Trance states have been around as long as humans have sat at fires and told stories or danced to the drums or chanted to invoke the presence of a god or goddess or both.
Trance states are what others refer to as "altered states of consciousness," In the 60s, an altered state was achieved using LSD or acid. In some American Indian traditions, the altered state is achieved using peyote. In some Eastern traditions, the altered state is achieved via meditation. In other American Indian traditions, the altered state is achieved during fasting and sleep deprivation while on a vision quest. (We now know that going without sleep for 72 hours or more will induce hallucinations by itself.) In hypnosis, the altered state is achieved using self-hypnosis or guided hypnosis.
What's the difference in all of these ways to achieve expanded consciousness? And do they all visit the same place or different places?
First, any practitioner of modern "magick" will tell you that intention means everything before and during a ritual. And in that sense, each of those practices may indeed take you to a different place based on the intention you had when you entered the state. While at the same time, many of the different states are indeed the same brainwave frequency (theta). The chemical means have their own different impacts on the brain and its chemistry.
How can intention make such a difference in the place we visit during an altered state?
Ahhhh, that's where the magick comes in. :) Early on, I used to think that all places were the same if they all exhibited the same brainwave pattern (theta state). However, in my own practice and experience with both hypnosis and meditation (we won't talk about indiscretions as a youngster!), the intention does indeed press the elevator button for whichever floor you wish to visit.
Hypnosis by itself can be quite useful for many things, including breaking old habits or starting and reinforcing new ones. But combining the spiritual aspect with a meditative state can be as powerful and often more so.
Rituals can often help achieve the altered state --- think about your own meditation practice or rituals you engage in alone or with others. Much like any other skill, practice makes it easier and faster to achieve the altered state and any rituals you have associated with it tell your body and your mind, "hey! get ready...here we go again" so that achieving the desired altered state becomes easier and easier each time. The same is true for self-hypnosis or guided hypnosis.
Until next time, enjoy your rituals, meditations, and self-hypnosis!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Addictions: physical vs psychological and can hypnosis help?
The last month has just FLOWN by with barely a minute to breath, let alone blog. :) But I guess that's what summers are made for, right?
Lately, the old Nature / Nurture or Genetics / Environment controversy has been rattling around in my brain. How much of each controls WHO we are? And the reason this has been rattling around my brain is because my older sister's youngest has made some really BAD decisions lately that have landed him in a heap of trouble. Decisions that I wonder if he had known the full extent of the biological history on his mother's side of the family he might have avoided (if he was smart).
You see, our grandfather was an alcoholic when our mother was growing up. Mom (born in 1931) was the eldest of 5 kids, and as such she ended up taking care of the others. She used to tell me how the post master mistook her youngest sister for her baby because of the age difference. (Mom's youngest sister wasn't much older than her first daughter, my sister.) Anyway, so yea, Mom had the whole "children of alcoholics" thing going on. (There were some other things going on too, but we'll get to those it other posts. :>)
On that side of the family, several uncles had alcohol problems and then several cousins (not even those of alcoholic uncles) had problems with drugs. So you can see where the "physical addiction" part of the post is coming from.
There has been a lot of research done that established a genetic predisposition for addictions. Physical addictions. What they've found is that those with this genetic predisposition have a much higher tolerance for alcohol (or drugs) than those who do not develop a physical addiction as readily. That means they have to use more to get off on whatever it is. So, if there's that wild hair gene in your family history (however buried people may have tried to make it) then you definitely need to be aware of it and certainly keep that in mind when you're imbibing in whatever vice of your choice because if you do become physically addicted, you will have to work harder to break it and stay away from it than someone who did not have that genetic predisposition for addictions to begin with. And just to make things interesting, there's a tie between that alcoholic addiction gene and craving sweets. And yea, some of my aunts weren't alcoholics, but there was definitely something going on with the sweet tooth. ;>
Then there's the psychological side of addictions. Even without a "physical" addiction, those with addictive personalities can become addicted to ANYTHING. These are the folks you're hearing about becoming addicted to sex, addicted to the Internet, addicted to Internet sex, addicted to whatever, you name it. And those type of "addictions" we seem to hear more and more about these days.
Most addictions that we commonly think of (smoking, alcohol, drugs) are a combination of a physical addiction and a psychological (or behavioral) one. And I can attest to that from a first had basis because before stopping smoking with hypnosis, I had both problems. But I also knew that once I managed to get my smoke count to 10 or below a day, then I was just dealing with the psychological addiction because the nicotine addiction was gone (or close to gone) by that point. And I did it using my own stop smoking CD. :)
Can hypnosis help with addictions? Yes. That's why the AMA has endorsed hypnosis as a treatment to stop smoking since 1958. Hypnosis can help remove the psychological addiction and support you as you break the physical addiction. But, like any type of therapy, YOU have to be the one who decides to change your life. It won't work if your mom wants you to, or your dad, or your grandparents, or your spouse, or whoever. You have to want to do it for YOURSELF first and foremost. And that goes for any therapy no matter what the therapy is for. The only person who can change you is YOU. Therapists can help, but in the end you have to do the heavy lifting.
Hypnosis can help put you back in the driver's seat, and I have known hypnotists that have treated much worse addictions than smoking with hypnosis. That type of work takes intense DAILY sessions and a huge commitment from both the client and the hypnotist. I also know that there are hypnotists out there selling CDs for other types of addictions. Those tapes may help you and that's great if they do. But I would also suggest obtaining additional help from addiction counselors, 12-step programs, and other therapists. Addictions are a form of escape (at least it started out that way) and they can help you process and work through whatever it was or is that you were escaping from to begin with.
be well... and addiction free... until next time
Lately, the old Nature / Nurture or Genetics / Environment controversy has been rattling around in my brain. How much of each controls WHO we are? And the reason this has been rattling around my brain is because my older sister's youngest has made some really BAD decisions lately that have landed him in a heap of trouble. Decisions that I wonder if he had known the full extent of the biological history on his mother's side of the family he might have avoided (if he was smart).
You see, our grandfather was an alcoholic when our mother was growing up. Mom (born in 1931) was the eldest of 5 kids, and as such she ended up taking care of the others. She used to tell me how the post master mistook her youngest sister for her baby because of the age difference. (Mom's youngest sister wasn't much older than her first daughter, my sister.) Anyway, so yea, Mom had the whole "children of alcoholics" thing going on. (There were some other things going on too, but we'll get to those it other posts. :>)
On that side of the family, several uncles had alcohol problems and then several cousins (not even those of alcoholic uncles) had problems with drugs. So you can see where the "physical addiction" part of the post is coming from.
There has been a lot of research done that established a genetic predisposition for addictions. Physical addictions. What they've found is that those with this genetic predisposition have a much higher tolerance for alcohol (or drugs) than those who do not develop a physical addiction as readily. That means they have to use more to get off on whatever it is. So, if there's that wild hair gene in your family history (however buried people may have tried to make it) then you definitely need to be aware of it and certainly keep that in mind when you're imbibing in whatever vice of your choice because if you do become physically addicted, you will have to work harder to break it and stay away from it than someone who did not have that genetic predisposition for addictions to begin with. And just to make things interesting, there's a tie between that alcoholic addiction gene and craving sweets. And yea, some of my aunts weren't alcoholics, but there was definitely something going on with the sweet tooth. ;>
Then there's the psychological side of addictions. Even without a "physical" addiction, those with addictive personalities can become addicted to ANYTHING. These are the folks you're hearing about becoming addicted to sex, addicted to the Internet, addicted to Internet sex, addicted to whatever, you name it. And those type of "addictions" we seem to hear more and more about these days.
Most addictions that we commonly think of (smoking, alcohol, drugs) are a combination of a physical addiction and a psychological (or behavioral) one. And I can attest to that from a first had basis because before stopping smoking with hypnosis, I had both problems. But I also knew that once I managed to get my smoke count to 10 or below a day, then I was just dealing with the psychological addiction because the nicotine addiction was gone (or close to gone) by that point. And I did it using my own stop smoking CD. :)
Can hypnosis help with addictions? Yes. That's why the AMA has endorsed hypnosis as a treatment to stop smoking since 1958. Hypnosis can help remove the psychological addiction and support you as you break the physical addiction. But, like any type of therapy, YOU have to be the one who decides to change your life. It won't work if your mom wants you to, or your dad, or your grandparents, or your spouse, or whoever. You have to want to do it for YOURSELF first and foremost. And that goes for any therapy no matter what the therapy is for. The only person who can change you is YOU. Therapists can help, but in the end you have to do the heavy lifting.
Hypnosis can help put you back in the driver's seat, and I have known hypnotists that have treated much worse addictions than smoking with hypnosis. That type of work takes intense DAILY sessions and a huge commitment from both the client and the hypnotist. I also know that there are hypnotists out there selling CDs for other types of addictions. Those tapes may help you and that's great if they do. But I would also suggest obtaining additional help from addiction counselors, 12-step programs, and other therapists. Addictions are a form of escape (at least it started out that way) and they can help you process and work through whatever it was or is that you were escaping from to begin with.
be well... and addiction free... until next time
Monday, June 21, 2010
hypnosis & other curiosities
I'm struck by the fascination we have with hypnosis and the subconscious. Do you know how many movies in the last 20 years have had some sort of hypnosis link in them? Plenty. And even "street" magicians mixing up stage hypnosis into their acts in Vegas (this one had a TV show for a while).
Stage hypnosis is how most people are introduced to hypnosis: a show in Vegas or a night club act somewhere else. That's why when most people consult a hypnotist the first time they're quite concerned that we "don't make me cluck like a chicken."
It's no wonder. We've had images of Dracula burned into our psyche --- Dracula who could hypnotize his victims. We've seen movies where the plot unfolds with an amnesia victim undergoing hypnosis to try and sort out who she is, we've had movies show us how hypnosis unlocks our mind so we can see scary dead people, and we've seen movies where hypnosis is used to help Sybil and her 17 personalties become whole again. Mostly whole, anyway.
So why are we so fascinated by it? I have several theories about that, including storytelling sitting around campfires after a long day. Hypnosis is part of who we are as people. Its roots go back to Ancient Egypt, the first medicine people, and even Edgar Cayce was touched by hypnosis. A hypnotist helped cure Cayce of a throat affliction, and it was during that session that Cacyce's healing persona emerged. I bet you didn't know that, did ya? :)
We are so fascinated by hypnosis because it is US. It is a part of us and at the same time so alien to us to think we have some powerful force inside us that we have no control over. Or little control over. Actually, we *can* shape it and work with it and understand it. And if we don't work with it, then it controls us and we run around blindly reacting to things and wondering why. Or wondering why we can't stop some things.
Anyway, hypnosis has been accepted by the AMA (American Medical Association) since 1958 as effective treatment for some problems (stopping smoking). It is still recognized as the ONLY effective treatment for multiple personalities (or dissociated personalties if you prefer the newer terminology), and more and more clinical (double-blind) studies are documenting its efficacy for a number of problems, including controlling chronic pain, helping with cancer, reducing stress, and a number of other chronic problems. Did you know that before our modern chemical anesthesias were developed, that hypnosis was used instead? Yea, it is scary isn't it!
I think part of why it fascinates us (it certainly has fascinated me since the mid 70s) is because it seems "mysterious" and it has ties to ancient worlds and ancient times, and yes magical times and magical ties. For so long it was so jealously guarded by so many in power. And now, Anyone can learn it. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone is good at it (Freud certainly wasn't), but you can learn it.
I am often reminded during sessions that not everything in this world has been categorized and explained and cataloged and dissected to death. There is still mystery and wonder and beauty. And most hypnotists will tell you that after they had been practicing for a while, sometimes when they open their mouths---they have no idea where what is coming out is coming from. Technically, this is called an "up-trance" for the hypnotist---meaning that when we work with a client, we also go into a type of trance while working with you. And we do. And where do the words come from if we're not consciously pulling them out? Our subconscious? Possibly. A higher place? Probably. And you can follow that train of thought wherever it leads you....
Stage hypnosis is how most people are introduced to hypnosis: a show in Vegas or a night club act somewhere else. That's why when most people consult a hypnotist the first time they're quite concerned that we "don't make me cluck like a chicken."
It's no wonder. We've had images of Dracula burned into our psyche --- Dracula who could hypnotize his victims. We've seen movies where the plot unfolds with an amnesia victim undergoing hypnosis to try and sort out who she is, we've had movies show us how hypnosis unlocks our mind so we can see scary dead people, and we've seen movies where hypnosis is used to help Sybil and her 17 personalties become whole again. Mostly whole, anyway.
So why are we so fascinated by it? I have several theories about that, including storytelling sitting around campfires after a long day. Hypnosis is part of who we are as people. Its roots go back to Ancient Egypt, the first medicine people, and even Edgar Cayce was touched by hypnosis. A hypnotist helped cure Cayce of a throat affliction, and it was during that session that Cacyce's healing persona emerged. I bet you didn't know that, did ya? :)
We are so fascinated by hypnosis because it is US. It is a part of us and at the same time so alien to us to think we have some powerful force inside us that we have no control over. Or little control over. Actually, we *can* shape it and work with it and understand it. And if we don't work with it, then it controls us and we run around blindly reacting to things and wondering why. Or wondering why we can't stop some things.
Anyway, hypnosis has been accepted by the AMA (American Medical Association) since 1958 as effective treatment for some problems (stopping smoking). It is still recognized as the ONLY effective treatment for multiple personalities (or dissociated personalties if you prefer the newer terminology), and more and more clinical (double-blind) studies are documenting its efficacy for a number of problems, including controlling chronic pain, helping with cancer, reducing stress, and a number of other chronic problems. Did you know that before our modern chemical anesthesias were developed, that hypnosis was used instead? Yea, it is scary isn't it!
I think part of why it fascinates us (it certainly has fascinated me since the mid 70s) is because it seems "mysterious" and it has ties to ancient worlds and ancient times, and yes magical times and magical ties. For so long it was so jealously guarded by so many in power. And now, Anyone can learn it. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone is good at it (Freud certainly wasn't), but you can learn it.
I am often reminded during sessions that not everything in this world has been categorized and explained and cataloged and dissected to death. There is still mystery and wonder and beauty. And most hypnotists will tell you that after they had been practicing for a while, sometimes when they open their mouths---they have no idea where what is coming out is coming from. Technically, this is called an "up-trance" for the hypnotist---meaning that when we work with a client, we also go into a type of trance while working with you. And we do. And where do the words come from if we're not consciously pulling them out? Our subconscious? Possibly. A higher place? Probably. And you can follow that train of thought wherever it leads you....
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Just exactly how powerful is the subconscious mind?
I was talking to an old high school friend a few days ago in IM, one that I really hadn't had any contact with in the last 30 years, and was struck by something she said about not being able to do something: "you can't do that" was the comment. We were talking about special talents and skills and I had mentioned that I'd been doing a lot of work recently on re-opening one of my special gifts. The comment was in response to the fact that I had "shut it down" to begin with as a child. (This information that had come out in past hypnosis sessions, and it is not unusual at all for us to have "shut things down" as children, especially if we were told we had overactive imaginations.)
Obviously, we were not on the same page and not even in the same book on the subject. And rather than try and go into gross detail in IM, my reply was something like, "Yea, I did. I plugged it up" and let it go at that. But my Mind wasn't about to let it go so easily. :) So you get to hear about it here.
The mind is a very powerful thing, and the subconscious mind is even more powerful than the conscious mind. Think of the mind like an iceberg: only 10% is above the surface (conscious) and the other 90% is below the surface (subconscious).
The part that is below the surface (subconscious) is the most powerful, and can be the most "dangerous" if you are unaware of what it's doing. The subconscious is the part that trips you up on all of your good intentioned diets---it is the child-like part of you that says "Screw that! We're going to eat what I like and what tastes good." It is stronger than all the willpower you can muster, and then some. It is very child-like, often rebellious, and for it everything happens "now." It is the part of us that plays the "programming" we received as kids, and it's also where our values and principals lie. It is the keeper of all the hurts we have suffered (outside of time), and until it has dealt with whatever issues it has, our conscious mind and behaviors will be held hostage to the old patterns.
Thankfully, once you are an adult, it is not easy to reach the subconscious. There are controls in place to protect because once something is inside the subconscious mind --- it Believes it to be True, even if it's obviously a lie. Let me repeat that: Once something is inside your subconscious mind, it BELIEVES it whether it is correct or not.
The subconscious is protected by a barrier known as the critical factor (This mind model is based on Gerald Kein's well known mind model. Gerry is somewhat of a legend in hypnosis, known for his mind model and instant inductions, among other things, (and yes I have studied with him). The critical factor forms over time and is not complete until somewhere between the ages of 10 and 12. Our subconscious mind is there way before that, from birth and even before. This also dovetails with some traditional Cherokee teachings that say the child's spirit is not fully in the body before 7 years of age.
Now, before the critical factor is completely formed, the subconscious mind is rather easy to access. Pretty much all children are in their subconscious mind all the time. (Even late teens and early 20s are still go there very easily.) That means things that happen before the critical factor forms go strait in --- without being filtered or checked against reality. For example, if during this time someone teaches you that a square is actually a circle and vice versa, then that's what you'll believe until enough people challenge it later, then you start thinking maybe that wasn't actually true to begin with. That's also one reason why any form of child abuse in those early years is so devastating and destructive. It can be overcome, but it will take a lot of work to do it.
Once the critical factor is formed, it's a bit harder to slide things into the subconscious. Harder, but not impossible. Outside of working with a hypnotist, other ways to reach the subconscious are: (1) trauma, (2) boredom, (3) repetition, and (4) light / sound techniques, including binaural sounds. (The recordings I do have binaural sounds embedded to ensure that you reach not only a trance state, but the theta brainwave deep trance state. And please don't worry about "induced memories" --- my training in forensic hypnotism focused specifically on how to avoid doing that. :))
Once you have reached the subconscious, you and your hypnotist (if you're doing deep work, you really need a hypnotist or hypnotherapist working with you) can then proceed to get to the root of the problem and re-frame it. You can also implant new tools to help you, for example suggesting that you don't need to count how much water you drink every day because your subconscious counts and until you've reached the optimal amount your thirst won't be quenched.
A technique often used in the subconscious is imagining yourself in a control room of sorts. Some folks see this as like the bridge of the Enterprise. And this control room houses the controls to your body and your mind. And you can adjust these various settings up or down until they are just right and just perfect for you. Using this type of technique (among others) it is indeed very possible to re-open lost or buried talents and gifts you have tucked away. :)
until next time,
melodie
Obviously, we were not on the same page and not even in the same book on the subject. And rather than try and go into gross detail in IM, my reply was something like, "Yea, I did. I plugged it up" and let it go at that. But my Mind wasn't about to let it go so easily. :) So you get to hear about it here.
The mind is a very powerful thing, and the subconscious mind is even more powerful than the conscious mind. Think of the mind like an iceberg: only 10% is above the surface (conscious) and the other 90% is below the surface (subconscious).
The part that is below the surface (subconscious) is the most powerful, and can be the most "dangerous" if you are unaware of what it's doing. The subconscious is the part that trips you up on all of your good intentioned diets---it is the child-like part of you that says "Screw that! We're going to eat what I like and what tastes good." It is stronger than all the willpower you can muster, and then some. It is very child-like, often rebellious, and for it everything happens "now." It is the part of us that plays the "programming" we received as kids, and it's also where our values and principals lie. It is the keeper of all the hurts we have suffered (outside of time), and until it has dealt with whatever issues it has, our conscious mind and behaviors will be held hostage to the old patterns.
Thankfully, once you are an adult, it is not easy to reach the subconscious. There are controls in place to protect because once something is inside the subconscious mind --- it Believes it to be True, even if it's obviously a lie. Let me repeat that: Once something is inside your subconscious mind, it BELIEVES it whether it is correct or not.
The subconscious is protected by a barrier known as the critical factor (This mind model is based on Gerald Kein's well known mind model. Gerry is somewhat of a legend in hypnosis, known for his mind model and instant inductions, among other things, (and yes I have studied with him). The critical factor forms over time and is not complete until somewhere between the ages of 10 and 12. Our subconscious mind is there way before that, from birth and even before. This also dovetails with some traditional Cherokee teachings that say the child's spirit is not fully in the body before 7 years of age.
Now, before the critical factor is completely formed, the subconscious mind is rather easy to access. Pretty much all children are in their subconscious mind all the time. (Even late teens and early 20s are still go there very easily.) That means things that happen before the critical factor forms go strait in --- without being filtered or checked against reality. For example, if during this time someone teaches you that a square is actually a circle and vice versa, then that's what you'll believe until enough people challenge it later, then you start thinking maybe that wasn't actually true to begin with. That's also one reason why any form of child abuse in those early years is so devastating and destructive. It can be overcome, but it will take a lot of work to do it.
Once the critical factor is formed, it's a bit harder to slide things into the subconscious. Harder, but not impossible. Outside of working with a hypnotist, other ways to reach the subconscious are: (1) trauma, (2) boredom, (3) repetition, and (4) light / sound techniques, including binaural sounds. (The recordings I do have binaural sounds embedded to ensure that you reach not only a trance state, but the theta brainwave deep trance state. And please don't worry about "induced memories" --- my training in forensic hypnotism focused specifically on how to avoid doing that. :))
Once you have reached the subconscious, you and your hypnotist (if you're doing deep work, you really need a hypnotist or hypnotherapist working with you) can then proceed to get to the root of the problem and re-frame it. You can also implant new tools to help you, for example suggesting that you don't need to count how much water you drink every day because your subconscious counts and until you've reached the optimal amount your thirst won't be quenched.
A technique often used in the subconscious is imagining yourself in a control room of sorts. Some folks see this as like the bridge of the Enterprise. And this control room houses the controls to your body and your mind. And you can adjust these various settings up or down until they are just right and just perfect for you. Using this type of technique (among others) it is indeed very possible to re-open lost or buried talents and gifts you have tucked away. :)
until next time,
melodie
Monday, May 24, 2010
Past lives... and graveyards as a "safe, happy place"
A favorite topic when someone finds out you're a hypnotist is past lives. Are they real? Where do they come from? Does that mean reincarnation is real?
When I was first starting out, I would avoid that controversial issue by simply saying something like "I don't know where they come from or whether they are real. All I know is that if I work with them to resolve whatever issue they've presented, it also takes care of that issue or problem in this life. The therapy around the past lives works, and that's all I care about for my client."
And that is true. One doesn't have to believe in past lives to experience them in hypnosis. (See the separate page on past lives that talks about young souls.) And at the same time, a belief in past (or future) lives doesn't have to conflict with your spiritual or religious beliefs.
For the subconscious mind, all time is NOW. There is no past and no future. Everything happens NOW. So when you're experiencing something in hypnosis, you are indeed experiencing it the same as you would at that time, whenever that time exists whether that is in the "past" or "future" to your current perspective. Linear time does not exist in the subconscious mind. (There are techniques to minimize the emotional impact of revisiting a traumatic incident so that you do not have to relive it quite as intensely as the first time around.)
This correlates with some current theories on time as a circular river, where if we could pop our heads up above the waterline, we'd see all of time existing at the same time. Others tell us that Time and Space is the 4th dimension for our physical 3-D existence.
I don't know whether it is or not. All I know is that often, when the subconscious sees its chance to work on something, it takes it. This happened with my very first paying client many years ago. He came in for a specific problem he wanted to work on; however, his subconscious mind had a different problem in mind. I was guiding him to a "safe and happy place" to do this work----but his subconscious led us to a graveyard! (Of course, I'm thinking OMG! Now what do I do????, but never let him know that.) Most people go to a mountain meadow or beach or something.
Graveyard as a "safe and happy place?" So, I'm cool. I've been taught well and I've been taught to "deal with what emerges" in hypnosis, whatever that may be. So I ask him to find a path in the graveyard and start following it.... That worked until he ran into a WALL and then proceeded to tell me that his Heart Was Buried inside the walled off portion of this graveyard.
Now he was getting agitated, as well as me. This wasn't what he bargained for, and it wasn't what I bargained for either! So we did a little work around his heart being buried in here, then we emerged. I gave him some paper and pencil and asked him to draw what he saw. He did. And as he did, we talked a bit more. It seems that many years before he was an artist, but the "day job" had been keeping him from expressing his creativity, which had been coming out in some other ways --- the original problem he had consulted me about. His daughter had give him a set of drawing pencils for Christmas the year before, but he had not been using them.
Before I sent him on his way, I suggested that he spend some time each week allowing his creativity and artistic talents to express themselves and that it would probably help. Needless to say, it wasn't what he had expected for his first hypnosis session (me either!) and he didn't return as a client. I only hope that he followed the suggestion to express his artistic drives in a healthier way.
And that was my first lesson on how when the subconscious sees an opportunity (especially if it thinks it won't get another one), it will take it.
until next time... relax, breathe deeply, and exercise those creative impulses in healthy ways. :)
---melodie
When I was first starting out, I would avoid that controversial issue by simply saying something like "I don't know where they come from or whether they are real. All I know is that if I work with them to resolve whatever issue they've presented, it also takes care of that issue or problem in this life. The therapy around the past lives works, and that's all I care about for my client."
And that is true. One doesn't have to believe in past lives to experience them in hypnosis. (See the separate page on past lives that talks about young souls.) And at the same time, a belief in past (or future) lives doesn't have to conflict with your spiritual or religious beliefs.
For the subconscious mind, all time is NOW. There is no past and no future. Everything happens NOW. So when you're experiencing something in hypnosis, you are indeed experiencing it the same as you would at that time, whenever that time exists whether that is in the "past" or "future" to your current perspective. Linear time does not exist in the subconscious mind. (There are techniques to minimize the emotional impact of revisiting a traumatic incident so that you do not have to relive it quite as intensely as the first time around.)
This correlates with some current theories on time as a circular river, where if we could pop our heads up above the waterline, we'd see all of time existing at the same time. Others tell us that Time and Space is the 4th dimension for our physical 3-D existence.
I don't know whether it is or not. All I know is that often, when the subconscious sees its chance to work on something, it takes it. This happened with my very first paying client many years ago. He came in for a specific problem he wanted to work on; however, his subconscious mind had a different problem in mind. I was guiding him to a "safe and happy place" to do this work----but his subconscious led us to a graveyard! (Of course, I'm thinking OMG! Now what do I do????, but never let him know that.) Most people go to a mountain meadow or beach or something.
Graveyard as a "safe and happy place?" So, I'm cool. I've been taught well and I've been taught to "deal with what emerges" in hypnosis, whatever that may be. So I ask him to find a path in the graveyard and start following it.... That worked until he ran into a WALL and then proceeded to tell me that his Heart Was Buried inside the walled off portion of this graveyard.
Now he was getting agitated, as well as me. This wasn't what he bargained for, and it wasn't what I bargained for either! So we did a little work around his heart being buried in here, then we emerged. I gave him some paper and pencil and asked him to draw what he saw. He did. And as he did, we talked a bit more. It seems that many years before he was an artist, but the "day job" had been keeping him from expressing his creativity, which had been coming out in some other ways --- the original problem he had consulted me about. His daughter had give him a set of drawing pencils for Christmas the year before, but he had not been using them.
Before I sent him on his way, I suggested that he spend some time each week allowing his creativity and artistic talents to express themselves and that it would probably help. Needless to say, it wasn't what he had expected for his first hypnosis session (me either!) and he didn't return as a client. I only hope that he followed the suggestion to express his artistic drives in a healthier way.
And that was my first lesson on how when the subconscious sees an opportunity (especially if it thinks it won't get another one), it will take it.
until next time... relax, breathe deeply, and exercise those creative impulses in healthy ways. :)
---melodie
Monday, May 17, 2010
relationships
There are some family birthdays coming up this month and next and that so soon after Mother's Day has me thinking. About relationships. Our relationships with our spouses or lovers are relationship patterns we learn from our parents.
Either we subconsciously repeat the patterns we saw in our family or we decided to be the *exact opposite* of what we saw in our family. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes it's not so good. If we find ourselves repeating the same pattern of relationship over and over and over again with different spouses or lovers, then that may not be so good. Especially if your family fell into that 99% of families in the US that was/is dysfunctional.
But the good news is that you can break that repeating relationship pattern. If you want to. And the fastest and easiest way to do it is using hypnosis.
Repeating patterns are buried in the subconscious, and when given the choice of the "devil we know" or the "devil we don't know" the subconscious will indeed chose the devil it knows. Again and again and again.
There are several techniques we could use, including re-parenting, healing the inner child self, making certain that you don't see yourself as "half a person" (most often that applies to females), and making you a happy and complete "whole person" all by yourself. Then what happens, once these repairs or adjustments are done is that you will attract a different type of mate or lover, one that will not fall into that old pattern the subconscious used to choose, thereby breaking the old pattern.
Of course, that doesn't really apply to Karmic Relationships. That, my friends, is an entirely different ball game. :)
Either we subconsciously repeat the patterns we saw in our family or we decided to be the *exact opposite* of what we saw in our family. Sometimes that's good, and sometimes it's not so good. If we find ourselves repeating the same pattern of relationship over and over and over again with different spouses or lovers, then that may not be so good. Especially if your family fell into that 99% of families in the US that was/is dysfunctional.
But the good news is that you can break that repeating relationship pattern. If you want to. And the fastest and easiest way to do it is using hypnosis.
Repeating patterns are buried in the subconscious, and when given the choice of the "devil we know" or the "devil we don't know" the subconscious will indeed chose the devil it knows. Again and again and again.
There are several techniques we could use, including re-parenting, healing the inner child self, making certain that you don't see yourself as "half a person" (most often that applies to females), and making you a happy and complete "whole person" all by yourself. Then what happens, once these repairs or adjustments are done is that you will attract a different type of mate or lover, one that will not fall into that old pattern the subconscious used to choose, thereby breaking the old pattern.
Of course, that doesn't really apply to Karmic Relationships. That, my friends, is an entirely different ball game. :)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Mothers, Fathers and Re-Parenting Ourselves
Mother's Day is tomorrow, and Father's Day will be coming up next month. These "holidays" often remind me that our parents gave us the best they could; the best they knew how to give --- but often it wasn't what we needed. Or it wasn't enough. Or it was too much.
That reminds me of a line at the end of the movie Smoke Signals where the voice-over comes in and says:
As a hypnotist I deal with the subconscious and I believe that most if not all of our problems have their roots in our subconscious mind. That means childhood for a lot of things, and if our souls have been engaged in repeating patterns it could be many childhoods of many lifetimes, each time the problem going deeper and deeper into the subconscious. If the messages have been compounded enough or traumatic enough, it may even be necessary to "re-parent" ourselves as part of our own healing.
There are special techniques in hypnosis that deal with this re-parenting technique from Alchemical Hypnotherapy, and I have known some who have needed to re-parent themselves with an entirely new family. I have also known some who have "lost years" of growing up---indicating a family life so horrible, that their conscious minds have completely blocked all recollection of them.
In hypnosis, we can recapture those years if wanted. Or we could just work to repair the damage of those years. And some of the techniques used would indeed involve "re-parenting" yourself, comforting yourself, and bringing in your "adult" self to work with the "inner child" self.
So even though your own parents may not have been the best or most loving or most understanding, you CAN claim control of that part of your life in your own self-help work. Because in the end, we are all responsible for ourselves, our own actions, and our own reactions.
Happy Mother's Day,
---melodie
That reminds me of a line at the end of the movie Smoke Signals where the voice-over comes in and says:
How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?That applies to mothers as well.
As a hypnotist I deal with the subconscious and I believe that most if not all of our problems have their roots in our subconscious mind. That means childhood for a lot of things, and if our souls have been engaged in repeating patterns it could be many childhoods of many lifetimes, each time the problem going deeper and deeper into the subconscious. If the messages have been compounded enough or traumatic enough, it may even be necessary to "re-parent" ourselves as part of our own healing.
There are special techniques in hypnosis that deal with this re-parenting technique from Alchemical Hypnotherapy, and I have known some who have needed to re-parent themselves with an entirely new family. I have also known some who have "lost years" of growing up---indicating a family life so horrible, that their conscious minds have completely blocked all recollection of them.
In hypnosis, we can recapture those years if wanted. Or we could just work to repair the damage of those years. And some of the techniques used would indeed involve "re-parenting" yourself, comforting yourself, and bringing in your "adult" self to work with the "inner child" self.
So even though your own parents may not have been the best or most loving or most understanding, you CAN claim control of that part of your life in your own self-help work. Because in the end, we are all responsible for ourselves, our own actions, and our own reactions.
Happy Mother's Day,
---melodie
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