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Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Being Mindful

(This blog was originally posted on March 26, 2016)

Photo by Microsoft/Bing

One of the most beneficial lessons I have learned is to be more “mindful” of my environment and surroundings. The first time I heard about mindfulness was during my course through the Hypnosis Motivation Institute to become certified to use hypnosis to help people deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am working on this behavior again as I complete another HMI course on using hypnosis to help care-givers take better emotional and physical care of themselves as well as the person they are looking after. Basically, this concept entails slowing down our usual rush or frenetic, day-to-day behavior of existing and increasing our awareness of the immediate surroundings to slow down and reduce stress so we can live and enjoy life.

Following is an exercise you can practice while you take a bath or shower to increase your mindfulness and awareness of your own environment. The goal of this exercise is to help you focus on the positive, interesting and good things around you, to eventually draw in that goodness to replace any negativity you have been carrying inside.

Rate your level of relaxation on a scale from 0-10, with “0” being least relaxed and “10” being most relaxed.

Draw a long, slow breath through your nose and hold it for the count of four. Release the breath through your mouth. As you exhale, say or think the word, “calm” or “relax”. Continue breathing at your own relaxed rate. When you remember to do so, think or say the word “calm” or “relax” as you continue this Mindfulness exercise.

Step into the shower/bath. Focus your attention on the sensation of the water on your skin. What does the temperature like? How does it feel to have the water droplets falling on your skin (if a shower)? What is the sensation like as the water laps against your body (if a bath) as you position yourself to sit in the tub.

Notice the smell of the soap/bubble-bath/bath salts you are using. Is there a smell? What does it smell like, if anything at all? How does it feel (texture) when the soap/bubble-bath/bath salts touch your skin?

Now take a moment to allow the water from the shower splash over your hand, or to scoop up some bath water in your hands and allow it to spill through your fingers. Notice the shape of the water droplets. Can you see any colors in the water droplets or perhaps even in the bubbles from soap or bubble-bath? What are those colors? What are those shapes?

To conclude the exercise, rate your level of relaxation again, using the same 0-10 scale. What have you noticed during this exercise about your ability to relax and how it feels to be able to focus on something outside of yourself, this way?

This is just one example of how to practice Mindfulness. I use and teach Mindfulness to my hypnotherapy clients to help them relax and to help them reduce stress and anxiety, improve self-care and more. It is a great way to relax and practice noticing things going on around you that affect yet do not necessarily have anything to do with, directly affect, or are directly affected by you.

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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. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

Friday, June 28, 2019

Thoughts of the Day

Photo courtesy of 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.

“Prayers go up, blessings come down.” – Unknown

“Courage is very important. Like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.” – Ruth Gordon

“Go ahead, underestimate me. You won’t be the first…. You won’t be the last…. But you will be wrong.” – Dr. Steven Maraboli

“Law of consistency: Motivation gets you going. Discipline keeps you growing.” – John C. Maxwell

“Do not allow your fear to feed on itself.” – Lolly Daskal

“Your self-talk is the largest determining factor for your success in any area of life!” – Bruce Van Horn

“It is not the length of life, but the depth.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Every problem is a gift – without problems we would not grow.” – Anthony Robbins

“You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” – Louise Smith

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

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Friday, June 21, 2019

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

“Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.” – Jane Austen

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce

“In every living thing there is the desire for love.” – D. H. Lawrence

“Every day is an opportunity for something new to happen.” – Unknown

“Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy.” – Rumi

“Just when you think it can’t get worse, it can. Just when you think it can’t get any better, it will.” – Lolly Daskal

“I'd rather live with a good question than a bad answer.” – Aryeh Frimer

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” – Maya Angelou

“Sometimes life takes an unexpected wrong turn in the right direction.” – Unknown

“The only thing that makes life unfair is the delusion that it should be fair.” – Dr. Steven Maraboli

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Thursday, June 20, 2019

The Paris Window

(This blog was originally posted on February 24, 2017)

Photo by Rick Hustead

One of my favorite techniques to help a client find out what is really going on in the person’s life—i.e., the cause or foundation of the issue he or she wishes to address—is the Paris Window. This is a diagram of a box containing four squares. Each square features a question that is designed to clarify and bring the subconscious issue/motivation behind the unwanted behavior into conscious awareness.

This is what a Paris Window looks like:

Q: How do you feel about the problem? 1.	Q: How do you think other people feel about your problem? 2.
Q: How do you feel about how other people feel about your problem? 3.	The Actual Problem 4.

I use the Paris Window during the cognitive (alert) portion of the hypnotherapy. It is a particularly effective way to discover any underlying, subconscious motivation(s) behind the person’s unwanted behaviors that may be preventing the desired behavior change. One benefit of this technique is that it is very visceral: the person can literally watch a story about the origins or basis of this subconscious resistance evolve while writing the responses to each question (ideomotor response). Once the issue is revealed, I discuss it with the client in terms of his or her beliefs and feelings about the problem/conflict, motivations to change or get rid of the unwanted behavior and strategies to accomplish this. Finally, when the person is in hypnosis, I incorporate specific suggestions in his or her hypnotic script to help the person implement these new beliefs or behaviors to help actualize this self-improvement goal.

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Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified clinical 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/.