Moving On, Part 1

 I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on August 3, 2018)

Image courtesy of Microsoft

 

 

I recently read a quote from Redefining Refuge which really resonated with me: “Cutting people out of your life doesn’t mean you hate them; it simply means you respect yourself. Not everyone is meant to stay.” Think about it: children are born, grow up and eventually move out of the family home. They may attend college, get married and start their own families; or they choose a vocation and start their career, perhaps moving out of state (or out of the country) to establish their own lives. Changing and moving on is part of living; growing up emotionally as well as physically and chronologically. While these separations are initially hard for both the parents and the “kids,” that doesn’t mean these life transitions should not occur.

Just as we grow up and outgrow our roles as children in the family home, we can also outgrow the relationships we have forged during the course of our lives. As we mature, it is natural to develop different and separate interests from the ones we shared with our childhood and school friends. We often away from friendships and romantic relationships we have enjoyed as adults. But, why shouldn’t this occur? We continue to grow and mature every minute of our lives. It is not so unusual to discover that the things that you couldn’t imagine liking or wanting to do at seventeen have become sources of profound enjoyment at thirty-seven. If the relationship devolves from friendship and respect to resentment and even physical and/or physical abuse, it is time to cut those ties and move on to a healthier relationship and a safer environment. But knowing this doesn’t make it easier to do. Does it?

It isn’t just that we continue to feel strong emotions about or bonds to the other person that makes this separation so difficult. Rather, per John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, it is so difficult to “leave” a relationship we have outgrown because we must give up a powerful known in our subconscious mind. This relationship and the person(s) we share it with have become part of our subconscious mental script; the longer we have been following this script by interacting in loving and respectful ways with the other person, the more difficult it is to stop following that script. The same is also true if and when we have been following an unloving and disrespectful or abusive script. Even if you do not or no longer have positive feelings about the other person or people, this separation may be painful because you must venture into the unknown experience of being independent from that relationship. Regardless of the quality of that bond, disengaging from it and the habits or behaviors you have practiced during the relationship entails breaking script.

Whatever the cause, letting go of a relationship can be very difficult and painful. In the next blog, I will explain how experiencing grief and the five stages of loss during hypnotherapy can help accept that the relationship is finished. When we are able to say goodbye with love and respect, we can move forward in our lives and so can they.

       

 

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

 

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

Moving On, Part 1

(This blog was originally posted on August 3, 2018)

 

Image courtesy of Microsoft

 

 

I recently read a quote from Redefining Refuge which really resonated with me: “Cutting people out of your life doesn’t mean you hate them, it simply means you respect yourself. Not everyone is meant to stay.” Think about it: children are born, grow up and eventually move out of the family home. They may attend college, get married and start their own families; or, they choose a vocation and start their career, perhaps moving out of state (or out of the country) to establish their own lives. Changing and moving on is part of living; growing up emotionally as well as physically and chronologically. While these separations are initially hard for both the parents and the “kids,” that doesn’t mean these life transitions should not occur.

Just as we grow up and outgrow our roles as children in the family home, we can also outgrow the relationships we have forged during the course of our lives. As we mature, it is natural to develop different and separate interests from the ones we shared with our childhood and school friends. We often away from friendships and romantic relationships we have enjoyed as adults. But, why shouldn’t this occur? We continue to grow and mature every minute of our lives. It is not so unusual to discover that the things that you couldn’t imagine liking or wanting to do at seventeen have become sources of profound enjoyment at thirty-seven. If the relationship devolves from friendship and respect to resentment and even physical and/or physical abuse, it is time to cut those ties and move on to a healthier relationship and a safer environment. But knowing this doesn’t make it easier to do. Does it?

It isn’t just that we continue to feel strong emotions about or bonds to the other person that makes this separation so difficult. Rather, per John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, it is so difficult to “leave” a relationship we have outgrown because we must give up a powerful known in our subconscious mind. This relationship and the person(s) we share it with have become part of our subconscious mental script; the longer we have been following this script by interacting in loving and respectful ways with the other person, the more difficult it is to stop following that script. The same is also true if and when we have been following an unloving and disrespectful or abusive script. Even if you do not or no longer have positive feelings about the other person or people, this separation may be painful because you must venture into the unknown experience of being independent from that relationship. Regardless of the quality of that bond, disengaging from it and the habits or behaviors you have practiced during the relationship entails breaking script.

Whatever the cause, letting go of a relationship can be very difficult and painful. In the next blog, I will explain how experiencing grief and the five stages of loss during hypnotherapy can help accept that the relationship is finished. When we are able to say goodbye with love and respect, we can move forward in our lives and so can they.

       

 

Summer Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

 

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

 

© 2019

 

Going for a Cause

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on May 4, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

At some time in our lives, just about everyone uses a defense mechanism to cope with a stressful or disappointing experience. These strategies can include denial or displacement of the unpleasant emotion, repression of a memory, substance abuse, regressing to an earlier stage of development or even substance dependency. However these behaviors provide only a temporary perception of control over the environment; eventually, we have to deal with and resolve the primary issue that has triggered the defense mechanism in order to achieve personal growth. To be an effective hypnotherapist, I must recognize which one(s) a client may be using, how and why the device is working in this situation, and when it is preventing desired change and personal growth to occur.

According to John Kappas, Ph.D., resistance to changing a behavior is the first stage of effecting this change. “We do things systematically to avoid change,” said the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute. “Change is a threat to the unconscious mind.” To facilitate change in a client’s behavior—such as helping someone to quit smoking or to lose weight—the hypnotherapist must “buy” the person’s symptoms of defensive behavior and provide some symptomatic relief. But for the problem or unwanted behavior to be truly resolved it is often necessary to go for the cause of the conflict or symptom. “The client may be subconsciously protecting [the cause] by employing defense-mechanism devices,” Dr. Kappas explained.

Usually, many factors combine to create the primary issue or problem, and the client is suggestible to those precipitating factors, the hypnotherapist explained. Consequently, the first hypnotherapy session with a client is the most important component of the therapeutic process, because this is the first opportunity to start working with the client’s suggestibility and “suggest” certain changes in behavior. For example, I might work with a client to desensitize the person to the association of smoking a cigarette while drinking an alcoholic beverage before supper. Or, I would create a new association in which a client would “choose” to write about his or her negative emotions in a journal rather than eat a bowl of ice cream when the person felt angry or sad. But these changes in behavior—social drinking and displacing negative emotions through eating—can and will only occur when the client is ready to recognize the relationship between the emotion and behavior.

“You cannot cure a person by telling him what the problem is,” Dr. Kappas said. “Whenever you hit the cause of the problem, symptoms start to disappear. Once you identify and remove the primary cause of the problem, you must alleviate secondary issues.”

         

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

 

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

Dressing the Part

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on December 28, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Whenever I have to get something done, I dress the part. When I was working as a magazine editor, I wore a suit to work just about every day. I don’t know why I started doing that. Perhaps it was because, having just returned from England after living abroad for seven years, I was used to seeing professional people looking like they had somewhere important to go. Monday through Friday, on the London Underground, at bus stations and walking around the city, everyone looked so chic. (Of course, people dressed the part in Los Angeles, too; but since most people drove cars out here it was hard to know how they really looked from outside the vehicle.) But I also discovered that it was easier for me to get and maintain that mind-set for my work throughout the day.

My days as a magazine editor are long over, but I continue to dress for whatever part or role I am playing on a given day. If am going to give a presentation about hypnotherapy or work with my hypnotherapy clients, I wear business attire. If I am going out to the barn to ride my horse or just hang out with him and do chores around the barn, I put on my “horse clothes”: i.e., britches, shirt or sweater, half-chaps, Mountain Horse Jod boots. Right before I get on Galahad, I am also wearing gloves and my Troxel riding helmet. If I am competing in a horse show, I wear specific riding gear for that: white britches, white blouse and stock tie, black dressage coat and my tall dressage boots—plus white leather gloves, hair-net and stock pin. If I am going out for the evening, I wear appropriate attire for whatever the activity or event I am attending.

Finally, dressing the part helps to increase my self-confidence in my ability to do whatever task is at hand. When I was dressed like an editor—or what I thought an editor should wear—I also looked and acted like an editor. As a hypnotherapist, it is important to me that I can convey a sense of confidence, experience, calm and support to my clients. Sometimes, I also wear a name badge to reinforce this image when I work with someone for the first time. When I’m at the barn, I feel more confident and secure about my activities knowing that I am wearing protective gear that is specifically designed to prevent serious injury if I fall off a horse or get kicked or stepped on.

Guess what? I even put on something that tells me (and my subconscious mind) it’s time to relax and unwind from the stresses of the day when I am just planning to hang out at home reading or watching television. I know that my SCM should “know” how to relax as instinctively as it knows how to do most of the activities I mentioned above. However, sometimes I even have to remind myself that it’s okay to just do one thing (or nothing) at a time. In a way, the clothing functions like the critical area of my subconscious mind, as Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., described in his Theory of Mind. This is the area of the mind that rejects any unknown or unfamiliar (painful) information for the SCM. So, to put this model into effect, when I am at work seeing a client, my official attire reminds my mind rejects distracting message units about the time I will spend with Galahad later in the day. And when I am with my horse, my riding garments remind me to focus on him.

Especially the boots: they have a reinforced steel toe to protect my feet in case I start thinking about something other than my boy, who likes to remind me where my attention should be focused should it drift away from him.

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

 

Hypnosis, Mind Control and The Vampire Diaries

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

(This blog was originally posted on October 13, 2014)

 

 

 

One of the most prevalent myths and misconceptions about hypnosis is that it is a form of mind control. This notion is so widespread that several popular books, films and television series have included storylines wherein a character is hypnotized to do something dangerous, illegal and likely detrimental to his or her survival. Cases in point: the use of “compulsion” in L.J. Smith’s young-adult novels and popular CW television series, The Vampire Diaries.

First, let me reassure you that you cannot be made to say or do anything in hypnosis that you would not say or do when you are in a wide-awake, alert state. If your subconscious mind does not “agree” with the hypnotic suggestion, you simply would not do it. Furthermore, as a certified hypnotherapist I would not ask you to do anything that goes against your moral and ethical standards. Needless to say, it would also be unethical for me to ask you to do so.

Having said that… I find the concept of compulsion in the context of The Vampire Diaries absolutely fascinating. In my blog titled Gullibility, Suggestibility, Hypnosis I describe how a person can induce a trance state in another person and get him or her to behave in a certain way. The process by which the vampires get their victims to act in a certain way—usually, to stay still and “don’t scream” before an attack—is practically a textbook example of how this kind of hypnotic induction works. This is why:

• They have authority. If you are familiar with the series, you know that in addition to their myriad supernatural abilities, Stefan and Damon Salvatore and the vampires in question are charismatic, charming and, of course, very good looking. They literally command an audience when they enter a room. If you are (un)lucky enough to make direct eye contact with one of them and you do not know their true identity, you will be suggestible to their confidence, charisma and physical attractiveness. If you do know that they are vampires, your natural fear about how the encounter might end will induce its own kind of trance. Either way, you will not only will you be told what to do and when to do it, you will be helpless to resist the command.

• They have a message. That message can be about almost anything, although it is usually an instruction to the unwitting victim that he or she must perform a specific task that will help conceal the vampire’s true identity in the community. Of course, the content of that message is inconsequential for the above reason(s).

• They overload the person’s subconscious mind to accept the message without question. In this case, the vampire locks eyes with the intended victim and gives the instruction (compulsion) in a whisper or hushed voice. By this point, the person’s subconscious mind truly is overwhelmed by the monster’s charm, strength and powers of persuasion that the individual is willing to do as he or she has been instructed.

Whenever I watch The Vampire Diaries I must suspend my disbelief about how the characters use hypnosis—as well as my own experience of how hypnosis really works—so I can just enjoy the “fantastic” elements of the story. Remember, you would not behave that way because someone else told you to while you are hypnotized unless you would do these things or hold a specific belief when you are in an alert and aware state. Having said that, the next time a barista overwhelms you with so many options about beverage-cup sizes and pastries to accompany your quadruple latte that you actually purchase a croissant you never planned on buying, you were probably hypnotized.

  

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

 

The Cycle of Violence

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on May 31, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Hypnotherapy is an extremely effective tool to help manage anger and frustration. However, dealing with domestic violence is another situation entirely. This abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional violence; bleeding and other indications of physical battery do not have to be evident for the negative behavior to be classified as abuse. Furthermore, it can be directed against spouses (wives and husbands), the elderly, children, etc. Examples of such violence include spousal abuse, child abuse, incest and rape.

The underlying “cause” or subconscious motivation of the abuse is for the abuser to gain or feel power over and control the victim. For example, the person may threaten or actually withhold access to money/finances, intimidate with coercion or threats, humiliate or “guilt” the victim, isolate from friends or other family members, minimize the effects of the abuse/deny it happened, prevent access to kids/deny visitation, use “male privilege,” etc. Whether the duration of this cycle is long (e.g., lasts weeks or months) or short (e.g., lasts hours or days), it usually escalates and can have deadly consequences for the victim. Following is an outline of the typical pattern or cycle that violence is expressed.

Phase 1: Building Tension

Stress

Frustration

Low Self-esteem

Poor Communication

 Phase 2: Explosion/Losing Control

Fight

Anger

Fear

Poor communication

 

Phase 3: Honeymoon/Loving & Remorse Stage

Guilt

Remorse

Promises: “I’ll never do it again!”

Phase 1  … And so the cycle repeats.

 

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

 

Some Things to Remember About Habits

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on August 8, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

Most people seek hypnotherapy to change or get rid of (quit) an unwanted habit. Whether you want to lose weight, quit smoking, stop procrastinating, improve sleeping habits or any myriad of behaviors, hypnosis and therapeutic guided imagery are powerful, effective tools to help you achieve your self-improvement goal. While I do not typically need to delve into your entire back-story to understand why you started, and want to change the unwanted habit, I will need certain, specific details about it to create an effective hypnotic script. Following is some important information about habits and habit-change to keep in mind.

• You must be coming in for hypnotherapy because you want to change the behavior for this therapy to be effective.
• While you (your conscious mind) want to change an unwanted habit, the subconscious mind is unlikely to share that goal. Changing habits entails getting out of your comfort zone (rejecting a subconscious known) which the subconscious mind considers “pain.”
• Hypnotherapy can help create and establish healthier/more productive and desirable behaviors in the subconscious mind to replace the unwanted one(s). However, habits do not begin overnight and habits do not change overnight. Furthermore, the longer you have been practicing that behavior, the more time it may take to change it. Remember, each time you have engaged in the habit strengthened its positive association in your subconscious mind.
• Increasing awareness of when you engage in the undesired habit helps you gain greater control over that behavior.
• Some behaviors may be a defense mechanism to avoid change and thereby protect the subconscious mind from the pain induced by change. In this instance, it may be necessary to address the cause of the behavior (habit) to help you achieve your vocational/avocational self-improvement goal.*

  

*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.

 

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

 

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

It's Just a Thought

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on December 6, 2016)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

 

Perhaps someone has said this to you—or you used this expression, yourself—when making a suggestion: “It’s just a thought.” In fact, this statement is probably used most frequently if the reception (openness) to a particular idea seems likely to be rejected. In this case, that particular thought is symbolically dumped or thrown away. “It’s just a thought” is the excuse we make for ever having entertained the idea in the first place.

I have two thoughts about this situation.

On the one hand, most of us have had to deal with some kind of negative chatter (self-doubt) in our mind when we are trying something new or are in the middle of an important project at work: I have never been able to do X before; what makes me think I will be successful at Y? Or, I have no business wearing this outfit; it was obviously designed for someone with a completely different (better) physique. More common, a thought pops into our mind just as we are drifting off to sleep: Did I remember to lock my office door? Does my boyfriend/girlfriend remember that tomorrow is our one-month anniversary of dating? Why is my acne flaring up now? In these instances, it is very helpful to remind ourselves, “It’s just a thought. I can control my thoughts. Since I can control my thoughts, I can put this one aside for a little while and do what I need to do.”

Conversely, our thoughts originate in the subconscious mind. To automatically reject a thought or idea as a way to deflect possible criticism from other people could mean that you miss (or at least delay) the chance to experience a creative opportunity. As Thomas Edison famously stated, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” What if that “thought” you have at your next business meeting could save your failing company millions of dollars and/or several employees’ jobs, create the next great videogame or script for a blockbuster movie, etc.?

Thoughts and ideas are products of our life experiences and feelings about them. The moral of this story is, before you reject one of those throw-away thoughts remember that you can control it and ultimately even use a behavior the idea inspired to benefit you in the future.

 

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

 

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

The Time Carl Hester Demonstrated He Has Mastered the 5 Roles of a Master Herder, Part 2

 I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

  

(This blog was originally posted on August 12, 2016)

 

Me and Linda Kohanov, best-selling author and

founder of Eponaquest Worldwide

Photo Courtesy of Sara Fogan

 

Most riders know and even expect that their horse will spook at something at some point. It’s bad enough having to deal with it (and, more importantly, our own nerves after the fact, while training or on a trail ride. It certainly can and does happen during competitions, too. For some reason, you just don’t expect to see an Olympic gold medalist experiencing this most natural balking response when the horse is startled or scared. We just believe and expect that these riders are so good and the horse must be so well-trained that this mundane phenomenon simply doesn’t even happen. At this level of competitive prowess, both horse and rider are surely beyond that kind of silly drama. Right?

But that is what happened when British Olympic dressage rider Carl Hester had to deal with his mount Nip Tuck’s spook during a transition to the extended walk during their 2016 Olympic Grand Prix competition. Some observers reported that the horse was nervous at the beginning of their ride, but a camera flash reportedly sent him over the edge. Fortunately, Hester was right there to take control of the situation and be the confident, dominant leader the gelding needed at that moment.

As I explained in my blog titled The Time Carl Hester Demonstrated He Has Mastered the 5 Roles of a Master Herder, Part 1, a true “master herder” is adept at fluidly utilizing any and all five functions whenever necessary to keep the herd or group safe and succeed in various environments and situations. Here is a brief summary of the ideal function/goals of each role, as explained by Linda Kohanov in The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership.:

• Leader: inspires group members to follow his or her example to achieve goals.

• Dominant: uses “force”—language, techniques, emotion—to get group members to go/do what he or she is asking and stop unproductive behavior.

• Nurturer/Companion: promotes/monitors well-being of other group members

• Sentinel: Scans the environment so other group members can do their job; also looks for new opportunities for the herd to succeed.

• Predator: Uses dominant energy to stop/cut/cull unproductive/redundant individuals from the group. Also, offers additional protection to group members and can make tough decisions so the group can continue to survive/thrive.

When Nip Tuck balked near the “P” marker on the dressage court, Hester immediately took a more dominant position on the horse by adjusting his weight and posture in the saddle. Though this was invisible to most observers, the rider was certainly applying leg aids (pressure in the calf and thighs) to keep the horse moving forward in the direction he wanted them to continue traveling. During the extended walk, the reins are typically released (long) so the horse can have freedom in his head, neck and shoulders. If Hester shortened the reins during the spook (I didn’t notice; as I mentioned previously, this incident was over very quickly) he certainly would have let them out again right away to comply with regulations about this element of the competition. This release would immediately communicate the rider’s relaxation, comfort and control of the situation and environment to his equine partner (nurturer/companion and Leader). However, Hester probably also adopted a more enhanced sentinel role after that, looking out for any other stimuli that could similarly upset his horse that could further jeopardize their competitive score. In this context, he may have also adopted the more predatory, mien of a dominant leader, ready to re-direct his horse’s attention and correct any misbehavior before anyone noticed that Nip Tuck was even thinking about going off-script. Ultimately, the duo earned 75.529 percent for this ride; this is a very good score in a dressage competition even when your horse doesn’t spook or otherwise put a hoof wrong.

Carl Hester is my new hero. Yes, he is a fabulous dressage rider and equestrian, but the way he handled his equine partner's spook during the Grand Prix test should be an example to us all. The thing we mortal riders dread during competition (or any ride, actually) happened to an Olympic gold medalist DURING an Olympic ride. As I have commented before, if you looked away at the moment Nip Tuck balked you would have missed it altogether, that is how quickly Mr. Hester regained control of the ride and his equine partner's focus/attention. They started brilliantly and, I believe, finished the test the same way. I will definitely employ the image of how beautifully he handled this incident in future imagery for myself and equestrian clients. Well done, Mr. Hester. You are an Olympian and, more importantly, a true and good horseman!

 

Kohanov, Linda. The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership. 2016. Novato, CA: New World Library.

 

Autumn Promotion: Hypnosis for Weight Loss

Let the power of your subconscious mind help you release extra weight and increase your motivation to make healthier eating/nutrition and exercise choices. Book the entire 10-week series and save $250!

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

© 2022

 

 

The Time Carl Hester Demonstrated He Has Mastered the 5 Roles of a Master Herder, Part 1

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

 

(This blog was originally posted on August 11, 2016)

 

Me and Linda Kohanov, best-selling author and

founder of Eponaquest Worldwide

Photo Courtesy of Sara Fogan

 

 

In 2016, I had the honor of attending a lecture and day-long leadership workshop led by Linda Kohanov, the best-selling author of Tao of Equus and founder of Eponaquest Worldwide. That weekend’s presentation focused on the research and principles she described in her new book titled The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership. I have long been a fan of Ms. Kohanov’s writing and her equine-assisted therapy program, but the information she shared with us about herd leadership and the distinctive roles of an effective herd leader truly rocked my world.

Here is a brief summary of the ideal function/goals of each role, as explained by Linda Kohanov in The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership:

• Leader: inspires group members to follow his or her example to achieve goals.

• Dominant: uses “force”—language, techniques, emotion—to get group members to go/do what he or she is asking and stop unproductive behavior.

• Nurturer/Companion: promotes/monitors well-being of other group members.

• Sentinel: Scans the environment so other group members can do their job; also looks for new opportunities for the herd to succeed.

• Predator: Uses dominant energy to stop/cut/cull unproductive/redundant individuals from the group. Also, offers additional protection to group members and can make tough decisions so the group can continue to survive/thrive.

During her presentation on July 30, 2016, Ms. Kohanov explained how she developed the business-management model of Master Herders from her observations of nomadic herding cultures. According to her observations and research, a Master Herder is able to fluidly negotiate five different roles: Leader, Dominant, Sentinel, Nurturer/Comforter and Predator. Furthermore, a true “master herder” is adept at fluidly utilizing five functions whenever necessary to keep his or her herd or group safe and succeed in various environments and situations. This principle applies whether you are the CEO of a corporation or literally caring for a herd of animals, even if that herd just a herd of two comprised of you and your horse. In both cases, the role of a Master Herder is to keep the “herd” safe as well as to continuously look out for opportunities for future and continued growth and prospects, Ms. Kohanov said.

For example, sometimes the role is forced on you, such as when no one else in the group wants or is willing to make important decisions and “lead” and inspire colleagues to achieve company goals. In another instance, it may be up to you to play the role of the “heavy” (dominant) and defuse professional quarrels between co-workers or mete out punishment if a deadline is not met. If you are particularly observant about business trends and economic growth or depression, you might find yourself in the role of sentinel—always on the look-out for potential danger or growth. At other times, you may find yourself in a situation where you can barely meet your own expected work quotas because so much of your time is spent reassuring or consoling (nurturer/companion) a colleague who is having personal or professional difficulties. Finally, it may fall to you to fire employees (predator) who do not fulfill work responsibilities.

We have all probably found ourselves in at least one of these roles in our work-place. This model is also applicable in family and general social contexts, such as a mother who comforts and reassures a toddler after scrapes his knee on the playground. However, that role can quickly become dominant when the youngster starts wandering toward the street and Mom shouts at him to stand still before grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the curb and oncoming traffic. And during one of his dressage tests the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Olympian Carl Hester had to simultaneously employ several of these roles to handle his horse when Nip Tuck spooked so they could successfully finish their ride. I will explain how Hester successfully demonstrated his skills as a “master herder” in my next blog.

Kohanov, Linda. The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership. 2016. Novato, CA: New World Library.

 

 

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Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit my website. 

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