometimes, years) we have been watching their shows. They are part of and have become a subconscious known, a mental script that our subconscious minds have written about one of the ways we enjoy relaxing and spending our time.

I don’t worry about this separation from my favorite programs anymore. You know why? By now, the experience of bidding a temporary adieu to our favorite seasonal programming is also a known in my subconscious mind. Based on my experiences over the past years, I can comfortably rely on the fact that once again I will likely be curled up in front of the TV watching my favorite programs sometime—probably at the same time—next year.

               

 

 

 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/

Hypnotherapy for Stress Management

Photo courtesy of Mircosoft

 

                Many things in our lives can trigger a stress response. Driving in heavy traffic, dealing with quarreling children, anxiety about finances, moving, changing jobs and death of or separation from a spouse are just a few incredibly stressful life events. Even typically “happy” occasions such as getting married or having a baby are often overwhelming and, yes, stressful. Fortunately, hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery can help manage that stress so you can get on with living and enjoying your life.

                When people seek hypnotherapy for stress-management, one of the first things I do is help them understand how and why they experience stress and respond in an undesired way in the context of John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind. Once they achieve a very deep state of hypnosis, I gradually introduce specific aspects or qualities of those triggers so they can become used (desensitized) to whatever is causing the stress or anxiety. In so doing, this process also creates a new mental script in their subconscious minds that emphasizes a state of relaxation and their ability to control how they perceive and respond to this negative stimulus. I incorporate the clients’ own words in individualized hypnotic scripts to reinforce this state of deep relaxation and increase their motivation to continue to manage/control their stress when they return to an alert and aware state.

I also use therapeutic guided imagery to reinforce this new known (relaxation) and help them block the stress from getting into the clients’ conscious and subconscious minds. For example, they can visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that they are wearing a thick coat of armor or are covered in an invisible shield of energy that repels and dissolves the stressor. Alternatively, the therapeutic concept of a double-bind reinforces the relaxation response, whereby the harder they try to experience stress or any other kind of negative emotion about the stressor the more relaxed they will feel.

Finally, when they are in an alert state, I teach these clients how to recreate the same relaxed and calm demeanor they experienced during hypnosis by activating a subconscious anchor. This is achieved by drawing a deep breath while pressing or rubbing the thumb and index finger together, and then releasing the breath on the word “calm.” The Emotional Freedom Technique (www.eftuniverse.org) is another effective tool to help manage stress.

Contact me today for more information about how hypnotherapy can help you manage stress in your life!

 

 

 

 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/

Is It Halloween, Already?

Photo Courtesy of Microsoft

 

 

 

What is the clearest indication that time—and the year—is really is flying by? When catalogs for school clothing, Halloween decorations/costumes and Christmas gifts start to arrive! But that begs two questions: Where has the year gone in the first place? And why are we in such a rush for the next season to arrive when we’re barely in the middle of the current one? It’s still July! When did the world start moving so quickly that it wasn’t enough to live in the moment and enjoy (or deal with) whatever is going on in our lives right now? Doesn’t anyone take time to smell the roses anymore?

Time passes no matter what we are doing—or not. Adults notice that time seems to move much more quickly than we remember it doing when we were young children or teenagers. But that is just a perception, not reality. The more activities we have to do and the more responsibilities we have to fulfill, the more message units bombard and even overload our conscious minds. One common and very natural product of this mental overload is “hypnosis.” We are aware of our surroundings as we go about our day-to-day activities and fulfill our responsibilities. However, a very common characteristic of this state is varying degrees of amnesia and/or time-distortion; we don’t necessarily remember every detail of those days which contributes to the illusion of time rushing by or seeming to stand still.

Other than signs in nature that the seasons are changing—hot summer temperatures followed by changing colors of the foliage—the arrival of holiday catalogs is one of the most significant indicators that time is flying by. I understand why vendors send catalogs to promote their wares and attract their customers’ attention about upcoming products. However, it seems like they are arriving in our regular or electronic mailboxes earlier and earlier, typically with several months until the holiday actually arrives. Am I the only one who loses interest and even feels burned-out looking at, seeing and reading advertisement for Jack ’o Lanterns and winter clothing in the middle of July?

Whether you are consciously aware of this or not, these catalogs and their associated promotions induce stress:  Should I buy this item now or wait until it goes on sale? What if the company sells out of it before I have a change to order it? What if so-and-so doesn’t like the gift I selected? The merchant is ostensibly promoting a product that you, the customer, wants/needs/may enjoy and improve the holiday celebration; however, their goal is ultimately to persuade you to make a purchase. The shiny paper, energetic product descriptions and “special deal” marketed in the catalog facilitates those sales by overloading the readers’ subconscious mind and, yes, increasing their suggestibility to buy one or several of those items.

Om.

I can’t turn back the clock to a time when I was younger and the days rolled leisurely by without a care in the world. However, my hypnotherapy training has helped me learn how to relax and slow waaaaay down so I don’t keep rushing mindlessly from event to event during the year. I am more aware of the ways my body benefits from being physically relaxed so I can focus on what I want to do. This relaxed state and increased awareness enables me to effectively resist the temptation of purchasing items I do not need or want while opening my senses to the timeless beauty of the changing seasons. I want to enjoy and celebrate the beauty and bounty that every day has to offer, not just days that the economy and major retail stores dictate are more important or deserve more attention than others. Furthermore, when every day is precious, I am happy to wait to celebrate a holiday until the actual date rolls around on the calendar 96 days from today.

 

 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/



De-Hypnotizing the Hypnotized Client

Dehypnotizing the Hypnotized Client

 

 

                Every now and then, someone seeking hypnotherapy comes in for the appointment already hypnotized. Hypnosis is a completely natural state which every one of us experiences for approximately 30 minutes, at least twice a day—just before drifting to sleep at night and right after waking up in the morning. As I have explained in previous blogs, we are also susceptible to experiencing a natural, environmentally-induced trance at other times of the day. (For more information about this topic, see: “Natural States of Hypnosis,” 12/26/14; “Environmental Hypnosis,” 1/23/14; and “Hypnotized by the Grocery Store,” 7/6/14.) And then there are instances in which we hypnotize ourselves. This is the state (and kind) of hypnosis I will address in this essay.

Psychologist John Kappas, Ph.D. observed that hypnosis occurs when an overload of message units disorganizes the inhibitory process, which triggers the fight/flight response to result in this hyper-suggestible state. Since we are more suggestible to ourselves than any other stimuli in our environment, we can get caught in a pattern of carrying beliefs or behaving in ways that do not work for us, but we continue to act that way because that is what we have always done. For example, someone who continues to accept work that is considerably below the individual’s skill and desired pay-grade may do this because the individual follows a mental script that says this is the best he or she can do. Now, despite expressing a desire to pursue a more lucrative career and possessing obvious skill to do that work, the person doesn’t even try to pursue a different career because he or she believes that original mental script.

To help an already-hypnotized client exit this state, Dr. Kappas advised deepening the person’s state even further and blocking his or her subconscious mind from accepting negative suggestions or influences from the environment. This must be done before proceeding with the regular hypnotherapy session to address the self-improvement goals that the client wants to actualize, the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder said. If the client knows when, where and why these negative mental-scripts evolved, I will systematically desensitize the person to the environmental stimuli that trigger the undesired responses/behaviors.

However, if the client does not know how these negative mental scripts evolved, I do not employ age-regression therapy to explore and desensitize the origins of those negative beliefs. (For more information about this topic, see my January 28, 2014 blog titled “Age Regression…and why I Don’t Use This Technique.”) Rather, I use a technique called “rejection-proofing,” wherein I provide hypnotic suggestions to help increase the client’s overall self-acceptance, self-appreciation and self-approval. This process enables the individual to dismiss the negative self-talk (“chatter”) in the person’s subconscious mind and re-write a new mental script to reinforce the positive beliefs about his or her abilities to pursue those goals.

Finally, to increase the person’s ability to control entering the hypnotic state, I target the logical (left-brain) side of the client’s subconscious mind during this and subsequent hypnotherapy sessions. I also teach the person how to count out of hypnosis whenever the individual notices that he or she is naturally entering this state at home, work, driving or any other time.

 

 

 

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/.

Time Management

 (This blog was originally posted on January 6, 2014)

 

 

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

 

Many people fulfill several roles in their daily life. They juggle the role of parent, spouse or romantic partner, athlete, friend, etc., plus the myriad responsibilities they fulfill at work. Sometimes it feels like a full-time job to just keep track of who you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to be doing at any given moment. Here are some suggestions to help you relax and be completely “present” in whatever you are doing—no matter how much (or little) time you spend in that role.

·         Square breathe. Draw a deep breath through the nose and hold it to the count of four, then exhale through your mouth. As you inhale, visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that you are inhaling calm, focus, patience and any word that you associate with feeling powerful and in control. As you exhale, allow any stress, frustration or negative energy or emotion that you identify in your body.

·         Anchor this new sensation by pressing or rubbing the thumb and index (pointing) finger of either hand. This action physically “anchors” your subconscious mind to the calm, relaxed state of focused energy that you will be able to access as you fulfill each role.

·         Prioritize what you need to do. Make a list—mental or write it down—of what needs your attention. The first item should be what needs to be done right now. What is the next priority, and so on?

·         If a project is particularly complicated or involved, break that big project into several smaller, more manageable “chunks.” Even though the final project is the same, it is psychologically easier—and more rewarding—to tackle small portions of it at a time.

·         Stay organized and on-task­. Make sure that you have all of the material(s) available and on-hand to achieve your goal or complete your project.

·         Unless the project absolutely demands this kind of contact or you are waiting for someone in your group to arrive, turn off/silence your phone or computer. Technology makes our lives easier in many ways, but the temptation to check for unrelated text messages or voice-mail and browse the Internet for something-that-might-be-useful-but-is-actually-totally-unrelated to what you are doing, is almost always more distracting than helpful. 

·         Complete each task according to its priority before you tackle the next one!

 

Whether you are supervising a project at work, spending quality time with your family or just chilling out with your friends, each activity will place a specific demand on your attention and the time you spend doing...whatever. It is important to dedicate as much time as you want or need to this activity, but make sure that your focus is completely on that project. You, and whatever you are doing or working on, deserve nothing less—and you will value the time you spend focusing on this endeavor even more.

 

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/.

Intuition and the Law of Attraction

                How do you explain it when something happens that you just knew would occur without possessing substantive evidence to support this feeling? Perhaps this incident is proof of your powers of intuition. Or, is it an example of the way the Law of Attraction and John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Mental Bank Concept works? You might even call it evidence of a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby you thought so hard about something that your subconscious mind somehow “made” that event happen. Then again, maybe it’s just a huge coincidence that something you thought about for maybe two seconds manifested itself in the physical world an hour, day or week later. All of these explanations are reasonable, possible and even likely depending on your belief system.

                Have you ever thought about a friend or relative that you haven’t seen in a very long time and then, out of the blue, receive an e-mail or a phone call from that person? Have you ever turned on the television and discovered that a favorite movie from your childhood is on, and you and some friends were seriously, literally just talking about how much you love it? I have had many experiences like these. Last week, I reconnected with a friend I hadn’t seen or heard from in years. True story: I read an article in the paper that reminded me of her, and the very next day she reached out to me on Facebook. This afternoon, I was thinking about a scene from The Man From Snowy River. Kirk Douglas is one of the stars of that movie; a documentary about him is playing on TCM as I write this blog. I had absolutely no idea that this program would air when I was thinking about the movie. These kinds of things happen to me a lot.

                My favorite personal example of this is from high school. I fell asleep listening to the radio; I had been waiting all night for the DJ to play my favorite song at that time, and I woke up two seconds before it came on. Of course, I was very excited when I realized that I woke up just in time to hear my favorite song a second before it played. I was sure this was an example of extra-sensory perception: I mean, how else could I explain this happy coincidence? A few years later, I even wrote an extra-credit essay about this experience for a psychology course about perception. This time I had a more measured explanation about how and why this experience occurred. Even during sleep, the brain continues to work and perceive all sorts of sensory stimuli such as smell, touch, sound and taste. (If you have ever incorporated the sound of your dog barking outside or the smell of fresh-brewed coffee in your dreams, you know this is true.) Similarly, I had likely heard someone on the radio announce that the song would be played next, and that is how and why I woke up when I did.

So, what is really going on? Earlier this month I posted a blog about the Mental Bank Concept and how the Law of Attraction can facilitate or impede or even prevent us from achieving our goals. (“The Mental Bank Concept,” July 2, 2014) More recently, I explored the relationship between the human brain’s ability to perceive various stimuli and organize, interpret and communicate this information in the context of Dr. Kappas’s Theory of Mind. (“Intuition, July 22, 2014) And tonight I came across the following quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that both simplified and complicated this issue for me: “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

                So, maybe that is the answer to my question after all. My hypnotherapy training at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute and my experiences putting these theories about the Law of Attraction into practice has taught me that the power of our mind can make just about anything and everything possible. We just need to know how and what to ask for, and where to look for the evidence that what we want already exists and is waiting for us to find it.

 

 

 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/.

 

Hypno-Aids

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Contrary to popular belief, swinging a pocket-watch in front of someone
is not used to induce the hypnotic state anymore. 

Contrary to popular myth, swinging a pocket-watch in front of someone to induce the hypnotic state is rarely if ever used in the Twenty-first Century. One of the most effective ways to induce hypnosis is the arm raise. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute (www.hypnosis.edu)  founder John Kappas, Ph.D., this powerful technique is designed to help people reach a very deep level of hypnosis at the first consultation. However, it is not generally used at subsequent hypnotherapy appointments and it is not practical or even possible to use this induction with some clients. The arm-raising technique is also not used with young children, people who have a very short attention span or those who have a physical injury that prevents or limits arm movement.

Following is a list of hypnotic aids (hypno-aids) that may be used to induce hypnosis for these clients and people who have pre-conceived beliefs about hypnosis by attracting their attention and lengthening their attention span to enter hypnosis.

·         Air machine. This device produces the lulling sound of an ocean breeze or white noise to lull a client and can facilitate a progressive relaxation.

·        Crystal ball or crystal pendant for eye-fascination. This is a secondary-induction technique for adults or a primary-induction technique for young children.

·         Penlight. This is an eye-fascination tool.

·         Hypno-disk. This eye-fascination tool is composed of a rotating disc designed to relax you and deepen the hypnotic state.

·         Metronome set at 60 beats per minute. This tool is especially effective to use with people who have a primarily auditory representational system (i.e., learn and express themselves most effectively through listening and speech).

·         Strobe light. I do not use this device because the flashing light can induce seizures in people who have epilepsy.

 

 

 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/.

 

Intuition

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

 

                I believe that intuition is one of the most valuable perceptions that people have. It isn’t about mind-reading or fortune-telling per se, although some people do possess this gift. I am talking about a skill that I consider practical intuition. It manifests itself as that gut instinct or a little voice in our mind that tells us to do something or go somewhere (or not). It is that urge or behavior that we cannot logically explain or identify its origin, but benefits us when we follow this inexplicable instruction.

        According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, at birth humans know only two responses: a reaction to the fear of falling and a reaction to the fear of loud noises. Every other belief and behavior is learned through identifying a stimulus (e.g., smell, sound, taste, sight, touch) and associating it with a positive or negative response or experience (knowns). In turn, these associations create our life script (mental script), and we continue to behave in ways which we have learned “work” to help us accomplish a particular goal. It is not practical or efficient for our brains to actively process and respond to each of the millions of pieces of data (message units). Therefore, once the critical area of the mind identifies this random data as a known in the SCM, we can ignore the stimulus and go on our way. This is where and how I believe our practical intuition kicks in.

Consider, again, the fear of falling and fear of loud noises that we are born with. Generally speaking, falling can be lethal to humans and other animals. Similarly, a loud noise is often associated with real or perceived danger, such as the crack of thunder during an electric storm. Thunder is loud and it can definitely be very scary, which is good, because it generally sends us looking for shelter from a lightning strike that can injure or kill. Now imagine the infinitesimal quantity of information that your subconscious mind perceives and associate with the incoming storm. When the SCM identifies message units that it associates with these primitive fears, the metaphoric alarm bells will be going off in your mind to warn and protect you of possible danger.

Neuro-scientists contend that the human brain perceives and processes so much data that most people have no idea how much they really know or are capable of. (The potential deleterious effect of this unharnessed power is the concept behind Lucy, a new movie starring Scarlett Johannson.) What if our powers of intuition come from our subconscious ability to interpret those millions pieces of miniscule sensory data, identify this information and behave in a way that will is most likely to benefit our well-being? I believe that each one of us is naturally able to intuit a likely outcome to a situation or problem, positive or negative. Unfortunately, that niggling voice of self-doubt and lack of trust in our inexplicable insight keeps getting in the way.

 

 

 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/.

Preparing for Success

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

The more work and attention you put into your plan, the greater the
likelihood of accomplishing your goal.

                There are various paths to success. On the one hand, you can make a detailed plan about what you need to do then follow specific steps or a strategy to actualize your goal. Alternatively, you get an idea or feel inspired about something you would like to achieve and then wait and see how it will work out without you having to do anything else to facilitate the desired outcome. Sometimes success just falls into our lap; you are in the right place at the right time and good fortune falls into your lap. And then there are different combinations of these paths that yield varying results in actualizing your plan.

                Oprah Winfrey once said: “Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” This philosophy empowers and encourages us to achieve our goals by planning and doing the ground, grunt and glory work, as it were, to facilitate this success. Luck or serendipity may play a part in this outcome; but the most important component of your success is what you are willing to put into it. The greatest risk (or guarantee) of failure or a sub-par performance is when you slack off or stop paying attention to what you need to do to realize your dream. Here are some examples of these behaviors and outcomes:

·         “Perfect practice makes perfect performance.” This is a popular training motto among athletes and performers, but it’s obviously applicable to every area of our lives. I lost count of how many martial artists repeated this mantra when I wrote training and technique articles about them for Black Belt magazine (www.blackbeltmag.com). For example, kickboxing champions train to connect all of their techniques in practice; otherwise, they risk pulling a punch or kick during a competition that could cost points or even the match. Michele Krasnoo, an actress and kickboxing champion, once explained how she studied video-recordings of each of her training sessions and competitions. She explained that she was looking for errors in her technique; moreover, she said, if she didn’t find a mistake (or ten) then she hadn’t been looking hard enough and would re-watch the footage. Right away, I loved her humility and dedication to improving her game and adopted this philosophy in my dressage training.

·         “You can’t win the Lottery of you don’t buy a ticket.” This quote is actually from an episode of Chuck Norris’ hit series Walker, Texas Ranger. The point is, if you don’t show up mentally, emotionally and physically and put in the effort to achieve your goal, you will not succeed. Winning the Lottery has more to do with luck and chance than skill, but you won’t be able to collect that multimillion-dollar jackpot if you don’t hold the winning ticket.

·         “Buy a cheap suit, get a cheap suit.” This quote from Pet Shop Boys (http://www.petshopboys.co.uk) front-man Neil Tennant says it all about the direct relationship between quality of workmanship and quality of your product. While he was referring to the cost of clothing and the quality of its materials and manufacture, this philosophy could also speak to the metaphor about self-worth. When you don’t believe (or perceive) that you have value—i.e., low self-confidence and low self-esteem—your motivation to continue to grow and strive takes a hit, as does the “products” that you create at work, hobbies, etc. If you don’t make your best effort and employ your skills and expertise in the project, if you don’t use the finest-quality materials or technology, the quality of your product will suffer. I teach my clients about the Mental Bank Concept to help them appreciate and increase their self-value and self-esteem. As these perceptions increase and they start taking actions to “attract” what that they want, these opportunities and goals become manifested in their actual lives. You can learn more about the Mental Bank Concept and how it will prepare you for success at http://www.hypnosis.edu/streaming/#Mental-Bank-Program.

 

 

 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/.

Weight Loss and Hypnotherapy

(This blog was originally posted on January 2, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

                Whenever I work with a hypnotherapy client to help the person lose weight, the first thing I do is to establish the motivation for losing the weight. Is there a health reason such as diabetes control? Does the person want to improve his or her physical fitness or just take off a few pounds to look better in shorts or a swimsuit? Sometimes friends or relatives in the person’s social circle put on pressure to drop the pounds. Or, a client may use excess weight as a “shield” to protect against emotional rejection or even a subconscious fear of returning to a previous lower weight where an emotional trauma may have occurred, said John G. Kappas, Ph.D., founder of Hypnosis Motivation Institute.

“If you are not personally motivated to achieve the weight-loss goal, the weight-loss program is unlikely to be successful.”

Once the client identifies what is motivating him or her to lose weight, I help the person to resolve any previous issues or resistance to losing weight* and develop a strong, positive self-image about being at the desired weight and feeling comfortable with being physically attractive. When appropriate, I also refer the client to be examined by a physician for guidance about an appropriate exercise and nutritional regimen, which I will reinforce during the hypnotherapy sessions. All hypnotic suggestions would incorporate the client’s feeling motivated to feel physically, emotionally, mentally healthy and happier every day and to project positive feelings and ideas of successfully losing weight in a healthy way.

 

 

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

 

 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/.

Low Adrenaline, High Learning

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

With Monty Roberts at the Pomona Equine Affaire 2008

 

One of my favorite expressions is something that horseman Monty Roberts reminds his human and equine students: “Low adrenaline, high learning.” What he means is, when you are calm and relaxed, it is easier (possible) to complete tasks, learn and retain more information. This philosophy also applies to your horse. However, if something happens during the training session and you respond by panicking or becoming frustrated and/or angry, the body releases adrenaline to help you cope with the situation by facilitating the fight/flight behavior. This adrenaline dump is a subconscious response, not a conscious decision: the only thing that matters is protecting the body surviving the encounter to live another day. However, once you are mentally, emotionally and physically functioning (behaving) in fight/flight perspective, your horse—which as a prey animal already, naturally responds to stress in fight/flight mode—quickly perceives your panic and becomes afraid. At that point, whatever you were working on or teaching him before is over-ridden by the survival response until your adrenaline level returns to normal and you can reassure your horse that it’s safe to keep working and learning. When we can override this initial fear response we can literally save ourselves.

I frequently remind myself of Mr. Roberts’s philosophy, and not only when I am working with horses. It is also a terrific manta to repeat when I am stuck in heavy freeway traffic and start to feel impatient and frustrated. I know that I’m not going anywhere fast, but if I can remain calm and relaxed I will be more likely to notice a break in the traffic so I can change lanes and go on my way. I also remind myself of this philosophy when my computer freezes or I experience some other technological disaster. Following are some other instances in which Mr. Roberts’s “Low adrenaline, high learning” philosophy would apply:

·         In the feature film Gravity, Sandra Bullock’s character, Ryan Stone, is ultimately and only able to rescue herself when she starts to take deep breaths and focuses on what she needs to do to operate the computer systems in the capsule. When Stone is initially separated from the space shuttle and her colleagues, hurtling through space, she panics. She starts to hyperventilate and continues to spin out of control (literally and emotionally) until she is able to regulate her breathing and can follow her commander’s instructions that guide her to the safety of a capsule that brings her back to Earth. Once Stone is able to slow down her breathing and heart-rate to control the adrenaline coursing through her body, she can access the information and technological skills stored in her subconscious mind and focus on what she needed to do to get home.

·         Firefighters, paramedics and police seem unflappable during an emergency. The first thing these first responders do after assessing a crisis is to reassure the victim(s) that they are safe and being taken care of. They are trained to control the adrenaline surging through their own bodies so they can do their job efficiently and effectively. In turn, their calm demeanor provides comfort and increases the victim’s confidence to regulate his or her heart- and respiratory-rates to slow down or prevent shock, etc., which could cause further damage to the brain and body.

·         When athletes prepare to compete, they take slow, deep breaths and even stretch or do light exercise to help relax their body and focus on what they must accomplish on the field, golf links, ice-skating arena, etc. They know and understand that the calmer and more relaxed they feel, the less likely they are to react to or be distracted by background “noise” in the environment and focus on accomplishing their athletic goal.

 

What can—what do—you learn and accomplish when your adrenaline-level is low?

 

 

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/.

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