Beginning Footsteps

When you are disordered on the outside, you are disordered on the inside... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Sugar....the Hidden Eating Disorder - Who's Killing the Kids is a book/workbook/workshop, following the format of our other books & CD/mp3 programs. This blog/workshop is a place where I design & edit written & recorded work, while working with client-specific needs.

I'm happy to share some complimentary mp3 downloads with you. Each is a full interactive self-hypnosis session. Current ones include...
Serious Goal Building &
Inner Organization

CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER

When I begin work with a new patient, the first thing that happens is an assessment. Earlier in this workshop blog you were introduced to parts of that assessment. As part of this process I always ask a patient to walk me through their day, just as if I were with them every step of the way from their first waking moment, to their last.

If I'm working with a patient in the office, it's easy to notice their distress as we proceed through their "truth." If I'm working with a patient online & through their written word, it's common for me to hear how depressed or anxious they've become as they face their own "truth" unfolding. It's often difficult for these patients to push the "send" button. Little do they know that they are speaking to "that part of me" that's already been there & done that. In the realm of life disorder, addictions & disorderly eating, there's little new for me to hear, just different flavors of the same.

Reading a patient's assessment is often difficult for me as it takes me back to my life experiences before beginning my fresh start. That is a dark place, filled with thought & emotional confusion. It's an anxious place that resonates with despair. I can still feel those emotions & sense myself wondering if I can truly help this person. I remind myself that I no longer reside in the dark & that I know where the lighted path is, inviting myself to go towards it now. Walking forward, sensing the return of my confidence, realizing that I've shared this thousands of times & will do so again.......right now for this individual.

OPENING THE DOOR FOR THE PATIENT

You began your life walk with your very own unique first step. While this may have been your first walking step, every experience in your entire life had a first step as well & you have many more first steps to experience. This is one of those times.

Listen as I share some things with you. Tune into the world & you will hear lots of moaning & groaning about having to begin all over again. If you take a moment to dissect these complaints, you will find the errors in these thought patterns, for every experiential moment on the path of life begins in a different place. A failure experience is simply a step in a different direction.

Later as we explore the subject of failure, you will come to find that it really isn’t a bad thing, but instead a good one. We are surrounded with a multitude of teachers on these subjects. Take toddlers for example. We can learn quite a bit from them. Observe what happens when they fall down. They may cry or not, but then they get up, center themselves, look around at their immediate environment, then move towards where they want to go. Please get up now & take off your "victim coat."

THE BREATH AS TEACHER

After you bring me your disorder in the form of a journal entry or conversation, we'll be ready to begin. Put your disorder down. For now, it's served it's purpose & thereis no need to do anything more with that. This may surprise you....because you have been so used to carrying it around & talking about it. So, just put it down over there.

The first thing I ask you to do may sound simple on the surface, but it is not. I want you to take a deep breath in & hold it in your mouth for the count of four & when four arrives, allow the breath to exit your body completely, just as if you were a balloon at the end of a party? Your own breath is your teacher in residence. As you learn to observe it, you will begin to find that each inhalation & exhalation is different from the one before. Therefore we do know how to live with ongoing change. This realization can help you to shift out of the fear surrounding change, right into action.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK - DEEPENING

You already have the tools of mental biofeedback under your belt, as well as the beginning of Heightened Awareness. I'd like you to continue working with the mp3 downloads for these, as it takes about 30 days to re-program the mind for this level of release. Remember, these tools are multi-faceted. Just by there sheer presence, they work to reduce your stress chemical production.

The slowing of your brain waves is called deepening trance. You already know how to reach the alpha brain wave state right in the moment, even when others are around. When the brain waves are slowed, the body becomes balanced. This is called homeostasis. Your blood pressure normalizes, as does your heart & hormone production. This act of mental shifting begins changes within every cell, delivering you to the door of your subconscious mind that is located at the alpha brain wave level.

You can slow the brain waves even more, going to a deeper level of trance. Many people have the idea that it is necessary to be at much lower levels in order to practice effective hypnosis. Some believe they must be asleep in order for suggestions to be planted. Nothing could be further than the truth.

We tend to be in self-hypnotic states all day long, but unfortunately most of these are negative mind programs, going towards negative goals instead of positive ones. You are well aware that you have a tendency to do this & this is what your disorder is all about. In purposeful self-hypnosis, you will be waking from these pieces of disorder, releasing them & then programming your mind for what you want.

However, there may be times when you might like to go to a deeper level, perhaps during a dental appointment or medical procedure. Deepening is also beneficial for releasing high stress levels, either in the moment or in time put aside for this purpose. There are many ways to experience deepening. While all of these can be applied in the moment, it is best to practice them in a solitary environment, without time pressure.

MIND EXERCISE – MAGNETS

Later on I'll give you an mp3 for deepening, but for now here are some simple exercises, the first being the utilization of mind magnets.

Most of us are familiar with the sensation of magnetic pull. For example, if you have flown in a plane you do know the feeling of being pulled down and back into the seat.

Start this exercise with a deep yawn breath, holding it in your mouth for the count of four, letting it out slowly. Settle into the chair, tilting your eyes up slightly. When practicing you might like to close your eyes, but you can practice this with them opened or closed. Allow your buttocks to be pulled gently down, sensing your spine sinking into the back of the chair. You can work with an imaginary dial. Notice that as you turn it to the right, the magnetic sensation enhances. A turn to the left allows you to experience a decrease in magnetic sensation. This imagery gives you full control of your depth of trance or level of relaxation.

This exercise is very easily adaptable to any situation in the real world. For example, if you find yourself becoming anxious in the moment, simply turn your dial to the right. You will be turning off your stress chemical production, slowing your brain waves, and going right to the door of your subconscious mind where you can request information or plant suggestions. As you tilt your eyes up just slightly, your programming screen will be available for subconscious mind communication. You can also release emotional cravings in the same way. Of course, physiological cravings need to be managed with the food connection.

MIND EXERCISE – MAGIC NUMBERS

This exercise appears a bit more cumbersome, but each part of it can be utilized as a separate mind program in the moment. Sit upright, allowing your body to sink into the chair. Take in a very deep yawn breath, holding it in your mouth for the count of four, allow it to exit slowly as if you were a balloon at the end of a party. After reading this exercise, close your eyes, tilting them up about twenty degrees, just as if you were sitting in the second row of a movie theater. Notice the placement of the mind screen & the number four slowly coming in from the distance. Remember imaging is different than seeing with normal sight. It’s more of a felt sense. Allow the number to touch &enter your forehead. Being to feel it absorbing down throughout your body.

Bring your eyes back to the screen, noticing the number three is coming in & now entering the center of your chest, finding the door to your heart & now pumping throughout your body taking it further down. The number two is coming towards you now, entering your belly button door, disseminating down into your lower abdomen & both legs. Allow yourself time to feel the joining of the numbers, as they take you deeper. The number one is coming forward in the form of a paint brush coated in white sparkling paint, outlining your entire body. Notice you can take the outline off & place it back on. Each time you do so you go deeper down. You can utilize this portable outline at any moment, as it is now programmed. Once you are inside your outline, you are separated or disassociated from the action of the moment and in the powerful position of the observer