Halloween Masks

Photo by Rick Hustead

Every October 31, people have an opportunity to don costumes and assume temporary identities of someone or even something else. I am fascinated by the costume choices people make, whether they choose to embody Disney characters from the hit film, Frozen, favorite rock stars/musicians, monsters (werewolves or vampires), superheroes, princesses/princes, animals or even politicians. Halloween celebrations become a free-for-all of fantastical expression; even grown-ups can get in on the fun. My question is: What, or who, does that chosen alter-ego represent to the person behind the mask? 

I have observed that the costume expression that Halloween celebrants embody range from fun and good-natured to genuinely frightening or even sinister. The subconscious motivation of those dressed as heroes/superheroes, Disney characters, royalty and other generally positive or benign identities might represent the person’s abilities or personality or project an aspect of wish-fulfillment. (Who hasn’t ever wanted to be a prince or princess, or to possess a super-human skill that could save the world? I certainly did.) Perhaps the costume is even a conscious projection of an intention to attract a skill or talent into the person’s life, which is represented what he or she is wearing.

At the other end of this spectrum are costumes that are designed to trigger anxiety or even a fear response. Apparently the zombies from The Walking Dead television series are popular costume choices in the scary/monster end of the dress-up spectrum. Unlike vampires—at least, the seductive incarnation of vampires in modern Young Adult novels and movies—zombies are the epitome of everything terrifying we imagine about death. Not only do zombies appear in various stages of decay and possess untold, albeit clumsy, strength, their very survival depends on killing and eating (brains) their victims. Could there be anything more frightening than seeing your dearly-departed relative wandering around, intent on doing you harm?

Another popular costume this year honors the 2016 Presidential candidates: Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Party nominee, Donald J. Trump (R). Do the real candidates represent a real or perceived threat that the Halloween celebrants to metaphorically exorcise before the election on November 8? Or, does the costume enable the wearer to publicly express some secretly admired behaviors or traits that the person does not want to (publicly) own?

It’s something to think about.

Happy Halloween!

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/.

© 2016

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.

• “Lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at you.” – David Brinkley

• “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” – Winston Churchill

• “Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” – Buddha

• “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying someplace you don't belong.” – Bruce Van Horn

• “The road to success is always under construction.” – Lily Tomlin

• “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but Imagination!” – Albert Einstein

• “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Peter F. Drucker

• “The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness.” – Wayne Dyer­

• “Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.” – Phil Jackson

• “Many of us do not listen to ourselves deeply enough to know how we feel.” – 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/.

© 2016     

Time Sure Does Fly When I'm On-Line

(This blog was originally posted on December 18, 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/.

© 2016