Mirror Mirror

Building foundational Goal-den bricks is time consuming, but after all, it is your life & what better way is there to spend your time? "Oh", comes the answer, "but that is selfish & how can I possibly feel good about spending time "thinking" about mySelf, when there are so many things to get done?" Well, here it is in a nutshell....careful, the nut may be bitter. If you don't take care of yourSelf in the fundamental ways, you will most likely have less time to take care of others because you won't be around OR you will end up having to take care of yourSelf in ways that you may not like very much. I'd like to suggest that you put on some new lenses & look around. You won't have to look for long before finding people who wished that they had taken the opportunity to build & work inside their own Goal-den bricks. The world is filled with "if only's"....I have a special compartment in my subconscious mind for all of those patients I've cared for over the years. These are my "special mentors." Quite simply, I do whatever it is because they didn't wake up in time to do it themselves. I'm grateful for what they have taught me. Their images push me out the door to exercise & remove the extra junk from my cart in the supermarket. They work along with my Higher Therapeutic Self, cheering me on & I know that you can have your own group of cheerleaders, if you just look around your life. You don't even need to know them personally, just spot someone in poor health & add them to your subconcious wellness team.

Since we're in the middle of this conversation, it's a good time to set up another Foundation Goal-den Brick, one representing your Self-Image & Esteem. Quite simply, this brick represents how you see & feel about yourSelf. Unfortunately, most of us are lacking in this department & that is one of the major reasons why we don't take care of ourSelves. We believe that we simply aren't important enough or worth the effort. Cold but true. Most of us do not lead our own life parade. Instead, we position ourSelves at the back of the line, waiting to serve everyone else before serving ourSelves, that is if we every serve ourSelves at all. In my years as a Therapist, this is the most difficult change for most people to make. When we look in the "excuse basket" for reasons why someone isn't serving themselves first, the basket is filled to the brim with all sorts of excuses. No matter what the reason, it all boils down to the same unworthiness. Everyone else deserves to come first. Having been taught that to care for oneSelf is selfish & shameful. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Well, I say "ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous." Taking care of oneSelf is "self-ful" & also teaches others how to treat you. If you don't treat yourSelf with utmost respect, don't expect that anyone else will do it.

Re-building an enhanced self-image & esteem is a full-time job & one that can be filled with supreme joy because there are so many wonderful ways to do this. I'll touch on some of these in this blog, but before this, let me welcome new readers...

A NOTE TO NEW READERS:

This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.

MIRROR MIRROR

In the practice of Interactive Self-Hypnosis we never focus on what we don't want, but only on what we want. From now on forward you will not talk or think about yourSelf in a negative sense. I'm going to place a mirror on the wall of your new Foundation Goal-den Brick & as you practice looking in that mirror, you will only see the magical little hole in the middle of your forhead. Inside that hole is an image of your very Highest Self, all glistening bright. You can give that image whatever characteristics you choose. Here are some of mine, in no particular order, because they all blend into each other, "authentic, funny, spiritual, kind, non-judgmental, peaceful, wise..." you get the idea. Remember, the mirror image is also fluid, so when you notice some special character trait in another person, you can borrow some of their's for yourSelf. Once again, you don't need to know them to do this. We are all spiritual beings & part of the Universal mentoring system!

The mirror on the wall is "interactive." Not only do you look at the Highest parts of your character & work to enhance it, but you also have the opportunity to enter the mirror & work directly with this Highest part of you. In the next blog, in we will go & experience this "in the moment"...


Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers

Hitting the JackPot

Goal-den Foundation Bricks, as well as all Goal-den Bricks are always fluid. That means that they change, sometimes daily. They are rather like one's home...as you live there, new ideas come into your mind about improving things. One never sits around & daydreams about making something worse & the same goes for Goal-den Bricks. Everything is about making an area of one's life better & better. Once my Goal-den Exercise Brick was in place, I had little trouble staying the course, mainly because there was no room for discussion or debate. That simply wasn't allowed & while that made it much easier to stick to the plan, I soon came to realize that it would be much more enjoyable if I could really "like or even love" to exercise each day. There's a big difference between tolerating & truly looking forward to doing something with high enthusiasm. I began thinking that it would truly be quite funny if I became just the opposite of how I was in the past & going to exercise became a super-enjoyable part of my day.
Of course, since I was programming all of my Goal-den Bricks inside my own subconscious mind, I already knew that anything was possible. I could paint any emotion I desired inside any lifestyle behavior or brick. That meant that I could literally fall in love with broiled chicken & out of love with fried chicken. I could fall in love with the treadmill & out of love with sitting in front of the television. I could fall in love with self-discipline & out of love with clutter & waste. Wow...this was really like hitting the jackpot. All I had to do was to truly decide what I wanted, as well as what I didn't want & then paint the interiors with the right images & emotions. The possibilities were endless.

Getting organized is key to high level success, whether you are working with disorderly eating, a disorderly life or a disorderly relationship. Keep in mind that all of the aforementioned are actually relationships of a sort. You have a relationship with yourSelf, with your food, with your envionment & with others. So now, let's focus on the JackPot. But since we have some new readers, let me take a moment to help orientate them to our projects...

A NOTE TO NEW READERS:

This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.

HITTING THE JACKPOT

Consciously deciding to be happy & successful was a new venture for me. Now this may sound somewhat ridiculous, for indeed, who decides to be unhappy & unsuccessful? The answer may surprise you.....most people program their minds for just that, for what we think is what we actually request from the subconscious mind & Universe. The subconscious mind is a servo-mechanism that works like radar. Probably you have heard about the Law of Attraction & this is exactly what we're discussing here. In the realm of disorderly eating, most people practice negative or failure programming. I know this for a fact, not only from years of working with patients & students, but from my own history. Yes, I still work daily with re-programming this area of my subconscious mind because my old programs were so deeply etched over the years, but because I've worked diligently in my own Recovery, I'm happy to say that my life has changed dramatically.

Hitting the JackPot means making those new lifestyle behaviors into happy habits. This is accomplished by designing new, highly emotionalized imagery or imaginology. For example, when I see & then put on my exercise clothes I feel an intense excitement in my body. How did it get there? I put it there. In the past did I feel that? No, of course not. In fact, I felt just the opposite...something like "dread." "Oh goodness" said the mind. "I have to go to the gym & it will be painful, boring & take forever." Obviously, these emotions would not bring the JackPot home. Let me give you another example. Because I live in a hot, humid climate, I have to do my walking on the treadmill. In the beginning I simply hated it & could just about go for ten minutes without being tired. Besides my body being an enemy of sorts, the mind joined it. "This is long enough. The body is filled with aches. Who needs this? Time to go home. You can do more tomorrow." Of course, tomorrow brought more of the same. Now, there is a different mind program in place, making the treadmill a truly enjoyable & competitive experience for my mind & body. The outcomes are just the opposite. Because I'm very health conscious, I do two miles for my blood sugar, two miles for my HDL's & two miles for my LDL's. Do I feel tired? No... & what about the mind? It's a happy companion, working along with me to get the job done.

In the next blog, I'll go into another Goal-den Brick, one that forms a very important part of my Recovery Foundation & will do the same for you...




Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers

Exercise? Me?

Foundation Golden Bricks may differ for each of us, but even if one doesn't have disorderly eating issues, there truly must be a foundation brick for nutrition, as well as one for physical exercise. In fact, these should be put in place in early childhood. Unfortunately, this was not the case for me, although I was very physically active as a child, up until the time I was married. While I always enjoyed sports, I never thought about exercise as being a part of my daily health regime. Regime? I have to laugh as I write this. I never thought of any regime whatsoever, simply living my life from the end of a swinging rope. On the other hand, it wasn't like I never thought about exercise, because I did. I joined many gyms, but never lasting very long. The same with purchasing other exercise equipment, books & videos. I tried leaving my exercise clothers out, running shoes by the door, packing a gym bag to keep in the car. Quite honestly, I was an embarrassment to mySelf. Despite being very disciplined in my work, nothing seemed to carry through into my own self-care. There were times when I thought about it, but my mind was able to keep those ideas well away from me....perhaps someday, but not now. There was simply no time to fit anything else into my busy life & besides, I had no energy.

Now, I know that I was not alone with my exercise woes. In fact, I had enough friends to help me stay in my unproductive & unhealthy state. We ate our unhealthy diets together & shared exercise horror stories, convincing each other that none of this was possible for people such as us. It felt so good to have such supportive friends, but the day I woke up & knew I had to change, was the day I felt very much alone & afraid. As I looked around, I honestly did not have one person in my life who had a healthy eating plan or exercised routinely. And so, I was going to have to design some very important foundation bricks & learn to live within them.

Designing hypnotic images truly saved my life. Without these living foundation images, I was easily swayed to return to my old procrastinations, for indeed, they were extremely strong & very well etched into my subconscious mind. You might say that I was a true expert at procrastinating about food & certainly with exercise. The first golden brick I designed was the one I discussed in the previous blog, the food golden brick. The second focused on exercise. I remember thinking that I would not be successful & was very worried about it, even more so than the food. However, it is a basic premise in hypnotherapy that negativity has to be completely removed....no images, no thoughts, no inner or outer discussion...nothing but positive & motivational thoughts & images. I knew that I was not to look for negative conversation from others & if I found others talking in negative terms about their experiences, or trying to draw me in, I was to leave the venue. I remember doing that a few times, but then realized that I could turn the conversation around without seeming like a preacher.

As a therapist, I've taught the ins & outs of these awareness techniques to all of my patients & students, for few of us have ever learned to view ourSelves & our issues through these lenses. I'll share some of these with you in just a moment, but first I'd like to welcome new readers...

A NOTE TO NEW READERS:

This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.

THE GOAL-DEN EXERCISE BRICK

I utilized the "automatic writing hypnotic journal" to build my Goal-den Exercise Brick, the reason being that I had a tremendous history of resistance & failure to long-term discipline. Writing about my history helped to clear my "creative space." In order to make changes, just like in redecorating a room, everything must be removed. Then, you can put useful things back in place, while getting other things that you might need. This was my approach inside my newest Goal-den Brick. It is clean, clear, bright & happy. Remember, no negatives are allowed to exist. Emptying through journaling took care of this. I then remember hanging a calendar on one of the inner walls of my brick.

I remember not being able to circle the five days for exercise. Each time I went to do this, I hesitated. This was resistance. I then went deeper into my trance state, disallowing any inner conversation. I remember stepping away from the calendar & locating things I needed which included a gym membership because I live in a hot, humid climate & the weather had always provided an excellent excuse. In the past, rainy days were happy days! I also needed some new shoes & clothers that didn't hold moisture. Then, back to the calendar. Since I was still resistant, I called in my Higher & Therapeutic Selves to take care of this. What was extraordinary, was that it was accomplished "just like that." No discussion....just done. It was made clear to me about the timing & other details were simply presented. I remember feeling a sense of relief. It was decided & it was over. From that day forward I never, ever had another inner negative discussion about exercise....strange but true. Now why was this is different from my previous years of "exercise debate"? I'll share some thoughts about this in my next blog.


Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers