(This blog was originally posted on March
16, 2014)
 |
| Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan |
Every so often,
someone asks me if I can hypnotize the family dog to stop barking so much or
get the cat to stay off the kitchen counters. After all, if I can help a human
client to rewrite a mental script and change an unwanted behavior, surely I
have a similar technique that will make Max a little quieter and give Rex
better table manners? Surely, I must have some
technique in my hypnosis toolbox that will convince the champion show horse at
the barn that the flower-boxes in front of a jump are not monsters. No, I
don’t. But—and?—yes, I can.
In addition to
my certifications in hypnotherapy and therapeutic guided imagery, I trained in
Reiki energy healing with Tanya Nord, a Reiki Master and hypnotherapy
instructor at the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute. When I earned my certifications as a first- and second-degree Reiki practitioner, Ms. Nord told the
class that from now on our touch would have healing power. In addition to
offering energy treatments for my clients, I also wanted to provide these
natural healing techniques to help quiet and relax my equestrian clients’
horses and to ease my senior animals’ discomfort from arthritis pain. A few
years ago I finally took an animal-communication class with Lydia Hiby, and a new world of
sensitivity, communication and healing opened up for me.
Lydia is a
former veterinary technician, so in addition to teaching her students how to do
what she does as an animal communicator she also provides a lot of general
information about animal behavior, general first-aid and conflict resolution
techniques. One of the first things she teaches in her communication class is
how to do an intuitive body scan to detect physical discomfort in an animal. I now
use this skill every time I do Reiki to find out whether and where I should
specifically direct this energy to relieve stress or tension in my clients
(human and non-human). This technique is not
a substitute for medical or veterinary care! Like hypnotherapy, I provide
Reiki to complement traditional medical care/treatment. However, this technique
can provide useful clues about where the medical or veterinary expert should
focus the examination when the client confirms that he or she (or the pet)
experiences physical discomfort in a specific area.
The most
important skill I have honed through Lydia’s animal-communication training is
to use and trust my intuition. I do not “know” where the information comes from
when a dog tells me she wants to eat steak and peas or that a cat wants to be a
pirate like Johnny Depp but is far from the brave, swashbuckling rogue that his
humans believe him to be. I have no way of knowing that when the big horse I’m
talking to says he loves apples, he has only just been introduced to this new
delicacy two days ago. When I do these readings, Lydia or the owner (i.e.,
human “parent” or guardian) is usually present to confirm or dispute the
accuracy of the information I picked up during the conversation. More often
than not, I come up with otherwise obscure details that I should not have known
about an animal I have never met before—but I have learned to trust my gut
instinct and just go with what I am picking up.
I will discuss how people can
apply the self-confidence and behavior-modification skills they have
learned through hypnotherapy and the (animal-)communication skills I
am honing with Lydia Hiby to help change a pet's unwanted behavior
in tomorrow's blog.
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
