Watching Blackfish, Part 1

(This blog was originally posted on April 27, 2014)

 

I watched Blackfish (again) today. My sister wanted to borrow my DVD to watch with her sons; it had been a few months since I last saw the documentary, so I invited them over and we saw it together. I did warn her that some parts of the film might be sad or traumatic for her youngest child to see; I was very proud of him when my sister told me that she had warned him about that, but he believed the movie was very important and he should see it. So, my mom, my sister, her kids and I all gathered around the TV to watch it. In a way, the movie is about the effect of captivity on extended (matriarchal) families, so I thought it was appropriate that we were all going to see it, together. We popped popcorn. My youngest nephew likes to add hard-shelled chocolates to the popcorn, so I dumped some left-over Cadbury mini-eggs into the mix. My oldest nephew—who is almost 15 and a genius with technology—helped to get the DVD going in my dad’s (very complicated) Blue-Ray/DVD player.

The film affected me as it has every time I have seen it: I felt sad, frustrated, angry and even hopeful for the fate and future of these magnificent animals. This time, I was able to watch Blackfish through the eyes of two youngsters who didn’t know anything about the film or the ongoing campaign to end captivity of dolphins and whales. Although my sister and her boys have seen orca in the wild, the kids have never seen them perform at a marine park.

                Within the first few minutes of the movie, the younger boy started to ask questions and react to what he was watching: a dark screen, and then audio from the 9-1-1 calls start coming in. Someone is requesting emergency assistance to Shamu Stadium because a female trainer is being attacked by a killer whale. “Wait. Did that guy say the whale just ate her?” My nephew wanted to know, his eyes big as saucers.

                Later, in another scene, trainers are shown interacting with some orca. Happy music is playing in the background; the audience is cheering, my nephew is smiling. “Mommy, can we go to SeaWorld?” I must have grimaced, because the next question he had was whether the park was a good or bad place for the animals to be living in. My sister replied, “Watch the movie and decide for yourself.”

                By the end of the movie, we had watched fishermen capture and separate orca calves from their families to become stars in shows at marine parks. We had listened to interviews with biologists and former trainers about behavior of captive versus wild orca. We heard the trainers’ anecdotes about their interactions with the orca they worked with and how they felt about that work then and now. We had watched video analyses of the grief reactions observed in a couple of captive female orca whose calves had been taken away from them to perform at other parks. We had seen clips of accidents in which some trainers emerged from the training pool with lacerations, broken limbs and almost drowned. My older nephew observed sardonically that a bloodied trainer who was shown smiling and waving into the camera was doing this because he was “happy to be alive.” He added, “It wasn’t very surprising that when you keep a predator in a very stressful situation around humans, that people get hurt!”

When images of Tilikum’s family tree flashed on the screen and indicated that this orca had sired more than half of the orca in SeaWorld’s collection, both of the boys said in unison, “That isn’t good.”

                Everyone in my home audience finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when several of the former trainers go whale-watching and finally see wild orca, swimming free in the ocean. I was interested and ultimately gratified to observe how my sister and her sons reacted to what they saw in the film. Of course, the questions I had had about their reactions as a hypnotherapist (and observer of human behavior) were: How and why did they react to Blackfish the way they did? Did anyone—and if so, who—influence these reactions?

                I will address these issues in my next blog.

               

 

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

Client Cooperation

(This blog was originally posted on March 6, 2014)

 

 

Whether you want to change a behavior to improve your health or you simply want to learn how to relax, hypnosis is an effective, natural and drug-free tool that facilitates behavior change by accessing the subconscious mind. However, you must want to change your behavior in order for hypnotherapy to work.

As I explained in my blog titled Emotional and Physical Suggestibility, “suggestibility” is how we communicate and learn. Even though you can be suggestible to many people, you are most suggestible to yourself. Therefore, I incorporate the specific words/expressions you used to describe your emotions and motivations/desire to effect the desired change when I craft your hypnotic script (suggestions). This means that you will be hypnotizing yourself.

Many people wonder if hypnosis will really work—and how it can work—on someone who has a razor-sharp mind and such a strong will (i.e., a stubborn streak) like theirs. Even though it is natural to subconsciously resist the process of becoming hypnotized at first, these initial doubts may even help to deepen your relaxation and comfort once you enter the hypnotic trance. However, you will not successfully change your behavior if you do not want to make this change.

 

 

 

 

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

 

The Pattern “Interrupt”

(This blog was previously posted on March 13, 2014)

 

Image courtesy of Microsoft

                The subconscious mind controls 88 percent of our beliefs and behavior. Therefore, the mental script for an entrenched habit will trump the conscious mind’s logic, will-power, decision-making and reasoning faculties that want to change this habit every time. When I help a client to change a behavior in hypnotherapy, I utilize a technique called “pattern interrupt.” The purpose of the pattern interrupt is to give the SCM a time out while the individual engages in something completely different for a little while. Through this exercise, the client experiences how it feels to have the power and control to choose whether to engage in an activity that has been controlling his or her life.

When I work with someone to change a behavior, such as to quit smoking or lose weight, I first ask what specifically triggers the undesired behavior, and how he or she handles this kind of temptation. Next, we discuss options for dealing with the trigger without engaging in the unwanted behavior. It is important that the person comes up with these alternative behaviors in order for the client to remain motivated and enthusiastic about working to achieve his or her goal. The pattern interrupt should be simple and easy to do, whether it is taking ten slow, deep breaths instead of lighting a cigarette; drinking a glass of water instead of a can of soda; take the dog for a walk instead of playing a computer game. I will also reinforce these options as hypnotic suggestions so the subconscious mind will also start to recognize these new activities as “known” behaviors.

Every time you choose to do the replacement activity, even for just a couple of seconds, you are reinforcing a new behavior and creating a new known in the SCM. The great thing about the pattern interrupt is that anyone can do this. You don’t need to be in hypnosis or to have received a post-hypnotic suggestion to substitute an unwanted behavior. When temptation strikes, you just need to do something else for a little while… just long enough for the craving to subside and your subconscious mind to forget, for a little while, that this behavior ever existed, at all.

 

 

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

 

Because…That’s What You Like

(This blog was previously posted on February 3, 2014)
 

 

                In an episode of the series Sherlock, titled His Last Vow, that ever-perceptive and insightful sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, pointed out the obvious to his good friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson. Watson had experienced certain stressful, potentially traumatic and even life-threatening events during his life because he had invited those situations to occur. Even his choices of friends (Sherlock) and life partner were being dictated by these subconscious messages, preferences, choices that Watson kept making, over and over again because, basically, that is what the good doctor liked.

                Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained this behavior in his Theory of Mind: Each person’s subconscious learns and adopts behaviors and ways of thinking from a very young age. By the time you are about 5 years old the blueprint of your future beliefs and behaviors is established, based on what you have learned during these early years of your life. For example, if you like (or even hate) to eat a particular kind of food, it is likely that you were given this or a similar item as a youngster. You associate the experience of eating this item with memories about how it tasted, if you like the taste, who served it to you/who was with you, etc. Other behaviors and interests (preferences) are learned in a similar way: Some people prefer to stay at home on a Friday night and curl up with a good book or watch something on television, instead of going to a party with their friends. Others enjoy skydiving and participate in various high-adrenaline sports; they think nothing of skiing down a “widow-maker” slope. Some people enjoy the hustle and thrum of having a busy social life while living in the center of a bustling city. Others prefer a quiet family life in the suburbs.

These are extreme examples of personalities at either end of a spectrum, but the drive or motivation behind these preferences comes from the same place: the subconscious mind. This is the place where you store and reinforce your beliefs and behaviors by doing what you do—without thinking about it—every time you say, think or do that behavior. Even if you do not consciously like or enjoy the belief or behavior that you reinforce, by now it has become comfortable, familiar (pleasure) to you—even if it is not “pleasurable.” According to Kappas, everyone carries the association and enjoyment (or not) of our “known” behaviors and beliefs throughout your life or, until you are motivated to change this belief or behavior.

I help my hypnotherapy clients to change their various unwanted behaviors; hypnotherapy works because and when the person wants to make this change. Your subconscious mind may know what you really want, but in your conscious mind you have the will-power, decision-making, reasoning and logic to literally change your mind.

 

 

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

 

The Hypnotic Script

(This blog was originally posted on March 26, 2014)

 

 

                It goes without saying that each hypnotic script that I create for my clients is unique. It has to be: since each person is idiosyncratic and individual, even similar issues such as the desire to stop smoking, lose weight or increase self-confidence to speak in public will be as unique as the person who is wants to replace or discard an unwanted behavior. Furthermore, the origins of that unwanted behavior or habit will vary as much as each person’s reasons and motivations to change it and the degree of their suggestibility (how they learn). While I have and know many basic hypnotherapeutic “ingredients” to help my clients achieve their specific vocational and avocational self-improvement goal, it is up to me to create the specific “recipe” that will achieve this objective.

I create and tailor hypnotic scripts in a three-part process:

1.       First, I actively listen to what the person is telling me/explaining about his or her situation and goals to change a behavior. I will ask questions and even re-state or reframe what the person has said to make sure I understand what is going on.

2.       Meanwhile, I will be processing/integrating this information into a basic hypnotic script that I already know is or will be useful to address this issue. Literally hundreds of generic hypnotic scripts exist to address various topics, but each one is not necessarily appropriate for or applicable to every situation.

3.       Next, I construct the actual script using the client’s own words (descriptions) about why, how, when, etc., he or she wants to change the unwanted behavior based on his or her suggestibility. If the person is a physical suggestible, I know that the person’s subconscious mind will understand and process direct and literal suggestions such as, “Your eyes are closing.”) An emotional suggestible client’s subconscious will respond to indirect or metaphoric suggestions, such as “Your eyelids feel heavy.”

Once I choose a working framework for the hypnotic script I will use, I can be somewhat creative with how/when/where I include the client’s specific words or phrases in the suggestions. I may incorporate an imagery exercise or specific elements from a different (albeit related) script to support the hypnotherapy work I am doing with a particular client. For example, during hypnosis I like to include imagery around the color red to reinforce the idea of “stopping” the unwanted behavior (e.g., eating sweets, smoking, nail-biting, etc.) whenever the person sees this color. I can also decide—even at the last second—to not do a particular technique with a client, such as Inner Child work, if I see that the individual is abreacting (negative physical response) to some suggestions, which could indicate that his or her subconscious mind is not ready to accept or process this information.

Basically, during this process I am following the advice of jeet kune do creator and martial arts legend Bruce Lee: “Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.” I take the basic framework of a hypnotherapy process and subtly tailor the script to make it specific and relevant for the client I am working with, based on the fast decisions I must make about which material to use and how and when to use it during the 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/.

© 2015

 

Being Mindful

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

 

 

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.

 

 

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

Imagery and Visualization

Photo by Sara Fogan

 

 

Many years ago, I was asked to participate in an undergraduate student’s psychology experiment to test how and whether imagery could positively affect my performance in a simple task. I have since forgotten what that task was, but I do remember the scene I used during my visualization exercise: I was jumping my favorite horse, Renege, at the barn where I rode as a teenager. I also remember that my score on the experiment improved significantly after I did the imagery work.

The mind translate words (heard or read) into thoughts, and then into images. Imagery is very flexible because it can be applied to a lot of therapeutic situations to create a new neural pathway. As a certified hypnotherapist, I teach all of my clients to use guided imagery and visualization techniques during their hypnotherapy sessions with me and even how and when to employ these tools to alleviate stress outside my office. So, you might ask, what is the difference between these concepts?

Visualization is the ability to “see” something on the back of your eyelids, when your eyes are closed. For example, take a good look at the photo at the top of this page, and then close your eyes. Can you still “see” this picture in your mind’s eye when your eyes are close? If so, you can “visualize” a scene or scenario. The ability to visualize is a product of how we learn in Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s model of suggestibility, according to Kappasinian hypnosis. Someone who learns best by direct and literal suggestion can usually visualize the scene in that picture, very easily.

Imagery is a similar but slightly different concept. Yes, it can encompass visualization, but it doesn’t have to. Imagery actually refers to every experiential sensation, including sound, smell, touch, sight and taste. When we visualize, we “watch” or see something, but the experience is from a distance. Conversely, imagery is a spontaneous, subconscious reaction to a feeling. Perhaps when you looked at the picture above you also got a sense of the scent of pine trees or heard the rushing sound of water gurgling in the stream. Could you imagine feeling a cool breeze tickling your skin? Each of these examples illustrates imagery, or how or what you “imagined” the experience would really be like. If you learn through inference or metaphor (emotional suggestibility) you could probably smell the trees the moment you saw the word “pine” or even felt the rocks—slippery with moss—that are submerged in the cold water.

When I work with a client, one of the first things I do is to ascertain whether the person possesses physical or emotional suggestibility so I know how to speak to his or her subconscious mind during hypnosis. Don’t worry if you do not think you can visualize: if you see pictures or mini-movies in your dreams, you are “visualizing” in this context. In addition, if you can “picture” or “pretend” that something is happening or that you are doing something, you can “imagine” that you are seeing (visualizing) or perceiving that experience in other ways. All of these options will enable you to get the most out of your 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/.

© 2015