"As in everything else, we begin where we are. If we must begin again & that is a certainty, we begin where we are, for while we may think that we are in the same place, we are not. We have always progressed, even though we may think differently & this is important to know". .. Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
By way of my words, I'm inviting you to join me on my journey through what I call "disorderly eating." Some of you may need to lose weight & perhaps a large amount of weight, but it's not always about weight. Through my life & professional career, I've met thousands of individuals who have very nasty eating habits & these habits are taking them down the path to the killer diseases. I share this with you because those of us who have obvious weight issues often envy our slender friends, thinking that they can get away with eating whatever they want & whenever they want. This simply isn't true.
I was motivated to put together this FB adventure when I joined Ruby Gettinger's Wall & noticed how many people were out there cheering her on. As a therapist & author, I wondered who all these people were & how many had issues similar to Ruby's. I wondered how many of those cheering were what I call the "window shoppers of the world"; watching someone else march the path to success while they sit on the sidelines procrastinating, wishing they could do the same, but fearful of stepping out. Window shoppers spend their life looking, wanting & wishing, but never taking the action of entering the shop at hand. I know this well, for I spent a good portion of my own life simply window shopping.
For those of you who are not familiar with my work, I'm an RN Educator & Medical Hypnotherapist. Medical hypnotherapy has been utilized in the practice of medicine for thousands of years. This is not the same as "stage hypnosis." In actual fact, we all practice hypnosis all day long. We do this through our thoughts....mind pictures that are marinated by emotions. Sometimes we get lost in our thoughts & lose track of time & reality. This is called altered consciousness or auto-pilot.
In the practice of medical hypnotherapy, we learn to "wake-up" or become aware of these self-hypnotic states & then choose what we might like to do with our powerful minds. There are so many things for you to know regarding how your mind works. I'm sure you have heard of the mindbody connection. Research is more than clear that mind-produced stress effects the body. 60-90% of disease states are stress related. Perhaps you also know that weight gain is related to stress. What we are talking about are actual "stress chemicals" that are produced inside the body by playing certain negative-based thoughts in the mind. So, what you think can cause illness & also store fat. Not exactly what we have in mind. If this isn't bad enough, the mind works as a "servo-mechanism." That means that the mind is like radar. What you think is not only what you get, but the subconscious mind will accept your thoughts as your "goal of choice" & so you will actually get MORE of it. This is great if your thoughts are reflecting what you truly want, but if they are not, then you get the picture.
This being the case, it's paramount to learn how to wake up & then how to change or manipulate the mind programs or thoughts. This may seem next to impossible, but throw that idea out. Remember what I just told you? Just reading the phrase " next to impossible " is an example of a negative mind program & in this case, guess what you'll be receiving? OK...you get it.
So...how do I go about helping my clients/students? The very same way I go about helping myself, for indeed, I have always been a disorderly eater & I continue to be in recovery. In the quote on the top of the page, I mention about "beginning" & then "beginning again." It's rather like riding a bicycle; we pedal for awhile & then perhaps hit a pebble that breaks our rhythm or maybe a rock appears & we fall off. Obviously we are not going to abandon our bike, but instead we'll attend to our situation or injury & then get back on.
In the practice of self-hypnosis, we work with mind images or inner pictures, also called "metaphors." You might wonder IF you are going to be able to do this & of course, you are because there isn't one person reading this who isn't making images of one sort of another in their mind. You are already working with me & that's exactly right.I'm going to design many, many working images for you to utilize. While it is enough to be reading them, I'd like to suggest that you work with a journal or notebook that you put aside especially for this work. Let me explain why. The subconscious mind is very sensitive about what you truly want & does want to provide it for you. If you dedicate a special notebook & work inside the images as I'm going to suggest, your journey will not only be faster, but much more enjoyable. If you have never worked on getting to know your innerSELF, you are in for a treat....even if you think that you don't like yourself very much. Once again, notice the "mind program." Oh oh... nix that one.
ABOUT RELAXING & INTRODUCING THE GOLDEN EGG & MIND SCREEN
When we work with imagery or our imagination, it's best to take a moment to deeply relax. If you can do that now, great; if not, read through & then decide WHEN you will do this. You might need to make a WRITTEN APPOINTMENT to do this work for yourself. If not, you may end up just "window shopping" & we have already been there. It's easy to deeply relax. Sit up in the chair & place your finger tips on your lower belly...invite your breath to enter your belly, just as if it harbored a balloon of any color you like. Sense the balloon going gently up & then down. Take your time. If you sense yourself rushing OR if your mind is suggesting that you rush, hurry up or any other "demand", simply return to your belly breath. Your mind is NOT in charge.
The Higher Part of you is in charge from now on forward. Enjoy that thought. Now sense the chair gently pulling your down, as if there were magnets pulling you down. Enjoy that. And next, sense the back of the chair pulling you back. Enjoy that. Now, just with your mind, draw a big golden egg shape around you. You are in the egg shape & everything else is outside. Good....you are ready now to simply tilt your eyes up gently & locate your mind screen. This is where YOU will place what you want. YOU are in charge from inside the golden egg shape. BTW, your eyes can be opened or closed. You will be utilizing this exercise from now on forward & sometimes you will be doing it "in the moment" & so your eyes will be opened. Other times they might be closed. OK?
LOOKING UP
I'm going to introduce you to a useful image & give you some suggestions for working inside of it. Most of us live in a rut & sometimes the rut is very, very deep....it might even take on the image of a deep hole. Yes, this could be diagnosed as depression & the work we are doing here does not take the place of professional intervention, so make sure that you are taking care of that if necessary. It's possible to become very attached to living in the hole; in fact, we often decorate it with negative mind images that we play over & over again, perhaps even getting some sick enjoyment from them. If you have these, you know what I mean. Some of mine have included feeling sorry for myself, seeing & sensing myself as a failure, especially in my addictive life, feeling unattractive & not good enough. In other words, my hole was decorated in "victim decor."
I'd like you to think about your rut or hole & notice the decor, as well as the emotions you might feel while being down there. Is it comfortable? Have you settled in? Have you looked UP recently, or located the ladder for climbing OUT? How do you feel about CLIMBING OUT?
Know that your feelings are real & need to be honored & addressed. This will be for another "note"... For now, I'd like to suggest that you find out all you can about your hole & locate the ladder & look up. You will see or sense an image of me. I'm in the light of day or "dawning light" & I'm extending my hand to you. Of course, I'm smiling one of my peaceful, knowing smiles & transferring this welcoming energy to you. Sense that... We are now placing subconscious mind programs & these can be utilized over & over.
As you climb up the ladder sense your determination & power. Next, sense my hand taking yours. I'm transferring my power to you, for that is my work as your "special coach." As you reach the top, step out & notice me. Now, I'm inviting you to go behind me & hold me by the waist. Now, step into me. You may need to make a height adjustment, but go ahead & become comfortable. The purpose of this image is to transmute or change you into your own "inner coach." It is from this position that you will go forward on your path towards high level health & performance & all the aspects of both. WELL DONE!
In the next "note" we'll begin to explore your Goal-den Path & the working metaphors for enhancing your life. I invite you to share your thoughts & experiences with me & other readers of this project. I am certainly willing to protect your privacy if requested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be reproduced without permission of the author
Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It
