Stepping into change is often difficult, or so we would like to believe. Most of us tend to repeat "trying" and often deciding that the areas in which we seek change are simply unattainable. Why this inability to change such important behaviors that threaten our health? The keys below may open some doors for you. It's time to move past old failure patterns and onto the path pointing towards Optimum Health.
KEY: I
If you want to change, you must begin to think differently. It's not enough to daydream a resolution. The road to permanent lifestyle change takes time and a special kind of planning and execution. Pre-resolution work includes having a solid look at past failures and locating facets of the resolution that need revamping. The willingness to observe and work with past failures is key to success. In addition, it's time to grow-up, wake up to truth and move out of unrealistic expectations.
Meet Sue, a successful, but burned out executive who brought her resolution daydream to my practice. "If I lose weight, my life will balance. I'll be completely happy and never complain again! However, I've never been able to lose weight and keep it off and so I guess I need some magic! Perhaps I shouldn't do this before the holidays or while I have so much stress in my life." It's easy to see that Sue is already lost in mind confusion. She has no plan and has even programmed herself for failure before beginning.
KEY: II
Sue looks for magic, but magic has no place here. Heightened awareness is the route to success. The idea of magic erodes her personal power. Her mode of travel needs change, as well as her power of observation. She needs to train her mind to notice the unfolding moments of her day, what works and what doesn't. These are small resolution facets including thoughts emotions and actions. As they are brought to awareness, stress is released and the facets are ready for editing change. These then become new mind etchings, the beginning of new patterns, that will enhance Sue's ability to succeed.
KEY: III
It is imperative to uncover the auto-pilot programs. This is a matter of becoming expert at self-observation. As Sue learns to pay attention to her body communications, emotional patterns and built in resistance, she will spot these, as well as other pattern facets that may have gone un-noticed for years. Once spotted, she can work to reprogram these with those that benefit the resolution. On auto-pilot, Sue is out of her personal editing-game. Her heightened awareness is blocked and she can't spot the facets. She is blinded and may trip instead of skip on the stones that line her path. The chances that she will fall and not get up are very high. She might appear next year with her weight loss resolution, but this time more heavily etched for failure.
KEY: IV
The practice of heightened awareness, also known as mindfulness is vital to both stress management and achievement. Adding Interactive Self-Hypnosis helps to position images that assist the mind in waking up in specific moments. As Sue learns to apply this practice to the facets of her resolution, she will notice that she is awakened to other moments that have connections she might have missed, especially stress-related ones.
The actual practice tools are very simple, their power sitting in this simplicity. Sue learns to purposefully experience inner stillness, fractionated throughout her day. She comes to know stillness as separate from mind chatter. As her mind wanders, Sue brings her attention back to the sensation of stillness or the goal at hand. She comes to understand that her thoughts are mind programs that are presented by her emotions and as she isolates these she can examine the contents further, simply by request to her subconscious librarian. As Sue goes throughout her day, she begins to notice the playing of thoughts and emotions as they apply to her resolution facets. As she contains these in her consciousness, she is free to edit, as they were caught in a mindful moment.
It's important to know that there are many health benefits to this practice of awareness coupled with interactive self-hypnosis. When thoughts are predominating the awake state, the brain waves are going very fast, producing a large quantity of stress chemicals. These chemicals are responsible for making important changes in the body, often disrupting important systems, such as blood pressure, heart rate, metabolism, blood sugar levels, gastro-intestinal functioning including digestion, endocrine function and that of the neurological system. During the practice of fractionated stillness, the brain waves and stress hormone productions slow down, bringing homeostasis or balance back to the body and mind. The mind is now free for the programming of healthy active imagery.
Sue is learning to wake-up to her emotional and thoughts that make her life patterns and resolution facets. As she works to couple awareness with "Interactive-Editing Imagery" she removes herself from her failure mode and utilizes this moment to transition to one of success.
