This Is Your Brain Under Hypnosis
As a hypnotherapist, this article was especially interesting to me. Unfortunately, so many people have misconceptions about this process, including that it doesn’t exist. Now, neuroscientists are taking an interest in and researching it. They’re beginning to understand its mechanisms. This article shows an experiment with one of those mechanisms.
You Are What You Think
Neuroscience tells us to “Be careful what you wish for,” because you may get it. Your brain follows your attention, and will take you where it thinks you want to go. This applies to both positive goals and to negative thoughts. This article gives you 4 steps to creating your perfect world and solving problems using the power of thought.
“You’ve got this!”: How “You Statements” enhance self-regulation
Life is a giant game of self-regulation. If you can manage yourself and your thoughts, then you’ll have a better life. However, it’s not easy to develop and act on these skills. Positive and supportive self-talk are very helpful in sticking to it. Research is showing that giving yourself positive support in the second or third person is much better than just saying, “I.” Learn how your inner dialogue helps you to improve your self-management skills.
“God knows my needs before I can express them. My needs are now met by the One Life within me. I open my mind to receive only good.”
You have legitimate needs and the Universe knows what they are. Whether it’s for better health, more harmony, prosperity, or peace of mind, when you begin to realize that they’re acceptable and focus on them being fulfilled, then Infinite good can begin to flow through you. But you have to claim that they’re being addressed. As long as you’re continuing to focus on the lack of something, that’s what you’ll receive.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Most people have misconceptions about what hypnosis is and isn’t. What they don’t realize is that they’re using this process in their lives every day, for their benefit or detriment. This is a brief explanation of hypnosis, by a hypnotherapist of 30 years. Join me to learn what it is, how you’ve been using it, and how you can use it to now benefit yourself.
Transcript:
I’m Linda-Ann Stewart. Ok, so I’ve been a hypnotherapist for almost 30 years. But most people have all sorts of misconceptions about hypnosis. They think that someone takes control of their mind and makes them do things they don’t want to do. Not. They don’t realize that it’s a normal, natural process that they access several times every day. And they walk around in a trance that’s impacting their ability to either achieve or sabotage their goals and their vision.
So today, I’d like to give you a very brief explanation of the natural process of hypnosis. I hope that you’ll walk away understanding how you hypnotize yourself every day. And how you can use this natural ability to benefit yourself.
I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Like I said, I’ve been a hypnotherapist for almost 30 years. Clients came to see me to create change in their lives. Over time, I discovered that they had to also have a vision of where they wanted to end up with that change to be truly successful. Now, as a vision strategist, I help women entrepreneurs get a clear vision, get focused on its strategies and get back in control so they’re able to accelerate to the next level of their business.
When people hear that I’m a hypnotherapist, they have various reactions to it, based on their beliefs about hypnosis. Swinging watch. “Look into my eyes, and sleep.” It’s not true. And I can’t tell you how many clients have asked me, “Am I going to walk out of here barking like a dog?” My reply, “Not unless you want to.”
Not their fault. Their beliefs are based on what they’ve seen on TV and in movies. They don’t believe that an ordinary man can really “leap tall buildings in a single bound,” but they believe how writers sensationalize hypnosis because there are already so many misconceptions about it.
What TV and movies depict isn’t hypnosis, it’s Hollywood.
Did you realize you’re in a mild state of self-hypnosis several times every day? When you’re daydreaming, watching a movie, get so involved with a project that the distractions of the world go away, you’re in a light state of self-hypnosis. You’re driving down the road, daydreaming, and miss your turn. Have you ever done that? Should ask, “How many times a day.” We all do. Light state of self-hypnosis.
You walk around in a trance much of the time, not fully aware of what you’re saying (“Hi, how are you”), thinking (“I’m never going to get it all done”), doing (eat that donut without being aware of it, and wonder where the powdered sugar on your fingers came from).
That trance is self-hypnosis, and you’re hypnotizing yourself every day. It isn’t magic, a strange, mystical or other state of mind. Nor is it the “deep sleep” that people normally associate with hypnosis. It’s a natural state that most people drift into and out of many times during the day. Hypnosis is when the rational, analytical part of your mind isn’t as present. Hypnosis is simply a more focused state.
The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis defines hypnosis as a state of inner absorption, concentration and focused attention.
Secret – hypnosis also occurs whenever you’re upset, stressed or worried. Just for a moment, think about what you think about when you’re upset or stressed. Those thoughts become auto-suggestions. Scary, huh?
What most people don’t realize is that the things you say to yourself over and over that you’re only half aware of, are actually being said when you’re in a light state of hypnosis. Things like, “I know this won’t work,” “I don’t have enough time,” or “It can’t fail.” Do any of these sound familiar?
You then act on them as if they were true, whether they were or not. How that works is, suppose you’re afraid that your phone call to a potential customer won’t be welcomed. If you call at all, you’ll be nervous, not make a good impression, and end the call quickly. Your belief would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. All from what you were telling yourself. Has that ever happened to you?
Remember, hypnosis is just focusing the attention. So it all depends on the direction and the beliefs that you’re focusing your attention on. And your attention determines your actions. “Energy flows where attention goes.” Heard of that before? Not airy-fairy. Psych truth.
It’s like driving a car. You’re aware of the traffic, the landscape, your dashboard. But the majority of your attention is on the direction you want to go to your destination. If you’re driving, and you stare off to the side, what’s your automatic response?…. To drift in the direction of you’re looking, isn’t it? The same principle applies to your daily life. Your attention drive your actions. So keep your vision directed towards where you want to be headed and not rear view mirror.
So how can you use this natural process for yourself – other than just focusing on your direction? When you have a goal or a vision, become aware of what you’re telling yourself about it. They’re auto-suggestions. Do you doubt you can make it? Are you afraid of any step along the process? If so, these are the hidden hypnotic suggestions you’ve been giving yourself. Break your trance. Change them with auto-suggestions. You can do this. Even if you don’t believe it right away, repeating new ideas with consistency and persistence will start changing the old ones. The old beliefs were simply ideas that you accepted some time in the past.
When you change your beliefs, your emotions and responses change. You’ve already been using the process of hypnosis every day, by what you’ve been focusing on. I hope you start using the natural process of hypnosis to create what it is that you want.
If you want tips to you increase your productivity and accelerate your success, download my free guide Take Control of Your Day. It will also give you information on a process I used with my clients that helped them achieve their goals and vision.
Thank you for watching. I hope you’ve learned how to use this process for your benefit and use it to improve your life.
Becky lived in an apartment with a couple of roommates, and she wanted a space of her own. Faced with all the options available to her, she kept saying, “I’m so confused.” She was afraid she was going to make the wrong decision, get trapped somewhere she didn’t want to be, or miss out on something better. The confusion left her paralyzed. So she didn’t choose anything different and even when her roommates changed, she stayed where she was.
Clarity is vitally important for you to know what you want. Once you are clear on your goal, you can focus on it and move in that direction. Clarity is necessary for you to have success in any area of your life. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll just drift along and receive the results of the average of your thoughts.
Without clarity, you’re in a perpetual state of confusion. This causes insecurity and stress, which simply creates more turmoil. You run around in circles and don’t get anywhere. You might look at one option after another, and all the possibilities you face produces more chaos for you.
But the only person who is generating your confusion is you. By affirming that you’re in this state, refusing to commit to a path, or allowing yourself to get overwhelmed by choices, you’re contributing to the challenge. You’re giving your subconscious mind the message to keep you scattered. The underlying issue may be that you’re trying to avoid responsibility, afraid you’ll make a mistake, get stuck in a situation, or fail.
Believe it or not, uncertainty is a choice. It’s a decision not to decide. Once you whittle down your choices, and choose a direction, it clears away the mental fog. It may become evident that you don’t want to go that route. That’s fine. You can stay open to other possibilities and change your mind. But don’t change it too much, or you’ll find yourself back in the mists that clouded your mind in the first place.
When you pick a track and determine to continue on it, the haze clears away, and you can see a little way ahead. Take one step, then another. At this point, you don’t need to know where you’re going to end up. It’s enough that you’ve chosen to move in a direction. Because when you’re moving, the Universe can guide you.
Initially, any direction is better than being stalled. So even if you’re not certain about what you want, choose a path. As you’re moving, you’ll discover what you want and don’t want. Write down your goals or intentions. This prompts you to be more specific in what you desire. Then read them every day. Ask yourself, “What can I do today that will move me in their direction?”
Once you’ve made a decision, don’t second guess yourself. If new information comes your way, or circumstances change, then you can reevaluate your choice. But don’t be distracted by a shiny, new idea or opportunity that leads you in a different direction without some reason. The diversion is a mirage and simply an old habit trying to prevent change. If you become uncomfortable, it’s just the old habit of confusion trying to lure you back into its lair. Stay on track, and confusion will fade away.
As you build your commitment to your decisions, you’ll gain confidence that you can make wise ones. The Universe and your inner self will guide you to make ones that take you on your optimal path. Trust yourself, because you do have the knowledge within to make the right choices for your greatest good.
Affirmation:
I am always being guided and directed by the One Life within me. I pick a direction, make a choice and take a step. As I move forward, the next step is made clear to me. My path is made smooth and straight. Each day, I take action to propel myself towards a greater good.
In today’s fast paced world, we experience more stress than ever. A lot of it comes from our feeling like we have no control. When we feel like we have more control, stress and its impact reduces. Wouldn’t you like to be able to channel all that energy into something more productive? Learn 6 simple ways to take control of stress so that you have more clarity and are healthier.
Transcript:
Got stress? We all have it, some more than others. It happens as a result of everything from running late one day to having 3 projects due at once. A lot of our chronic stress is due to feeling out of control or not having any control over conditions. So I wanted to share some ways you can get some control over the stress that I’ll bet you’re experiencing.
I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. For almost 30 years, I’ve been a hypnotherapist and coach. One of my specialties was to help people deal with stress. We identified the causes and reframed their attitudes about them, as well as giving them other strategies to reduce the stress.
Now, as a vision strategist, I help women entrepreneurs get a clear vision, get focused on its strategies and get back in control so they’re able to accelerate to the next level of their business.
It helps them handle their stress so they can be more successful
You know how, when you’re stressed and can’t get a handle on it, you tend to get overwhelmed easily? You flip into reactive mode. It’s like you have a hammer and everything is a nail. Right? But you hammer things that aren’t nails, and that can be counterproductive. Instead, you need to grab some control so you can deal with things more rationally. Feeling like you have some control also allows you to channel that energy into something productive. Isn’t this what you want?
I want to share 6 easy ways that you can start to manage your stress and get back in control. Are you ready?
1. 1 thing. Take 1 thing you can control and handle that. Handle your email, / turn off your phone notifications so you can get some work done it quiet, / say NO to a request that you know will send you over the edge. I did this last one just recently. Handling 1 thing gives you a center to work from. What 1 thing would that be for you?
2. Daily routine. Instability and never knowing what’s next contributes to stress. Creating security through a daily routine can give you some breathing room. It gives you a sense of organization and control over your time. It’s especially good to have one it the morning, as it sets the mood for your day. Do you have a daily routine?
3. Self-hypnosis / relaxation training. This is one of the things I helped people with in my practice. I led them through some relaxation, and taught them self-hypnosis. I had a client who’d used massage, yoga, and other types of stress management techniques tell me that what we did was the most beneficial of all of them. This helps reset your body and mind, building resiliency. Doesn’t it feel good to relax?
4. Reframe. When you’re anxious or worried, you go into the fight or flight mode and you get paralyzed. Shuts down your thinking processes. But if you’re able to reframe the feeling to excitement or challenge, you’re able to come up with possibilities and be more innovative. Even using different words, such as “hassle” or “pressure,” can reframe the stress. How could you reframe things that stress you?
5. Help others. This one sounds counter intuitive. When you help others, you’re giving your precious resources of time and energy. But studies find that people under stress who helped others didn’t experience the damaging effects of stress. They also felt more satisfied in their lives. Don’t you feel good when you’ve helped someone?
6. Practice meditation or mindfulness, both of which helps the skill of concentration. Yes, concentration, attention and focus are skills. In today’s frenetic world, they’ve gotten rusty. Meditation / mindfulness train you to be more focused. They also keep your mind from spiraling out of control and keeps your attention on what you can handle. It also helps you to let go of what you can’t control. What can you do to build the skill of focus?
Don’t try to do all of these at once. That would throw you back into being overwhelmed and stressed. Take one of them and practice it. Which one would you want to start with? Practice and see if you feel better. Then add another one. The whole idea is for you to take more control. And once shift your attitude towards stress from it being a buggy bear to it being manageable, you’ll have more clarity and be healthier.
If you’d like more tips on how to make your day flow more smoothly, download my free guide, Take Control of Your Day.
Thank you for watching. I hope you’ve gotten an idea that works for you to manage stress.
Creating the Right Attitude for Success
If you’re not reaching the kind of success you want, you need to assess where you’re holding yourself back. It may mean you need to develop some new skills. But more likely, it’s a result of your attitude. Believe it or not, having the right attitude for success is a skill. And it’s not just about having a positive one. This article covers some of the attitudes you need to readjust or cultivate to achieve success.
10 Life-Changing Tips for Highly Sensitive People
Some people love conflict and argument. They need it to feel stimulated. But then there are other people, an estimated 15-20% of the population, who are sensitive. They feel overstimulated in situations others deal with easily. There isn’t anything wrong with sensitive people. They’re just wired differently. If you’re one of those people, here are some valuable tips on how to accept yourself and start thriving.
7 Things To Do If You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
Do you often feel overwhelmed with too much to do, and too little time in which to get it done? Technology promised to make life easier, but it has failed in that promise. And we’re expected to do more and more, just to keep up. So far, we can’t clone ourselves so we have more bodies to get it all done. Instead, we have to find ways to deal with the unrealistic demands. Here are some suggestions on how to approach your life if you feel overwhelmed.
Do you set New Year’s Resolutions or goals at the beginning of the year? What if you set and intention for the year instead? A goal is more specific and concrete. An intention is more of a trend or tendency you want to cultivate in your life. Goals can be a part of it, but the intention is more general. This meditation can help you discover what your intention might be and help you be more successful with it.
Transcript:
Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? Goals to achieve that will improve your life? What if you do something different this year. You could do it in addition to your resolutions, and it may be more rewarding. What about setting an intention for the year? In years past, I’ve set intentions such as being more grateful, opening to experience more good, looking for the positive in every situation, being more compassionate and so forth. Whenever I’ve found myself to fall back into the old pattern, I remind myself of the quality I want to cultivate and grow in my life. Is there some quality, value, attitude or action that you want to focus on in this coming year? I’d like to lead you in a meditation to help you discover what that might be, and to be more successful with it.
I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. For almost 30 years, I’ve been a hypnotherapist. Clients came to see me to create change in their lives. Over time, I discovered that they had to also have a vision of where they wanted to end up with that change to be truly successful. Now, as a vision strategist, I help women entrepreneurs get clear, focused and get back in control so they’re able to accelerate to the next level of their business. Essentially, I help bring their vision into reality.
You can do this with an intention. An intention isn’t a specific goal. It’s more of a trend or tendency you want to develop. Goals can feed into it, but the intention is more general.
This short meditation will allow you to stir up some ideas for your intention. Even if one doesn’t surface for you during it, this meditation will plant the seed and one will probably appear to you within a short time. Idea/concept – get your attention. Trend you notice focusing on in your life.
So, if you’re so inclined, close your eyes, and take a deep breath… Let it out. Let your mind wander to what brings you joy in your life. What are you passionate about? What do you want more of in your life? What kind of change do you want in your life? It could be a value (compassion/kinder), quality (focused/goal oriented), attitude (self-confidence/serenity) or condition (more active/health) that you want to cultivate and grow in your life.
Even if no word, concept or idea surfaces right now, just allow your thoughts to wander through the corridors of your mind. There is something that you’ve been wanting to expand on, to experience more of, to pay attention more to. At some level, you know what it is. You may have a multitude of ideas. Let the most important one or two to become brighter and stronger. And even if you’re not sure, the idea will quickly become more apparent and clearer. Allow it to be short, one or two words, or a short sentence. Something you can easily focus on.
Once you have settled on your intention, how will you express it in your life? How will you apply it? What actions or attitudes will you take to be true to it? How will you support it in your life? And how will your life be different in a year by living this intention? How will you feel?
Your intention becomes your compass, helping you to travel in the direction you’ve chosen. It guides your thoughts and actions, and it brightens your life. Open your eyes.
Did you discover one? Is it the right one for you, or do you need to consider it more? Once you’ve decided on your intention, keep it in front of you so you don’t forget it. You could also find an object, picture or a reminder on your phone to remember to stay true to it. I’ve used stones or shells as reminders. Whatever it is, make sure you look at it frequently so you keep your compass pointed to it.
If you’d like more tips on how to make your day flow more smoothly, download my free guide, Take Control of Your Day.
Thank you for watching. I hope you’ve gotten an intention that resonates with you and brings you joy. This year, mine is to be in the flow. What’s yours?
At the beginning of the year, many people will take time to review the past year, what they’ve achieved, what they didn’t accomplish and assess why they didn’t. Then, they’ll establish a long list of New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to create the life they want. They dedicate themselves to tackling everything on their list at the same time. But this overloads the subconscious. One habit is hard to break. Trying to break several of them simultaneously is simply unrealistic. The Law of Attraction doesn’t know what to focus on with so many to choose from.
By the middle of January, reality sets in, stress arises and life overwhelms them. The subconscious and Law of Attraction can’t handle all the changes and life’s challenges, too, so it abandons everything that isn’t of primary importance. And then all those good intentions get forgotten as their subconscious deals with more immediate matters. It’s not that the Universe doesn’t want your life to be better, it’s just that the Law of Attraction is clogged with too many changes.
One way you can be successful with a New Year’s resolution is to prioritize them. Take the most important one and work on it. When you have incorporated it into your life and made it second nature, take the second one and work on it. You may not get your entire list done by the end of the year, but you’ll have some improvements you can be proud of.
But if you’re disenchanted with New Year’s resolutions, or don’t want the pressure of specific goals, what about setting an intention for the year? Instead of being goal oriented, an intention is more a general idea of a quality, attitude or condition that you want to cultivate in your life. This can become your compass, pointing you in the direction you want to go. It will give your subconscious and the Law of Attraction the guidance to help you fulfill your intentions.
For instance, last year I set my intention to “Be open to more good” in my life. I chose to stop restricting the amount of good I’d allow to come to me (as many people do) and open my heart to it. Instead of bracing for difficulty, I shifted my attitude to expect something beneficial to come out of a situation. And I reminded myself that it was safe to experience more abundance and flow. As a result, I won or was given several gift cards during the year.
As an intention, you could decide that you want to practice a value, such as compassion or empathy. Or you want to be kinder to yourself or exercise self-care. Maybe you want to be more diligent in your goals, be more focused or have more balance in your life. Confidence, self-assurance or assertiveness may resonate with you more. What kind of change do you want in your life in this next year?
Setting your intention is important, but if there isn’t any commitment and action, it remains intangible. So how will you apply it? If you’ve decided to be more compassionate, what attitude do you have to take when someone is rude to you? What will you tell yourself? To be kinder to yourself, what will you do for yourself? What actions will you need to take? Figuring out what you need to support your intention ahead of time will help your subconscious and the Law of Attraction bring them into play when they’re needed.
Once you’ve decided on your mental and physical approaches, put together a plan to reinforce your intention. You could do this by using it as a mantra, turning it into an affirmation or autosuggestion, or visualizing it occurring in your life. For instance, I would imagine good flowing from the Universe into my body, filling me, and then flowing out into my life, and returning to me fulfilled. If there are actions you choose to take, make sure they’re small, manageable and easy to integrate into your life.
Once you’ve created your intention, remind yourself of it daily. Set your intention in the morning and think of it several times during the day. You could use a note, object or picture that would cue you to think of it. I have a small stone I bought that I associate with my intention. It sits in a tray on my desk to inspire me to expand my mind to encompass more good.
If you’re goal oriented, setting an intention can help you reach your goals more readily and easily. And if you prefer to be inspired by a specific purpose, this method will allow you to stay aligned with it and the Universe. Either way, by the end of the year you’ll have experienced greater positive change and improvement in your life.
Affirmation: The Universe wants the best for me. I now align myself with what the Universe wants. I set an intention for good for this upcoming year. I want to cultivate and further this intention in my life. It guides my thoughts and actions, and I am blessed by the results.
A Practical Plan for When You Feel Overwhelmed
Sometimes, when you get really busy, you get to feeling overwhelmed. It’s not a bad thing to be busy, but when you’re overwhelmed, it’s hard to know what to do. You can get paralyzed and just spin in place. Here are some tips on how to get out of that cycle and get things done.
14 Confidence Quotes to Help You Beat Self-Doubt and Reach Your Goals
The title of this article is misleading. Not only does the author give you quotes, but he explains the lessons they teach. If you’ve ever procrastinated working on tasks or your goals, this article will give you some needed inspiration to boldly pursue them.
How You’re Killing Your Productivity
Productivity is essential to our feeling of self-esteem, accomplishment, and hopefulness. Without it, we gradually sink into a state of frustration, hopelessness, and regret. And you’re the one responsible for your productivity. Learn 7 areas that you have complete control over changing so you can live the life you want.
I used to make a list of New Year’s resolutions, such as: lose weight, exercise, organize my desk, eat better, etc., etc., and so forth. However, within a day I’d broken at least half of them. The rest were blown by the end of the week. Since I felt like a failure, I just stopped making them. I figured why should I put myself through the frustration?
It’s too bad, because resolutions are a positive way to improve your life and change old habit patterns. Starting a new year with the intention of establishing a healthier life helps us to wipe the slate clean, to write a better script. We begin with great hopes, only to get sucked back into the familiar rut. Why is it that so many times we fail to attain our list of resolutions?
Think about this. What if your partner brought you a long list of things they wanted you to do immediately? For example, they wanted you to move all the furniture in the house, change the landscaping, paint the house, completely redecorate within a week? You’d groan, crumble and look for the closest hole to hide in. The same is true of your subconscious mind.
Your subconscious mind processes and stores everything you’ve ever seen, done, heard, thought, or experienced. All of this information mixes together to give you the life you now have.
If you resolve to completely recondition yourself within a month, your inner mind falters. “Too much!” it screams, and then proceeds to get you so involved in life that you forget all that silly stuff. An excessive amount of change at any one time overwhelms your subconscious. However, there are some things you can do to maximize your success with New Year’s resolutions.
First, as you might do every year, write down all the things that you want to change in your life. But this time, prioritize them. Decide which are the most important, then select one of these to concentrate on. By focusing on one area at a time, you will be able to improve your chances of success.
Once you’ve chosen which area you want to concentrate on, write down all the steps you need to take to fulfill that goal. For instance, suppose Sam decides he wants to get healthy. To do so, he chooses to quit smoking, eliminate caffeine, sugar, and alcohol, to stop partying, get enough sleep every night, lose weight, start exercising, and eat right. He can’t do all of these at the same time, or his subconscious will rebel. Therefore, he decides which facet he wants to tackle first.
Break your goal down into reasonable steps. Don’t try to change the world in one week. As you accomplish one component, move onto the next one. It may actually take a couple of years to achieve your whole list, but in a couple of years you’ll be so much healthier than you are now.
Once you have your first element chosen, you can now decide on what physical actions to take every day. Taking physical action helps to convince the subconscious that you mean business, and shows commitment to the process.
Visualize yourself acting out your objective. As you imagine yourself living your goal, this gives your subconscious mind the direction it needs. It must follow your envisioning. Mentally rehearse each day, identifying with your new ideal, feeling how good it is to have accomplished your aim.
Write a short positive statement in the present tense that embodies your resolution. Use this affirmation in your visualization to reinforce it. Say the declaration aloud one hundred times a day. Print it on index cards and place them where you see them often. This keeps you focused on your goal and begins to impregnate your subconscious with what it is that you want. Trust that your subconscious is making deep level changes, and knows the best way to help you to transform.
By following these directions, you will be able to successfully make and keep your New Year’s resolutions. You have all the power within you to create a wonderful new life for yourself. Don’t be afraid to use it.
Affirmation: This year, I set reasonable goals of change for myself. After I write down what areas of my life I wish to change, I narrow them down to focus on one. I decide what steps I need to take to make the goal a reality in my life, and begin with a single small, attainable action. As I’m successful, I add another step. I visualize myself accomplishing my goal, knowing that doing so fully involves my subconscious in helping me to transform. I commit myself to making the changes necessary to improve my life, knowing that I’m worth it.
This Is Your Brain Under Hypnosis
