(This blog was originally posted on January 24, 2017)
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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
I use a lot of
different metaphors when I work with my hypnotherapy clients, but water imagery
is probably my favorite. Let me tell you why.
As one of the
four elements (earth, air and fire being the other three), water has great
transformative power. Water gives and supports life as embryonic fluid and also
comprises the fluid all life requires to survive. Of course, there is also a
destructive aspect of this substance: Just three inches of fast-moving water
can displace heavy objects such as boulders, cars, even slabs of earth. It can
smooth pebbles or destroy crops/landscape/property. The devastating tsunamis in
2004 (Indian
Ocean earthquake and tsunami) and 2011 (Great
Sendal Earthquake, Japan) took lives.
But water can
also heal. It washes away dirt and detritus from a wound. It provides
refreshment, it cleans and cleanses. The sound of raindrops tapping on tree
leaves or a roof during a summer rainstorm, or that of a babbling brook or
ocean waves moving in and out on a tide, can bring great relaxation and
comfort. A body of still water can provide an opportunity for reflection
(metaphoric and literal) or exercise, for swimming.
My favorite
metaphors of water feature its restorative/transformative powers. When it is
heated, the water droplets become vapor (air). When it is frozen, it becomes
solid as the ground even though the slippery characteristic of ice makes its
surface much more difficult (but not impossible) to stand on. And when water is
in its original liquid form, it can take the shape of any container or
environment in which it is held. That is what I love most about water as a
metaphor: it speaks to the part of and in us all that is capable of adaptation, change and transformation depending on
the situation in which we find ourselves.
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/.
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