Hypnosis and Habits

Habit is defined as a regular tendency or practice, esp. one that is hard to give up. 

Good habits are wonderful. Thank god people brush their teeth twice a day. Bad habits are usually not so appealing, even to those with the habit. Why do we continuously do something that we do not want to do? Unwanted habits are an indication that your subconscious mind and your conscious mind are at odds. Your conscious mind wants to eat healthy, stop smoking, or stop biting those darn nails, but for some reason your subconscious is holding on to these potentially dangerous habits. WHY?????

Our conscious and subconscious minds are different. They play by different rules. At the same time they have to work together to get things done. Your conscious mind is the logical one, it takes a problem analyzes and solves it with reason. Your subconscious mind only associates and reacts, for example it will think turtle=slow, sky=blue, smoking=stress relief. There is no logic behind your subconscious just reaction it learns through repetition and emotion. Your subconscious mind processes 400 million bits of information per second and your conscious process only 40 million. So when your conscious mind thinks I do not need that cookie, and your subconscious thinks cookies equal comfort I neeeeed that cookie, which side do you think is going to win? There you have it, a bad habit created, all because your subconscious mind associated a cookie incorrectly.

     How do we stop our subconscious from unwanted associations? First you have to figure out your associations. It is not the same for everyone. We are all different, we have all grown up in different homes, with different families, different experiences, and different emotions. We use repetition and emotion, the way the association was made, to correct imbalance. After imbalance is corrected the cookie will become exactly what it is to both the conscious and subconscious mind. It will be a sugary desert, no longer emotional fulfillment. With both your minds working together you will no longer struggle with your bad habit.

 

Thanks for stopping by! As always I invite you to contact me with any questions about hypnosis, emotions, or your subconscious mind. 

Biker Living Article

At a networking event this past year I met a wonderful woman named Christina.  She was passionate, a creator, inspiring, and beautiful.  She started a local magazine for bikers in the Austin area called Biker Living.

Christina really intrigued me with all her passion for motorcycling and the community that goes with it.  I wanted to know what was in her head, so I asked lots of questions.  I love to know what people think and feel that inspires them to create. When Christiana would speak of her long journeys on her motorcycle she would unknowingly smile, and an extra spark of life would come to her eyes. Christina spoke of this wonderful loving community that would reach out and help each other at a moment's notice.  She talked about a community that was more like a family with an extra bond beyond a blood tie. I understand that part - we all love to feel that community, and when our foundation is built of a hundred people looking out for our best interests we are stronger than when it's just a handful.

I did not understand the motorcycle part, so I asked her, "Why motorcycles?"  To me they seemed dangerous, uncomfortable, and a little scary!  I didn't understand long trips on a motorcycle, because if I go some where I like comfort.  I want a radio, temperature control, and a cup holder!  When she started telling me about the feeling she gets when she rides her face really lit up. I could actually see the love for her craft all over her face.  As she was describing the feeling of just letting go and being in the moment, of being in the air and in nature, the excitement coming out with her words suddenly reminded me of a feeling that I am very familiar with - a feeling very close to the one I get with hypnosis. 

I relate everything to emotions, thoughts, and hypnosis because everything can relate. We talked about the relationship between hypnosis and the feelings from riding, and a friendship was born. We connected, I got it, and I finally understood what the draw was.  Christina asked me to write what I just said to her in a short article for her magazine, here it is.

Have you ever heard the old saying, "You never see a motorcycle parked outside of a therapist office"? It could be true, but do you know why this lifestyle is so therapeutic?

You know that feeling you get when your mind wanders off and you become silent - it's just you and the road.  You may even “zone out” after many miles, and when your conscious mind comes back you wonder where you have been. That feeling is a lot like the one so many people spend many hours, and lots of dollars, trying to perfect. That silence is like relaxation therapy, meditation, and even hypnosis!  Your conscious mind is slowing down and your creative mind, your subconscious, is coming through. This is part of the draw to riding I am sure, because in this state you naturally release endorphins (a feel good chemical in the brain). Your stress levels go down, your immune system functions better, and you feel fantastic!

What else can this state accomplish? Why are so many people trying to achieve this state? It is this state of mind when your conscious thoughts drift away and your creative mind is activated that gives your mind more power. Your conscious mind can process about 40 bits of information per second, but your subconscious can process 40 million bits per second!  The ability to use their subconscious when they want to is a powerful tool that many artists, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and other creative individuals strive for.  Think of your subconscious mind as Google, and your conscious mind is an old hardcover dictionary.  Which one would you choose for the best answers to your questions?  Which one is faster?  Which one has the most information to arrive at the best answer?  The great minds of the world are constantly striving to let the stronger part of their brain answer the tough questions and come up with better answers.

How do you put this “trance state” to work for you? First, start with setting a goal.  What do you want to get out of your ride?  Perhaps you want clarity on a struggle that is going on in your life, or the answer to a question that you've been considering.  You can have a goal that needs to be focused on, or even just a feeling you would like to have. Think about what your goal is before you go on your ride, and think about what you want to get out of the ride a few times before you even get on your bike.  You could even write it down and stick it in your pocket.  Always think in positive terms.  Always think of what you DO want.  What you focus on will grow. Also, think about being safe and aware of the road, your riding ability, and the people around you.  In this way your subconscious can even help you become safer.  You need to focus on your goal before you go on your ride, because you are almost asking your subconscious a question.  Your subconscious mind will then go into auto pilot mode and process your request, and before you know it the answer, clarity, or feeling will just pop right into your mind.  You can utilize the best part of your brain doing the things that you love so much, by just asking for it!  It's as simple as that.  As Napoleon Hill puts it, “The possibilities of creative effort connected with the subconscious mind are stupendous and imponderable. They inspire one with awe.”

So, set your goal and get on your motorcycle, and let your subconscious mind work for you. It is truly amazing the power that each and every one of us has in our own minds.  It's just a matter of using what has already been placed there. So start using your hobby to your full advantage, and start using your brain to its full capacity. Be safe. Have fun. Enjoy life!

If you are in the Austin area and see a copy of Biker Living, pick it up, its FREE. 

Relationships and Hypnosis

Hypnotherapy is mainly thought to be used for smoking, weight control, and various fears. In actuality, most of my clients come to me for relationship issues. Whether it be recovering from a divorce, current relationship hardships, or work and social associations that are affecting the clients happiness and overall well being.

You are the common denominator in all of your relationships. Once you change how you are reacting, your relationships HAVE to change. After coming to this realization most of my clients experience an extremely powerful sense of focus and control, knowing that NOW they have the ability to have relationships they desire.

How does hypnosis help? The hypnotherapist acts as a guide to navigate past experiences, and past relationships. We will discover the clients "role" in their relationship and where it was learned. After we discover the role that the client has become accustom to we will work together to change that role into the positive balanced person that the client truly is. Their part in the relationship will change, directly affecting the relationship and how it interacts with emotions and reactions.

Sally came into my office feeling completely defeated, on the verge of divorce, feeling hopeless, and unhappy.  Her husband was not the type to agree on therapy. She was working on the relationship alone. I assured her that it was quite okay to be here on her own because by her changing her role in the relationship she will change the relationship over all.  Sally is the youngest of 4 kids (one of them having special needs) and growing up she felt that her needs and desires were not as important as her siblings.  She brought this role into her marriage putting herself on the back burner and taking care of everyone in the family without ever doing anything for herself. She has been playing this role her whole life only to turn up at my office depleted and with a sense that she has been taken advantage of by the ones she loves most.  She never realized that she created this role from her very own childhood, she felt like a victim of her husbands selfishness and that her own children inherited this behavior from him.  When she began to see that she had been feeling this way her whole life, and she brought this role into her marriage this gave her the power and ability to change her relationship.  Together we used hypnosis to reprogram her reactions, and her role. Sally was no longer sitting back expecting to be walked on, she was able to speak up for what she needed. Sally discovered that her family was more then willing to be there and make her desires come true. Sally changed her role and it changed her relationship.


This is just one short example on how changing your subconscious belief system can change your outlook and can change your relationships. Using your subconscious we get directly to your emotional mind causing life long changes in a very short period of time. If you are having trouble in your relationship(s) call me for a free consultation we can see how hypnosis can apply to your unique situation.

How to deal with a jerk...

I have a jerk in my life. This person wants to be mean to me. This person will try and make me feel bad, embarrassed, not worthy, unlikable, and not a part of the group. That is what a jerk is, right? Someone who is trying to be mean, someone who is trying to hurt your feelings. Most of the time Jerks are pretty good at what they do, they are usually well practiced in the art of jerkery, the chances that you are the only person they have ever treated like this is very slim.

Yes, I will get to the point, because we all know to well what a jerk is. Knowing what a jerk is, is half the battle. A jerk is trying to magnify our own weakness and insecurity. If this person would say and do things that we knew were not true that would take this jerk from a malicious a$$ to a pathetic crazy person. This would shift the view immediately from your problem to their problem. For instance if a person was making hurtful jokes about my physical body; being over weight or ugly, it would not bother me at all because I do not feel that way about my body in the slightest. The person in question would become a little imbalanced in my eyes, but not a jerk because I do not believe these things myself. Now if this person would say the same things to someone who felt badly about their physical body this person is no longer crazy and is now a jerk. 


Getting to the point, how to stop a jerk. Acknowledge how this person makes you feel. Insecure about your body? Not capable of doing your job? Low confidence or self esteem? Embarrassed? Chances are that you have had these feelings about yourself way before this person came along he(she) has just brought them to the surface. It is time to understand that your feelings are your own, no one else can have power over them (unless you allow it). Take this jerk as a opportunity to get over whatever negative feelings that you have within yourself. Find your confidence wherever it was lacking. This jerk has changed from someone who was picking on you (making you a victim) to an opportunity for you to change the way you feel about yourself (putting you back in control and making him(her) crazy).

I want to say thank you to my jerk, you have shown me areas in my life that I would like to improve. I am in control of what I feel.

Why haven't my past goals worked out?

It is the first day of 2013, and there are a lot of people that have decided on changes in their lives. Some of us want to improve our health, some of us want to better our professional lives, maybe some want to give up working so much to spend more time with the people that we love. Setting goals and provoking change are good things. If your life is not what you want, change it! You are the one with the power.

Sounds easy.  For instance, if you want to improve your health a good place to start is to put down the snack food, eat better choices of foods, and go to the gym. Why do so many of us start out strong and a few weeks later we are back to our old habits? Maybe you have a subconscious belief system that is holding you back...

A subconscious belief system is usually created in your childhood when your mind doesn't have the full logic to accept what it wants and reject the rest.  It just soaks up everything. What if you decided as a child that you needed to be big?  Maybe your mom always told you that you are not big enough to do this or that, or maybe you decided that if you were big and strong you would not be hurt by the person that was hurting you. When you make a decision to be big under the circumstances that you need to be big to save you from something, your subconscious mind takes over and makes the decision to be big. There is now a belief system stuck there in your brain.  Now as an adult your conscious mind wants to live in a nice healthy body but your subconscious mind believes that it needs to be large to protect you. A conflict of interest. 

Another example is success or money. Say you are a woman with all the conscious desire to be successful, to make a lot of money and be looked at by your peers as a great professional.  You have everything that you need to accomplish that goal - you're smart, you have the right education, you have a good job, but for some reason promotions and other opportunities always seem to pass you by. Maybe you have a subconscious belief system that women shouldn't be successful and have money. 

Sounds silly right?  What kind of house did this woman grow up in?  Was the father successful? Did he believe that it was silly for women to work and have money and power? What do you think that your deeper mind would learn from a father like that? If you have everything else maybe your own subconscious belief system is holding you back. How would you succeed if the deeper part of your mind believed that you shouldn't? Sounds ridiculous, but if all the other variables are there you might be self-sabotaging because of a subconscious seed that was planted many years ago.

There are two ways to change a subconscious belief system: repetition and emotion. Repetition is fairly self explanatory, keep focusing on the positive, on what you do want. Over and over and over. Put reminders to focus on the positive, and keep those thoughts on the top of your mind. The emotion part is a little more difficult.  You need to remember those past emotions, those moments in your past where your subconscious made those beliefs, and then change that emotion. You can try to do this on your own by re-living the memory and putting logic back into the circumstance. For instance, if you have a belief system that you need to be big to protect yourself, remember the feelings that you had as a child and put some logic into them. Imagine the child tell the child the truth about the feelings being experienced. Releasing those past emotions and giving those events the truth that an adult can explain will help change the belief system.

Good luck to you on achieving your goals for the new year!

I believe that hypnosis is the best way to reach your subconscious mind. To find a great hypnotherapist to help guide you, first make sure they use both repetition and emotion. A lot of hypnotherapists just do the repetition part. They call it suggestion, this is only half the healing process. I read somewhere (The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, by Debbie Ford) that using just affirmations (suggestion), is like putting ice cream on poop, there is still that deeper emotion that is still there, and it eventually will come out.  I do recommend finding a hypnotherapist in your area, if there is not one available I offer Skype sessions. I am located in Austin, Tx. If you would like help finding a hypnotherapist in your area check out the NGH directory  or contact me and I will help you find a great hypnotist in your area.

Weight Control Tips

Mind Over Matters

Weight Control Tips 

-Get excited about healthy eating. Even if you are not really excited about eating healthy, fake it use your emotion to say YAY I am going to eat healthy! Even if the talk is in your mind, always be positive and excited about eating healthy.

-Get excited about exercise.  Act as if. So treat going to the gym as a treat, maybe it is a few minutes alone to settle your mind, maybe it is to be able to swim comfortably at the pool this coming summer, focus on the wonderful parts of what you are doing and pretty soon that will be all that is there.

-Share your healthy eating with your friends and family. Most people are going to be very excited and happy for you making the decision of changing your life for the better, so post pictures of your new colorful healthy dinners on facebook, tell your people when you reach a goal, their good positive reinforcements will help you on your path.

-Numbers. I recommend staying away from tracking your pounds, your body can reduce fat and gain muscle and not drop a pound. If you HAVE to use a number, use one that is not significant to you, for example if your goal weight is 135 pounds change it to 134, there will be less subconscious association with an "off" number like 134.

-Be careful on the words you are telling yourself. This is so very important! We all have self talk, most of us do not know how to get the most out of our self talk. Your subconscious mind only associates and reacts, so if you say lose, burn, drop, even shrink,  your subconscious mind usually has a negative reaction, it doesn't want to lose anything or burn no way! Always speak to yourself in a positive manner, you will be trim, slim, sexy and healthy! (This is why we say weight control, not weight loss)

-Picture yourself as you want to be. Daydream about the way you want your body to look, use good positive words, tell yourself you are sexy, healthy, slim, and trim. Use your imagination to see yourself doing the activities that you want to do, enjoy these visions, do them often especially on times of feeling negative.

-When you are eating give your body direction on what to do with your food. Before you eat just think to yourself that you will eat enough to have the energy that you need. Tell your body to use the good nutrients and eliminate the rest. 

-When you are working out concentrate on your body. "Lifting and rising" is a great way to think when working out your glutes, saying this to yourself in your mind will help your brain concentrate on the muscles you are using getting more result out of every movement. Think of your abs tightening with every sit up, your biceps growing with every curl, whatever your goals may be, training your mind as well as your body will help you see results that much faster.



Sometimes we have deep rooted beliefs inside of the subconscious part of our minds, telling our bodies that we have to be big, or we have to eat more. These beliefs usually come from an earlier time in our lives that we might not even consciously remember. This is what causes out weight to fluctuate so much one mind our conscious wanting to be slim, but our subconscious believing that we HAVE to be big, or emotionally consume. We have to work every day to change the beliefs!

10 Tips For a Better Nights Sleep

You can train your body and mind to sleep better, just add these simple steps into your life and enjoy more fulfilling sleep. When you have more fulfilling sleep, you have a more fulfilling life. Sleeping better will improve your relationships, it will improve your health, and it will put you in a better mood, all by just allowing your body to function at optimum levels that you get with a full night sleep.  Try these simple tricks that tell your brain when it is time to sleep, repeat them, give them time, and your sleeping habits will change.

-Take the TV out of your bedroom. Your brain needs to know what your bed is meant for, this should only be sleeping and sex. When you have a television in your bedroom usually you are lacking in one of these areas if not both. 

-Make sure your bed room is clean of clutter and half finished projects.  When you are in your bedroom and you see your half finished sewing project or your laptop just waiting to be opened, this is where your mind will wonder. If your bedroom is clean of clutter, projects, and other stresses you can have that peace of mind before drifting off to dream land. Keep in mind what is in your nightstand, under your bed, and in your closets, make sure these places are treated like the rest of the room clean, free from clutter, no unfinished work or projects.

-Go to bed and wake up at the same times. Your brain will remember the routine. We are creatures of habit, so go to bed every night at the time you want to sleep, even if you are not quite tired yet, you are training your brain, and it will work!

-Have a "getting ready for bed" ritual. And tell yourself it is your getting ready for bed ritual. Whether it is having a cup of sleepy time tea, or doing a extensive face washing program, after awhile this will be associated with sleep, and your brain will start going in to "sleep mode" when your ritual starts. This way you are a step ahead before you even climb into bed.

-Comfortable bed, pillows, sheets, and room temperature. Most people spend more time in there bed sleeping then any other space in their home. Make sure you have the best, most comfortable experience when tucked gently between the sheets. The more rested you are the better your waking life will be. Consider the importance of comfort, and how it relates directly to your sleeping next time you buy a mattress, pillows, or sheets.

-Remember the times you have slept the best. If you always concentrate on when you have slept bad, you will continue to sleep bad, it is a self fulfilling prophecy. Always remember the times you have slept good, and let this be your self fulfilling prophecy. If you claim to have never slept good, or not remember, pretend in your mind that you have slept peacefully, that you do sleep wonderfully, concentrate on the feelings you want to have about sleeping.

-Listen to music. Listing to music or sounds of nature is a great way to help quiet the mind. Keep whatever you are listening to consistent, in order to let your subconscious have another association with sleep.  And stay away from the radio, you do not need to have the advertisements in your subconscious mind.

-Take a shower before bed. When you are in the shower and you are washing your body just think to yourself that you are washing every worry, stress, thought, or idea, away and it is running down the drain with the dirty water. This is very symbolic and will help your mind relax and let go of the days stresses. Then when you climb into your bed you are fresh, ready for sleep.

-Instead of counting sheep, concentrate on relaxing your body from your toes to the top of your head. This concentration is very difficult at first but will soon become a second nature. A good tip is to concentrate on your breathing while you do this in order for your mind not to wonder. If you find your mind wonders anyway just bring it back to where you left off.


-Do not use your bed as an office, kitchen, or even a lounge. Train your brain to know when you get into bed it is time for SLEEP. If your subconscious knows it is the time and the place for a good nights rest that is what you will get.