Natural States of Hypnosis

(This blog was originally posted on December 29, 2013)

Photo Courtesy of Photolia

Hypnosis naturally occurs whenever your mind is so overloaded by stimuli
(message units)  that you enter a hypersuggestible state.

 

The first question I ask a new client is, “Have you ever been hypnotized?”

According to John G. Kappas, Ph.D., founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, “hypnosis is created by an overload of message units, disorganizing our inhibitory process, triggering our fight-flight-mechanism and ultimately resulting in a hyper-suggestible state, providing access to the subconscious mind.” Even if you have never worked formally with a hypnotherapist or hypnotist, you have experienced hypnosis. In fact, you are in a light state of hypnosis (trance) at least two times every day, 30 minutes after you wake up in the morning and 30 minutes before you drift off to sleep.

Other examples of natural hypnosis include being so deep in thought that you drive past your street or miss your off-ramp on the freeway; getting “lost” or confused weaving in and out of aisles in shopping-mall parking lots; or becoming so involved with the plot of a movie or theatrical performance that you feel disorientated for a few minutes after it show finishes. A very powerful example of environmental hypnosis is when someone stands still as a tornado (or tsunami wave, forest fire, etc.) barrels toward him—mesmerized by what he sees and seemingly unable to look away or flee to safety. Did you temporarily forget where you were while you listened to a marching band play the National Anthem and watched the fireworks display during your neighborhood’s Independence Day celebrations this evening?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, the advertisers and designers of parking lots, choreographers for the fireworks display, and even Mother Nature have done their jobs very well: you were hypnotized.

 

 

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/.

 

Introduction to the Mental Bank Concept

The Mental Bank Concept is a powerful tool to help
you set and achieve your goals by changing
your subconscious mental script.

                According to John Kappas, Ph.D. everyone follows a subconscious mental script. This script is created very early in our lives, and we will behave and even think in ways that are consistent with it even when the script does not facilitate achievement of our personal goals. Fortunately, the Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder created The Mental Bank Concept, which posits that each of us can change the script from what we are, to what we want to or should be (www.hypnosis.edu).

In addition to the intended benefit of changing our mental script, he promised that by doing the ledger we would also start to earn more money, or even receive monetary gifts to boost our real income. I clearly remember the inference in current HMI Director George Kappas’s challenge to the class as he speculated about how many people would actually spend two minutes each night before bed writing in our Mental Bank Ledger. After all, is two minutes’ of writing before falling asleep too big a sacrifice to make to improve your life, especially when your efforts for self-improvement are measured by earning more money in the process? When the class broke up for a break, I was one of the first people in the room to rush down the corridor to purchase a ledger.

This is how the Mental Bank Concept works: Each night, right before you go to bed, you will allocate a value (symbolic money) to specific behaviors, activities or events that have occurred during the day. You can “pay” yourself for going to work, working out at the gym/exercising, spending time with your family, attending a religious service of your denomination, etc. It doesn’t matter what the activity is so long as they reflect your efforts to change your subconscious mental script and achieve your new, positive behavior or goals. Then, you will write an affirmation to reinforce these behaviors and encourage you to continue to make these changes.

In creating the Mental Bank Concept, Dr. Kappas intended that people write in the ledger just before going to sleep because this is one of the times during the day that we are most suggestible, or amenable to learning. (The other time is the first 30 minutes after waking up in the morning.) The suggestions for the desired behavioral change will bypass the critical mind and drop right into the subconscious mind; the SCM will continue to process these thoughts and behavioral changes throughout the night, he explained.

Although this process is very simple, many adults are very reluctant (subconscious resistance) to change their lives using the Mental Bank Concept, Dr. Kappas observed. “Only 30 percent of adults will ever change their original script. Everyone else passes the pattern on. To change the behavior, you must change the subconscious script,” he warned.

I have been following the Mental Bank Concept since 2004, and it does work. The more subconscious and conscious work I do to achieve my goals, the more self-confident I feel every time I accomplish one and the greater the tangential (monetary) rewards I receive. For more information about The Mental Bank Concept, check out the video link at http://www.hypnosis.edu/streaming/#Mental-Bank-Program.

Contact me today at (661) 433-9430 or send e-mail to calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com to set up an appointment to experience how hypnotherapy and the Mental Bank Concept can help you achieve your goals. I will provide your first Mental Bank Ledger to help you get you started!

 

 

 

 

 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/

Mentors, Role Models and Positive Influences

                While I was trying to come up with a topic for today’s blog, two quotes popped into my mind: “What would Brian Boitano do?” and, “We stand on the shoulders of giants.” The first is a reference to DVDA’s song about the 1988 Olympic champion figure skater; among other things, the lyrics assert that Boitano would “make a plan, and he'd follow through, that's what Brian Boitano'd do!” (As I recall, the title of this song took on a life of its own for a while, whereby people would jokingly speculate what the skater would do to solve their dilemma.) The second quote is from Sir Isaac Newton, who credited the scientific discoveries of his predecessors in facilitating his own success. So tonight I took stock of Mr. Boitano’s projected response to a situation and took a loving look at some of the people who have inspired me on my journey through life.

·         Mr. Roland. He was one of my history teachers in high school, and probably one of the best at what he did. I remember more of the information he taught than any other teacher because he was such a good story-teller. Every lesson was like taking a step back in time and walking down the streets or across the battlefields that he described. He was very strict and terrified most of his students (including me). However, he was fair and enthusiastic about teaching the next generation(s) about what our forebears went through to make our country great.

·         Pet Shop Boys. From the moment one of my friends introduced me to their music 25 years ago, I knew I had found a group that represented how I felt as a Gen-Xer; coincidentally (or not), the lyrics of their songs on Behave described a lot of things I was going through between 1990 and 1994. To this day, “Left to My Own Devices” (from Introspection) remains my signature song.

·         Sandra and Robert, my friends (and former landlords). I had never really considered riding/training in dressage until I became their tenant in 1990. When I visited them in 2002, Sandra invited me to sit and “have a trot” on her Lusitano stallion. That ride marked the moment I officially returned to my first true love, horses. Robert is the first person to teach me how to drive stick-shift when he and Sandra let me cruise his Land Rover around an empty parking lot at a grocery store. It was the most fun I’ve ever had driving; by the way, this adventure was in England, so I had an extra challenge of driving on the side I wasn’t used to.

·         Diana, Princess of Wales. People who have known me for a long, long time probably remember me back in the days I had her haircut and wore dresses and hats to school. To high school. But it wasn’t her fashion that intrigued me, or even the fairy tale the public was sold (and bought) about her life. I was intrigued and inspired by her ability to stand tall and smile in public, to be gracious and carry on, when her private world was falling apart. The day moved home from England, for good, I was able to keep myself together by focusing on my mental image of the princess greeting someone at a fundraiser at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994. She was wearing that now-famous black cocktail dress and heels, smiling and extending her hand in greeting while her husband answered questions about their marriage for a television interview. I thought, “If she can hold it together so well—in public—while her world is falling apart, I can and will do it, too.”

·         Katie, one of the advanced riders at Silver Gate Farms (www.silvergatefarms.com) when I started riding again after a 19-year hiatus from horses. She motivated (and reassured) me to relax and enjoy the ride the first time I watched her hand-gallop her horse before a jumping lesson. (She jumped big fences.) My trainer, Jim, pointed to them and explained, “See that? She is completely in control of her horse.” He explained how and why this was true, but the image of this ride is what really impacted me: she was smiling and adjusting her sunglasses as they galloped around the arena. In my memory, she was holding the reins in just one hand…but who knows? I was ready and inspired to get on a horse and canter, too.

·         Katie again. It took six years for me to feel really comfortable driving, let alone taking the freeway, when I returned from England. When I told her this by way of asking if I could follow her from a local showground to get back to the barn, she said of course. Then she added the insight (advice) I now share with clients when I help them overcome similar anxieties: “Freeways are your friend. Once you are on the freeway, you can only go one direction so you can’t get lost.”

·         Dr. John Kappas and my instructors at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (www.hypnosis.edu). Sadly, I never got to meet Dr. Kappas, as he had passed away before I started my hypnotherapy training. However, through watching videos of his lectures, reading his books and learning his teachings through the instructors at HMI who lovingly carry on his legacy, I continue to be inspired as a student and practitioner of hypnotherapy. Hands down, the Theory of Mind has changed my life. At least, it has changed (for the better) the way I look at my life so I can approach new experiences with curiosity, enthusiasm and interest rather than anxiety or discomfort.

·         Monty Roberts, Chris Cox, Robert Dover, Jan Ebeling, Gina Miles, Charlotte Dujardin. Each of these individuals inspires me for different reasons and in different ways, but I consider them all role models for the work they do in handling and riding horses. Every time I work with or ride my horse, I remember his saying, “Low adrenaline equals high learning,” and exhale any anxiety, frustration or impatience I may be feeling. My first, most important priority is to make sure Galahad feels comfortable, safe and confident in his work, and I need to be the leader he would choose for that role. Mr. Cox’s advice that “you will never be on a runaway if you can ride a fast horse” has become my mantra when I feel nervous about trying something new during a lesson or if my horse shies at something. I just love the respectful way that Mr. Dover and Mr. Ebeling interact with their mounts during a ride: there is plenty of praise and long-rein/walk breaks to reward the horse while they are working. Ms. Miles and Ms. Dujardin are my inspirations in my riding: I want to be able to ride the way they do “when I grow up,” as I like to say. Or, at least to ride well enough to participate in one of their clinics one day.

 

So, that’s some background about people who have inspired me over the years. Who are your role models? Who has influenced your life?

 

 

 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/.

Hypnosis and Memory Recall

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

 

 

 

                Have you ever struggled with a problem or couldn’t think of the perfect response to a question or comment, only to go away and have that answer suddenly pop into your mind when you stop thinking about it? Do you sometimes forget where you set down your keys (I was just holding them!) or can’t recall the name of your absolute favorite movie when you are describing the plot to a new acquaintance? How about suddenly remembering that you needed to buy milk just as you are driving out of the grocery-store parking lot with your shopping? Have you ever had the answer to a test question (metaphorically) on the tip of your tongue but suddenly can’t access this information to write it down on the exam paper or quiz?

                Almost everyone experiences these kinds of situations from time to time. Such instances of forgetting important information are usually not indicators of illness, but they are definitely annoying and inconvenient. Once a medical doctor has ruled out a medical/organic/chemical issue as the cause or contributor to frequent memory loss, temporarily “blanking-out” information can usually be attributed to the fact that the conscious mind is overloaded with sensory/cognitive stimuli.* Once we leave the stressful situation or remove the external stressor(s) from our environment, the answer or solution to the problem seems to miraculously surface in our conscious mind. Here are some suggestions to help you access and recall information when you need it:

·         Pay attention to your body. It is easy to forget to do something when our conscious mind is so busy dealing with whatever is going on around us. However, our SCM has likely processed and stored this information, which it tries to communicate via subtle, physical sensations. If you start to notice that sense of unease or discomfort when you have the niggling thought, “I think/I know I am forgetting something!” pay attention to that inner voice.

·         Take a deep breath (or several). Deep breathing helps to relax your mind and body by sending more oxygenated blood to your organs. It also provides a momentary respite from the stress and frustration of trying to access the blocked information that you are trying to recall.

·         Play word/letter association games. It doesn’t matter whether or not you even know the first letter of the word you are trying to recall. Just start going through the alphabet slowly to trigger this association. You may have to repeat this process several times to get the answer you are looking for. That’s okay: the more you distract your mind from the emotional or cognitive stress of consciously looking for the information, the more likely you are to free your SCM to find and retrieve it for you.

·         Eat nutritious meals that contain protein—especially before a test or doing a presentation at work. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., eating food that contains protein prevents a sudden drop in blood-sugar level that can contribute to memory problems, increased anxiety and physical symptoms associated with this state. The less anxious you feel during a stressful situation, the easier it will be to retrieve information you need from your SCM to do well on your examination or answer questions about the material you discussed during a presentation.

·         Avoid saying/thinking, “Don’t forget…” The subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and fantasy; it also doesn’t recognize negative words. When you say or think that you should “not” do something, the SCM will process the message that it should do whatever you want to avoid. Instead, give yourself an instruction to remember to do the desired behavior.

·         Hypnosis can help you improve your memory/ability to recall information and relieve test anxiety. During your hypnotherapy session, I will teach you simple breathing and relaxation exercises to help you reduce stress as you prepare for and take your test. I will create a hypnotic script to specifically address your recall and memory issues. I will also give you a recording of your hypnosis to keep and listen to, to reinforce the relaxation and positive recall techniques that we worked on during your hypnotherapy session.

 

 

 

*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.

 

 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/.



Time for Quiet Reflection

Photo by Sara Fogan

                I do my best “thinking” when I am with my horse. As I described in a previous blog “Chilling Out With My Boy,” January 8, 2014), I don’t have to be riding or even grooming him to become uber-relaxed and inspired. Just watching Galahad play or graze with his herd-mates releases any tension or anxiety I may have been carrying around in my body. In response to this physical relaxation, my mind soon follows suit. Soon, all the answers to questions or doubts that have been niggling at me start to percolate up from my subconscious mind to my conscious mind, begging to be solved.

                I have found that spending time in a natural setting (ideally, at a barn) is a wonderful environment in which to do my mental house-cleaning. I liken this process to deciding which item(s) of clothing, books or CDs I will donate or sell to raise funds for one of my favorite charities to make room for everything I will acquire the next year. The process of accumulating so much stuff can take months, and deciding which item(s) I can bear to give up often takes even longer. However, the moment I decide that it’s time to make room in my home (and life) for those new goodies I am ready to part with my previous treasures. Knowing that someone else will be able to enjoy them one day removes some of the temporary sting of saying goodbye to those belongings.

Of course, sometimes it can be a little more difficult to bid adieu to my old expectations and beliefs about the “would have/should have/could have been” moments that may have somehow passed me by. But when I breathe in the scent of fresh hay and wild flowers and watch my horse languidly stroll to a new grazing spot, I see clearly that everything in my life is happening exactly the way it should be. I am literally fulfilling my lifelong goal of being a therapist; my opportunity to learn how to use hypnosis and guided imagery to help my clients achieve their goals is the gift that made my new career possible. Over the years, I have been able to significantly increase my patience and ability to tolerate and quickly resolve a minor stress in my daily life. I use/refer to John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind almost every day. Whenever I feel that tug of reluctance to try something or go somewhere new, I remind myself, “As soon as I do this once, it will become a known and I won’t have to worry about it again.”

One of my former instructors at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, the late Marc Gravelle, used to warn his students and clients about the never-ending pitfalls of “What if.” Nearly 10 years after I first listened to his reasons why and how this question causes unnecessary anxiety, not only do I understand and appreciate his philosophy, I am my own proof that this is true.

I wonder what new opportunities I will realize the next time I do some mental house-cleaning…

 

 

 

 

 

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/

© 2014

 

Imagery and Sports Hypnosis

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Guided imagery reinforces the desired behavior as a new known in the
subconscious mind and facilitates improved sport performance.

                Imagery is a powerful tool to help improve your performance in a sport (or just about every other activity in which you participate). Remember: the subconscious mind does not know the difference between actually participating in that sport and “imagining, visualizing, picturing or pretending” that you are working on specific aspects of your training. Therefore, when you can create that mental movie of yourself pitching a no-hitter baseball game, nailing that landing on the balance beam or riding a perfect canter pirouette, etc., the SCM processes this information like it really happened.

It is beneficial for me to know as much about the sport in which my clients participate so I can create an effective, powerful hypnotic script that will help them achieve their goals. My scope of expertise is in hypnotherapy—i.e., how to help a person become relaxed and change unwanted habits or behaviors to achieve their vocational and avocational self-improvement goals. I am also an equestrian; so while riding and horse-related activities resonate most strongly with me, I understand the commitment, dedication and sacrifice that all athletes must make to succeed in their sport. Before our first appointment, I spend time learning about my clients’ sport, including its rules, terms/lingo and history to get a better sense of their athletic environment.

When I work with clients to help them achieve sports-improvement goals, I encourage these athletes to video-record their training sessions and/or competitions so they can analyze what they would like to improve and why. It is great if their coach or trainer will watch the video with them to provide an objective assessment of their performance, including acknowledgment or praise of what they did right and constructive criticism of the errors to suggest ways of correcting any mistakes. The client can bring notes from this discussion to the hypnotherapy session so I can incorporate the instructions or advice in the hypnotic suggestions. If my client would like me to do this, with his or her permission, I am also happy to speak with the trainer to get information or clarification about specific nuances of the sport. These conversations can be especially beneficial because the coach will outline specific tips to improve the athlete’s technical execution of a technique, and I can incorporate these technical suggestions in the hypnotic script.

I like to use therapeutic guided-imagery when I work with athletes because, again, these techniques activate my client’s subconscious mind to mentally engage in their sport. It doesn’t even matter whether the person is physically (responds better to literal and direct suggestions) or emotionally suggestible (prefer metaphor and inference). When I customize the hypnotic script for an athlete, I take the person’s suggestibility into account when I incorporate his or her sport-improvement goal(s). During the imagery journey, the client will have several opportunities to rehearse or practice making the desired changes to his or her athletic performance while in hypnosis. In so doing, he or she will be able to virtually experience how it feels to make these changes by engaging all five senses: What does it look/feel/taste/smell/sound like when you do “x”? Engaging the senses in this way not only increases the intensity (“reality”) of the imagery experience, it also reinforces the behavior as a new known in the SCM, which facilitates the desired change in behavior (improved sport performance).

 

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/

© 2014

 

Relaxation in Hypnosis

Photo by Sara Fogan

When we are relaxed, it is easier to integrate hypnotic
suggestions to change a behavior and to see a previously
problematic situation in a new light.

                It is Friday night, and many people are looking forward to the weekend. Why? Because Saturday and Sunday are typically, “traditionally” (albeit, not necessarily) the days we devote to fun and relaxation. We give ourselves permission to kick off our shoes, loosen our neckties and put on looser-fitting garments to “play” in until Monday (work) rolls around again. If possible, we turn off or tune out that part of our mind that we devote to focusing on our jobs and the projects or responsibilities that preoccupy our attention during the week. The weekend is our time to do what we like, when we want to do it.

                Rest and relaxation are important components for physical and emotional health and well-being. When we experience anxiety, in the form of physical or mental/emotional stress, the adrenal system releases “stress” hormones to help us flee or escape the perceived threat. However, long-term exposure to an emotional or physical threat can compromise our immune systems and increase our vulnerability to opportunistic illnesses (e.g., flu). Our willingness and ability to get away from the daily stresses in our lives not only gives us a new perspective on a problematic situation; it also facilitates our physical and emotional rejuvenation that will facilitate our new outlook.

                I include a lot of deep (diaphragmatic) breathing exercises and progressive relaxation imagery to help my clients relax during their hypnotherapy session. When a client is deeply relaxed, he or she is more open to accepting and integrating hypnotic suggestions designed to change or give up an unwanted behavior to achieve the person’s stated vocational and avocational self-improvement goal. Also, the individual can create new, positive associations (subconscious knowns) between the comfort and relaxation that he or she is experiencing and a new or renewed ability to handle or resolve a potentially challenging situation. Finally, continued “practice” in feeling relaxed while engaging in the new, desired behavior will gradually, subtly transfer to various areas of the person’s life. Not only will the person achieve the stated self-improvement goal; he or she will find it easier to remain relaxed and experience less or no stress while taking on new or additional challenges at work and in life.

                Have a great weekend!

 

 

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/

© 2014