A leap of faith.  Yes, it takes courage.  Yes, it takes determination.  Yes, it may be against what you feeling inside.  Yes, it may make you feel vulnerable. 

What if the Universe has your back – no matter what? How much braver would you be? How many more chances would you take at work and in your relationships?

If you have been contemplating it, then perhaps you are ready.  So here are some quotes to help you as you stand at the edge of the cliff looking out towards what you desire.  The leap may seem daunting but if you want what is making your heart sing true, then take the risk!

 “Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” - Louise E. Boone

 

“Those who wish to sing will always find a song.” - Celtic Proverb

 

“Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” - Rumi

 

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” - Benjamin Franklin

 

“Transformation is something I cannot explain - too much analysis might destroy it.” - Sophia Loren

 

“Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours.” - Swedish Proverb

 

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Harold Whitman

 

“Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place.” - Eckhart Tolle

 

“Be not afraid of growing slowly. Be only afraid of standing still.” - Chinese Proverb

 

“Those who dance are called insane by those who don't hear the music.” - Eddie Vedder

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
~Wayne Dyer

Trust - It's in you

 



Each day I am blessed to partner with people who decided that they had had enough of their fears, insecurities, shames, angers and guilts.  I cannot tell you how empowering that feels, not from an ego state (aren’t I great) but from the heart state (aren’t I lucky).

 

I thank each and every client that I’ve had the opportunity to listen to, guide, cajole, empathize with, and educate, for honouring me with their memories of fear, who gave me their trust so that they could, in turn, heal themselves.  Each has given me the gift of learning as well in that I have grown with each experience on this journey we call Life. 

 

My biggest lesson in this life has been to trust.  Yes, trust.  I would only let people in so deep, even though I was perceived as so open and engaging.  I created a shield around my heart for inside, I was so afraid to be hurt and disappointed.  Marshmallow on the outside and granite on the inside is how I was once described by my wonderful Fiancé.  And rather than get angry at a perceived criticism (which had been my way of defending myself), I felt the truth of this statement and by doing so, I could ferret out the root cause of my distrust.  Hypnosis and clarity for me ensued, with some sweat and tears on the way to my enlightenment.

 

I liken this process of becoming more aware of yourself as to waking from a dream.  In the dream we are being led by our subconscious mind as it is processing what we are experiencing externally.  It also leads us, based on our beliefs, through every waking moment because, in actual fact, the subconscious mind never sleeps!  We have no control of what we are dreaming about (unless you lucid dream which is a dream in which you know you are dreaming. Typically this happens when the dreamer experiences something strange, and when they stop to question their reality, they realize they are in a dream. Lucid dreams happen naturally on occasion, although some people may have them naturally more often than others).   As your awareness grows through self work, you find yourself more conscious of your thoughts and their internal triggers. This is when you take back control.  It’s the opportunity that is presented to create something different.  And it can also happen when you are so hurt, in pain, licking the bottom of the barrel, that you have the thought, “Have I had enough yet”?  When the answer is yes, you begin walking the path to finding your authentic self.

Through my work on my ‘self’ and working with others, I realize deeply the value of trust.  That it is something you can’t get from any one or any thing until you have it within yourself.  I love the expression, “Your outer world is an expression of your inner world”.  And that means that if your world looks scary, makes you angry, sad or lost, then it is actually you that feels these feelings and they colour your view of every situation you encounter.  And I find myself being more and more authentic as my fear to let people see the “inner me” becomes easier as I no longer judge myself so harshly.  Am I perfect?  Hell no.  Am I done?  Thankfully not.  We are all works in progress.  But each shift I make in my perception of myself, each old, false, ugly belief I overcome, brings me deeper into a state of peace.  And the more I observe how I feel and the thoughts attached to those feelings, the more I am able to do the work to change and have more TIME in peacefulness. 

 

So I appreciate my client’s vulnerability and authenticity for the simple message they conveyed – “I am willing to trust myself to trust you”.

Anxiety - Take back control

 

 

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties

today of its strength.
Charles Spurgeon

If there was ever an age of anxiety, ours would be it. All of us experience mild anxiety, regularly, but for some, anxiety escalates to forebodings of disaster and even into full-blown, debilitating panic attacks. There are some for whom anxiety develops progressively over time; for others, it attacks suddenly. The discomfort is often compounded by fear of experiencing the anxiety or panic itself. Surprisingly, very little has been written about this important subject in books about hypnosis. Some Hypnotherapists won't even touch the problems of anxiety and panic attacks. This is an important and regrettable omission. Hypnotherapy can be a powerful ally in helping people to develop a sense of power and confidence, in spite of the “normal” anxieties that are a part of daily living.


Extreme anxiety and full-fledged panic attacks can be triggered by single events or a series of events. They can arise out of ones own experience or from the experience of others. Some years ago, while in a Paris Subway, I experienced a sudden onset of panic that made it impossible for me to travel on the Underground. This effects lasted for several years, in that it extended itself to panic in underground parking lots, elevators, or any enclosed space. At the time I was bewildered as to what in the world could have caused this panic. I did notice that after many years, the symptoms did lessen but the anxiety in situations of perceived danger still remained .  Later on, I discovered that my panic came from a combination of my own experience and experiences of another family member who was severely claustrophobic.  While in my training to become a Hypnotherapist, I dealt with the issue guided by my Instructor. The learning was invaluable and in dealing with the cause of my issue, the symptoms literally disappeared.

Anxiety and panic can be triggered by accidents, illnesses or the deaths of friends or family members--incidents that suddenly thrust people before their own contingency.

For some individuals, anxiety attacks, such as the ones I suffered, have a sudden onset and may leave as mysteriously as they began. In severe cases of anxiety or panic--those that don′t go away--symptoms are readily apparent, while the true causes remain unknown. There appears to be no particular incident or condition to cause the panic attacks; no recalled “Trauma”, therefore, the cause, hidden from the person, remains a threat because it is unresolved. The fear response occurs when there is, seemingly, nothing to fear; in fact, soon, ones panic is over the fear of the panic returning.

Some panic attacks are triggered by seemingly innocuous incidents that symbolize some event or condition earlier in the person's life. A carpenter became anxious and even panicked whenever he had to go near a roof--a very limiting experience for a homebuilder. Regressing him to the source, he recalled that he had been working on a roof a few years earlier and had slipped. Although he quickly caught himself and his conscious mind shrugged off the incident as unimportant, his subconscious imprint remained, leading to his fear of falling. Once he was aware that his anxiety came from such a simple incident, his panic disappeared, altogether.

I also dealt with a client with severe OCD.  This compulsive behavior was towards personal safety and fear of illness.  This caused the compulsion of repeated hand washing up to 50 times a day.  This led to social stigma (friends making fun of her), anxiety about social situations (who had touched her plate or food when out dining with friends) and even anger at loved ones for telling her “it’s all in your head”.  Well, guess what, it is!  But not in the way they put it. 

 

The Benefits of Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is effective in helping people with either mild or severe cases of anxiety. In mild cases, simple reprogramming thought patterns can give people relief. In more severe cases, it is necessary to discover the source of the anxiety before any relearning can take place.

Hypnotic suggestions replace catastrophic thoughts or over-anxiousness with truthful statements about the nature of the symptoms and the realization that physical sensations can cause no harm. Hypnosis can slow the heartbeat, create a sense of balance and relaxation through deep breathing, free the throat to swallow, overcome sensations of temperature changes and stomach upsets, and promote clear-headedness.

Hypnotherapy is frequently an important adjunct to counseling. Some counseling techniques use de-sensitization procedures to help the client eliminate anxiety by gradually helping them face and deal with experiences without apprehension. Using hypnosis at the subconscious level of the mind, from which the anxiety is arising, can accelerate this process, considerably. The client most often experiences their anxiety leaving them, and doing so naturally without much conscious effort on his or her part.

Whether in the recent past or in the distant past, some events leave negative psychological imprints. Sometimes they are forgotten or unrecognized for the detrimental effect they produce. Such negative imprints can be left by traumatic incidents, or by minor events that were misunderstood when they occurred. Hypnotic, or altered state, procedures can seek out these causal events involved in the initial development or onset of the problem. Age-regression is one of the most beneficial techniques available to people who suffer anxiety because it can be so effective in uncovering causes. Hypnotic procedures using age regression simply help the client to go back in their memory to the time and place where a problem originated. In the case of anxiety or panic attacks, this can be something that occurred only a few weeks prior to coming for assistance or it can be in childhood. For some, it can go back even further in their existence.

My clients continued to benefit from the use of several hypnotic techniques that helped them explore their past and the causes of their present anxiety and panic. Their anxiety was dramatically alleviated and, much to their relief, they have been able to return to their work and personal relationships with confidence.