Practitioners

If you want to quit smoking or know someone who does, you might want to read this. There are all sorts of advertisements for “stop smoking aids” and methods to quit smoking, but in my hypnotherapy practice, I have discovered things that you probably won’t read about anywhere else. Perhaps these are the secrets about smoking that will ultimately help you or that person you know who smokes actually quit. None of this information is medical advice, and I strongly encourage you to talk to your medical doctor about quitting smoking. (Obligatory Disclaimer)

Is Nicotine “Highly” addictive?

Let’s start off with one of the most controversial things I’ll be telling you. We’ve all heard that nicotine is a “highly” addictive substance. There are studies, and tests, and trials and all sorts of data to “prove” that fact. There are nicotine patches, nicotine gums, and other “nicotine replacement” therapies used to break the smoking habit. I’ve heard anecdotal information that nicotine is more addictive than heroine. I’m not a medical doctor, and I’m not a researcher, AND I’m not giving you medical advise here, BUT if the reason people had so much problem quitting smoking was because they were addicted to the nicotine, and the reason they smoked was to GET the nicotine into their systems, wouldn’t the desire for cigarettes immediately disappear as soon as they got the nicotine through another avenue?

In other words, if nicotine addiction is the culprit, once someone put on the patch, wouldn’t they just naturally NOT want cigarettes anymore? Most people I have worked with have tried the patch, and it didn’t do anything for them (or not enough). So is nicotine addictive? Sure… but so is caffeine… The point I’m getting at here is that the “nicotine addiction factor” with smoking is only a small part of the reason people continue to smoke and that nicotine is no more addictive than your morning coffee. From all the studies I have read about, it seems that right around 1 in 5 people are helped by the nicotine patch when they quit smoking. So if it’s only 1 in 5, then common sense says there must be something else going on.

What Purpose Does Smoking Serve?

“Why” someone smokes and the “Purpose” for smoking always gives two different answers. The “Why” might be because it relaxes the smoker, or it beats boredom, or some other “reason”. The “purpose”, however, is completely different. When I work with smoking clients in person, I induce a trance and we go back to the first time they smoked. I have them remember the situation, the time, all the specifics, and their mindset. What I find fascinating is that VERY close to 100% of the people who started smoking had the same purpose(s) for smoking. The purposes were 1. “To Rebel Against Their Parents”, and/or 2. “To Fit In with Their Peers”.

Let’s look at that for a moment. The purpose for smoking for most smokers is “To Rebel” and “To Fit In”. Is that a purpose that the smoker WANTS it to have? Does it work anymore? Do they still NEED to rebel and fit in? In today’s society, smokers are fitting in less and less by smoking, so it definitely doesn’t serve that purpose. As far as rebelling against their parents, that should have been over LONG ago for most of my clients, and in most cases IS over.

So… for most people who smoke, the purpose for smoking is no longer valid. It may have been valid at one time in their lives, but it isn’t anymore. To re-frame it, smoking serves no purpose. All that’s left now are the “why’s” and we can change those easily…
So If It’s not Addiction, and It Serves No Purpose, Why Do I Smoke?

There are a couple of reasons left, and I’m going to tell you all about them. The first one is that you’ve gotten into the habit of smoking. Actually, you got into the habit of performing certain “actions” with parts of your body and certain “rituals”, so to speak. Let me give you an example of something not related to smoking.

I’ve worn glasses ever since I was in my early 20’s. When I wear glasses, I don’t like them fitting too tight because they hurt my ears and the sides of my head sometimes,so I adjust them to be a little loose. With my glasses being a bit loose they slide down on my nose sometimes, and I reach up with my right hand and push on the center of the glasses over the bridge of my nose and push them back. No big deal… They slip down, I push them back up.

Well, I decided to get rid of my glasses and start wearing contact lenses, and I noticed the oddest thing. When I was agitated, or nervous, or bored, I would reach up as if to push my glasses up on my nose, even though I didn’t have glasses on anymore. The same action, but totally without purpose. It was a habitual action. A behavior. When I did it, I felt silly and could laugh at myself, and that made it quite simple to stop within a short period of time with no problem. I didn’t like contacts, by the way, and I went back to wearing glasses and am back to pushing them up on my nose again, but with purpose…

The Habit and “Ritual” of Smoking

Now let’s look a bit more at the actions of smoking. Most smokers smoke a pack a day. Some more, some less, but the majority are right around one pack a day. Each pack contains 20 cigarettes, and it takes about 15 “puffs” on a cigarette to smoke it. Each time a smoker smokes there is a ritual of sorts that is involved. He or she gets the pack, taps out a cigarette, puts it to their mouth, lights fire of some sort, puffs to get the cigarette lit, then performs a repetitive action of putting the cigarette to their lips and puffing and taking it away from their lips about 15 times, and then ends the ritual by stamping the cigarette out in some manner. This whole ritual takes 7 to 11 minutes to perform, and it is performed 20 times a day at fairly regular intervals.

Not only is he or she performing the ritual 20 times a day, he or she is also moving their hand to their mouth three HUNDRED times a day. Smoking for over 10 years means you’ve performed that action day-in, day-out over a MILLION times — literally. Now I don’t care WHAT it is, if you’ve done three hundred times a day for 10 years, when you stop doing it, it’s going to feel a bit odd, or like something is missing. I felt odd when I stopped wearing glasses and found myself performing the action of pushing up non-existent glasses on my nose. It’s the same thing going on here… It’s not the cigarettes that a smoker misses, it’s the ritual, and the action. Take away the cigarettes, and the ritual and actions have no purpose, so the smoker doesn’t do them anymore, so there is that feeling like, “there’s something I need to be doing right now”, or that something is missing, etc. That feeling gets translated by the brain into something along the lines of , “I need a cigarette”. In reality, it should be translated into, I need to perform my ritual/action.

Smokers Assign High Importance to Cigarettes

Somehow over the period of time that a person has been smoking, they began to assign extremely high importance to the cigarettes with behaviors about them. A smoker always makes sure to have cigarettes with them and that they have a “sufficient quantity” to last a while. A pack of cigarettes (and a lighter/matches) are nearly ALWAYS within easy reach if not ON the person’s body in a pocket or purse. If a smoker runs out of cigarettes, he immediately goes to a store and purchases more. If he forgets them, he either goes back to get them, or buys more right away. A smoker always tries to ensure there is a steady and ample supply of cigarettes.

The slight twist I’m going to make here isn’t that the cigarettes are so important, as is the ability to perform the “ritual” and “actions” I wrote about earlier. It’s the RITUAL that is of utmost importance, thus leading to all the actions and protections related to the “ingredients” of the ritual. That’s VERY important. It’s not so much the cigarettes themselves that are important, as it is the ritual that’s important.

Let’s look at it another way. Suppose you work at a job that’s 50 miles from your home. The way you get to work everyday is to drive your car there. You wash your car, do all the maintenance on it, and know the best route and alternate routes to get to work. So… everyday, you get up, get showered, and dressed appropriately and drive your car the 50 miles to your job. That’s your ritual — getting ready, and traveling to work. Your car is important because it’s an integral part of the ritual of getting to work. making sure there is enough gas in the car is important so that you can complete the ritual, as is maintenance and repairs on the car. The important OVERALL part here, though, is “getting to work”.

Let’s throw In a Few Changes
So what happens if your driver’s license is taken away, or your car breaks down and you can’t afford to get it fixed or get a new one? All of a sudden, you can’t get to work the way you have been for years. Regardless of how it happened, driving your car to work is now no longer an option. So now, you find another way to complete your “ritual” of going to work — because THAT is what’s important, right? It’s not HOW you perform the ritual of getting to work, it’s just important that you DO perform it. Perhaps you can take the bus, or the subway, or carpool with a co-worker. There are all sorts of ways that will get you where you need to go with relatively few differences. Sure, there will be some minor adjustments, but overall, things are the same. You still get up every morning and get showered and dressed appropriately and “travel” to work. The “travel” part is just a bit different now.Now Let’s Apply That to Smoking

Earlier we saw that nicotine isn’t all that addictive, and that smoking really doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. We also saw that it’s the ritual and the actions that seem to be important and that need to be altered in how we complete them. Now let’s change “how” we complete the ritual, so that you can give up cigarettes easily by replacing them with something else.

The ritual we are changing has a lot of ingredients, and we want to keep as many of those ingredients as we can, so that there will be as little “adjustment” as is possible., so let’s look at the ingredients. There is the repetitive arm motion of raising the hand to the mouth. There is the oral sensation and taste of the smoke. There is the need to have a constant, ample supply of the ingredients. We also want to have the changes actually be something healthy, rather than unhealthy.

Many people gain weight when they quit smoking because they substitute eating snacks or candy to satisfy the oral sensation, taste, and repetitive hand/arm movement. They keep snacks and candy around constantly in order to satisfy the ample supply part of the whole scenario. Since weight gain isn’t desired, that makes snacks a poor choice as an alteration to the ritual.

To combat the weight gain, some people try to just chew gum, but that doesn’t meet the “repetitive arm movement” part of the ritual even though it meets the others.

OK, Tell Me What Works!

The best thing I have found is so simple it blows people away. Get yourself a sports bottle (the kind with a straw sticking out the top) or one with a closeable top is even better. Keep it with you always, and keep it filled with drinking water. Assign the same importance to IT as you USED to do with cigarettes. By that I mean that: 1. You always carry it with you. 2. If you forget it, you either go back and get it or buy one at the nearest convenience store. 3. You always keep it at least half full, and make sure you refill it if it starts to run low.

It satisfies the repetitive arm movement. It satisfies the oral sensation/taste. It satisfies the constant/ample supply scenario. And everyone is always being told to drink more water to stay healthy. It’s a home run!

To Make it Even Easier To Quit - Do This

Before quitting, start to make cigarettes less important in your life. You can do that in VERY simple ways, and you’ll notice that you begin to smoke less without even trying. Here is what you can do:

1. Get the water bottle and start carrying it with you as described above (but don’t even TRY to stop smoking yet).

2. Put your cigarettes in a different place than “within reach”. Put them at least 10 steps away. The farther away you put them the better, but in “another room” is actually good. Get into the habit of doing this and your smoking will drop off a lot. It’s important to remember here that it’s OK to smoke whenever you want to at this point. You just need to go to the other room and get ONE cigarette and then leave the pack there and go smoke. If you smoke in your car, try putting the cigarettes in the trunk, and stop and get one out of the trunk whenever you want to smoke. You’re NOT quitting smoking yet. You are reducing the importance of the cigarettes in your subconscious mind’s perception. At the same time, you are giving it the water bottle in step one to transfer that importance to.

3. Count how many cigarettes you smoke each day. Get an initial count before you make any changes at all. Don’t force yourself to smoke less, just count them in whatever way you wish. Track what begins to happen when you have done steps 1 and 2 above and expect to see a rather quick drop off initially, followed by a more gradual reduction over the next few weeks or so.

4. About a week AFTER you have been successful at establishing the habit of leaving your cigarettes in another room and you only smoke when you go get one make this next change. Only smoke in one place, and do nothing else while smoking. No watching TV, no talking with other people, nothing. You stand or sit by yourself and just smoke that one cigarette.

5. If you’ve been buying cigarettes more than one pack at a time, start just buying ONE pack at a time, and only buy another pack after all the cigarettes from the current pack are gone.

Let each change that you make above settle in and become comfortable for you before you make another change. even though this will take longer for you to quit smoking, it will make it completely stress free and permanent for you. GRADUAL is the key here.

When do I Actually Get To Quit?

The answer is… When you feel ready. Once you have done all the things above, and you’ve experienced how easily you cut down dramatically with very little “adjustment” problems, you’ll find your confidence in being able to “quit completely” will be at an all time high. When you start to get that “I can really do this” feeling, set a quit date. Gradually get rid of ashtrays, and lighters so that on your quit date you’ll only have “one last ashtray and lighter” to get rid of. If you want to use the patch, make sure you have them ready to go (or the gum, or inhalers or any other aids you wish to use). You can do this more easily than you ever thought possible. Just do it the way I laid it out, and you’ll program your mind to help you with it rather than fight you on it.

Now for My Shameless (and BRIEF) Sales Pitch

Another Stop Smoking Aid is hypnosis and subliminal audio. It can truly assist with the process above, and make it go quicker or easier. You don’t NEED this to stop, but a little extra help is always beneficial. You can read about the CDs (a set of 3 for around $40) or MP3 downloads (a set of 7 for under $20). They have helped a LOT of people quit smoking, and they’re not only reasonably priced, they really work.

Click this link to check out the Stop Smoking audio products I offer.

Coming very soon on our site, and hopefully lots of other places, is our latest “Law of Attraction” title.This one is a video that I am making in partnership with Knowing Entertainment Productions. We just wrapped our first full two days of production, and the “trailer” will be soon visible on our site and elsewhere on the web.

The Law of Attraction, which has been popularized so much by the movie “The Secret” is something that we can all use more of in our lives. I’ve been using it’s principles in my daily life and with my hypnotherapy clients for years. I thought it was a great idea that I get these things out to people in as big of a way as possible. Thus, the video.

What I noticed to be lacking in a lot of the “stuff” out there was a way for people to immediately and effectively, step by step, put the Law of Attraction to work for themselves. Rhetoric about it abounds everywhere I look, but the actual do “this”, “this”, and “this” is much harder to find. Our video will give you exactly that. The “How To”, that you can put into action immediately after watching. The step by step layout for manifesting changes.

It’s also worth mentioning here that the video is NOT an advertisement to buy more things or sign up for “courses”. It’s a complete, self-contained roadmap to success, wealth, love, health — whatever you decide you want in your life. It presents some old ideas, some new ideas, and some existing ideas with a new twist.

When the trailer is up on the site, we’ll let you know on here. Who knows, maybe you’ll even hear about it on, “Oprah”.

…about past life regression and future life progression…

Regression work involves going back in time to the origin or source of a problem or issue that is operative in your day to day life now. This may be to a previous time within the current life time or to an actual past life. Progression work involves moving ahead along the time line either to a later time in a current life, or to an entirely future life time. Of course, this is a very tricky concept, when you consider that our top physicists are now telling us that they are not at all sure about this past-present-future linear concept of time in the first place. If a person, for example, has a fear or phobia that is currently impeding their ability to live a normal life, it can be very helpful to use hypnosis to help that person re-access information that is stored in memory as to where and why that phobia or fear first came into play.

Often times, traumatic events that take place often bring a form of amnesia with them about these events to protect the person from reliving the experience over and over again. Unfortunately, the effect, such as the fear or phobia will come through with no context to explain why it is there. Often, just recalling the origin is enough to enable the person to rightfully assign the reaction to that place, that time, and those circumstances, which then frees the individual to decide that the reaction is no longer useful in his or her current life and the phobia will generally disappear.
Future life progression can be helpful in understanding how patterns that have been revealed within a person’s soul journey have evolved and will continue to evolve as they play out over time. It is also helpful in showing the individual the possible array of consequences or results that may derive from choices made in current time. Working with the future time line can be a wonderful adjunct to goal manifestation work for example. I am often asked about regression and progression work from those who are skeptical or unsure about what it entails. It is interesting that powerful changes in behavior can occur, even when the belief system in not in line with the idea of reincarnation. Perhaps these powerful effects can be ascribed to DNA memory or metaphoric and/or archetypal patterns that have been playing out in the person’s life, and which can now be changed or healed once they are revealed.

There are many provocative cases which offer ‘proof’ of successive lives and the debate goes on. For me the effect of this work is the most important area of focus. In my own life, it was a spontaneous past-life regression that instantly and permanently released three phobias I had had since early childhood. This experience led me to take training to become a hypnotherapist. This single regression had changed my life in many incredible ways. Since then, many more insights and changes have emerged from continuing work in this realm. I am content to leave the debate about reincarnation to others. If you are interested in exploring this work, I encourage you to find a good hypnotherpaist to work with.

For those who have some experience with trance work, you may be interested in the MP3 downloads available from the United Hypnotherapy store. If you have personal experiences with either regression or progression work that would help others understand the value of these techniques, please add a comment to this post. You may also be interested in checking out available recordings for Past Life Regression and Future Life progression at our store.

Past Life Regression CDs/MP3s

In this third post of the series, I would like to address the WHEN of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. This aspect incorporates two parts. Let’s look at the first part here.

Many times, at the end of our first session, a new client will ask me how often and when they should practice going into the alpha state. This answer will vary from person to person. As you read in Part One of this series, stress chemistry is generated while we are in the beta brain wave state. Since we tend to be in this state 99.999…% of the time we are awake (in our harried and stressed-out western culture), we are carrying a big load of stress chemistry in the system in an on-going way. Sleep does not efficiently clear out this chemistry, so it tends to accrue over time. This is what results in overwhelming stress which can represent in extreme cases as system breakdown in one or more of the dimensions of being. In other words, in the physical body you might have a breakdown in one or more body systems. This can be disorders such as asthma, IBS, high-blood pressure, lupus, or even more extreme conditions like heart attack, cancer, and stroke. In the mental aspect, you might have disorientation and ‘brain fog’ or a total mental breakdown. In the emotional aspect you may experience anxiety or phobias, or a complete nervous collapse.

You begin to see the range of effects of prolonged, unremitting stress upon the being. So the first step in determining when you should access into the alpha state is determining how high your stress load is. Once you have a sense of that, it will guide you in your practice. If you are already experiencing serious repercussions of your stress, then the answer will be ‘as often as you can every single day.’ This means looking for opportunity in your daily schedule and making opportunity. It is not something you do ‘when I have time.’ It becomes a priority. Remember, even short periods spent within the alpha state can have a tremendous benefit. When you learn to access this state quickly through consistent practice, then even a short break will provide a huge benefit. This will need to be practiced consistently throughout the day until the stress load has been brought down to a manageable level.

I personally feel that every one of us will benefit from a longer alpha session before going to sleep every night. The reason is that the stress chemistry interferes with the proper functioning of the organism during sleep, so it will facilitate the benefits of sleep if we ‘clear the decks’ first. For instance, if we are highly stressed and we take that stress to bed with us, it will prevent us from achieving into the deepest stage of sleep, called the delta state, or stage four of sleep. This is where the brain generates the Human Growth Hormone needed for repair and regeneration of the cells. This means that not only will healing take longer, but aging will be accelerated. This is only one small example of how stress can disrupt the work of our sleeping bodies.

Often, my ‘type A’ clients will protest that there is no way they can make this much time in their schedules for alpha practice on a daily basis. My response to this is two-fold. First, there is no way you can afford not to make this time. Secondly, the paradoxical thing is that the more time you make for alpha, the more time you will recoup in beta. This is because the alpha state will clear the mind and restore energy to the body, the net result being more focus, better prioritization, better problem-solving ability, more creative solution finding, and much more energy to implement your ideas and work.

So, to recap the first aspect of when to practice alpha, the idea is to commit to one longer session (twenty to thirty minutes or more) before sleep every day, with as many shorter (ten to twenty minute) segments as you need to bring down your stress load to a manageable range.

The second consideration on the WHEN of hypnosis and hypnotherapy is to look at when you want to consult with a professional to help you learn and utilize the many fabulous tools available for maximizing the internal resources of the subconscious mind for creating change in your life. The answer to this is simple: when ever you are ready to make a change for the better, when you are ready to commit to your success, when you are ready to act in your behalf, when you are ready to let go of being stuck, when you are ready to expand, learn, and grow, then you are ready to pick up the phone and make an appointment. I will leave you with a few words of wisdom on this now:

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.–Rene Descartes

The world we have made as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of thinking at which we created them.–Albert Einstein

Change only favours minds that are diligently looking and preparing for discovery.–Louie Pasteur

I constantly get asked about effectiveness of subliminal recordings and scientific proof, and studies and things such as that. Many people are looking for me to cite clinical studies, or data collected by the scientific method, but I don’t do that.
I know what has worked for me and for my clients. “How” it works is another story altogether. I think that the “how” is irrelevant most of the time. I don’t need to know how a TV works in order to watch it, nor do I need to fully understand the internal combustion engine to drive my car.
I got the following question emailed to me, and i thought other people would be interested in it and the answer.

—-

Hi Rick,

I was surfing the net about Law Of Attraction and stumbled on your site. I read some things on Subliminal messages and there is ’supposedly’ scientific proof that subliminal messages do not work.

Since you are at the heart of it… what honestly have you noticed?

Please respond..very interested.

Mike

—-

Hi Mike,

I think it all depends on what studies you read and how they conducted it. Years ago, (before I was in this field myself) I ordered some subliminal tapes and used them. They seemed to work, but the company was very specific that I needed to keep the playback head of the cassette player de-gaussed or the tapes would lose their effectiveness. I don’t know if it was the power of suggestion or not, but they did seem to lose effectiveness over time.

Later, I ordered some affirmations tapes from a different company and repeated the affirmations out loud and they seemed to work well, but I wasn’t always in a place where I could do that, nor was it appropriate to listen to that type of thing (in offices around other people and such).

I searched for a long time for a “happy medium”, and was determined to find something that would work that was in between. What I found out in doing all that looking was that a lot of the subliminal audio that was out there truly didn’t work, because the subliminal part was recorded at a level that was not only beneath perception, but that was impossible to even register through people’s senses at all.

I got to where I didn’t trust anything out there if I couldn’t verify that there was actually something on it. Interestingly enough, I started my current business by adapting things I was doing to help myself to helping other people. In order to get the results I wanted, I developed my own type of subliminal recordings — for my own use for various things.
I know I’ve taken a long time answering your question, but what I actually noticed was that when I used the subliminals that I made myself with a different recording technique than all the others, they worked, and they gave me the results that I wanted.
Now honestly, I don’t know if it’s the power of suggestion, the placebo effect, or what, but they always work for me. The difficulty is that anything I say about it is purely subjective, but maybe that’s the whole point. The Law of Attraction is about feelings and emotions and attitudes, so if they (the subliminal CDs) are able to affect a change in attitude (no matter how that actually happens), then I guess they are working the way they need to.

When it all boils down to the end, as long as we achieve the results that we want, do we care how it happened?

Other people report the same results with listening to my subliminals.

I hope I answered your question… sorry I got long-winded

Best Regards,
Rick McFall
United Hypnotherapy

Subliminal Audio CDs/MP3s

There are two separate aspects of the HOW of hypnosis. One is the how do you get into the hypnotic, or alpha state in the first place, and the other is how you work with it once you get there. Let’s consider the first aspect briefly. There are many ways to get into the alpha state, and probably every hypnotist and every Hypnotherapist will have their own favorite ways of helping or teaching clients to access this state. Fixed-eye inductions are what most people think of when they think of hypnosis. These are the ever popular ‘stare at this spot….’ or ‘look at the spinning disk…’ or ‘follow my hand with your eyes…’ type of induction techniques. This is also what tends to happen in ‘highway hypnosis’ which is why you want to keep your eyes moving when you are driving to stay alert. This type of technique works pretty well for people who are visually-organized. However, not everyone processes information primarily through the visual channel, so there are many other techniques as well. Because the way I work is to teach my clients how to access this state on their own, I prefer to have them close their eyes and do a progressive relaxation, leading into visualization. This technique brings in auditory, visualizing, kinesthetic, and olfactory cueing as well. When I am working directly with a client, I will ‘load’ the sequence with their particular modalities. On CD, I spread it across the board so that the most people will get the most benefit. Let’s move on to talk about the second aspect of the HOW of hypnosis.

When we talk about how to work with hypnosis, we are now into the realm of hypnotherapy. It is one thing to get into the alpha state; it is another to know what to do once you get there. This is where working with a trained Hypnotherapist can make all the difference for a client who desires to make specific changes in targeted areas of his or her life. The client and the Hypnotherapist comprise the WHO of hypnotherapy. Many skills are involved in successful hypnotherapy. For a brief overview article on this, please see http://www.transformfast.com/tools_of_the_hypnotherapist.htm. Here, let me just mention a few of the procedures that may be employed to illustrate the broad range of techniques that are available.

• One of the most basic tools is called a ‘reframe.’ What this means is simply helping the client shift their perspective to see their issue from different points of view. This is more easily achieved in the alpha state than in ordinary awareness because the ego is less dominant. The alpha state provides for an ‘expanded’ awareness that can see more options and possibilities than are normally apparent.

• Sometimes, the Hypnotherapist will work with metaphors or archetypes to help the client understand their situation in the context of a parallel or larger story.

• In other cases, the technique will be working with aspects or parts of self which may be in conflict, by helping the client ‘broker a deal,’ which can provide a context for all the parts to be in alignment.

• Time Line work is another modality for working with patterns and unresolved issues, sometimes by helping the client trace the roots from the past and ‘projecting’ the results into the future to see probable outcomes if change does not occur in the now.

• At times, working in the trance state can be similar to working within a waking dream with the sub-conscious guiding the unfolding of the understanding within the client. In such cases, the role of the Hypnotherapist is to ask skillful open-ended questions which are carefully timed to continue providing opportunity for the unfolding process to expand.

Each client and each issue is unique. No one technique will work across the board. This is why the Hypnotherapist must be able to tailor every session to the person and the circumstances presented. The few techniques briefly outlined here represent a very tiny sampling of the various methods which may come into play within a session.

This is why, when choosing a Hypnotherapist to work with, you want to find someone who continually upgrades their skills. This is not a profession for someone who wants to work in a routine manner. Because hypnotherapy deals primarily with the sub-conscious mind, and the ‘operating system’ of this aspect of the consciousness field is very different from that of the conscious mind, it is truly a dissimilar therapeutic model from standard ‘talk’ therapy with a counselor or psychiatrist.

In my next post, I will discuss the WHEN of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

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I can generally tell by the way people react when I tell them what I do whether they truly know something about hypnosis or whether they have a lot of misconceptions about it. People who actually know something about hypnosis ask me interested questions and we then have a great conversation. People who are holding a lot of misconceptions tend to get a glazed look, a frozen expression, and start sidling away as fast as they can, as if they have just discovered that I am some kind of evil sorceress! Because there are still so many misconceptions about hypnosis and hypnotherapy out there, I decided to write this series of posts, and hopefully clear up some of this stuff, if not once and for all (wouldn’t that be nice?), at least for you curious readers who have ventured thus far. So, here is WHAT hypnosis is:

• It is the best method for accessing into the alpha state of consciousness. The alpha state is simply an AWAKE, inwardly-focused, deeply relaxed state of awareness. It is one of the normal states of consciousness we all experience, and it is where the true relaxation response is generated. Generally, we tend to pass into and out of this state very quickly in our rushed and busy lives. Hypnosis is one way to access into this state deliberately with the intent of relaxing, harnessing our internal resources, and developing our focus. Since the alpha state is part of our original design blueprint, so to speak, and since it is the organism’s best ally in balancing our stress load, it is curious to me that so many people subvert the wisdom of the design (and the designer?) by deliberately avoiding the alpha state.
  
• Hypnosis is a healing modality that has been recognized by the American Medical Association since 1958. It is an incredibly powerful agent for relieving stress, managing pain, speeding healing and recover from surgery, releasing phobias and anxiety, lifting depression, facilitating healthful sleep, letting go of bad habits and instilling good habits, reducing blood pressure, addressing skin conditions that do not respond to standard therapies, bringing babies into the world in a peaceful and relaxed way, and so much more.
  
• Hypnosis is safe. Those in the alpha state retain control of their minds and only accept suggestions that they wish to accept. Mind control is one of the ‘fears’ many people have about hypnosis. The irony is that a consistent alpha practice will only strengthen your mind and your own control over your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It also provides insight, understanding, and protection against the insidious forms of ‘mass programming’ that happen to us culturally and societally, through advertising, propaganda, biased news reporting, faulty educational agendas and more. The kind of mind control that some few people mistakenly associate with hypnosis is only achievable through torture and extreme brainwashing techniques.
  
• Besides being the key to unlocking the relaxation response, hypnosis is also the best tool we have for effecting personal growth and achieving what we desire for ourselves in our health, our careers, our relationships, our spiritual development, and in all aspects of our lives.
  
• Among hypnotherapists, the saying goes: ‘ALL hypnosis is self-hypnosis.’ What this means is that you must be a willing subject in order to access into the alpha state. Someone cannot come up to you and put you into a trance unless you are willing at some level to allow that. I personally teach all my clients in their first session to access into this state on their own. This is YOUR birthright. It is YOUR best tool, best ally, and best defense in a stressful and demanding world. When my clients learn to get themselves into this state on their own, successive sessions can be spent doing targeted work on specific issues, and again, I teach my clients to use those tools for themselves as well.
  
• Hypnosis is something virtually anyone can learn. Some people will say “my mind is too strong, I am not a good subject.” This kind of statement reflects a poor understanding of what is going on with hypnosis. Actually, the poorest subjects are those who have mental impairments which make it difficult to understand and follow directions, and those people who are so fearful that they are unwilling to flow with the process. Intelligent people who are able to understand the value of learning this technique have no difficulty in doing so. Remember, it is a normal part of your consciousness range. You flow in and out of it whether you realize it or not. The process of learning self-hypnosis is simply to bring your intent to it and practice sustaining the state long enough to gain the benefits of it.
  

Hypnosis (remember: self-hypnosis) offers a direct path into the sub-conscious mind. When we are outwardly involved with the world around us we are in the beta brain wave state (where we experience the stress response) and in our conscious, analytical minds. When we utilize the pathway of hypnosis, we release the focus on the distractions of the outer world, and we bring our awareness to the inner spaces of our consciousness, into the subconscious field. The subconscious is not only a repository of past memories and programming, it is also a profound internal resource for shaping our present life and our future.

The brain wave state and the area of consciousness comprise the WHERE of the hypnosis issue. The HOW comprises the thousands of tools and techniques that can be utilized within this state to effect change. I will address the HOW, the WHO, and the WHEN of the hypnosis issue in future posts. For now, I just want to clarify some things that hypnosis is NOT:

• It is not woo-woo or voo-doo. (Remember, it is a NORMAL part of the consciousness spectrum built into our basic design, and we flow into and out of this state whether we are aware of it or not.)
  
• It is not NEW AGE. Although the term ‘hypnosis’ was not coined until the late 1890’s, accessing into the alpha state is as old as mankind itself.
  
• It is NOT what you see in stage hypnosis acts. REMEMBER: everyone participating in those stage shows on any level is there for one purpose and one purpose alone– entertainment. We all know that the entertainment value is in the wacko stuff some volunteers will be doing up on the stage. Those who volunteer wish to do such wacko stuff at some level or they would not raise their hands. Once up on the stage, the desire not to be the ‘killjoy,’ ‘party-pooper,’ or ‘wet blanket ‘ will be more than sufficient motivation to elicit the desired behavior whether they are ‘hypnotized’ or not.
  
• It is not ‘weird,’ ‘dangerous,’ ‘out there,’ ‘mind-control,’ for the ‘weak-minded,’ or ‘fake.’
  

Hypnosis is empowering, relaxing, safe, fun, simple, effective, and transformative! It is for people who want to have more control over their own minds, emotions, and behaviors. It is for intelligent and motivated people who want to improve their lives utilizing their own innate resources. It is the best way to access one’s inner wisdom, as well as the creative, imaginal, visionary, and intuitive aspects of consciousness. It is the best way to access into the neutral perspective where you can access multiple points of view so that you can be at CHOICE in your life, rather than at EFFECT. At its most basic, it is the most powerful tool for addressing stress in a normal and healthful way that is available to us. Since stress is the common denominator across every aspect of our lives, hypnosis is a tool that can bring us benefits regardless of what the issues are.

UnitedHypno Store Home Page

You may want to begin with Part One of this article if you haven’t already done so. The bottom line answer to why people are overweight is because they rarely deal with the real issue. The real “purpose” for the weight being there.

In hypnotherapy, I guide my clients to the purpose of the weight being there. Then I guide them to “healing” that particular issue. Once they do that, the weight no longer serves a purpose, and it does begin to go away all by itself. It’s just like running a race and breathing hard. Once the race is over, and there is no need for extra oxygen, a person’s breathing returns to normal all by itself. Is that magical? It all depends on your perspective I guess. A lot of people I work with look at the whole hypnotic process as being magical because it all happens so fast.

So to wrap everything up a bit here, I’d say that weight loss isn’t about weight at all. Weight loss is about personal growth and inner healing. The weight is just a symptom of something else going on in a person’s life that needs some attention.

When a smoke alarm goes off, it’s not about the annoying sound that comes out of it that’s important. It’s about what’s causing it to go off in the first place. If there is a fire, we need to put the fire out, and the smoke alarm will become silent all by itself after a while. Stop treating weight like it’s the ear piercing noise of the alarm, and go put out the fire instead. It will give you the permanent results that you’ve been looking for all along and will bring a lot more happiness into your life.

Weight Loss CDs/MP3s

Considering the principles of hypnotherapy and NLP, as well as the Universal Law of Attraction, it is important from a weight management perspective to watch your focus, not your weight. When we say to ourselves “I must lose this weight,” the subconscious mind picks up on your focus on weight, and helpfully obliges you by bringing you more of what you are focusing on (weight). It (your subconscious) makes no distinction on which way you are focusing on it, it simply perceives that you are very involved with that weight and therefore you must want more of it. Then, it obliges you by adding more pounds.

This is exactly the same principle behind how the Law of Attraction works in a universal sense. In other words, the abundant universe will also line up to give you more of what you are focusing on in just the same way. It will bring you plenty of opportunities to eat more, to eat those things you believe are fattening, to be inactive instead of active and so on. It will also team up with your subconscious mind and really pack those pounds on. (From certain perspectives, your subconscious mind and the abundant universe can be perceived as the being same thing anyway.)

Instead of focusing on your weight, focus on health. Focus on having energy and freedom of movement and flexibility. Focus on wearing some favorite outfit to a special event and feeling and looking fabulous. Focus on the emotions of being happy with yourself and having fun in the world. Step into a positive and healthy, energetic vision of yourself. See out of those happy eyes, hear the vibrant world through your ecstatic ears, feel the feelings of being and having what you truly want.

Put another way, what you are truly wanting is not ‘weight loss.’ What you are truly wanting is to be healthy so you can enjoy life, to be at an appropriate weight which allows you to be happy, energetic, feeling attractive and so forth. Behind all of this is really the ultimate goal everyone has for themselves, which is to be happy. To be in a state of BLISS. This is what we crave at the core of being. So focus on that, and take your mind off the weight.

Does this mean to stop caring about your health and about eating appropriately of healthy food in healthy amounts? And stop caring about moving your body in a healthy way? Of course not. But, what I am saying here is shift the focus on these things. Do these things because you love yourself and your body and wish to make sure that you have all the best things in the best amounts to provide the best care for yourself. Focus on doing these things because they are part of having a healthy happy life which you love. Stop doing them because you think you HAVE TO do them to lose weight.

Oh, what’s that you’re saying? Weight? Did I hear ‘weight’ again? You don’t have enough, you’re still focused on that? Always with you, it’s ‘blah blah weight this, blah blah weight that.’ A thousand times a day, that’s all you think about. Weight, weight, weight, weight, weight. Well, here you go, have some more!

Weight Loss CDs/MP3s

A woman I was working with lately mentioned that she prays for peace everyday. As she said this, there was anguish in her face. Like many of us, she is deeply concerned about the conflicts and suffering in the world. This ‘praying for peace’ is something many people do on a regular basis. However, one thing that strikes me about this is that by ‘praying for peace’ we may actually be focusing on the lack of peace in the world, and by focusing on that, we can then feel a lack of peace within ourselves. I know that focusing on this certainly creates anxiety and a lack of peace within me.

Perhaps peace is something that we can create in the world by bringing ourselves into a state of peace. The more ‘at peace’ we are, the more we may generate the consciousness of peace around us, and the more peace can be generated on a larger scale. It is difficult to generate world peace when we have so few people on the planet who are ‘at peace’ within themselves in a consistent way. When we say ‘Lord, bring us peace’ or even ‘Let there be peace in the world,’ this is actually a plea to provide that which we do not have, so in this way we are reflectively focusing backward, onto the ‘lack of peace’ which initiated our plea in the first place.

From the perspective of the Spiritual Law of Attraction, which is, simply stated, that you create more of that which you are focused upon, I wonder if it might not be more effective if we were to ‘pray’ from the perspective of gratitude rather than suplication? I wonder if we might not find peace within by giving thanks for our peace? And, I wonder if experiencing peace within might not generate more peace on a larger scale? I know for myself, as I have been repeating this ‘thank you for my peace’ quite often over the course of the last few days, that I do feel more at peace within myself.

I am wondering if anyone else would be interested in just trying this way of ‘praying’ for peace, as a gratitude practice. No matter what is going on in my life, I find that just stopping a moment and saying ‘thank you for my peace,’ I automatically feel better. I believe that it is possible that WE (the big collective WE of the world) will only find peace when we (the you and I individuals of the world) find and know our own inner peace.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” ~William A. Ward

Warning: the side effect of a balanced happy brain can be a dramatic shift in the size and shape of your body! This is the true story of how I released 40 pounds last fall and have kept it off through nutritional cleansing.

Ten years ago I became the executive producer for a major market morning news show. My crazy schedule helped me gain 55 pounds in six month. My skin turned a slightly ugly shade of gray and for the first time in my life I was actually looking my age.

It’s amazing what stress will do to your body. The morning program didn’t last but I ended up running the stations entire news operation and taking on more stress and a little more weight.

In 2001 with the ratings on the rise and my career taking off, I left the business and the stress and became a Hypnotherapist.

Slowly about 17 pounds came off but at 208 pounds I still didn’t look nor feel like my true self.

Hypnotherapy had helped me feel great about my bigger body, and healed my life in many many ways, yet I was still out of balance.

Those months working the overnight shift had not yet been erased. Yet as I did the Hypnotherapy I began to experience an urge to just cleanse my body and my entire life.

That was when I stumbled into John Gray’s new work. I like so many of us had read “Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus.” and could really identify with all those behaviors men and women seem to fall into.

But thanks to a recent health crisis John Gray had discovered a huge error in his life’s work. Men didn’t have to act like they were from Mars and Women didn’t have to always behave like they’re from Venus. All those behaviors are symptoms of unbalanced brain chemistry caused by a lack of trace minerals and balanced nutrients in the body.

You can change your brain chemistry by changing your thought patterns with Hypnosis, coaching or even psychotherapy. Or you can change the things you put in your body and watch your chemicals change your thoughts. Or you can do both!

I read John’s “Mars, Venus, Diet and Exercise Solution” and skipped ahead to the instructions and jumped right into his nine day cleansing program.

Druing my first cleanse I lost 10 pounds and felt a huge inner shift. I waited a week and did it again. There went another 15 pounds. I waited two weeks and did it again and there went another ten pounds.

I added a liver detox and a parasite cleanse on my own and felt like my entire body had been restored. I have my 160 pound body back. I fit in my 30 inch waist jeans… and I need to have my 38 inch suit pants tailored.

I will turn 46 this summer and I look and feel at least ten years younger. My old coworkers don’t even recognize me.

My clients want to know exactly what I did and how they too can do it.

But what I tell them and everyone who will listen is that this isn’t about the weight. It’s about restoring the balance to my body and my brain and my life.

The weight loss has just been a side effect. My cravings for junk food, sweets, and between meal snacks are gone.

I have a whole new appreciation to food. I can now feel an instant reaction to the food I put in my body. If my body wants and needs it, it feels good. If it’s not right for my body I feel it.

My skin has cleared up. My hair is softer. My breath smells better. I have more energy. I sleep better. I don’t even snore as much. My heart burn is gone.

Just as the last of the weight was coming off, I discovered the world leader in nutritional cleansing and a way that my clients, friends and family could repeat my success without having to read John’s book and buy a bunch of different cleanses.

I now help coach people through a simple cleanse with products from this company and guess what? I even got to meet my new business partner, John Gray. And he’s not the only amazing business partner I now have. I’m now working with Jack Canfield of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” fame and a team of amazing healers and health care professionals.
Since switching to these cleansing products and flooding my body with nutrition I’m now not only thinner and balanced… but I feel better than I ever thought I could. It really wasn’t until I started feeling this good that I realized just how bad I had been feeling most of the time. We get so used to the way a body full of junk feels that we don’t even realize what is possible.
I now experience moments of bliss out of the blue. It usually hits a few minutes into exercise or when I’m out for a walk. My heart opens, I feel a sense of joy and I just get this uncontrollable urge to smile.

My clients who are now on the cleanse are not only looking great and losing weight but are experiencing the benefits of Hypnotherapy at a faster rate. Now that the impurities are out of their systems the self transformation work is easier and the all around changes in their lives are even more profound.

By following my link, you can order any of the cleansing or nutrient rich products. You can even become your own distributor and make some money helping people heal their bodies and their lives. Before you order anything, give me a call. I’ve actually gotten really good at helping people figure out which cleanse will work best for them.
I think it is important to do a subconscious cleanse at the same time. Purging your mind of all those unhealthy thought patterns that had you turning to food for comfort, love, safety etc.

You can cleanse your mind much the same way I did by following my TranceBreaker Hypnotic Experiences. I’ve created a series of 21 Hypnotic recordings that are designed to cleanse ever aspect of your life.

They begin with “You Deserve To Be Here” this will help get you ready for any cleanse be reaffirming your deservedness, because after all you do deserve a thinner body and a balanced brain and life.

The trances are sold individually in MP3’s or CD’s or you can buy them in sets of three. Each set is organized around issues as they relate to the Chakras or energy centers in the body.

I suggest listening to each recording once a day for at least three days if not a week before moving on to the next. Don’t skip any of the first three recordings they’re essential to an effective cleanse. TranceBreakers class two promotes Deep and Complete Self Acceptance. With out that you’re just wasting your time. And TranceBreakers class number three will free you from poverty consciousness and help you begin to manifest more of what you want in your life.

The second Chakra trances cleanse your feeling center allowing you to both heal negative feelings and at the same time getting you in touch with exactly how you feel. This also cleanses what ever trauma, drama, guilt or shame you associate with sex.

The third Chakra trances are your chance to purge yourself of being a victim, this is an essential part of a cleanse. You’ll learn in a subconscious way the art of setting boundaries and experience the power that only exists in this moment.

The fourth Chakra journeys will cleanse your heart so that when you are ready you too will experience the same bliss I’ve been having. The trances promote a deeper sense of self love and a true experience of unconditional love.

The fifth Chakra journeys cleanse away the blocks to speaking your truth and communicating with your higher self.

Sixth Chakra trances open cleanse away the toxic thoughts that cloud the way you see the world. People who listen to these trances report an opening to their intuition and a freedom from taking everything so personally. It’s a chance to open your mind to new ways of thinking and being in the world.

The seventh Chakra trances cleanse your connection to the divine. This series allows you to balance your masculine and feminine energies so that you can connect more fully with the part of you that is eternal and divine. It also helps you to shift past what for many is the ultimate fear, the fear of death.

None of these trances is specifically for weight loss because weight loss is only a symptom of a toxic mind. All of these trances are designed to cleanse your mind of toxic thoughts. A side effect is weight loss, and when you couple the trances with the Isagenix cleanse the weight comes off both quickly and easily.

You too can have the same experience I and my clients are having.

I work with people all over the country over the phone, doing hypnosis and life coaching to help them become their true selves and in the process create their true bodies. Perhaps I can even help you.

Here’s the link to John Gray’s Book
www.amazon.com

Here’s the link to order the Cleanse
http://trancebreakersbrainbalancing.isagenix.com/ If you decide to do the cleanse give me a call. I can help you buy the right product for you and set you up with a cleansing coach for free coaching during your cleanse.

And Here’s my Hypnotherapy Website for more on my services.
http://www.hypnoki.com

If you have any questions you can give me a call at. If I’m in session, please leave me a message and I’ll call you back.

or you can always e-mail me at
hypnokirick@aol.com

Be sure to share your success here at United Hypnotherapy by commenting on our blogs.

TranceBreaker Hypnotherapy Recordings

So how do you super charge your affirmations? I use a technique that involves recording them and creating a chorus of my own voice and then listening to it every day for a few minutes.

First you will want to write out your affirmations and put them through a feeling test to make sure every word fills you with positive feelings, images and sensations. Then record them. It helps to have at least three minutes worth of affirmations. You will be surprised how long three minutes is.

You can record this directly onto your PC or Mac with microphone or record it on a digital recorder and upload the file to your computer. Then using an audio editing program you can loop your affirmations so that you have 15 minutes of solid affirmations. You can save this loop as one track and lay it down again starting it 15 to 20 seconds after your first loop. I have done this where I’ve added it over and over again until I have more than 80 versions of my reciting my affirmations playing at the same time. I then turn the volume of the affirmations down and mix in some relaxing music.

The result is an amazingly powerful hypnotic journey. I did this for a client with cancer. She listened to her affirmations at least once a day every day for over a year. I watched in amazement as everything she affirmed began to come true in her life. One of her affirmations was that people would be looking at her bald head because she was so attractive and it was so sexy. She forgot that this was on her tape and came in one day telling me how even with her bald head men were hitting on her. Her affirmation was working even though she didn’t even remember it was on her tape.

If you need some good audio software for creating multiple track audio, there’s a shareware program for free called audacity that works on PC’s and is very effective for a project like this.

Here’s a link to download it. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

If you use a Mac your garage band program can create multiple tracks and is just as easy to use as Audacity. You may need to buy a new version of I-life that includes garage band if you are using an older mac.

You can do all this without a computer the old fashioned way, cutting and splicing audio tape. That can take forever and there’s no room for errors. Once the tape is cut, it is cut.

You can also purchase affirmation recordings right here on United Hypnotherapy. As you listen to a Hypnotherapy recording that includes positive suggestions and affirmations, try repeating the suggestion to yourself as you hear it. This can make the experience even more powerful.

Happy manifesting!

Rick Reynolds, CCHT

If you’ve read Part 1 of this article, you are beginning to understand that I really don’t care “why” people are overweight because it truly doesn’t matter. A good prospect for what DOES matter though, is “What purpose is served by being overweight?” The “purpose” of the weight is a whole different story and gets us a whole different answer.

A lot of the answers to the “purpose” question are a bit shocking when we hear them, but the examples I’m giving are all real ones that came up with clients of mine. Here are a few:

“If I’m overweight, I’ll be undesirable, and if I’m undesirable I won’t get into an intimate relationship. If I don’t get into an intimate relationship I can’t get hurt. So the weight prevents me from getting hurt in a relationship.”

“I don’t deserve to be happy because I’m a bad person, and being overweight makes me unhappy. The weight serves as punishment for my being a bad person.”

“Being overweight makes me bigger so that I can be seen. People never noticed me before, so the weight serves the purpose of making me big enough that they see me now.”

“People hurt me when they get close to me, so the weight serves as a physical barrier to keep people at a distance.”

There are as many “purposes” for the weight as there are people who have a weight problem, but this gives you a slight idea of what types of things come up. Weight as punishment for something, and weight as protection “from” something are the two main underlying themes in most purposes for being overweight. Oddly enough, almost every purpose that has come to light with my clients has had some sense of logic to it.

OK… so let’s say that we found out the purpose of the weight or of being overweight. Let’s say that the purpose is to make the person undesirable so that they won’t get into a relationship where they will get hurt. Now what? We found the purpose, so does everything magically resolve itself and the weight problem goes away all by itself? Nope…

Let’s look at the purpose again. Chances are that part of the reason this person wants to lose weight in the first place is so that they CAN have an intimate, loving, caring, relationship. (Which they CAN do without losing the weight, but that’s a whole different topic). So the purpose of the weight is a purpose that they don’t want the weight to serve anymore, and THAT is important. All of a sudden, the weight has lost it’s purpose for being there. NOW is the weight going to magically disappear all by itself? Probably not.

Contined in Part 3 of this article…
Weight Loss CDs/MP3s

It’s a simple question, with a simple answer.

Q: Why are people overweight?

A: Because they eat to much, and don’t exercise enough.

The problem is, that’s not the question that matters, and if that question isn’t the one that matters, then the answer probably isn’t all that important either.

Working with thousands of hypnotherapy clients, I have noticed that most people are focused on the “Why” questions all the time. In fact, many of my clients were “expert” at determining the “whys” of what they did long before they ever came to see me. For instance, I would hear stories of their abuse when they were younger, and that they ate food to feel comfort. So the answer to the “why was that client overweight?” was “because she ate to feel comfort.” Overeating is often associated with all sorts of feelings that people are trying to cover up, and the emphasis has usually been on finding out “why” the person feels that way. So what happens is that people go into therapy to discover all the “whys” in their life. “Why are they frightened by authority figures?”, “Why are they nervous in crowds?”, “Why do they overeat?” and on and on… why? Why? WHY?

My answer to all of that, in all seriousness, is: “Who Cares?” Really… It’s kind of like this story:

A guy was driving down the road and got lost. When he realized he was lost, he looked for and found a landmark. Then he got his map out and found the landmark and his position on the map. He knew where he wanted to go, and he could figure out how to get there quite easily on the map, BUT instead, he spent all of his time trying to figure out how he got there in the first place. Rather than driving to his destination, he sat right there struggling and straining to find out how he got here.

The only thing that’s important to me in that story is, “Where is he now?” and “Where does he want to go?”. That’s all we need to know to help him move forward. It doesn’t matter in the least how he got there.

If we take the story a bit further, we could imagine someone coming along and seeing the guy’s frustration and offering to help. When asked what the problem is, our lost motorist replies, “I don’t know how I got here. Can you help me figure out how I got here?”

Now if it was me who chanced upon this guy, I’d politely tell him, “Yes, I can help you figure that out, but I won’t. What I will do, though, is help you get to where you want to go.”

So… does it matter “why” the guy was lost? No… He just was. Does it matter “why” someone is overweight? No… they just are.

What’s next? Read Why Are People Overweight? Part 2-Purpose…
Weight Loss CDs/MP3s

When Deborah came to the Sacramento Lightworkers for a healing, we talked about changing her contract. Diagnosed with a fatal disease called pulmonary fibrosis, Deborah was told by her doctors that there was no chance for a medical cure. For over a year, Deborah, a middle-aged wife and mother of a twenty-one year old daughter, would wake from sleep to painful coughing fits, sometimes so powerful that she broke ribs and had to be hospitalized.

Courageous, unafraid to die, Deborah also believed that there was hope. We talked about how she had contracted for this disease–how her getting this disease was for the highest good–but how, now that she had experienced the disease, perhaps it wasn’t necessary to experience death because of it. In an instant, if she believed, and if it was for her highest good, Deborah could change her contract. She could write a new one, learning how to live with her disease, possibly reversing it altogether.

With that in mind, we lightworkers went to work on Deborah, knowing that we could not cure her, but that we could give her the energy to heal herself, if that is what she and her higher self decided was for the highest good. We worked with Deborah for about an hour and a half, each of us in their own way. I like to use a Reiki Sound technique called the Kotodama. I prefer to use this technique while the client is standing, so I was allowed the honor of going first. Then we all joined together, creating a wonderful experience. The positive energy was so strong. The potential for healing, unlimited.

When Deborah awoke the next day, she didn’t notice that she wasn’t coughing, but her husband did. By noon, when she hadn’t so much as coughed once, her husband Scott, couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Do you realize you haven’t coughed since you woke up?” Scott asked Deborah. It still hadn’t dawned on her until he mentioned it, I think, because her healing was so natural, her body forgot that it had been ill.

Soon Deborah was painting her house, free from bedridden days and free of the terrible pain. Her doctors were amazed and warned her to be very careful. Deb’s new attitude allowed her to shake off negative programming from well meaning but prejudiced sources. Choosing her own, new contract, Deborah reclaimed her health, and has gone back to work as a Hospice Nurse. She still has lesions. Maybe they have more to teach her. Perhaps in time they will disappear. For now, Deborah is healthy. She proved that all contracts can be rewritten. Deborah also gave the lightworkers who worked and continue to be with her a miracle to hold on to. Namaste

Reiki Healing CDs/MP3s

When working on anything in the personal growth area (especially the “Law of Attraction”), there are several powerful methods of helping focus your mind. One of the most powerful ways is to do what is called “Vision-Boarding”.

Think of a vision board as a poster/collage of what you want in you life. That keeps it fairly simple, and will aid you in making it. So here’s what you do:

First, imagine what it would “feel like” if you already had everything in life that you wanted - and I mean everything. No matter what it is that you want, imagine what it would feel like if you had it, and then hang onto that feeling.
Look through magazines, or go through some of your photographs, or search on the internet for photos/images of things that represent that feeling you want to “feel” in your life. If it’s feeling financially secure, perhaps you’ll get some pictures of piles of money, or gold, or limousines - anything that represents to you what financial security feels like. Try to stay focused on the feelings part of it, but just do the best you can, and let your mind take over if it wants to.

When you have a whole bunch of pictures either printed out, or cut out, or collected, arrange them on a poster board and put it in a spot where you will be able to look at it and meditate about it. You might want to add some words to the vision board as well (for anything you think might need a bit of emphasis).

When it’s all done and hanging where you want it, look at it… take a few deep breaths… and allow yourself to “feel” what it feels like to have all of those things on your vision board. Just pretend if you have to, but do your best to actually feel it. Do that everyday, and watch and be amazed as things from your vision board begin to magically appear in your life.

Many people I know have done this, and after a while they forget about it and go about their normal day to day activities. At some point later, though, they come back and look at their vision board and notice many of the things they put on the board have been “manifested” into their lives. It truly is amazing stuff…

Law of Attraction CDs/MP3s

I saw the movie, the Secret because my golf coach called me one day and told me to get and watch it as soon as possible. He had so much excitement behind his voice I had to get it. I watched it once and because I study all of that stuff I wasn’t all that impressed. I put it away, but when I would tell my coach problems I was having with my game or my life he directed me towards the movie again and told me I wasn’t watching it enough. I began to watch it everyday. I began to meditate for hours creating the life I wanted. I made a vision board and looked at it everyday. I kept the emotions in my heart as if I had everything I wanted. Nothing happened.

Three months later my whole situation had changed. I moved to Palm Springs which I absolutely love because of the weather and the golf courses. I have drawn many wonderful clients and friends into my life. I am financially wealthy and live on a great golf course. I am doing what I love, furthering my education and expanding my golf business. I have a great spiritual group called the Course in Miracles that I meet with once a week. I have much free-time and look and feel great. My emotions are at peace and I feel great about my future. Everything seems to be inflow as I allow the laws of attraction to work for me. Everyday seems to be an adventure and everyday I am more and more grateful for the wonderful world I live in.

I still often watch the movie for check ups and to continue making my dreams come true. The trick is to not get discouraged if everything does not happen all at once. It’s very important to keep that knowing in your heart that your dreams are a reality and in the process of becoming true. The laws of attraction really work. Miracles can happen!

Golf Hypnotherapy CDs/MP3s

I had a client yesterday who was interested in help mentally for his golf game. He was a 7 handicap but it had jumped to a 15 when he started to take golf lessons. He’s finally found a teacher he is satisfied with, but is still struggling with the mental side of the game. He had much to tell me and was very excited about finding a golf psychology consultant in the area.

I thought I would point out some issues that seem to be common in today’s society. I look at it as a western/eastern spiritual approach to the game. Much of the time the people that I work with have a very western- Type A personality approach to the golf game. Often times they have made it successfully in their businesses and other sports by working extremely hard. Often times this approach does not work in their golf game. They come to me frustrated and determined to get it right. With this, I try to get them to understand that working hard is great for wanting to improve their golf game, but the mentality of working hard often produces poor results because of tension in the golf swing equals high sores.

With this client I worked on breathing exercises. He was talking as if propelled by a motor. His energy was very excited but it was coming out all over the place. He needed to be more centered and calm deep within himself. We worked on breathing. Often times just reminded him to breathe down deep into his stomach seemed to channel his energy and calm him down a bit.
He also tended to beat himself up a bit which leads to piling more strokes on. When someone gets emotional like this a technique called EFT is great. This is done with a series of tapping while repeating out loud, “Even though I feel like beating myself up, I deeply love and respect myself.” This also calmed him down a lot.

A lot of people in our culture also have a hard time staying in the present. That is why practicing staying in the present throughout the day is so important. Often times people are regretting over the past or anxious or excited about the future. The key to playing great golf is staying in the present. Taking a deep breath and just noticing how you are in a given moment can help you develop your presence in the moment.

Seeing someone who is trained in these areas that can help point out key points while you talk to them can quickly bring lots of awareness to your growth and journey into yourself and your golf game. Hypnosis takes it even deeper because it works with a deeper state of awareness. So when I hypnotize him I will write about that. Happy Golfing!

Golf Hypnotherapy CDs/MP3s

I’ve had many clients over the years who find themselves in relationships that are sexually out of balance. One partner wants sex the other partner doesn’t. It’s amazing how much stress something like this can put on the relationship.

The partner who wants sex and is rebuffed ends up feeling rejected and the rejecting partner can end up feeling guilty and angry and wanting sex even less.

This issue is more common than most of my clients in this situation realize. Part of the issue is that they think they’re the only ones to have faced this problem and some go years without ever discussing it to anyone.

I’ve noticed that this issue is particularly true of couples with young children. The woman may spend all day having children touching her and surrendering her personal boundaries to the needs of her kids for affection and touch. Then when her husband goes to touch her she flinches or pulls away.

The husband not being touched all day by his kids, has no clue as to what is going on and jumps right into a state of rejection. Why does my wife not enjoy physical intimacy any more? What am I doing wrong? Why has everything changed?

Communication is the key to restoring balance to any relationship. In the above example it is helpful for the wife to share what it is like to have little ones tugging and pulling and hugging and grabbing all day long. This creates a dialogue and an opportunity for both partners to discover a way to ignite passion and over come the over touch experience created by the kids.

With all issues in a relationship communication is the answer. But talking about sex can be embarrassing, awkward, and difficult for many couples. I encourage my clients to keep a sense of humor as they explore sexual issues with their partner. It doesn’t have to be heavy. Being able to laugh especially about your own issues is often a really healthy approach to the topic.

Good sex is about sharing pleasure and passion. Yet so many of my clients have no real idea of how exactly to pleasure their partners. They don’t know what turns their partners on, only what turns them off. They don’t know their partners fantasies, the type of touch they prefer, or how to really give them pleasure. Most couples in my practice with sexual issues in their relationship don’t even talk about such things.

The first step here is knowing what you want, like and need from a sexual relationship. Sex is best when it is a little selfish. Many people find that what turns them on the most is experiencing their partner lost in passion and ecstasy. In order to be lost in passion and ecstasy one must put their own needs first. With sex it is possible for both couples to do this at the same time. When they do, the intensity of the experience is off the charts.

My parents who are both Certified Hypnotherapists have devoted an entire chapter of their book, “The Art of Relationship, The New Perspective” to helping couples discover their sexual passion and communicate it to each other.

They advice couples to explore sensuality rather than sexuality and have three interesting exercises to help each person discover what “turns them on” and how to communicate that to his or her partner.

Many of my clients have followed my parents exercises and I’ve watched it improve their relationships and help restore the sexual desire balance. But many also encounter guilt and shame so strong that it keeps them from even reading the chapter.

I’ve found that in order to really enjoy any pleasure it helps to let go of guilt and shame. For years now I’ve been leading groups and individual clients through a shame release process. I call it “The Pleasure Trip” and I’ve recently recorded the process so that anyone can begin to free themselves from guilt and shame.

Releasing guilt and shame around pleasure and sex makes communicating with a partner effortless and easy. Sex is natural. Sex is beautiful. Sex is the ultimate act of creation. We are most god like when we are being sexual. If any of these words offend you, or push your buttons, then perhaps there is some shame to release.

Once your really get that you have a right to feel intense pleasure and sexual passion, that such feelings are natural, normal and delightful, you can begin creating a healthy balanced harmonious relationship with a partner.

Before you dive into a sexual conversation with your partner, it can be helpful to start by getting to know what things in general bring your partner pleasure. What is his favorite color, favorite food, favorite texture? What sort of sounds set of pleasure deep inside of her?

Sex is just one way of sharing pleasure in a relationship. Get creative. There are thousands of ways we can make love to our partners that have nothing to do with sex. Making love can be about sharing pleasure. For the partner who loves clean and organized spaces, house cleaning can be an act of love making.

Sexual desire imbalances are often symptomatic of a relationship out of balance. It may seem like it is about sex, but often times the more we work on these issues, the real issues begin to emerge. Again communication is the key.

Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Emotional Freedom Technique and Self Hypnosis recordings can all be tools for improving communication, getting in touch with real passion, wants and needs, and uncovering the real issues beneath the imbalance.

Please note that my experience with couples is as a coach and Hypnotherapist not as a Psychotherapist or Marriage Counselor. Many of my clients also seek out Marriage Family Therapists and use Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching in conjunction with their regular therapy not as a substitute.

As with all blog entries your feed back and ideas on this topic are more than welcome.

Impotence CDs/MP3s

I seem to be working with a number of people who are thriving with cancer at this moment and I have had some interesting realizations about the disease over the past few months.

Cancer is the ultimate disease of not being ones true self. Your cells actually forget who they are and start trying to be something other than you.

People who can’t speak their truth have cells that forget who they are in their throats and mouths.

People who forget how to love themselves or others get cells that forget themselves in their chests.

People who deny their true feelings get cells out of control in their bladder and sex organs.

People who refuse to embrace their own power and forget who they are get cells that forget right in their gut, their liver, their kidneys, their pancreas.

People who forget that they deserve to live, and can’t come to completely and deeply accept themselves get cells that forget in their intestine, colon, and rectum.

I’m learning more about this as I witness client after client experience this disease with all its lessons, gifts and griefs.

I’ve noticed that clients whose doctors are insensitive and cold hearted, resists their terminal diagnosis and do whatever it takes to prove the doctors wrong. Those with kind loving doctors take the suggestion to die to heart and often live exactly as long as the doctor predicts. I’ve come to see cold and even mean doctors as a real blessing.

I’ve learned that some bodies can handle even the strongest of chemo therapies without the slightest negative side effect. Reiki, EFT and Hypnosis can really help make this so.

I’ve learned that people who love life grieve the very thought of it ending. I’ve learned that all grief is a form of love and as such deserves to be fully expressed and admired for its beauty.

I’ve learned that we are all stronger than we think.

I’ve learned that allowing others to help us is sometimes the greatest gift we can give. The sooner my clients discover this the faster they seem to heal.

I’ve learned that it is okay … even amazingly great at times… to die. When the worse that could happen is death and death begins to seem really kind of cool, it makes living much more fun. No time is wasted on worry over death.

I’ve learned that every day of life, every breath we take is a miracle. Since it is all a miracle then why not ask for just one more miracle and for the cancer to just go away?

I’ve learned that at any moment we can give up our stories. Many cancer clients are living on borrowed time. This extra life doesn’t have to be lived with the stories of past pains influencing the present. Everyone can choose in this moment to tap into unconditional love, and open their hearts.

Death can be like a pregnancy. A person in their final phases of life can have a certain glow and the soul can be so present in their eyes. It can be an honor to witness this amazing transition.

Life is a terminal illness. We are all dying each day. So why not live? Really live life in every moment? Why waste time on worry? Why waste time on fear? We need not have cancer to learn these lessons. We can all take the time to open our hearts to love without first facing fear, disease and death.

My cancer clients have enjoyed my “Healing Journey Recording”, and benefited most from “Embracing Your Own Death” a trance that releases our fear of death.
Heal Your Body CDs/MP3s

Do you ever procrastinate? Are you one of those people who puts off doing things until the last minute? If you are, you are not alone. If you’re not a procrastinator, then good for you! I envy you.

In the past I’ve been a huge procrastinator. If I could put something off, I’d put it off. I wrote all my school papers, even term papers the night before they were due. I would do my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. I would wait until company was on their way to my house to start cleaning up.

It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy writing papers, shopping or even house cleaning. There are times that I really enjoy all of those things. I just couldn’t get myself to do them until I had the pressure of a deadline.

This need for deadlines and the rush of racing to meet them is probably a big part of what lured me into television news. In fact I discovered that nearly every person in TV news is a big time procrastinator. That meant that motivating people to finish special projects for ratings sweeps was always a challenge. I had to artificially create a deadline that would feel just as real as having to finish a story to make it into a nightly newscast.

Creating deadlines, even artificial ones can be a great tool for shifting past procrastination. The more real you can make your deadline the more apt you may be to meet it.

As you set out to do projects you may find it helpful to create a situation with built in deadlines. If they don’t exist you may find it helpful to just make up a deadline and see if that helps motivate you into action.

Deadlines are even more effective when there are consequences for missing or hitting them. I try to reward myself for making my deadlines and make it as uncomfortable as possible to miss the deadline. Now, I only ever do what I really want to do. Having consequences is not a way to “should myself” into meeting a deadline, it is just a way to help me remember what I REALLY WANT.

You can create consequences by recruiting an accountability partner. This is someone who you share your deadline with and when you meet the deadline this partner helps you celebrate.

Your task for today is to pick a project that you’ve been putting off. Set a deadline for completing it. Then pick someone, it can be anyone, including me or someone else in this program. Share your deadline with that person then start your project.

Remember procrastination can be rife with negative emotions and self hypnosis using a United Hypnotherapy recording is always an excellent resource for shifting past negative emotions.

Personal Growth CDs/MP3s