When Self-Confidence Is on Thin Ice

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Tune out all negative discussion and comments
about things that have already happened.
Focus on what you are doing now.

                On Saturday night, I watched the United States Ladies’ figure-skating championship. This was the big night for these women, because the outcome of this competition would (could) determine who would be on the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi, Russia, next month. One of the skaters—a “favorite” to win the championship—had apparently been repeating some very costly mistakes in her recent skating competitions and had fallen a few times, too. A reporter mentioned that this woman had apparently just missed being selected to compete in the Winter Olympics in 2010, so she was probably putting even more pressure on herself to make the 2014 team. He went on to describe the extra hours of training she had put in and then listed all of the previous skating “faults” that had kept her off the podium in recent championships.  The pressure was on, and I tried to think positive, confidence-boosting thoughts for her as she started her program. This is what I would like to have said to her and some guided imagery that I would have provided, to help increase her confidence so she would feel comfortable to go out and skate her best:

·         Tune out all of the negative discussion, comments and analysis about your previous events that you may overhear around you. These things have already happened. They are over, and it is time to focus on the program you will be skating now.

·         Take a minute to relive how confident and enthusiastic and joyful you felt when you won your last championship. When you have a good image of this experience, draw a deep breath and feel the power, excitement and confidence that you have when you have skated well. Then release any lingering negativity or doubt as you exhale that breath.

·         Allow your body to do what it already knows how to do. You have done each of these jumps, spins, arabesques, etc. thousands of times in practice and in other competitions. Your body knows how to do each of these things, so keep your mind/thoughts out if your body’s way.

·         As you smile during your performance, notice how this smile is building and boosting your confidence exponentially. The more you smile, the more confident you feel. The more confident you feel, the bigger your smile becomes, and so on.

·         As you skate, enjoy how you feel as you glide, spin and leap over the ice. Skate for the love of skating and how good it makes you feel.

·         You are already a champion many times over! You are competing at this national championship because you earned the right to be there, through the various competitions you have won in the past year.

 

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/.

 

 

Dream Therapy, Part 3

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Where do you go where you dream?

The most important part of dream therapy is to gauge the content of the dream. There are no universal symbols in dreams. Different things mean different things to different people. To help my clients translate the information their subconscious is communicating to them in a dream, I ask the following questions:

1.      At what stage of the night did the dream occur?

2.      Was the dream physiological or psychological? For example, did you hear a knock on your bedroom door and incorporate the sound in your dream (psychological dream)? The most common cause of a “falling dream” is a rapid loss of blood sugar; the person has a sensation of running, pulling or falling (physiological dream).

3.      What is the timing of the dream? Where are you geographically: in your current environment, in your childhood home, at college, etc.? This information is an important clue about your subconscious and the history of the development of your belief system.

4.      What was your dream about (content)? Was it literal or symbolic? Before interpreting the dream, you must decipher the language in which it occurred.

5.      What was your emotion (i.e., how did you feel) during the dream? The purpose of dreams is to trigger emotions and make you feel things.

6.      What emotions, information, etc. did you release in the dream through “venting”?

7.      How old are you in the dream?

The language of dreams is rich and complex. I use dream therapy to help my hypnotherapy clients learn and understand this language to facilitate their desired behavior change. The ability to communicate with the subconscious mind in this way is an invaluable tool to break through resistance and achieve goals.

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/.

Dream Therapy, Part 2

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

The venting stage of dreams allows you to let go of
emotions (energy) you don't need to hold onto anymore.

            While we sleep, the subconscious processes the millions of message units that the mind has received during the day. Dreams, which occur during REM (rapid-eye movement) sleep, are the “dumping ground” in which the subconscious essentially purges the mind of information that it no longer needs. There are three major REM activity periods:

 

·          Wishful thinking stage. These dreams occur during the first third of the evening (period of sleep). This REM period is the shortest and has the least (lowest) electrical amplitude. The majority of message units that your mind is processing are useful information; these dreams are the least intense.

·          Precognitive stage. This is the second major REM period. Dreams are longer and more intense. During this stage, you are likely to wake up from a dream with insight and answers to a problem you have been considering, because the information (resolution) was already in your mind. Remember, the mind only knows two things: knowns and unknowns—what is familiar, and what is unfamiliar. Actual “programming” of the lift script occurs at this stage of sleep; this new program becomes the autopilot that guides your day.

·          REM stage. This REM period occurs during the last third of the sleep cycle just before or up to an hour before waking up. The dreams that occur during this stage—“venting dreams’’—are the longest, most intense and best-remembered dreams. They are particularly valuable because your subconscious mind is dumping or letting go of the energy associated to emotions and information that you no longer need to carry around with you.

When you do not allow yourself to vent this information through dreams, you are holding in energy and inhibiting your ability to deal with daily stresses. When I work with my hypnotherapy clients, I provide a safe environment in which they can interpret their dreams and further vent the emotions (energy) associated with the dream, in hypnosis. I also provide a hypnotic suggestion that the client will release any remaining energy or emotions, etc. associated with their therapeutic issue in a venting dream, which we can discuss and work through in the next hypnotherapy session.

 

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/.

 

 

Dream Therapy, Part 1



Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Dreaming is the way your body maintains emotional
and mental health

 

            Whether you are sleeping or awake, the mind constantly perceives stimuli and processes those experiences as message units. Dreams are the language that the subconscious mind uses to speak to the conscious mind to make sense of all of that information you have collected during the day. The more message units you can take in during the day, the higher the amount of stress you can tolerate. Every night when you go to sleep, the subconscious mind is tasked with resolving your subconscious mind’s reaction to this stress in the form of dreams.

            When we are awake (conscious), we speak in linear language, but dreams are nonlinear. They may be metaphoric and symbolic; or, they may seem to have a “plot” and run from start to finish like a movie. Regardless of the format, your dreams are a direct language of the subconscious mind, and your subconscious mind is telling you what you need to know.

Dream analysis is often the first opportunity that I have to establish a working relationship with my hypnotherapy client. I use reflective listening to guide and support the person to interpret the meaning of his or her dream. Then, as I gauge the content of the person’s dreams, I can incorporate the language/symbols of the dream to create the hypnosis script help him or her change specific behaviors to achieve the stated therapeutic goal.

 

 

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/.

 

 

 

Chilling Out With My Boy

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

Hanging out with my horse puts me in a
"zone" of compete peace and relaxation.

                Riding is great, but one of my absolute favorite things to do is to just hang out with Galahad. One of his favorite things to do is to get groomed and loved on. Win-win! Not only is this activity enjoyable for both of us, it is a great opportunity to spend quality time getting to know each other better. I tell my horse what I have been up to since I last saw him (yesterday) and what is on the agenda for our day. I alternate grooming with providing a gentle massage and/or do a light Reiki treatment to help him release any physical tension held over from the previous training session. I find the physical action of grooming—using the hoof pick, curry comb, dandy brush and soft brushes—very calming and, dare I say (write) it: hypnotizing? I completely get into a zone of peace and relaxation. I take this “zone” with me as I go about the rest of my day, and even something that might have annoyed or frustrated me earlier in the day is barely a blip on my radar.

                Whether you have a horse to chill out with or a dog, cat or some hobby or sport that you are passionate about, it is very important to devote some time during the day to it. Go out and get into your own zone of peace and relaxation. The expression, “All work and no play….” is an important reminder that we all need to have a balance in our lives. This balance helps us to stay happy and motivated to do what we need to do and to enjoy doing the activity that makes us happy.

 

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/.

Time Management

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

It is often psychologically easier and more rewarding
to tackle small portions of a project at a time.

 

 

Many people fulfill several roles in their daily life. They juggle the role of parent, spouse or romantic partner, athlete, friend, etc., plus the myriad responsibilities they fulfill at work. Sometimes it feels like a full-time job to just keep track of who you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to be doing at any given moment. Here are some suggestions to help you relax and be completely “present” in whatever you are doing—no matter how much (or little) time you spend in that role.

·         Square breathe. Draw a deep breath through the nose and hold it to the count of four, then exhale through your mouth. As you inhale, visualize, imagine, picture or pretend that you are inhaling calm, focus, patience and any word that you associate with feeling powerful and in control. As you exhale, allow any stress, frustration or negative energy or emotion that you identify in your body.

·         Anchor this new sensation by pressing or rubbing the thumb and index (pointing) finger of either hand. This action physically “anchors” your subconscious mind to the calm, relaxed state of focused energy that you will be able to access as you fulfill each role.

·         Prioritize what you need to do. Make a list—mental or write it down—of what needs your attention. The first item should be what needs to be done right now. What is the next priority, and so on?

·         If a project is particularly complicated or involved, break that big project into several smaller, more manageable “chunks.” Even though the final project is the same, it is psychologically easier—and more rewarding—to tackle small portions of it at a time.

·         Stay organized and on-task­. Make sure that you have all of the material(s) available and on-hand to achieve your goal or complete your project.

·         Unless the project absolutely demands this kind of contact or you are waiting for someone in your group to arrive, turn off/silence your phone or computer. Technology makes our lives easier in many ways, but the temptation to check for unrelated text messages or voice-mail and browse the Internet for something-that-might-be-useful-but-is-actually-totally-unrelated to what you are doing, is almost always more distracting than helpful. 

·         Complete each task according to its priority before you tackle the next one!

Whether you are supervising a project at work, spending quality time with your family or just chilling out with your friends, each activity will place a specific demand on your attention and the time you spend doing...whatever. It is important to dedicate as much time as you want or need to this activity, but make sure that your focus is completely on that project. You, and whatever you are doing or working on, deserve nothing less—and you will value the time you spend focusing on this endeavor even more.

 

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/.

Hypnotherapy for Health and Well-Being

Photo courtesy of Fotolia 

Hypnotherapy incorporates the client's words to increase
motivation to follow healthy behavior and improve well-being.

One of the most common requests I receive is to help someone, through hypnotherapy, to live a healthy lifestyle. Each person will have a specific issue or area that he or she would like to address and/or focus on or improve or change. Hypnotherapy is such an effective tool to facilitate these health-related behavior changes because the hypnosis scripts incorporate the client’s own words and motivations to achieve those goals. I  reinforce these suggestions by creating suggestibility-specific scripts (e.g., physical or emotional suggestibility) with which my client's subconscious mind will identify, accept and understand so that he or she can easily and comfortably accomplish these objectives.

·         Lose weight or maintain weight lost

·         Stop smoking

·         Improve quality/quantity of sleep

·         Exercise/increase physical activity

·         Reduce/manage stress

·         Make healthy food choices

·         Drink more water/increase hydration

·         Improve/increase motivation to follow the new lifestyle regimen.

 

 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/.