Inner Guide

Photo by Rick Hustead

Therapeutic guided imagery often utilizes the concept of an “Inner Guide.” The Inner Guide can be an animal, another person—living or deceased—or even take the form of a plant, flower or tree. It doesn’t matter what or who it is so long as the Inner Guide is all-wise, all-knowing and all-loving and provides the client with unconditional support.

A hypnotherapy client’s first introduction to the Inner Guide typically occurs during Special Place imagery journey during hypnosis. This is an imaginary environment that the client creates in the subconscious mind using associations and imagery to provide a relaxing, emotionally “safe space” in which he or she can explore options and make decisions, etc. Similarly, the Inner Guide is a product of the client’s imagination and associations. Meeting the Inner Guide here while the client is experiencing the greatest relaxation and confidence reinforces the person’s sense of comfort and confidence, thus facilitating integration of the advice and reassurance this image has to offer. (If a guide does not show up in the imagery exercise, that is fine, too.)

Like other imagery work I do with my clients, I help the client create a rich experience by asking the person to describe details about the Inner Guide, including what it looks like, what it is wearing/if it is clothed, its name, qualities, etc. I also ask the person to describe how it feels to be with this guide. (If a “negative” or critical Inner Guide has shown up, my training as a certified guided-imagery facilitator enables me to gently redirect the client to find or identify an all-wise, all-loving guide.) I encourage the client to talk to the Inner Guide and ask any questions he or she may have. As the imagery journey comes to a close, I ask the client what advice or important information the Inner Guide has to share with the person. Then I then incorporate this information into the hypnotic script to facilitate the person’s desired behavior change.

Of course, the Inner Guide is always available to accompany the client on other imagery journeys, by invitation only. It is also possible to have more than one Inner Guide and consult with specific ones depending on the issue being explored and what skills/advice the person feels would be more relevant in that situation. Regardless of the Inner Guide’s physical form, the client always has control over whether and when to incorporate it into the imagery journey.

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/.

© 2016

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

      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.

• “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

• “When something goes wrong in your life, just yell ‘Plot Twist!’ and move on.” – Unknown

• “Just because you can, doesn't always mean you should.” – Lolly Daskal

• “Perfection isn't attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi

• “Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.” – Roy Bennett

• “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins

• “The more responsibility you claim for everything that has happened in your life, the more control you will have over changing it.” – Bruce van Horn

• “You had the power all along, my dear.” – Glinda the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz

• “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” – Maya Angelou

• “Don't stress. Do your best. Forget the rest.” – Tony Horton

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certifiedl 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/.

© 2016     

Just What I Need When I Needed It

Photo by Rick Hustead

I have noticed something very interesting in the past couple of weeks. When I think about some physical skill or flexibility that I need to improve for my riding, that “thing,” whatever it is, seems to appear in my environment. Then there were those fortuitous events I described in my blog, Lost…And Found, when various items I believed were gone forever suddenly showed up again. On a couple of occasions, I have been able to find not only a spot but a great spot to park my car in a lot where parking is at a premium. And now, this has started to happen.

 

At the beginning of each yoga class the instructor suggests that we set an intention for the practice. Most of the time I “ask” for patience with myself to be able to stay in a pose for a little longer than I have been able to in the past, or hope that I need fewer corrections from the teacher. That is coming from my conscious mind, though, and these desires are more superficial. They aren’t what I actually need. My subconscious mind takes care of that.

Inevitably, the focus of the class addresses something my riding instructor has told me to work on during my previous ride. At some point during my lesson, she will identify something I need to work on, such as strengthen the muscles in my legs or abs, sit up taller or keep my shoulders back, increase my stamina, etc. She has even created a regimen of ballet stretches and other exercises for me to do to improve these areas for my riding. I do sets of lunges and demi and grand pliés in second and first position to open my hips and tread my feet on the edge of step to increase flexibility in my Achilles tendons. In addition, I practice straight kicks to the front, side and behind my body to isolate movement of my legs from my hips; sit-ups to strengthen my abs; and sprints up and down her long driveway to increase my stamina. Meanwhile, I also take yoga classes five days a week to improve my balance, strength and, of course, practice isolating movement in specific areas of my body.

I didn’t mention that goal to the yoga teacher before the class; but my subconscious mind attracted the day’s curriculum for me, nonetheless. The day after my trainer told me I needed to get more flexibility in my hips, the yoga instructor focused on hip openers throughout most of the practice. We did a lot of those today, as well. As I rolled up my yoga mat at the end of class I thought about all those crunches I still needed to do later, and the teacher announced, “Next week we are doing core work!”

In his book titled, Success Is Not an Accident: The Mental Bank Concept, Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explains how the mental scripts we program into our subconscious mind determine the outcome of our actions. Whether we imagine a positive or negative result, the SCM follows that subconscious mental script to actualize the goal you “want.” These instances are great examples of how the Law of Attraction facilitated the opportunity to work toward my goal of increasing strength and flexibility through my yoga practice. As Ralph Waldo Emerson previously wrote, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

It’s like magic, and I am the magician.

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/.

© 2016

Spell "Winner" for Me

Photo by Rick Hustead

KOST 103.5  FM radio is currently holding a raffle for an all-expenses paid trip to the Aulani Disney Resort and Spa on Hawaii. According to the competition rules, at the host’s instruction the 20^th person to call the station is entered into the raffle for a gift card and the trip. This afternoon, the KOST 103.5 FM radio host, Mark Wallengren let the caller know she was the lucky winner with some fun banter:  “Spell ‘winner’ for me.” 

And that is exactly what she started to do—until the caller realized she was the winner the host meant and wanted to know her name. “W-i-n-n—Oh!”

This brief interaction told me everything I could have wanted to know about both individuals’ respective suggestibility and sexual personality. According to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., the way a person responds to a question says a lot about how this individual communicate and learn. Someone with physical suggestibility processes information literally and directly, while the Physical Sexual uses metaphors to communicate. Conversely, someone with emotionalsuggestibility processes information through inferences and metaphors, while the Emotional Sexual tends to speak directly and literally.

Based on the description above, I deduced that Mr. Wallengren is a Physical Sexual personality. While his question was a literal instruction, he introduced/informed the caller that she won this phase of the competition with a metaphor or puzzle. Also, the fact that his job entails a lot of social interaction and he often tells anecdotes about his wife and family, which supports my analysis of his personality. Meanwhile, the caller’s initial, literal interpretation of his request suggests to me that she is a physical suggestible or even somnambulist, which is a very high level of suggestibility. In addition, hers is probably also a Physical Sexual personality because she called into the radio station to participate in the competition; this very public activity put her at the center of attention in a very large population, a position that few people with an Emotional Sexual personality would want or seek.

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/.

© 2016