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)
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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
