Nicole Chess

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

Try this for one round of golf. Remember God as much as you can. This may be hard at first, but just do an experiment and see how it affects your golf game. I would love to hear how it affected you and your golf game. I will give you some ways you can remember God or if you would like to call it spirit or the universe, whatever works for you. Start by appreciating the fact the you have a body and a great mind to play golf. Appreciate that you don’t have to work that day as many people must work and/or are out of work. Look at your clubs and appreciate them. You may even want to clean them as that always adds a fresh perspective.

Start your round. Maybe have a conversation with your golf ball. Something like this, “Oh, White Pearly One (you want it to listen right) thank you for all the wonderful shots you will give me today. And if the laws of the universe permit thank you for staying with me the entire round.” You may even want to mark something on your ball like God or Spirit with a Sharpie. You may want to try this with your clubs as you play the round. If you have a 5-iron shot for instance you can thank your five iron for all the good shots it has produced before and as a result feel great about the shot you are about to hit.

As you proceed notice your playing partners. Notice their spirits and thank them internally or out-loud, if you’d like, for giving you the pleasure to play golf with them. I guarantee you the law of karma can work here. Praise your playing partners for good shots; they will love it and you will have more good shots yourself

Now notice the earth below. Ahh Mother Earth. Thank her and everyone who made it possible for you to walk on this sacred ground. That green grass, the manicured greens, and the raked bunkers were all provided for you by many people to enjoy your round. How can you have a bad round knowing this?

Treat this as a meditation. Every step you take, every move you make, every shot you take is taking you closer and closer to your experience with spirit or God. God love to see you shine. Let your emotions be an indicator for this. If you are feeling good you are on the right track if you are feeling bad you are on the wrong track. If you are feeling bad remember God and how much he loves you and that you are created one with him.

Appreciate your own unique golf swing. Let it be as unique and natural as your signature. Get rid of mechanical thoughts and just simply be with all that is in your golf swing. Let go and release. Trust the divine universe and yourself to perform your swing with the utmost level of effortlessness. Let yourself play the golf of your dreams. Let God be a part of your game with you. Let him walk with you, knowing you can never make a mistake. You are always worthy of your truest potential in your game.

Notice your emotions or tension. Remind yourself to breathe. Notice the space in between physical things. Know God is in those places as well. See the living pulsating universe in the trees, the birds and even the stones.

Try this for 18 holes. Notice how you feel before and after the round. What areas did you struggle with. Were you aware of your thoughts and your feelings? Were you able to feel good the whole time? If not there is room for improvement. Your goal is to realize you are the God of your game. Did you have any amazing shots? Were you able to get into the zone?

After the round no matter what, remind yourself that you are lucky and grateful that you were able to experience golf for the last four hours. Congratulate yourself for giving yourself time well deserved for yourself. Every time you play golf remind yourself that you are on a sacred journey towards the evolution of your soul.

Golf Hypnotherapy CDs/MP3s

In the golf world anything can be accomplished with hypnosis, whether you’re a beginner or a pro on tour. Because your body does not know the difference between visualizing performance and actually doing it, hypnosis is a fabulous tool to practice new techniques in your golf swing. Hypnosis can also be used to remove unwanted performance anxieties or emotional blocks that inhibit your performance.

In addition just by being hypnotized you can experience and wonderful state called the zone and learn to stay there when you are in it. Using ‘anchors’ in hypnosis for golf is another way to accomplish your goals in golf. Just the other day I was working with someone who wanted his hands and his body in a certain position in his set-up but at the same time he needed to be in a balanced mind state. Instead of having a huge checklist to go through we decided to anchor the hand position, his body position into ‘one’ anchor, which also included feeling very grounded. By being grounded he was able to remain in the present, feel balanced, have a clear mind. So to put this all together the anchor served as a trigger for his body and mind to be exactly where he wanted physically and mentally. As a result he was able to hit more consistent, solid and accurate shots.

People’s golf swings are as unique as they are. That is what I love about helping golfers discover their potential. Each person thinks, feel, behaves and is physically different. What works for one might not work for another. I have been a teacher of the game for 12 years and have learned that less is more. Often times the more changes you make the harder it is to incorporate those changes. I have found that a lot of problems people experience in their golf game is related to how they think and more importantly how they feel about their game. Of course you must have a sound technique, but once you have that it is crucial to tame your brain. My feeling is that golf is not mostly mental it’s all mental. What’s often controlling your body, your mind! The mind is our most valuable instrument when finely tuned but when it’s out of control it’s disastrous. Not only does hypnosis teach you what to think or what to pay attention to it can teach you how to use your mind for your greatest benefit, but even greater it can help you touch those extraordinary states of spirit.

A common mistake that I see all or most people commit at one time or another is playing golf from their ego. Playing golf from the ego can be detected when a student is trying to impress the teacher, or when a tour pro is coming down the stretch and then starts to think about all the money he will make when he wins, or even when you are busy condemning yourself for the last bad shot you hit. These instances are not spiritual in nature and should be detected as red flags. Playing from your spiritual nature can be detected as spontaneously announcing that you are going to can a putt because you have an inner knowing and feeling that the ball is going in. Playing from your spiritual nature can be detected as feeling joy for your playing partner when he makes a excellent shot. Playing from your spiritual nature can be felt as being so immersed in what you are doing that you forget all sense of time and you feel at one with nature and that shot you are about to do with no judgment one way or another about it’s result. Because hypnosis is that type of mind, more right-brained than left just by being in a hypnotic state helps you to be more aware of what it feels like so that you can become more equipped to have that state on the golf course.

Don’t get me wrong the left-brain is a very valuable piece of the process. You need to use it to calculate the distance and to pick the right club, but if you only use your left brain things will feel horrible. You feel too mechanical and out of rhythm. I think the two worst enemies are your ego and your left brain. You need them but they always seem to want more attention than what is appropriate to give them. That is why you need to satisfy the concerns of the ego and the left-brain, in order for you to ‘let go’ into the process of the right-brain, and or the ‘feeling part’. By doing this it is much easier to get to the heart of the matter or your true essence or spirit. When you play and strive for every experience to be truly spiritual in nature you will be emotionally stronger, make better decisions, have more joy and simply play better. This is why all my cd’s and work come from a spiritual background. I have found that self-discovery and spiritual insight is the most exciting way to play golf and I hope you can start perceiving it this way and start your journey back your ‘true self’.

Golf Hypnotherapy CDs/MP3s

Here’s an interesting story about my spiritual journey and golf. I grew up on a golf course and had really a love-hate relationship with it. Mainly because my parents really tried to push me into it and also because I did not have the valuable information that I know today, which by the way can be easily taught to children. Nevertheless there was something magical that occurred in me when I was taught to put my 6-year old hands on the grip for the first time and take a swing and watch the ball soar high into the air. I loved that part. I was a great athlete though and golf seemed a bit to slow for me, so I enjoyed several other sports, diving and softball and gymnastics. I played off and on, but more off than on until I turned seventeen. I went to Cal State Stanislaus and went out with a boy on the golf team. I got tired of sitting in the car doing my homework and watching him hit balls so I decided to try it again. Wow was it easy to pick it up again. It was so natural and it was because I learned when I was a child. Here is a piece of advice for all you adults that are taking up golf for the first time. You still have a great chance to learn golf and play well. It is a myth that you have to play golf when you are little to be good. Sure it helps, but if you can learn in a childlike state and if your teacher can nurture that you will learn much faster.

Anyway to get on with my story. Within two years I was able to be an alternate player at the number one team in the nation at the time- San Jose State University. San Jose State produced many champions such as Pat Hurst, Julie Inkster and Patty Sheehan. I felt not only that I was lucky but that there was something bigger- a destiny.

During my years at San Jose State I was able to have a meeting with the sport psychologist Tomas Tutko, who is the forefather of sport psychology. In that one meeting I was fourth in a home tournament. Although I didn’t hold on to the lead and learned that the skills he taught me greatly changed my performance. And I was on my way to a very interesting career and spiritual path.

After college I joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association and began teaching juniors and then later adults. I learned from many valuable pros on how to teach the physical aspects of the golf swing as well as the courses that the LPGA provided. I moved to Northern California and worked as a golf teacher at a busy driving range giving hundreds of lessons. I loved it. I have an extreme passion for watching my students get better, but I knew that there was something missing. Something that I couldn’t necessarily provide and needed to know more about.

One morning I woke up to a dream about a man telling me all about his migraine headaches. In the dream he kept telling me about these headaches to the point I was annoyed. I woke up a little irritated because of this dream, especially because it seemed so real. I went to the range that day and was hitting golf balls and looked up at a man staring at me. I acknowledged him wondering all the while why he was so in my face. He then proceeded to tell me all about his headaches, I listened intently because it was the same story in my dream that morning. He then told my how hypnosis helped him get rid of his headaches. I immediately went home and looked up a hypnosis school in my area and told my husband at the time that I was going to spend 3,000$ on hypnosis training because I knew I was suppose to. He thought I was crazy but could tell I felt very strongly about this. I thought if hypnosis could work for that man’s headaches it might certainly work for people’s golf games. I went to hypnosis training for 4 months and it changed my life drastically. My friend Rick McFall and I opened up an office together and I saw the miracles of hypnosis in action with my clients golf games as well as many other areas of their lives.

During this time I also attended John F. Kennedy University to get my Master’s in Sport Psychology, a program in which I did my thesis in hypnosis and golf. The golf lessons I gave to me clients took on an extremely different feel. They started to have deep spiritual insights about themselves, and others whom the played with. They developed more body awareness. They were more aware of their feelings of anger and able to change them to joy. I was also on a different journey as a teacher and a player.
I then worked at the Bridges Golf Club in San Ramon, where I was both a teacher and a hypnotherapist/sport psychologist. We had a wonderful inside teacher facility with state of the art video technology. On the other hand I was lucky enough to be given a trailer for my sport psychology. I have to say that most people after having a lesson with me could understand that there problems I golf weren’t so much related to their physical technique but more to their mental game. They found that after bringing more awareness to their mental game they were more able to learn the physical technique and much quicker.

This was so exciting to me and I wanted to take it a step further, so I went to the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology to get my doctorate in spiritual psychology. I learned much about alternate states of reality through dreams, art, dance and poetry. All the while I was thinking of way I could apply this to golf. I also studied acting and learned much about the correlation to body/mind awareness. I decided that I wanted to take a break from school and take a year to apply this to my own golf game and that’s exactly what I did. I practiced for 8 hours a day all the while using golf as a meditation to get me closer to the source of my inner spirit.

I was able to get the pro tournament experience I needed to further me along my journey by playing in a couple of events in Arizona and I went to tour school for the LPGA. Although I didn’t qualify I was able to reach my intention of taking myself all the way through that in order to truly understand the depths of my own spiritual awareness so I could further help others. I am now in a doctorate program at San Diego University of Integrative Studies. I am taking clinical psychology so I will be able to work with anyone in any area. All the while still expanding my knowledge of my own golf game and helping others reach their true potential. I want to help as many people as I can to experience that inner awareness, joy, and spirituality that I have experienced.
I live in Palm Springs now- a golf mecca. I am excited to be in the heart of a golf community and look forward to my new journey as a golfers guide on a spiritual path. I hope our paths will cross in this wonderful sport and wonderful planet that we are so fortunate to be a part of. Golf is truly a journey into your soul, if you let it be.

Golf Hypnotherapy CDs/MP3s