When working towards successful outcomes, little " mind-directing or suggestive" stories or metaphors can mean a lot. These are "small belief vignettes", but in the subconscious mind, they appear like "paver stones", lining the path to the doors they support. Good news is they are supporting the path towards health, but not so good news if they are heading down the disease path. Perhaps they are yet another one of those major reasons why certain goals, especially those in the lifestyle change area, are difficult to achieve... for the little stories are not really stories at all, but instead, tripping stones in disguise. Stepping on them changes your direction. Here's another way to think of them....as quiet, but dangerous manipulators. In this area of my book we are working with the "difficult childSelf" who tends to have a whole library full of little stories, some going in one direction, others just the opposite, but unfortunately the difficult childSelf's most favorite stories are those that support unsavory behaviors & that's what makes them so popular with the unbalanced Self. As you become more aware & awake for them, you might find them quite amusin. You may have even caught yourself laughing when they are enacted because what you're admiring is the brilliant creativity of this aspect of your emotional childSelf.
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.
ORIGINAL SILLY STORIES & THEIR AUTHORS
I must admit, I tend to like to hear these silly stories,for many of them are certainly entertaining. The funniest ones are often told to me by people who can hardly keep a straight face. That is the level of their ridiculousness. "Oreo's are food" is one of these examples. Well, of course, we could agree that oreos are food, but that's not the point. Oreos, no matter how much we might like them, are empty nutrition. They not only have nothing to offer, but they can put the body systems in danger, not only in the moment, but down the pike. Remember, everything we eat or drink has a lasting effect. No one gets away free. "So," says the defense childSelf, "are you saying that one little oreo cookie can k-i-l-l you?" Oh the drama of the childSelf? This just adds to the flavoring of the "Oreo as Food" Vignette.
The oreo story has many applications. The choice is determined by what the emotional childSelf, or storyteller of the moment plans to achieve. If in the supermarket, the goal is to get the oreo package off the shelf & into the cart. Sometimes this is easy, other times not so easy. It depends on Your emotional marinade. I know that you know what I'm talking about here. Remember, I've been in this scenario as well. One has to secretly admire the cunningness of the creative childSelf, as he or she pushes your appropriate buttons, sending the near-perfect, emotionally charged messages through your thought channels, even stimulating the body to respond with supreme accuracy. Case in point; you might not even remember putting the oreo package in your cart, only noticing it when unpacking your groceries. Now how did that happen? Another application is convincing you that the oreo's are for someone else. That's a very popular one & is often applied to other empty foods. Then, there is the "shared oreo"....someone else knows you love them & insists that you eat it right in that moment. If not, your friendship is over. Pay attention to the level of drama employed by the emotional childSelf.
While many stories are about food, this is certainly not the only area for their creative development. When learning to become aware of them, you will find them carefully woven throughout your life. Sometimes we label them excuses, but they are much more than that. They are carefully crafted, artistic endeavors that are marinated in pure emotion for great impact. Let me share one of mine with you. In the past, I had developed a phobia to exercise. This followed a serious illness that lasted quite a while. When I was medically cleared to return to the gym, the stories began playing in my head. "You shouldn't exercise yet. They made a mistake. You'll drop dead on the treadmill. You don't have to exercise to be well. You're thin enough. Exercise is not good for everybody. The ambulance will come to get you." These stories were filled with very vivid images built on the titles, some of them truly realistic & frightening. Left alone, my personal emotional childSelf, could have had tremendous impact on my full recovery, even leading me into an untoward medical accident, for make no mistake, we get what we think about!
LET'S GET THERAPEUTIC
READY ACTION
It's time to return to your position as Director. You already know the way & most likely you are already settled in your seat, ready to begin. Direct the curtain to open. Your Therapeutic Self has a list of stories that will be very familiar to you. The difficult childSelf who made up the story is on the stage directing the action. Your actorSelf is present, keenly observing the story in action...in fact, too keenly. This is one of the problems. Play close attention to how intent the childSelf is in getting the idea across. For the childSelf, there are no boundaries.....doing whatever it takes. The amount of fear or displeasure is of no consequence. There isn't any conscience. It's very important to key into this performance, because most likely you have many stories in this same genre. When you feel that you've seen or experienced enough & truly get the point here, direct the action to stop. When you are in the Theater of the Mind, in the Director's seat, all parts of you know that you are in charge; no one else. The action has stopped & the cast is waiting for your direction. If there seems to be too much to change, simply dismiss the whole production. Then, design a new performance based on what you would like to achieve. Pay attention to details....the more the better. Remember, you are programming your mind to take you forward, perhaps to an even higher level than you ever considered for yourSelf. Now & here are your opportunities to gift yourSelf in this way.
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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
