The Transparent Hypnotist

Today is all about going forward, packing it up, and moving out. There is a part of me that still wants to remain in bed and wish that I could just skip forward to being settled again. But, that is a completely unproductive thought. I am working with self-hypnosis to help maintain a positive attitude, counteracting the negative thoughts that threaten to mutiny.

So, my apologies for not writing a more beefy post, but I must pitch in and help, and that is what has my attention.

See you tomorrow for the Friday 10 Questions. My guest will be Mike Gow, Britain’s top dentist.

Photograph by viewsnortheast

While I sit here, waiting for a few pages to continue loading in FireFox, I realize I am truly grateful for the invention of high-speed internet and fast laptops. How I have begun to to take those two things for granted. Yet sitting here on my friend’s computer, I take away the gratitude for those two things as I pause, not of my own accord but the computer’s.

This means that the Monday Hypno Happenings from the past week is something beyond my patience today, so I do offer my apologies. But instead of whining, I will continue babbling. World Hypnotism Day was yesterday. It sounded like Debbie Lane had a fantastic day! Terry O’Brien is thinking ahead to next year (yuck to the yard work yesterday). And it was nice to hear from Tom Nicoli (the chairman of the event)!

Interestingly enough yesterday, I did have an opportunity to educate a friend about hypnosis, though it all went a bit, well unpleasant. My friend asked me about the idea of using hypnosis to deal with her phobia of going to the dentist. She had a dentist she was really happy going to who used laughing gas to relax her, but alas, her company switched to an insurance this dentist did not accept. No dentist on the list offered laughing gas, so she was trying to find a solution. We discussed a few options that could help her (client-centered hypnosis where one deals with understanding the subconscious cause and traditional hypnosis that is mostly suggestion work). We discussed how she could find a hypnotist and what she might want to look for during her search (I am very sad to say the NGH referral network did not work. No one ever responded to her email - I write this last sentence in hopes that someone there will read this and do something).

During this time, her boyfriend was listening to the conversation. He also asked a lot of questions, but his total fear in my genre of work came flashing to the surface like a summer heat storm. I patiently answered the questions, hoping to quell some of his lightening scared responses. But it is interesting (in a most frustrating way) when people refuse to open their mental ears and succumb to mindless debate. He debated all the myths as though they were true and he had experience with it. When asked if he had ever been to a hypnotist or had researched it, the answer was an emphatic “no,” but he had seen stuff about it on television. I realized quite rapidly that he was only interested in coercing her into not using hypnosis. He suggested she use other relaxation drugs instead (they work for him).

In the end, it was really one of the saddest moments I have had in my career. Here was an interested person who could have really benefited from hypnosis. I am pretty sure she will not use hypnosis so that she can maintain the peace in her household. I can understand that (you have to do what you can to find and keep peace). But I am troubled by the boyfriend’s response. It leaves me feeling a bit queasy.

But I too will move on. Everything in its time and place. I write this as a request. Look at your relationships. If you find yourself in the process of trying to stop someone from doing something they want to do because your own issues get in the way, just back away. Take a breathe. Feel free to state your opinion to the other person, but do not hinder them for selfish or silly reasons (like your own fear). Ask yourself what is going on with you and why? Use the moment to move forward in your own evolution.

Photograph by DO’Neil (GNU Free Documentation License)

One tissue. Two. Pause for a sip of tea (the last tea bag in the box of Constant Comment - drat). Another tissue and sip, again.

In spite of my tissue habit (I cleaned out a bookshelf last night and those wonderful dust particles are showing me their thanks for providing an air current party), the morning looks full of promise. There is so much to be done. Darn, another tissue. Will I ever be able to stop blowing my nose long enough to tell you my good fortune?

Ah, there is a breathing reprieve.

Last week, I posted about my weight loss group and some of their issues with having their photographs made. I also mentioned a fun little tool called the xshot. Basically it is like a tripod extension device that allows you to take pictures of yourself in a way that I hypothesized would be more flattering and inclusive. Well, JOY! I get to find out. I won Izea’s contest for that very product and am pretty excited to share it with my weight loss group. Depending on their feelings, I hope they will allow me to post pictures here.

So, huge thank you to the people at xshot and Izea for this opportunity.

Now I am off to bathe. No photos, please.

So, here it is - night. There was no morning tea. There was no quiet sunrise and you. There was just a quick shower, coffee-to-go and the blurry morning of pure change. I have been writing a bit about the upcoming holidays, never really internalizing it. Sure I can write it, but living it, breathing it - that is a whole different deal. Today I came face to face with it all.

Morning arrived much like it always does (though I switched mattresses and no longer feel like a need a hip replacement). I fed the cats. I stumbled around, nearsightedly looking for my house shoes. I peered under the bed. I checked the laundry hamper, the bathroom, the kitchen, and finally the area where my coats reside in the winter. Ah, yes,there they were - warm comfy Uggs just waiting for my cold feet to slide into their promised warmth. Only, they were not on the floor. They were hovering in the air, held by human hands - familiar human hands. As my focus left the sinewy digits in custody of my prized shoes, and slowly levitated upwards, there was a face - a familiar face. As I squinted to bring facial feature detail into sight, I realized there were two faces - familiar faces.

“Ellie, march back in there and get your walking shoes. We are going out,” said one of my dearest friends, whom I had not seen since …well, the memory falters here in a most unflattering way…let’s just say, in a long while. She and another friend of mine are in town, visiting relatives for Thanksgiving. My partner had apparently let them in while I was showering and had conveniently neglected to tell me we had company.

In the whirl wind that accompanied those first words of my friend, I found myself dragged bodily away from my computer, the blogging realm, and into a hubbub (humbug) of pre-holiday shopping and warm cinnamon rolls, ah the blessed cinnamon rolls. I have finally stumbled back to the quietness of this tranquil cyber space.

I hope your day has been pleasant…and I hope you missed me.

Shivering and sleepless, last night I added an extra blanket to the bed and finally feel asleep under its added warmth. How did this happen, this coldness? How did winter weather sneak up upon me when I had barely hung up the white, linen suit? How? Oh heat and sweat, how I miss you!

And was it not just Halloween? Granted, I know many stores put out their Christmas must-haves in deep summer, but what about the rest of humanity? At a peer meeting the other night, I sat sipping free-trade coffee and the background music began to flirt with my consciousness. I found myself humming alone to the sounds of fiddle and guitar. Odd that I could hum along with such a thing and then I realized for the past hour, we had been listening to Christmas carols.

Then on the entrecard forum, a conversation was born asking what we want for Christmas (Pecan pie and peace, please). And I realize I cannot fight this. I cannot push Christmas thoughts away until Thanksgiving. No, I find even in my grumpy self, I want to to have a bout at Harrods again. I want a Carmello. I want home. But that is not to be, either. Home is here and it is up to me to change my mind set and be in this moment, this now.

So, with sponsors all aglow with Christmas posting needs, who am I stop the momentum of we-need-a-little-Christmas? In considering this post for Sears Layaway, I am to chose three of my nearest and dearest, what I would by for them (preferably using their layaway plan of $15 down) and why. Frankly, I would buy The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis ($110) for my most nearest and dearest - ME. But, this is not about me, nor does it focus on apparel, kitchen and tools.

So in moving away from ego-gratification, I would buy my mum a new coat, something vibrantly loud in the sea of UK grey and black, maybe a Harve Benard Boiled Wool Jacket (in Olympian blue) so that she could give her old one to charity (and help her feel better about wanting a new coat when her old one is perfectly fine). My Da, now that is funny - even thinking about buying his bookish self some sort of tool (he would call me a tool for even thinking this way) - I would buy him the Craftsman Toolbox Cooler. Now food is something my Da enjoys immensely. A nice manly bag to take with him in the warmer days when he gets an inkling to grab a book, sit under a tree and read. No more paper sacks for you, Da. Then there is my nephew. He would receive a Euro-Cuisine Electric Beverage Mixer (Hot Chocolate Maker) because he is a chocolate fiend and is is still young enough to indulge a bit without it appearing on the body in most unflattering ways.

So there. I have started trying to get in the spirit of the holidays. It is not quite self-hypnosis, but it does get the juices flowing. Thanks for indulging me. Any one else have any creative ideas about gifts they are giving?

Image from the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Well, it is time to resurface for a bit of blogging air. Many, many thanks to Rose, Terry and Michael for guest blogging the past week. Michael, I love the nothing induction. Thanks for sharing!!!!

And it is late to be posting today, and for that I do apologize. I ended up on the road for a good part of the day and planning for tomorrow’s holiday. Crazy stuff!!!

I had a great trip and was able to spend some time with family members. I also tried something completely new, but hypnotic none-the-less. Birding. I went birding. Yes, I sat very still (freezing) on the edge of a forrest, blending in with the fall foliage. Perhaps a burning bush would have been better camouflage considering the red nose I developed.

When I first realized that this was an early morning fate of mine, I found myself a little resistive (and for no known reason). The whole idea of siting out in the field, collecting the morning dew on my hiking clothes with my aunt and her walker seemed very unglamorous compared to the pancake breakfast the rest of the family was having. But, my aunt, ever the Audubon gal, decided this would be just the thing for her niece who was reported to be a hiking fiend.

And as we sat there amongst the trees and the silence, the occasional random bird call, and the thermos of hot coffee, I began to get the flow of the morning. Why, this birding thing, it was quite a bit like meditation. One takes a pair of binoculars and begins not only to focus on the variations of color and sound, but focus the mind into a state of pure concentration. As I handed back the optics to my aunt, I watched her for a few moments. Sure enough she had lost track of time and place and was answering my chattering whispers with trance-like “um-hums.”

It then occurred to me to try an experiment with her. This particular aunt is ever one to moan about her aches and pains. I have often offered to work with her on pain management, but she is not too keen on my brand of hocus pocus (as she calls it). But here she was, already in her own sort of hypnotic state. What did I have to lose? Carefully, I continued whispering to her. She was definitely in another state of reality (I asked her if she would like chocolate syrup on her club sandwich at lunch, to which she replied “um-hum.”). Continuing on, I gave her a suggestion that when she returned home from bird watching, she would be pain free for the rest of the day. She seemed not to notice.

Finally, my cell phone range and it was my uncle calling to check on us. It was time to rejoin humanity. I would love to say that as I looked up, there was the elusive red-headed woodpecker (birders, I apologize, I really know not what I speak of). Alas, nothing. My aunt made a few quick notes in her log, handed me all of the gear (okay, the ATB binoculars are tres cool) and proceeded to position herself in her walker. Was there a ah-ha moment when she threw the walker away? Nope. She and I made our slow progress back.

I put away our gear, washed up and sat down at the table. No, my aunt did not ask for chocolate sauce for her club sandwich. Instead she was all bright and cheerful, telling everyone that we saw this bird, heard that bird, and what a great morning it was.

The rest of the day was peaceful. My aunt remained cheerful. Dinner came and went and before I knew it, I was falling asleep on the couch. It was not until I stood in my jammies, brushing my teeth, that I realized my aunt had not complained once about her pain since returning from our birding adventure.

The remaining days with her were also fairly pain free (or she did not bother reporting it if so). She wants to go birding with me again. Apparently I now need to get my own gear (who would have thought?). My uncle happily admitted that those “wonderful binoculars” I was impressed with were his hunting ones. My aunt had apparently absconded with them. He hinted that he would like a new pair of Nikon’s All Terrain Binoculars (Christmas will be here before we know it, don’t cha know). He even sent me an email on how to get Free ATB Pro Gear, ie. my own stuff, if I bought him the binoculars before December 31 (depending on the kind you buy, you can get a $25 or $50 gift card when you buy a pair of Nikon ATB binoculars).

That night, as I dozed off to sleep in the guest bedroom, book still open to the page I was reading, my aunt walked in and stood beside the bed. Fearing that another early morning of sitting in the cold woods was about to be proposed, I did the cowardly thing, I faked complete sleep.

“Ellie,” she whispered, “are you awake?” No response.

“Ellie, in the morning you will buy your uncle his own set of binoculars and you will feel wonderful.”

With that little suggestion, she crept of of the room.

I am buying a pair of rose colored glasses (seriously). As it gets harder to look at the world (of my finances) through the glare of my contacts, feeling the gunkiness of allergies and that unpleasant stuck sensations that blur the vision - I wear torric lens so they need to move, I really think a pair of rose colored glasses would be just the thing. Maybe I should say cheap rose colored glasses, that would be more accurate.

I used to have this wonderful vision (well, I take that back, I was born with amazingly awful eyesight), but I used to have this wonderful optimism that life would be just groovy - all the time. The vision included proverbial white picket fences - me independent of any corporate establishment, prospering in my self-owned business, being part of a community where people would wave when they crossed your path, hot coffee 24/7, decent beer, and cool nights with soft, warm clothes that would go by so fast that I would need a retirement game plan before I knew it. Some might dare to call me naive. At university, I was often told that my idealism would eventually fade as I grew up, but being a bit of a rebel, I held on to it. In fact I am still holding on to it, though I fear I have been holding it so tightly that there are imprints of my fingernails on my palms, permanently. Sure there have been times when the optimism waned and the idealism propelled me forward (think Desert Storm and 9/11). I guess the idealism has propelled me quite far since 9/11, but I find I could really use a boost of energy to keep it going.

Then an interesting client walked into my life, one who was literally wearing rose colored eyeglasses. Here is the fun part - the client is of the male persuasion. When I asked abut his glasses (they were sooo cool), he told me he was an ergonomic engineer and had been looking for the perfect color combination that would protect his eyes from the evils of the atmosphere (my words, not his) and would make reality a little brighter. He felt there must be something to the rose colored glasses cliche, so he studied color-theory and the glasses came into being.

So, I asked him if seeing the world through rose colored glasses improves his daily life or the way he sees it. Apparently it does. It gives life a fascinating tint, he claims.

As I went over both my business and personal budget last night, lamenting the lattes that I have given up (need the money for gas to get to the office) and I thought about how nice it used to be to walk to the coffee shop near my office and indulge in the steamed milk. As I thought this, my partner was in the next room, huffing and puffing as he began his daily work out ritual at the house, as he now claims the gym membership is too costly (and not convenient enough to justify the gas expense).

Maybe it is time to get a pair of rose colored glasses - cheap. Maybe it is time to see the world in new colors.

As I drove home last night from a networking function, the harvest orange moon guided my way. It was one of those phenomenal moons that makes one want to pull over and just gaze at it, or drive home, get a mug of hot cider and sit on the porch to watch it as it watches us. Normally I am inspired by such moons, remembering past decades (you thought I was going to say past lives, didn’t you) and how there always seemed to be such a moon on my horizon of transformation.

And so I awoke this morning, not feeling inspired, just very, very tired. I slept soundly and for eight hours, so I am not sure what is the cause of this sluggish feeling (I ate a raw vegetable dinner, laced with almonds). I could easily crawl back under the covers and sleep another eight hours. Maybe this too is a moon effect - some ancient memory in me recalling times when I would have spent the night awake doing mysterious and mischievous rituals and then slept through the sunlit hours.

I do know, this is a time of transformation for myself. Something new is just up ahead and I do not know what it is, but I remain optimistic. My last retreat into the mountains opened up some inner doors and here I am sometimes restless, sometimes exhausted. My clients often speak of these side effects of change. When they have experienced and accepted the suggestions for what it is they are seeking to change, I often hear about great nights of sleep or a certain restlessness. Now I join them.

So, my task for the day is to get the energy to continue planning my office’s Halloween party that I mention a few weeks back. I decided to take Michael’s advice and go with just a disco theme and we are converting my yoga studio into the disco…I have a friend who has agreed to be a bouncer and do the archaic Studio 54 thing (though I suspect most people on the guest list will have no problem getting through the door).

Halloween Costumes. Now the question is what am I going to wear? (Yeah, I am a woman and that’s that). The costume cannot be too slinky (this is my business so various venders, associates, the law firm downstairs, and clients are invited)…Currently the image at the top of this page is where I am currently headed (unless someone can give me a boost). It fits my personality, no too outrageous, but funky. Enough people will be shocked to see me out of my suit. And I love the yellow boots, maybe a pair of swirly glasses and I should be set. Any thoughts?

Is your head the most perfect of heads? Does it have an interesting shape? Is it the sort of head that does not require hair to complete you? If so, you just might have the perfect element for becoming a cranial billboard. A little tattoo ink, comfy walking shoes, and you have the potential of a whole new career or a grand adventure…

But let’s talk about me for a few moments before we consider your future (hey now, this is my blog and I can talk about me all I want, thank you very much. LOL).

When I first came to this country (way too long ago to mention the year), one of the most compelling feelings I felt was an expansive sense of freedom. My family was on the other side of the pond, and here I was, a sweet young thing following her bliss. And one of the first things I did was to follow the American dream by driving across the country. I wanted to see it all and another long plane ride would not accomplish that goal. The young man who had my heart at the time provided the means. Wouldn’t you love it if I told you all about his beautiful vintage, Cadillac convertible? I could describe the wind whipping through my long hair as we happily hit the back roads. But a more apt image to invoke is one of two gawky barely adult-teenager types, one with a buzz cut and one with long hair (I was the buzz cut), and an old minivan (it was white). We did hit lots of back roads, though and camped in the back of the minivan at every National Park we came found.

Needless to say, we also met a lot of very different people. I think that trip awakened me to the whole American version of New Age and competitive Buddhism (as a friend of mine calls it). I learned how to meditate on that trip - how to really meditate, not just close my eyes and struggle to ignore the pressures of life. I learned how to be relaxed, aware and to feel the earth beneath me, often opening my eyes to lush vistas of potential. From that moment on, it seemed as if an electric, tingling sensation remained with me. Something was happening. The rebellious Brit shed her shocker shell and began to understand that anger was not a way to go through life.

In Sturgus, SD I was able to bring together that free spirit and the one that was turning into the hypnotist you know today. The episode of X-files where Scully got the infinity tattoo on her back had just aired. I was so impressed that I too had the same emblem (the snake eating itself known as Ouroboros) tattooed on my lower back. To me it was very much the alchemy idea, infinite possibilities and transformation.

So, I had to laugh when I saw the casting call for Air New Zealand. They are looking for 30 people who would be willing to shave their head and have messages of Air New Zealand’s transformational journeys permanently displayed there. Ultimate marketing - the cranial billboard comes to LA. I totally love it. I might even be tempted to give it a go if Air New Zealand had been responsible for my own life-changing journey (I suspect the sponsor of that would be the minivan people). Instead I will leave it to those who are aglow with the desire to participate and in need of their own life-changing experience. That alone could be such a journey. Plus, my own tattoo was extremely painful, though now, I believe I would use self-hypnosis to dull or be rid of the pain. Hey, maybe the airline would consider hiring me to bring my skills as a hypnotist to help those who have trouble with any pain involved. That could be a wonderful experience for us all. (Just thought I would put that out there in case any Air New Zealand people read this). But I digress. If you are interested in participating, visit www.airnewzealand.com.

Though very few people see my tattoo, I know it is there and when I think bout it, I still get that electric tingle. Would it not potentially be the same for these walking advertisers? Eventually the hair would grow back and the moment would be a memory. The transformation would remain however.

Lounging back on the couch, no inhibitions about my bare feet resting upon a coffee table (yes, teacher I would sit like this at home), the conversation turned to the ever-encroaching coldness of a mountain morning. The fact was that my peers and I were cold. The heat had not been turned on in the house and the coffee cups, a source of fast heat, had rapidly cooled to room temperature. Now, I am sure you are saying, “Silly girl, Ellie, go put on some socks.” Ah yes, that would have helped. The problem was all my socks were dirty and I was not so desperate to put on a pair that had already done their foot warming duty.

The morning was cloudy so there was no patch of sun where I could rest my frigid appendages and I would have had to share the smidgen of it with ten others.

“You know, I once new a person who through hypnosis thought herself a decent tan. Really. The hypnotist was working on relaxation with her and she visualized herself lying in the warm sun of a Brazilian beach. When she was back in normal consciousness, she had a nice, healthy tan - there was even a tan line where her watch blocked out the imaginary rays,” said one of my pale faced peers. My first thought was not about the reality of being able to manifest such a change, but rather, would such an exercise cause skin damage. Does a hypnotic tan involve harmful UV rays? Just a thought, but I digress.

My pale faced friend continued, “Well, I immediately thought I would try it. No luck. I just got hot and sweaty.”

Bingo. Hot and sweaty would be a nice reprieve for those of us not completely prepared for wintery temperatures. Another peer volunteered to do a group hypnosis session for feeling warmth.

Becoming even more comfortable, I was lulled into a hypnotic state. There was no cold. There was not hot - just a mellow me. Did she take us to that warm, perfect-bodied Brazilian beach? Nope. We were guided into a sauna experience, eucalyptus included. Our bodies relaxed in the moist heat or that was the general consensus. Then I became aware of a noise, a wheezing, a gasping sound. I came out of the experience and the sound came with me. Was it me? Was I having an asthma attack? No. My breathing was fine. As my eyes accustomed to the dim light of the cloudy day, I looked around the room. Our leader had her eyes closed and seemed to be guiding everyone through her experience, oblivious to the here and now. Did no one else hear the wheezing?

Then I spotted my pale faced friend. She indeed seemed to be struggling with her breathing. As I debated internally about what to do, she opened her eyes, got up and left the group. I followed her into the kitchen where she was got a drink of water. By this time another from our group had also arrived to see if she was okay. As it turned out, she had suffered from terrible asthma as a child and someone suggested she try a moist sauna to help her open up her lungs. It did just the opposite and today she had gone back to that experience. My other friend thought quickly and did a rapid induction (with her permission) and took her back to a time before the incident when her breathing was normal. Her breathing returned to normal. The wheezing stopped and he gave her suggestions to continue breathing well.

When we all reconvened, our guide was mortified to say the least. We discussed what had happened.

The hero of the day spoke up, “Maybe you should have guided us into an Infrared Sauna.” Then he laughed.

“What’s an Infrared Suana?” someone else asked, getting us a bit off topic. It uses the idea of radiant heat to heat the body rather than heating the air. It could be a much more positive experience for those who deal with asthma. He went on to discuss the far infrared sauna he had thought of as an investment for his health. He listed off some of the positive affects of such a thing, but broke it down to the base element - sweat. He is a believer that sweat detoxifies the body. He had ideas about meditating in such a suana and also getting the sweat factor.

Then the conversation moved on and everyone had ideas about how the breathing incident could have been avoided. My pale friend had it right, though (in my opinion). Rather than indulge in blame, avoidance and general negativity, she looked at the bright side. Maybe she needed to release something that involved her asthma. She would give some thought to that. But then she also said she had learned a lot about saunas and that was a good thing.