With Your Permission and Only With Your Permission.... Part 1

To minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I have temporarily suspended in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office, but they will be returning soon! Meanwhile, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

(This blog was originally posted on January 20, 2014)

Photo by Rick Hustead

 

 

If you do not want to be hypnotized—whether you do not believe that hypnosis will work for you or resist being hypnotized because you are afraid—you won’t be. I repeat the statement, “with your permission and only your permission” throughout the hypnotherapy session to remind my clients that they can choose to be hypnotized and actualize their desired behavior changes. I also use my clients’ own words to reinforce their emotions, reasons and motivations for making these changes. As a certified hypnotherapist, I use hypnosis is a tool to help you change behaviors that no longer work for you and replace them with behaviors, strategies, etc. that you want and believe will improve your quality of life. During hypnosis, you are completely aware of everything going on around you. If you wouldn’t say or do something when you are completely alert, you would not and could not be made to do anything in hypnosis that opposes your beliefs, morals and ethical principles.

Therefore, I tend to be very critical of how and why hypnosis is depicted on television and in movies: a protagonist is “commanded” to do something that is completely out of character; the hypnotist erases and then replaces a character’s memory with a new, fictitious personal history and personality; or, a person is “hypnotized” to behave in a particular way simply to move the plot along. In these scenarios, the character is completely unaware that he has been hypnotized and just does whatever the hypnotist tells him to move the plot along. Imagine my surprise that I not only bought the hypnosis-ambush of a character in a popular detective series, but it made absolute sense why this scenario worked and was believable.

              

 

Special Offer!

When you book your FIRST (Introductory) hypnotherapy session with me you are eligible for a $25 discount on BOTH your Second AND Third follow-up, a la Carte appointments! This promotion may not be combined with any other offer. It is non-transferable and may not be exchanged for cash. Discount does not apply for hypnotherapy-package discounts. Valid through June 30, 2021.

 

 

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 and in September 2020 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/.

© 2021

 

Thoughts of the Day

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.

• “You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world.” – Unknown

• “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” – Caroline Myss

• “Beauty begins the moment you start being yourself.” – Coco Chanel

• “In order to get to where you want to go, you must take action to move from where you are.” – Bruce Van Horn

• “The best way to prepare for the future is to take care of the present.” – Lolly Daskal

• "One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power." – Anthony Robbins

• “Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.” – Julie Andrews

• “When you make a choice, you change the future.” – Deepak Chopra

• “I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.” – Plutarch

• “Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.” – Steven Wright

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/.

© 2018

Thoughts of the Day

                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.

• Do you tend to rest on your laurels after a success? Stop in your tracks to lick your wounds after a defeat? “It matters if you just don’t give up.” – Stephen Hawking 
   
•  “The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.” – Buddha
   
• “The risk is worth taking if it is going to give you a life worth living.” – Steve Atchison
   
• “Change is mandatory for extraordinary results.” – Robert Kiyosaki
   
• “Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again.” – Alex Tan
   
• “Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
   
• “There are friendships imprinted on our hearts that will never be diminished by time or distance.” -- Dodinsky
   
• “Life is a reflection of your choices. When you want a different result, make a different choice.” – ProjectForgive.com
   
• “Have the bravery to visit where your fears live. Because as you do, you’ll also discover the place where your truest power lies.” – Robin Sharma
   
• “Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” – Deepak Chopra

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

Choices

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Sometimes the only choice we have is how
and whether to react to a situation.

 

            It may not feel this way all the time, but we always have a choice to make. Should I go or stay? Should I wear this outfit or that one? Should I paint the walls blue or white? Should I believe what you are telling me or not? And so on. But even when there is not an obvious difference in your material options, you can always choose your how you behave or react to a situation.

            I understand how very difficult it can be to remain calm and dispassionate when something happens that interrupts your plans for the day, week or month. Aside from the practical inconveniences that you now must deal with, you likely have to manage your emotional disappointment, frustration and even anger. Other than the temporary release that swearing a blue streak, punching a hole in the wall or getting into a physical altercation with the person who “ruined” your day may provide, these actions are seldom productive. However, a different perspective on this new situation may help.

·         Remember: Not every aspect of our lives is in our control. Sometimes things just happen, and the people who rise above those little (and big) challenges in their lives are the ones who can flow with, adapt to and even rise above them.

·         Patience is the gift that keeps on giving. In her book The Power of Patience, M.J. Ryan explores the various way that being patient with yourself and the people in your life can literally open up new opportunities (www.maryjaneryan.com). However, she warns, the key to capitalizing on this success is in knowing when and for how long you should be patient (wait) versus reach for the great opportunity that seems to be calling your name. Like the children’s story about the tortoise and the hare, sometimes focus/quiet consideration, diligence and persistence to achieve your goal are more effective strategies to attain it than charging directly into the fray to stake your claim.

·         Be generous and understanding/compassionate toward others even when you are inconvenienced. Similar to patience, every now and then we must all step aside or even take a step backward and give another person the benefit of the doubt when events in his or her life take precedence over your own. I liken this situation to the sign posted in each examining room at a local veterinary practice. The sign informs clients that the doctors must sometimes devote extra time to a very sick patient (the animal), and they ask for the humans’ understanding and forgiveness if a vet can’t see their pet at the scheduled time. I couldn't begrudge them that; could you?

·         Correct your “thinking errors” with cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. A “thinking error” refers to making broad cognitive (thinking) distortions or misinterpretations of an event or situation. An example of a thinking error would be your certainty that the world is conspiring against you because this freeway closure will make you late for work again, you’ve lost your house key and misplaced your cell phone twice this week. CBT facilitates a more balanced and accurate interpretation of those events and their likely cause(s), as well as help you to develop strategies to resolve conflicts that may develop from them.

Next time you are faced with a practical choice to make or are deprived of one altogether, remember that your emotional response is probably the most important decision you will make in that situation (albeit initially less obvious). Practice diaphragmatic breathing to clear your mind and help you to focus on these choices, your interpretation of what is going on in this situation and the possible implications of this belief(s). In addition to helping you relax, this technique will give yourself more time to consider all of your options and opportunities before you commit to a thought, verbal or physical action that you may not mean and cannot take back.

 

 

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/.