Interior "Pod" Decorating

In the practice of Interactive Self-Hypnosis we work within specialized images or FRAMES or PODS that help us to contain a goal or activity. These are extremely useful, especially if a particular goal has many parts to it. Eating issues & addictions always fall into this category because there is so much to orchestrate. What's interesting about PODS is that they are connected to each other by the "over-arching goal", thereby sharing positive energy, success & motivation. Let me paint the picture with some clearer colors. In your mind's eye, notice a series of separate small buildings or PODS sitting along a path. Each POD has it's own name of address, for example breakfast, lunch, dinner, exercise, snacks, etc. The sky above is labeled "healthy weight management." That's the over-arching goal. As you enter each separate POD, the focus in only on that particular building, for example "breakfast." With the focus being only on this meal, it is much easier to deal with what needs to happen here. Once you are finished in this particular area, you can go on to the next....& ....your success will attach itself to you. You then enter the next POD with heightened positive energy & motivation. Today, we'll work on decorating the interior of some PODS, making them independent subconscious mind programs.

But first....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.

INNER DECORATING

While everyone's Pods will be different, I highly suggest that you place your most important lifestyle needs in place on the Pod Time-Line. In addition to the suggestions above, I have Pods for shopping, managing foods within my home, including alcohol, restaurant eating, daily exercise & socialization in regard to food & drink. How the Pods are decorated will depend on what kind's of self-discipline you choose for yourSelf. Obviously, my decor may be very different from yours because my disciplines will vary from yours. Also, you may find yourSelf redecorating, especially when you find out that you have set your expectations a bit low for yourSelf. This is because you might have failed in the past, but most likely that was because your planning was faulty.

Once your Pods are in place, it's important to know how to work with them in order to creatively activate your subconscious mind. Here's a mind exercise that I utilize for mySelf.

MIND EXERCISE

Take a moment to relax deeply. Remember, you want to slow your brain waves, turning off & releasing all stress chemicals. This is a centering exercise, making yourSelf ready for new mind programming. Each time you enter a Pod, you are re-etching a new subconscious mind program.

Outside each Pod is a chair. I ask you to sit in the chair, inviting stillness to enter your mind & body. There are many ways to do this. A simple technique is to breathe from your lower belly, just as if it contained a balloon of any color you desire. I like to sense my body being gently pulled down by magnets. You also might like to employ your "Golden Egg." When you are ready, enter this particular Pod. For sake of discussion, let's enter my breakfast Pod, remembering that yours may be different. Sense that you are now inside. It helps to look outside a window. This will deepen the focus, making it easier to program the subconscious mind. The table is set with the very healthiest breakfast foods in the right proportions. Go ahead & mentally sit down with me. Feel the table, the utensils, the dishes, cups, etc. I invite you to taste my foods, noticing that you can enjoy them, even if they are different from what you usually eat.

When you are finished eating, I'll direct you to look at pictures on the walls of this Pod. Here is a picture of me at my healthiest weight. The numbers are written on the frame. I show you how to "tap tap" on the frame & now....the me in the photo is speaking to us, telling us how wonderful it feels to experience this healthy body & mind. Let's visit some other photos. There is one of mySelf of next month & one of next year. I rather like the photo of my oldest Self who is very healthy....still exercising with plenty of energy. All of these photos are motivators connected to breakfast only. Of course, similar photos will be found in the Pods for other meals. I also have a picture over here of my emotional children, all healthy & energetic. These are positive emotions that share my life. We have a wonderful time together. You might notice that everything in the Pod is about me & my health. This is my life & I get to choose how to manage it. My Pods have nothing to do with anyone else & no one else enters my Pods. These are private & personal areas. When it's time to leave, we do so with respect to the Pod, showing gratitude. Notice there is a space between the exit door & the entrance to the next Pod, just like houses in a neighborhood. We take some time to relax & breathe, before heading forward to our next focus area.


( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

Introducing Pods & Habit Review

There are many parts to planning. In the last blog/workshop I invited you into a simple, self-hypnotic planning session. Today I'd like to address another inner technique that my clients & I find very useful. It's an inner organization tool that I call "daily pods." It's a great way to add definition & self-discipline to each separate area of life practice. The more detailed your self-discipline, the higher your level of success, something we all chase after. Let me give you a bit of introductory background.

Each morning you wake up to your daily life. most of your activities will be on automatic pilot. you might not even remember doing some things, such as brushing your teeth, drinking coffee or driving to work. Automatic pilot is a trance state that can be very useful for what is considered the habitual activities of life. After all, it would be exhausting to be aware of each & every moment of life that transpires. As you go through life, many new activities are placed on automatic pilot as their level of proficiency is raised. Learning to driva a car is a good example. In the beginning, the student driver is hyper-aware of all aspects of driving. Once experience sets in, the driver may not be aware of driving from point A to point B. Of course, the subconscious mind is programmed to awaken the individual if danger is noted, or if the journey becomes rough for some reason.

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.

IMPORTANCE OF REVIEWING HABITS

Sometimes we forget to review habits, leaving them in their original automatic pilot mind file. It's a good idea to review these mind files, even before wake-up calls. Sometimes we get sloppy in our self-care. Habit review is a form of prevention, keeping you free of bringing complication into your life. Not paying attention to automatic pilot files can get you into trouble, especially if new information is needed, or if the direction is off-course. Keep in mind that habits are re-etched in the subconsicous mind each & every time they are performed. Some are very deeply ingrained, perhaps originating in early childhood. Some habits are triggered by emotional crayons, often as stress releasers, even if they are unhealthy. Smoking, sugar, food addiction, bingeing & alcohol fall into this habit category. Of course there are other habits for managing stress. Look around & see if you can notice some that belong to others. Compulsive gambling & shopping are two common ones.

It's especially important to review habits, especially those that are related to health outcomes. Once you begin to look in a focused way, many will come to your attention. Some may apppear innocent, even silly, but that is an illusion. Take flossing your teeth for example. If you do not pay attention to consistently flossing well, not only can you lose teeth, but ongoing, sub-clinical infections can lead to serious & even life-threatening diseases.

There are additional benefits to paying attention to already formulated automatic pilot programs. These programs already have a level of self-discipline in place that has been ingrained through continuous etching or repeating of the habit. Ingrained self-discipline is like gold waiting to be discovered. You are now ready to capture this gold through the use of PODSS. Pods are very special interactive self-hypnotic images that encourage the subconscious mind to participate in your life discipline.

INTRODUCING PODS

Pods are like rooms that hold the particular discipline or activity. These can be automatic pilot activities or those that are especially important for initiating a lifestyle change, or for enhancing health & performance. They are particularly important for the management of disorderly eating & addictions. Health & performance Pods can include breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, teeth care, exercise, water, meditation, to name a few. When you set up a Pod & then work with it, your subconscious mind sees this as a very important focus & will work with you by sending creative suggestions to your consciousness. Your subconscious mind will program for change, bringing forth details that might have slipped through the cracks. You may experience some Eureka or serendipitous moments.

( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

Planning Hypnotically

If you wanted to go on vacation, first you would have to decide where to go. Then, you would visit the place in your "mind's eye", most likely reviewing the smallest of details, even if you have never been there before. You would also eyeball obstacles, finding ways to climb over them...especially if you really wanted to go. So, why then, would it be different when deciding to "travel" to a healthy weight? Unfortunately, most people who decide to lose weight, simply say "I want to lose weight" & then spend little to no time working out the plan. It's as if the decision alone should be sufficient for success, but that's not the way the mindBody works. Just like with the vacation, the desire must be there followed by a strong commitment, then a plan has to be designed, as well as a review of possible obstacles with a plan for over-coming them. Then there needs to be an additional plan for inner & outer motivation to keep you going over the years. Years??? Yes, years & then some. It's always best to bring out the truth....unless you never want to be finished with this particular life project.

How come some plans work & others don't? To my mind, planning should never be done "on the run." In fact, no serious planning should be done in this way. You are a very important person & your health should be paramount. If it isn't this is the time to ask the question, "Why isn't it?" For myself & for my patients, all planning is accomplished through self-hypnotic suggestion. As the plans are being orchestrated, the subconscious mind acts as a powerful assistant, not only helping in the design, but planting them as we go along. Just a side-note here; while the book I'm writing is focusing on obtaining & keeping a healthy weight, scale issues do not stand alone. What I mean by this is that having a healthy weight means living a completely healthy lifestyle & in so doing, other areas of your life will be changed as well....of course, for the better.

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.

SELF-HYPNOTIC PLANNING

Where do you start? Actually, you start at the end. For most people this is a rather strange place to begin, but remember that the subconscious mind works backwards. It sees the "end goal image" & then works to develop the plan to reach it. I'm going to take you into one of my planning sessions with mySelf, so you can better understand how the mind works in this regard.

I'll begin by relaxing deeply, making certain that I won't be disturbed. All time spent on mySelf is preserved time & is always honored. This is a matter of self-respect & is extremely important to the subconscious mind. This is about elevating my self-image & self-esteem. Remember the affirmation "I AM." To the subconscious mind, that underscores my value & sets the stage for what I expect in the way of help with my planning. I only expect the best.

I'll work with an image I designed many decades ago of mySelf at my ideal body fat percentage & lean body mass. I place those numbers on my mindScreen or on my imaginary table. I do have an ideal scale weight number as well, but it did take me some time to choose a healthy one for me, the reason being that I was so poorly educated about scale weight, that I had always picked numbers that were too low. This caused me to lose valuable lean body mass & led to decades of yo-yo weight issues. So, now the numbers are in place & an image of my healthiest Self is coming down the Path & is now sitting directly across from me. We are joined by my Highest Self & my Therapeutic Self. These parts of me are energized by my Highest Power or Universal Self. Your choices will depend on your own personal beliefs. The reason I bring in these parts of mySelf is to truly empower me on the deepest levels. This is important work. It has to do with the quality of my life...today, tomorrow & up the future path. It also impacts the lives of my family & as I always say, we do share our lives with others.

There are many images to utilize in planning. Remember that planning is fluid & so there will alwyas be both old & new plans on the table. The ideal healthy Self already knows the plans & what has "already" been edited. These are now being presented to me. Since I'm a very visual person, mySelves know to take me directly into the plans, as if we were back in the "theater of the mind." When I first started managing my health purposefully, the images we entered were different from those we'll enter today. However, many of my very first planning images are still active. The shopping plans have remained the same for decades. Come in with me & I'll share parts of these with you. There I am, in my home with an ongoing shopping list that lives on my fridge. I am showing you an additional list that lives in my daytimer. Sometimes I think of something during the day, but then transfer those items to my main shopping list. I don't purchase anything that isn't on the list. If I see something in the supermarket that I might like to purchase, my rules are that I don't purchase it until the next week. This has kept me out of compulsive purchasing & dealing with the tantrums of my "inner compulsive, demanding childSelf."

Today I'm being invited into some new planning areas. One has to do with changing breakfast foods. My physician has suggested that I integrate a whole grain & so I'm being shown how to get this cooked & ready for the week. In the past, I'd make excuses that I didn't have time, etc. While this is just a small plan, it will have a big impact on my health. I've thought about doing this for some time now, but now the plan is set & it's so easy for me to change. I'm also going into another planning area...this has to do with my being out of the office for many meals during the week. I'm being shown many possibilities & I'm actually participating inside those images now. My helpers are by my side...


( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

Self -Questioning

We tend to want everything right now, but it's not just impatience that keeps us locked up inside our problematic issues. Problems or obstacles that are not clearly defined cannot be solved. On a conscious level, it's like we keep tripping over stones as we try to accomplish what we think we want. For some reason, the things we want won't show themselves to us with any clarity, as if we didn't have a right to know them or have them. See if you recognize any of these thought/beliefs: "I can't imagine myself thin." "I can't see myself eating a healthy diet for any length of time." "I know what I should do, but for some reason, I can't." "The idea of changing frightens me more than staying just like I am."

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 SECRET POWER OF ASKING QUESTIONS

If we are to succeed, we need to uncover whatever is blocking. Once a block is brought to the surface, it tends to disappear. But, if we don't know what's blocking, how can we bring it to the surface? We can do this by asking questions to ourSelf. These are best asked when we are deeply relaxed, either first thing in the morning or before going to sleep at night because this is when we are in, what is called, the hypnogogic state. This means that our brain waves are slow & it's easier to access our subconscious mind, for this is where the answers are found.

I'll invite you to visit as I ask some questions regarding my own eating issues, especially those having to do with recurring stress eating. I know from my practice of hypnotherapy that we can learn from others & so I'm happy to share my experience with you. Here's where I'm at. Although I've had my compulsive eating under control for several decades, I still fall back into certain behaviors when I'm under high stress. I'd truly like to know why this is & what I can do to erase some of these repetitive programs from my subconscious mind files. In other words, I don't want my old secret eating to pop up on auto-pilot when I'm stressed.

First, I'm going to relax very deeply. I'm in a quiet place where I know I won't be disturbed. I'll do a quick bodyscan & then enter my Golden Egg space, leaving the Circus of the World outside. No one is in the Egg except me. All emotions are down in the playground becoming balanced. It's just me, now contacting the Higher Part of me. This is the part that I believe is connected to the Universal Mind, a place of great inner wisdom. This connection will be very helpful in re-editing those unwanted programs, once they are located.

My breathing is slow & quiet, but my mind is very keen & alert. Although I've planned my questions in advance, they seem to form themselves. I know that I'm in the area of my "secret eating behaviors" & I can visualize them in front of me. This is something that I can only achieve in an hypnotic state, the reason being that these behaviors don't want to show themselves to me because they leak "power." I decide to spend some time observing them from my disassociated or observing position. It's interesting to me that there aren't many & the rituals that they perform tend to be repetitive. That tells me that they have been there for a very long time, most likely from my early childhood.

I've decided to ask for some direct help from my Higher Self. Earlier on I helped you to build an image of a Therapeutic Self that is connected to a Higher Self, but since I'm in an excellent hypnotic state, I'm going to work directly with my Higher Self, asking my questions to this Part. I can do this "right in the moment" or I can utilize "automatic writing." Since I'm on the computer writing this, I'll use automatic writing.

Eliz: Why do my secret eating behaviors come forward when I'm having high stress?
HigherSelf: You call them "my" & so they belong to you. You have connected them to "high stress." The words you use to define your life, call them forward.

Eliz: What do they need to know so they won't come forward?
HigherSelf: They are NOT in charge, so they don't need to know anything. They are followers & need to be properly directed.

Eliz: Don't you mean re-directed?
HigherSelf: No, they need to be "directed." Re-directing connects the old response with the new & that is where your mistake has been. Life begins anew in this moment & nothing from the past will be connected.

Eliz: So, you are suggesting that I design a brand new program for these behaviors.
HigherSelf: Please design a new program for each of these, not one for all of them. Keep them separated, for in this position they have less residual power.

I thank my HigherSelf for showing me the way. I can now see where I made my mistakes. In the past, I held ownership by calling them "my", this encouraging them to come forward. I also saw them as a group & not separate. I know from my experience as a hypnotherapist, that it's best to isolate behaviors into units & in this case, I hadn't done this in a hypnotherapeutic exercise, but I will do this right now. I will take each of the behaviors, one by one, instructing them to follow a specific program. My HigherSelf helped me to understand that because the behaviors were so old, it was important to completely walk away from any old history, so this would not undermine the new program. When old programs are so embedded with emotion & so practiced, it's important to wipe the slate clean before bringing in the new program. I'm doing that right now.


( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

What's Grandma Got to Do With It?

We rarely want to face the music. Unfortunately, if we choose to keep our heads in the sand, then life will teach us some new songs, many of them not very enjoyable. I this I know this from my own personal experience. Living a highly stressful life without paying attention to the things I needed to do to keep me healthy, nearly killed me. This is not an exaggeration, but pure truth. I never truly understood how sick a person could become just from eating the wrong foods & not eating the right ones. In my case, I finally ended up hospitalized, still with no diagnosis. I remember lying there thinking, "suppose this is all about my nasty eating habits?" And, this is exactly what it turned out to be & this is why I have great interest in people such as Claire. I came to understand that the number of people who are disorderly eaters is beyond belief. I finally decided to take a food history on every client who came to my private practice, no matter why they were there. Fear of flying? Tell me about your dietary habits. Want to enhance your self-confidence? First tell me what you eat for breakfast. Fear of public speaking? I understand, but let's talk about breakfast, lunch & dinner. Can't sleep? Let's start at breakfast. And next....let's talk about your Grandmother...

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 FAMILY TREE

Unfortunately, in the practice of modern medicine, there is little help for understanding what sits underneath the addictive personality, or why people have compulsive, emotional or stress eating & especially the cravings for those sugary or high glycemic carbohydrate foods. During the time I was hospitalized I began to think a lot about this & intuitively knew that there was something more to this than just my being an out-of-control eater. It was difficult for me to visit most of my secret & bingeing activities & it took awhile before I was able to talk about them to anyone other than my most private Self. But, on the other hand, I'm grateful to them, because they opened the door of learning for me & it was on the other side of this door that I learned about how my Grandparents played a part in my then present problems.

There are certain genetic tendencies that cause the pancreas to over-produce a hormone called insulin. And these genetic tendencies add up. So, if one of more grandparents have had these certain diseases, it's more likely that they passed on these tendencies to you. When insulin is over-produced, there is a heightened physiological desire to eat something sweet....usually a refined carbohydrate or sugar. There's also a desire for other substances such as caffeine, alcohol or even a cigarette. Each time you go to satisfy these urges, more insulin is produced & blood sugars get out of balance. As time goes on, something called insulin resistance forms on the cell borders, making insulin less effective & so the pancreas produces more, eventually burning out. This is how adult onset diabetes develops.

In my case, both sets of grandparents had active disease states that caused insulin to be over-produced. These included heart & circulatory disease & late onset of adult diabetes. There were two smokers & one alcoholic grandparent. All of these diagnoses played a part in my seemingly crazy compulsive eating issues.

Knowing this was a real eye-opener & a tremendous help to me. I was no longer someone with "two personalities", for this is what I believed. I finally understood what was going on & realized that I could actually turn this around & get better. I didn't have to develop any of these diseases, even though I had the genetic tendencies. Yes, this was going to be a full-time job, but as I saw it, there was no choice, at least not for me. I had & still have no interest in developing any of the killer diseases. This knowledge served as a powerful "inner motivator" to me. I filter much of my eating & drinking life through this "filter." It doesn't matter if I'm in a restaurant, at a friend's home for dinner or shopping for groceries. I never forget about Grandma & Grandpa!


( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

BurnOut & Killer Food Stress

I'm working with Claire who is one of my clients. If you missed this part of the experiential blog/workshop, please go back to the past two entries where Claire introduced herself. This picture in time will allow you to benefit from the work I'm doing with her.

The first area I need to address with Claire is that of her "food stress" because this is a big major life stressor & one that is certainly having a gigantic impact on her life. In fact, probably most of her symptoms are related to this particular stressor. That's not to say that she doesn't have other stress-producers, but when there is a big inner stressor that is out of balance, as there is in Claire's life, then one can naturally assume that is the case. Once her food is back in order, it will be easier to evaluate the symptoms that remain in reference to other stressors. There are two kinds of stressors, internal & external. Food stress is an internal stressor. Another internal stressor is the body reaction to external stress. Both of these are under control of the Self. Outer stressors are those delivered to the Self by others, such as work, family & relationship stress. Some of these can be self-managed, but not all. Some things are simply out of one's control. However, it's important to remember that one cain control the body response to any outer stressor. Reacting rather than responding is always a personal choice.

One cannot go half-way when managing stressors. All of them need to be addressed at the same time & ongoing. This will be the most important part of Claire's new self-discipline. She must become self-responsible to & for herSelf. All co-dependent & self-ignoring behavior need to be put to rest. You may be surprised that I see Claire as being co-dependent, but she is. She has not taken responsibility for her own body & mind, even leaving this up to me because, as she told me, she is paying me for her sessions, just like she paid her physician to examine her. She tends to complain, taking the victim stance, once again, pure co-dependency & it needs to go. On a side note, can you see the difference in her professional behavior versus her self-care behavior? What would happen if she went about her executive workplace position using her self-care behavior as a model? I need to help Claire to see this clearly, not to embarrass her, but to encourage her to use her work model in managing her personal life. That is a very successful area in her subconscious mind & she can bank on that.

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.

TOOL BOX REVIEW

You already know about these tools & accompanying techniques. However, since they are new to you, it's always a good idea to have an asset list available.

HIGHER POWER OR SELF * THERAPEUTIC SELF * COOPERATIVE UNBALANCED SELF * EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT * MINDBODY HEALTH GARDEN * HEALTHY EATING TABLE * THEATER OF THE MIND * GOLDEN EGG * CIRCUS OF THE WORLD * THOUGHT MANAGEMENT* REGRESSION & FUTURE PACING * SCHOOL HOUSE LEARNINGS * WORKSHOP LEARNINGS

FOOD STRESS & WEIGHT GAIN

Claire is very unhappy because she is over-weight & while she complains about this, it's apparent that she hasn't made the connection between her scale weight, eating habits, nail biting, hair pulling, fatigue, roller coaster emotions, or anything else. She seems completely in the dark about how her mind & body are connected, as well as their needs. She complains of high stress & the need to release on weekends with excess alcohol, but doesn't connect her weekday habits with those on the weekend. To use her own words, she is just like a messy desk, but it's more than that. Claire needs to be educated about the workings of her own body & mind. Often this is a difficult awakening for someone who is highly educated & successful, mainly because they tend to believe that they know all there is to know, but luckily Claire is already deeply relaxed inside her Golden Egg, where she is very susceptible to self-hypnotic suggestion.

I'm going to talk to her, just as if she were not in a deep state of relaxation, the difference being that she will accept what I have to say & will not present resistance. I want her to know that she has severe food stress & that this is one of the biggest underlying factors for having an unhealthy lean body mass & body fat percentage. Notice I did not say "unhealthy scale weight", as the scale is not the best way to determine a healthy weight. While the scale weight could fall in the "normal" range, that would not mean that the individual is at a healthy weight. I know this to be true for Claire, because it's obvious to me that she is not burning fat. Claire may think that she is 10 or 15 pounds over-weight, but the truth is that her body fat percentage is probably around 38%. The norm for a mature woman would be in the vicinity of around 25%. When the body fat percentage is too high, the lean body mass will be too low. Because Claire is skipping meals & eating low-level nutrition when she is eating, her lean body mass is actually being burned off to support the workings of her body systems. After all, each of her systems needs to continue to work & in order to do so, they need nutrition. Therefore the muscles will break down & be stored as fat for this purpose. Claire needs to know that her goal is to have her body burning fat, not lean body mass & that it is actually a good idea to build a bigger lean body mass, because this will form her permanent fat-burning mechanism.

In order to accomplish the above, Claire needs to obtain more knowledge from her deeply relaxed state & then this knowledge needs to be transmuted into a highly motivated action plan.


( continued in next blog/workshop)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers.comUpdated 6 seconds ago · Comment · LikeUnlikeYou like this.
Write a comment...

Beyond Burn-Out

Here we are working with "Claire" & her disorderly issues. As the paragraphs unfold, don't be surprised if the camera appears focused on you, for many of Claire's issues are Universal. If you have not read the earlier blog entry, please do. If you have been following along, you already know that addictions & disorderly eating issues tend to flourish in messy lives & in order to continually go towards health, a better level of Self-organization needs to be put in place. Claire has been living an unhealthy life for at least a decade, probably more. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. In fact, there are many people who have never lived a healthy life, not even realizing that their daily life habits are actually leading them towards the "killer diseases" & early death. To make matters worse, they are teaching their children the same unhealthy behaviors & we don't have to look far to know that this is so. Childhood obesity is on the rise, as is adult onset diabetes, high cholesterol & even elevated blood pressure in children.

When Claire introduced herself, it was easy to see her level of confusion & inability to look beneath her symptoms. In fact, she didn't even see the large majority of her symptoms, the reason being that she was so detached from her body & mind. Most of her symptom reporting was superficial. Just from her words it is obvious that she is walking a tight-rope & unfortunately, she wasn't awake "yet." Therefore, the first order of business would be to wake her up. This is often the roughest part of the journey, especially for someone like Claire who borders on burn-out. The reality could possibly make her want to run & hide. But, the practice of imaginology or interactive self-hypnosis is a light & playful way to assist someone in being willing to climb out of their dark hole of existence.

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.

TOOL BOX REVIEW

You already know about these tools & accompanying techniques. However, since they are new to you, it's always a good idea to have an asset list available.

HIGHER POWER OR SELF * THERAPEUTIC SELF * COOPERATIVE UNBALANCED SELF * EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT * MINDBODY HEALTH GARDEN * HEALTHY EATING TABLE * THEATER OF THE MIND * GOLDEN EGG * CIRCUS OF THE WORLD * THOUGHT MANAGEMENT* REGRESSION & FUTURE PACING * SCHOOL HOUSE LEARNINGS * WORKSHOP LEARNINGS

HELPING CLAIRE PUT OUT THE FIRE

Claire works in a very quick moving environment & part of her emotional make-up is to want things completed & off of her desk. Most likely, this is why she has procrastinated for so long, truly not wanting to take on this multi-faceted lifestyle change. She had lots of underlying fear, perhaps because she had failed in the past & now she feels so sick. What will happen if this doesn't work? When Claire came to my office she wanted to pass her problems over to me & have me fix them....& as soon as possible. What Claire doesn't realize....yet....is that no one can do this for her & that everything she needs is right within herself. The actual changes she has to make truly aren't that big & nothing that is beyond her capabilities. She also doesn't realize, because of her lack of experience in this genre of her life, that as soon as she starts to get her "ducks in a row", she will begin feeling so much better, both physically & emotionally. She will be breaking her hopeless-helpless cycle & taking control of her own life. She will be the writer, director & producer & that will energize her forward on her path to wellness.

I'll begin by having Claire relax deeply. Tense people relax quicker than mellow people & so Claire will benefit greatly from the feeling of true deep relaxation. I'm going to do this with some simple breathing from the abdomen, having her close her eyes gently & then introducing the "golden egg shape." Since change cannot happen through a tense mindBody, this is where we get on the merry-go-round. I'm going to allow Claire to enjoy this experience, also because I want to break her need to rush through her life. In the work we are doing here, rushing is not on the menu. Claire will be surprised to know that we're not going to visit the problems she brought into my office. Instead, we're going to explore some new venues. Being inside the "golden egg shape" is perhaps the most important venue for her first session. When we live hectic lives, we need to have somewhere to go that is ours & ours alone. Inside the egg will be that place for Claire.

While I do want her to notice the "circus of the world", we'll not go there today. Instead, it will be off to the Golden Path, stopping by at the MindBody Health Garden. I want her to meet up with her "body system plants." Claire has lost touch with herSelf, both physically & emotionally. She lives a "treadmill existence." The true Claire doesn't exist, only the Claire that serves others is out there every day. She doesn't even feed herSelf. She has lost connection with the purpose of her body systems & pays little to no attention to the yells & screams from those inner departments. As smart & talented as she is about her "TV career track", she is just the opposite when it comes to the running of her body & mind, almost clueless to the diseases & disorders she is inviting in. So, without any criticizing, we'll just have the body parts present themselves to her & open her eyes to what will happen if she continues along the same old paths & on the other hand, what she can expect when she changes her old habits. You'll notice that I've left no room for discussion here. Claire WILL CHANGE her old habits. That's a given.

( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

The DisOrganized Self Gets Help

We are working within the Personal Assessment part of the book where the reader is being helped to self-organize, both consciously & subconsciously. Addictions & disorderly eating issues tend to flourish in messy lives & in order to continually go towards health, a better level of Self-organization needs to be put in place.

Knowing where & how to begin is sometimes the most difficult & that is why there is so much procrastination, so let's get on the merry-go-round here. Most people come to lifestyle change issues with some arm-twisting from their doctor, perhaps some borderline blood work or obvious changes in health. Others come because their doctors can't find anything wrong with them & they are frightened because of how unhealthy they feel. There are still others who come to effect a lifestyle change because they want to lose weight for a special occasion. The first two scenarios will reap the best outcomes because the motivation is FEAR. The desire to "look good" tends to be a weak motivator & usually will not lead to a permanent lifestyle change. However, there are problems with utilizing fear as a primary motivator, because fear levels need to be kept elevated & you already know that negative mind states are not healthy mind states.

In the last chapter I invited you to truly commit to change, for without serious intent & commitment, there won't be change. OK, so now what? You are on the merry-go-round & this is a good moment for me to invite you into my office & observe as I work with a new client. We learn in different ways & here you will have the opportunity to learn by example. If you've been reading along, you already have sufficient tools & knowledge to understand the therapeutic concepts I'll be utilizing. In fact, by now you are already on your way to being a therapist to yourSelf.

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.

TOOL BOX REVIEW

Here are some of the tools & techniques you already have available. If you need a review, go ahead back & do so.

HIGHER POWER OR SELF * THERAPEUTIC SELF * COOPERATIVE UNBALANCED SELF * EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT * MINDBODY HEALTH GARDEN * HEALTHY EATING TABLE * THEATER OF THE MIND * GOLDEN EGG * CIRCUS OF THE WORLD * THOUGHT MANAGEMENT* REGRESSION & FUTURE PACING * SCHOOL HOUSE LEARNINGS * WORKSHOP LEARNINGS

MEET CLAIRE

"I'm 38 years old & work in television production with a major network. I'm over-weight & completely stressed out. I'm a binge eater, rarely eating regular meals. I bite my nails & pull at my hair when I'm nervous. I've tried artificial nails, but pick those off as well & so I spend quite a bit of energy hiding my hands as they are a true embarrassment to me. Why can't I stop this? I know that I drink too much coffee & on weekends I find myself binge drinking. I've thought about this & think it is because I'm trying to fit in all of my fun & relaxation on the weekends. I do feel entitled to this because I don't have a minute to myself during the week. I'm married with two school-age children who are already over-extended in activities, making my life even worse because of time constraints, but what's a Mom to do?

Here's the frightening part. I truly don't feel well physically. I'm fatigued just about all the time & have frequent headaches. I truly do not remember the last time I felt well. I had a medical check-up & the doctor told me that I am fine. I am not fine & not even near to being fine. This frightens me even more than having a diagnosis of something. Is that strange or what? I went to counseling & found it useless because, despite everything, I'm a fairly happy & successful person. I have a good marriage & two great children. I'm just not well.

I don't know how to start o where to start. I'm like a "messy desk" that I don't seem to have time to straighten out because people, including myself, keep putting more things on it. I'm truly frightened that I will actually die from all of this stress, yet I can't seem to motivate myself out of this. My doctor offered me medications & I turned them down. I truly don't think they will solve any of this. I see this as something I must do myself. I think I understand what is past & what is not. I'm also quite clear about what I don't want. Why doesn't my subconscious mind respect this & help me to clean up my disorderly self?"

HELPING CLAIRE

What screams out to me, regarding Claire, is that she is very successful in her field, yet she hasn't carried over her observation & organizational abilities to her own life management. She even tells us that she is "like a messy desk." If we look closely inside ourselves, we will find that we do know how to observe & organize in many areas of our lives. This life experience is known as "resilience" & we all have it. What areas in your life do you manage well? Take a moment now, find yours & list these in your journal. And so, if you manage these, then you can manage others, including your eating issues or addictions.

Claire's life is chaotic & produces high level stress. She answers this by adding more fuel to the fire. There is no discipline to her eating, coffee consumption is up, she's bingeing & adding alcohol on the weekends. She tends to have compulsive tendencies, such as nail biting & hair pulling. If we could peak inside her body, we would be able to see the already present disease progression. This is what she is feeling & fortunately or unfortunately, her physician is not able to demonstrate this on laboratory tests. Claire is walking up the wrong path & change needs to be implemented before things get worse.

( continued in next blog/workshop)

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

Ducks in a Row

In order to stop or curtail any disorder or addiction, you need to get all your "ducks in a row." Being over-weight or having an eating issue is only a symptom & while these need to be understood in their own right, it is necessary to go below the surface, to the cause. This holds true for all adictions & disorders. In the book I've written, there is a very big chapter that is dedicated to opening up these underlying, subconscious mind files. When I work with clients in my office, this is always ongoing work & so for my readers, this is also ongoing work. Be sure to have your journal & one that is specific for "inner work." Your subconscious mind is very sensitive & even just opening a specific journal, will invite your mind to share things more easily. Also, be prepared to put aside some real time for yourSelf. This is not "quick fix" work." In fact, you will find yourSelf coming back to this area, time & time again, because as you begin to work with the techniques in this book, your curiosity will peak. It's good to know more, for the more you know about yourSelf, the more you can heal, as well as open to a higher level of creativity & performance in other areas of your life. So, you can now know, that having an addiction or eating issue, can actually benefit you in ways that you probably never imagined.

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.

UNDERNEATH THE DUCKS

While the ducks swim over the pond, what we need to do is to explore the waters underneath. You are already learning that it will be possible to change your lifestyle behaviors. The earlier chapters set the stage for breaking old patterns. You are beginning to understand that patterns have many parts, each part needing attention. In the past, you may have thought of a behavior or pattern as being singular, such as "I'm a compulsive eater", but this particular pattern can have a hundred parts or more. The more awareness you buld, the more parts you fill find & then, you will decide how you want to manage them. Do I hear groans? "This sounds like a lot of work. I just want to lose some weight & keep it off. Why do I have to do all of this? Isn't there another way, one that's not so time-consuming. How long do I have to do these things? When will all of this be over?" As a therapist, this always makes me smile, because remember, I also have disorderly eating issues, so the questions are not foreign to me. I've heard them hundreds of times, from others as well as playing in my own thought processes.

Here's the truth. The more you explore the water beneath the ducks, the easier it will be to change permanently. Yes, this does take some time, but remember, this is about your health, now & down the road. If you don't change now, when will you change? Also, if you continue along the "half-way" path, you will come to know that there is no such thing as "half-way." There are only two routes. One goes towards health & the other goes towards illness. Half-way is like "spinning" on the the pathway towards illness & the more you spin, the deeper the hole underneath your feet. So, in essence, it's important to find the joy in the journey. Then you can stop wanting it to finish quickly. Self-work is truly never finished & hopefully you will come to know that it is a good thing & you won't want to stop.

Let's talk a bit about "spinning." This is a huge time-waster that tends to complicate life. Your own memories can affirm this for you. Here's how. Think of how may times you thought about starting a program to re-order your life in some way? It doesn't have to be about losing weight or controlling compulsive eating, but it could be. Any memory will do. Now, pile those thoughts up in the theater of your mind. How high is the pile? How many minutes, hours or days does this represent? It's time to truly move forward now. Commitment is very important & I suggest that you spend some quiet time thinking about this. In fact, I'm going to suggest that you formally commit, in writing, to move out of your "spinning" position. While this may sound a bit child-like, it is not. Here's an example of what I suggest to my clients. I actually use this for my own self-development work. This is not done in a careless way, but just the opposite, in the form of a respected ritual. We clear the room, dim the lights, become meditative or inwardly still, locating that part of us that connects to our Higher Power or Self. When everything is in place, then we begin.

Statement of Intention & Commitment

I hereby state that I fully intend to work daily to develop my own self-mastery, as it applies to my issue/opportunity of ___________________ & hereby commit myself to doing the necessary learning & work involved. All of my thoughts & mind images regarding my issue/opportunity will be framed in positive, healing frames radiating full success. I commit to respecting, honoring & caring for all parts of my body at the highest level, understanding that they are a part of me & represent how I choose to see & respect myself.

I also commit myself to raising my desire in this regard, fully understanding that this desire will transmit to many other areas of my life.

Signed_________________________ Dated ____________________

Well done. Writing commitments are very powerful mind suggestions. Your own subconscious mind is now ready to work in your behalf & will not only remind you of your written words, but will find many ways for you to succeed, perhaps some you never even thought about on a conscious level. You are on your way.

KNOWING THE DUCKS

Here are some of the lifestyle behavior patterns that need to be addressed. These include, food choices, meal timing, serving sizes, snack choices, snack time, exercising, sleeping, excess habits, stress building habits & mood choosing.

There are many areas of lifestyle behaviors that are on automatic pilot. The areas above represent only some of the areas. It helps to imagine that each automatic pilot area has a separate folder in your subconsicous mind. As you work through the area of the book called "Personal Assessment", you will opening these folders & be able to research the many aspects of the automatic pilot program. Some aspects may need to be deleted, or mind-edited in some way. Other parts may appear to be fine, but it's a good idea to review these anyway. Your Therapeutic Self, aided by your now friendly, Unbalanced Self, may have some suggestions to make these even better. While automatic pilot has some benefits, it also has drawbacks. When you are not fully awake or engaged, you give up your rights ot observe, assess & manage your thought processes. Remember, thoughts are goals & whatever you play in your mind becomes your goal for that moment. Many people with eating issues, myself included, tend to eat blindly, not even realizing what's going in their mouth. This is a "spinning" behavior & one that needs to be brought to the surface & managed.

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

The Train Ride - Future-Pacing

Just as it's normal to practice regression, we all do something called "future-pacing." That means that we talk about the future, as if it were really happening. Not only that, but we emotionalize the images, despite the fact that they are purely fantasy. That's what "worrying" is all about...thought fantasy with negative marinade. Of course, we also "future-pace" with positive emotions, but most of us tend to hang out in the negative realm. A few blog/entries ago I introduced you to the time-line & discussed where that part of your memory resides. For some people it is behind them; others in front. Neither of thes positions work well. It's best to have the future to the right or left, with the past memories running in the other direction. That allows one to observe, edit or plant new images with ease.

When we have disorderly eating or addiction issues we have to be careful with future-pacing negative outcomes. Remember, the subconscious mind does not judge, but just follows what is planted. If you plant future failure, that's what you will experience. If you do not believe in your ability to succeed at changing old behaviors, then you won't be able to do so. It's like driving down a road of potholes that you wished into existence & then finding them there. Start to pay attention to your own thoughts...& then your own words as they tumble off of your tongue. It's also a helpful mind-practice to listen to others programming their negative future goals. You won't have to look far. Listen around the office water-cooler or turn on cable news. Just listen to other people conversing. It's truly amazing. Then, have a look at the written word. If you are a social networker, watch the twitter screen. You won't have to wait long.

There is something else to consider. Negative chatter, as well as negative moods are contagious. People who think like this do want others to join in. Pay attention & see if you can spot the "invitations." Sometimes it will be verbal, but other times it might be a glance or some other non-verbal sign, wanting to pull you into the negativity. If you are with people who gossip, or who are nay-sayers, or who are pessimistic, you should be able to sense their energy. It's truly a mindbody experience. Check you body to see if you can spot tension developing...often in the back, neck or stomach. Notice if you have a desire to back up or even run away. These are all signs that your mindbody wants to move towards a more balanced environment.

When working with disorderly eating, there are often many negative mind-programs already in place. In the past segments, you've had the opportunity to remove & edit some of them. Now, I'd like to teach you some techniqus for protecting yourSelf from negativity, as well as future-pacing only positive goals. Once again, I'll ask you to join me on my personal "train ride", as I take care of some of my business.

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

FUTURE PACING TRAIN RIDE

You already know your way to the train station & so I'd like you to come aboard with me. This is my train & we're going to be riding up into my future. As you look out the window, you might be surprised to see many areas are well-planted. We actually plant our future all day long. As you practice "heightened awareness", you will become more cognizant of your own future-planting. Negative-based plants are not healthy looking & you might notice that while I have some, I don't have many. This is not by accident, but instead, by careful review of what's planted & continual removal of any plants that do not serve me well. Of course, this takes some work on my part & careful attention to detail. This is accomplished through daily meditative exercises, which you will be learning, as well as living inside the "golden egg shape" while staying outside of the "circus of the world", as much as possible. If you've been reading along, you are familiar with this imaginology.

We're going to get off the train here. I've noticed some negative plants that actually came from others. I wasn't paying close attention & so they slipped in. I was hanging around some people who were fear-mongering about the economy. I actually remember thinking, "well maybe they are right." That was enough to dig the dirt for the negative plant. Now, while negative things can & do happen, that is very different from planting negative expectations. That is not something we do! Everything on the future time-line is about successful outcomes. Negativity doesn't live here. As I look around the area where this plant was placed, I notice other weeds. These are connected to my stress eating that connects by an under-ground root system to the primary negative planting.

When we are around negative chit-chat, the first thing is to wake-up to what's going on. Conversation, no matter how innocent, forms subconscious mind suggestions, unless you stop it. This can be done quite easily. Since you are already awake to it, simply enter your "golden egg". That mind-exercise tells your subconscious mind that these suggestions are outside of you & not to be planted.

Since I'm in this area of my future, I'll take the opportunity to plant some positive things here. I can do this through actual images of what I want, or I can sprinkle positive affirmations on this whole area. I think I'll do both...

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

Exploring Regression - The Train Ride

It's natural to regress or to review our past. In fact, we do it all the time. In the work we're doing here is "regression specific." We want to remember & possibily edit all the subconscious mind files that are related to specific disorderly eating behaviors & there are most likely many of them. In the past, you may not have wanted to explore these, mainly because you were probably reviewing them through the perception of guilt or shame, but that is not the case now. Your Unbalanced Self no longer requires the presence of these emotional states, for this part of you is only interested in getting unhealthy behaviors or habits into the light, where they can be healed & then edited for future health. Your Therapeutic Self & TeacherSelf have made it clear that mistakes are nothing more than exploring a way "not to do something." The only thing that was missing in the past, was moving past the way "not to do something" & putting in place what you want, just as if you already had that behavior or habit in place.

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 TRAIN RIDE

I designed a program for my office clients that I called "The Train Ride." I also recorded it as a CD/mp3 because it worked so well. Once again, the train is an imaginology "containment", that allows for the subconscious mind to bring up specific memories, as well as to plant new thought programs. The train ticket is either regressive specific or future specific. Obviously, the train only goes one way at a time. That, in itself, is useful because in our normal, everyday thinking, we tend to go both ways at the same time, often bring confusion & lack of focus to the project. Once again, you do not have to be deep in hypnotic trance to utilize containment imagery. I do suggest that you put time aside for it, especially when first visiting & editing old memories. After that, you can jump into the containment at any time, in any moment.

Let me invite you onto my train, as we explore some areas that are connected to my personal eating issues. Imagine that we're at the train station, sitting on a bench, waiting for the train. This is a good time to relax deeply, in preparation for the suggestions that will be forthcoming. You might remember that a few slow, deep breaths will do it. Also plug into your "desire" to come along with me to a place where you will be learning how to take care of yourSelf in new ways. Please sense "desire" in your body, as well as in your mind. Emotions are chemical states that can be enhanced or diminished. In this case, we want to enhance "desire". Get excited about this new learning, for you should be excited. These images can change your life as you know it.

The train is pulling into the station. Pay attention to the details of the train, as this will slow your brain waves further, making suggestions easier to plant. The conductor has now put down the steps & we're climbing up & in. Come sit over here next to me. The train is all windows, allowing us to see very clearly. The conductor gave me a special button for stopping the train whenever I choose. As the train starts, sense the motion. We're going back in time in my life. You are simply an invited guest. I'm almost ready to push the button. We haven't gone back too far....just to earlier this week when I was having some desire to binge in the middle of the night. This is part of my "secret night eating" that has gone on for decades. I haven't had it for awhile & while I have some good ideas as to why this came back to announce itself, I want to ask my Self of that night, some specific questions. I also want to give her the opportunity to tell me about it, as well as what she needs from me. Obviously, I wasn't taking care of something.

The train has stopped & we can get off. My Self of that night is waiting. I'll introduce you. That way she can relax & not be fearful. Criticism, fear, guilt, shame & the like are never part of inner visits. I'm being invited to sit on a rock-chair by a stream. It's very peaceful here. This environment was not something I planned, but instead, was delivered by my subconscious mind....my helping mind. I speak of my concern & begin to ask some exploration questions....gently & with concern. The Self is now ready to share. I've come to realize that the amount of stress delivered during this period of time was very high & unrelenting. Since I have a tendency to compulsive, workaholism, the level of stress chemicals produced was way above "normal". I have a long history of releasing on food & this is what this Self became involved in doing. She was supported by Selves of the past who backed her up. My Therapeutic Self has now arrived, along with my TeacherSelf. We all just sit quietly, listening to the brook & sensing the light that is covering us. That is my Higher Self/Power who is helping us to release. Releasing through the light is a powerful tool for me & I invite you to utilize it as well. It's always available. Once the release has been completed, I tell this Self very clearly that it is no longer necessary to release on food. I ask her to remind all parts of me, to wake me up, should I be lost in workaholism. She agrees...the conductor now asks us to board the train. We're ready to move on now...

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

Introducing the Time-Line

There are many mindbody concepts or tools for the management of disorderly eating & addictions. In this blog/workshop, I'm introducing you to them in these short mini-chapters. Once they're displayed, then I will be able to go back & pull them up, to manage specific underlying issues, just as I would if you, the reader, were in my private office.

Let's have a look at this very important concept, that of the Time-Line. We all exist on a time line. We have a past, a present & a future. All are valuable resources, just waiting to be mined. You already know that your subconscious mind is vst, but very organized. In the last chapter you worked with some old DVD programs that live on the shelves of the "library of your mind." This unique metaphor can be designed to meet your own belief systems. If you believe in past life regression, you might hae a time line that goes back many centuries, as well as forward, throught those yet to unfold. However, for the purpose of this book, time lines will be considered from the moment of birth, completing at death.

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

WORKING WITH TIME- LINES

Take a piece of paper & draw a simple line. On one end place the word "birth" & on the other end, the word "death." Somewhere on your tine is this very moment, "the now." Everything that happened before "now" is your past & forward is your future. It's as simple as that.

You are meandering on this time-line each moment yu are involved in talking or thinking about the past, the present, or the future. However, most of these moments are on automatic pilot, not designed for specific goal achievement or disorderly eating management. As you begin to wake up to more of these moments, you might be surprised to find that instead of working towards your desired goals, you are going towards them.

The time-line can offer tremendous value to your self-development & certainly to the management of your current issues. Throught this book you have been in contact with your time-line, even from the very first chapters, but now you are ready to apply some additional exercises that will benefit all areas of your life & certainly your disorderly eating issues.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Memories are stored in a very organized linear fashion on the time-line. The past lines up in one direction & the future in another. For good management purposes, it helps to know the direction of each. This is quite easy to do. Simply think of a past event, perhaps what you had for breakfast this morning. Your eyes will go to the left or to the right as you choose to recall this information. This is the direction of your past time-line. Now think of where you are going to go later this afternoon. Your eyes will turn in the direction of your future time-line. For most people, the past is to the left & the future to the right, but sometimes it is reversed. However, sometimes the past of future lines are behind or totally in front & these positions can sometimes interfere with current thought processes or with planting or gathering resources.

People who have their past time-lines in front are often lost in the past, making it difficult to move forward. On the other hand, if the past is positioned to the rear, it is difficult to reach into the wealth of assets waiting to be gathered. Future time-lines that are behind, present problems for planting resources. The old adage" out of sigh, out of mind" helps us to understand what happens with a misplaced time-line. So, while you don't want to trip on your past or future, you do want to have them easily accessible.

Going back on the time-line is called regression. This type of regression has nothing to do with past life experiences. Every time you look at old picture, you are practicing regression. Sometimes we don't like looking at ourselves in certain periods of our life & while that is fine, it's a good idea to know why we have those feelings. These are often clues that are attached to disorderly eating issues or addiction & we can consider bringing them into the light, either on our own, or with a therapist. In addition, when you practice regression, it is important to go back in time as a mature adult & not in the mindbody of the child who experienced these moments in time. This way, you are always with your Therapeutic Self & in command of the situation, giving you the opportunity to collect power resources from past experiences, as well as to bring "healing gifts" to your earlierSelves that live on the time-line.

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

Tuning In the Wide-Screen TV

Everything that you have ever experienced is recorded in your subconscious mind in an orderly fashion, but in order to utilize it, you must retrieve it with some sort of containment or "fishing" tool. You have already been working with some of these containments. The Theater of the Mind & the SchoolHouse are two examples. You already know that the emotional childSelf carries DVD's in it's backpack, often playing them on a whim. Here you will be accessing the Wide Screen Television, along with the DVD player, giving you the opportunity to view & review & then edit, just as you did in the Theater of the Mind. As you do this, the newly edited version will replace the old version in the library of the mind. At the same time, your emotional childSelf will come to know the new version, as well as when to suggest it in the thought processes. This is another example of the childSelf helping instead of hindering.

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

WHAT'S GOING ON NOW

Relax & slow your brain waves. This is as simple as taking a deep yawn breath & deciding to allow your body to be pulled down into the chair while you read the next few paragraphs. There's nothing else to do & no where to go. This time is reserved for your own self-growth, looking forward to managing any issues that may have been bothering you including any eating issues. You are already inside your Workshop & the wide screen television is over there, along with the DVD & controls. Notice the shelves holding the DVD collections. The shelves on the left contail old DVD/s, including everything you have evr experienced through any of your senses. While these experiences truly happened, that are all recorded in a particular perception "flavor." Some of these are not helpful to current goals & desires & so may benefit from some editing. Old DVD's are also great resources for building resilience & adding power to new goals. Resilience is found in past success, as well as in past failures. Imaginology allows you to alter the marinade of any DVD, often turning it from a de-motivator into a powerful pro-motivator.

The shelves on the right are filled with future DVD's. Some are blank disks, ready for recording, others holding new experiences that haven't happened as yet. Some you have already programmed through the power of expectations, while others are pre-programmed for practicing different possibilities & experiences. Some of your pre-programs may be based on negative expectation & therefore are not in your best interest. It's very possible that some include expectations of failure, as you work with your addiction or disorderly eating. I'll be showing you how to locate & edit these for success.

Let's practice. Do know that even if an image slips on & off your mind screen, your subconscious mind is aware of what you are doing & programming is taking place. Begin by choosing an old DVD, one that has to do with your disorderly eating, bingeing or addiction. Maybe it is an old eating behavior, or a scene where you are with friends & having a difficult time making healthy choices. Choose to relax even deeper now. This will enhance your focus. Watch the wide screen, paying attention to what's going on. Listen to the sound track. Notice that you can choose to focus in on specific areas, as well as slow down the action. You already know that you are the writer, director & producer of each of your productions. Each DVD in your collection is a production of yours!

You may be wondering how you could possibly benefit from something that has already ahppened. Keep in mind that everything is recorded through perceptions & all of these can be changed to your benefit. Every failure can be seen through new eyes, or a change in perception. Let's say that you are reviewing the experience of a negtive eating behavior. You can edit this quite simply by indicating that you are practicing behaviors that you do not want. You can then bring in new actors to demonstrate what you do want, having them works side by side. Make certain that the correct signs are hanging over each actor's performance! You can take this a step further by making the undesired behavior a black & white boring affair. Paint the desired behaviors in bright colors, moving the stage forward into clear view.

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

The Workshop of the Mind

The subconscious mind is huge...think of it as six football fields filled with information, all belonging to you. Unfortunately, most of us utilize less than 2%, which is a very sad commentary, but it doesn't have to be that way. In the world of imaginology we utilize "containments" as specialized, organizational images, helping the subconscious mind to retrieve, as well as plant new suggestions. This concept helps us greatly in the management of disorderly eating. What I've always found interesting, is that when one area of life becomes ordered or organized, other areas are soon to follow, thereby breaking the mindSet of "hopeless & helpless".

Here I'm going to introduce you to one of my most favorite "containments", that of the Workshop of the Mind. It is within these walls that wonderful things will take place, perhaps things that you have never, ever conceived in your mind's eye. This is a very private place & I'll be encouraging you to "decorate" the image, making it your very own. This will not only enhance your desire to play here, but your very own subconscious mind will participate in the creative development. As you participate within the imagery, you will find yourSelf working directly with your creative mind, building as well as changing already present structures. My personal Workshop has been undergoing revisions for several decades, rather like upgrading a home. We change with time & what worked or didn't work years ago, needs to be re-worked or let go, making room for new things. There are so many choices open to us, not only about goals, but of behaviors & healthy habits to develop. Perhaps you never thought in this way before, but before is not now. You can choose to think & act differently....& you don't have to wait for tomorrow. Today works just as well.

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

WHAT'S GOING ON NOW

Relax deeply & read through the next paragraphs, just as if you were reading any novel. There is nothing special you need to do. The images will form all by themselves. This is your creativeSelf at work. Early in the book, you entered your MindBody Health Garden. This is a great beginning image, setting the subconscious mind for going forward. Pass this garden & you will see a signpost for your "Inner Workshop." Follow the route & soon you will come upon it. The Workshop is a place in your mind where you go to work on yourSelf. It is a private place & while others are welcome, they only come by your invitation & to work in "your" behalf, not theirs. This is especially important for those of you with disorderly issues or addictions, because you are very used to putting others first.

Right now, sense the image of your Workshop in your mind's eye. Simply think it. Build it exactly as you would like it. There might be a building or place in the past that you would like to utilize for this purpose & that is fine. Sometimes we have a safe place from childhood. For me, it is an old barn that sat on the property of my best friend, where I would escape the outside world to adventure in my dreams. It was here that I calmed myself while designing my future fantasies. If you don't have such a place in your memory bank, simply go & build one for yourself right now. You can place it wherever you like, be it at the ocean, high in the mountains, or even in the middle of a city. Choose the structure, color, windows, roof pitch, landscaping, etc. Allow yourSelf to wallow in the details.

Feel the entrance key in your pocket & open the front door. It may squeek a bit because you haven't been here in awhile. Look around, noticing the furnishings, floor coverings, windows, collectibles, perhaps plants, books & even toys. Time to lighten up! Walk through the Workshop, noticing the details of the different rooms, while noticing how comfortable you feel here. In my Workshop, I have a big room, a kitchen, spa bath, several libraries & a board meeting room. You'll read about these in detail later on.

Look out the window & admire the view. Pay attention to the wild like, plants, sky & how the weather is in this moment. Your weather is a great metaphor for your current emotional crayons. Now bring in some additional senses. You might tap on the window pane, hearing the tapping sound resonating in your ears. Sit down in one of the chairs, feeling the texture of the fabric & how your body positions into the chair, relaxing deeply. This is a time set aside for you & your selfWork. Enjoy this idea.

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