Insomnia: Are You Just Looking For A Little Deep Sleep?

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I’m a pretty lucky guy, or so I’ve been told. I fall asleep quickly and easily and stay asleep unless Matrix Chick or Fingers (my 4 and 2 year old daughters) come crawling into bed us. It’s been suggested to me that I have a clear conscience. (True!) However, in my hypnotherapy practice, many of my hypnotherapy clients tell me that they have problems sleeping even if they are not coming to me for that issue.

Included in the definition of insomnia are sleep problems involving difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or having poor quality sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, more than one-third of adults have insomnia at some time, while 10 to 15 percent report long-term (chronic) insomnia.

There are many possible reaons for insomnia. Some may be due to other heath related issues, such:

  • prescription medication
  • pain
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • acid reflux (GERD)
  • pregnancy
  • menopause

Other causes of insomnia can be

  • Stress
  • eating too late before bed
  • drinking or smoking
  • a change in work hours
  • jet lag

Also, keep in mind that aging can cause sleep that is less deep, causing you to wake more often.

If you suffer from insomnia, then you know the toll it can exact. Irritability, anxiety, weight gain, poor immune function, poor work performance, even falling asleep while driving are some of the side effects of inadequate sleep.

So what can you do to improve your sleep? First off,  many people that come to me for hypnotherapy for issues not related to insomnia report getting a very good nights sleep the night of their first session. Better sleep is a by product of being hypnotized. This means of course that hypnosis and hypnotherpy can be very effective for dealing with insomnia.

Here are some other things you might try that can get you back into the habit of deep and restful sleep.

In my experience, the most common reason that people give me for not being able to fall asleep is the inability to turn off their brain.  Anyway that you can create mental relaxation can be helpful. This can be as simple as taking deep breaths before sleep or a regular practice of meditation or yoga. Working out before bed can actually stimulate you and keep you awake, so keep it slow and gentle. Regular exercise can help you sleep better, just try to be done 3-4 hours before bedtime. Writing down your thoughts in a journal can be helpful too. This can help to identify  challenges in your life or things bothering you in the background of your mind that you may not even be aware of. 

Be aware of dietary habits that can interfere with sleep. If I drink red wine before bed, I’ll won’t sleep as deeply. If I have coffee later than about 3:30 or 4, I’ll notice it in my quality of sleep. Sometimes a sleep diary can be helpful in identifying how your daytime diet on any particular day  can  create sleep disturbances. Eating to close to bedtime can challenge sleep. Again, 3 hours before is better. On the other hand, some folks have blood sugar imbalances that wake them up in the middle of the night. Some people sleep better by having a little protein before bed. By little,  I mean some cheese, milk, yogurt, etc, not a huge steak.

Try to have a regular schedule for sleeping.  Sleep is not only a physiological need that should be taking care of itself, but your relationship to sleep can either a good habit or bad habit. Oftentimes simply sticking to a regular sleeping schedule can result in better sleep relatively quickly. It helps to be aware of how much sleep you need. Most adults need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.

Be aware of associations that you are creating in your bedroom. Do you have a television in your bedroom to watch the news at night while lying in bed? Umm…try not to do that. Do you discuss heavy issues/marital challenges or financial problems with your partner while lying in bed? Go do that in another room. Paying bills in  bed, or similar types of activites? Ditto. If you find you can’t sleep in 15-20 minutes, get out of bed until you feel a little drowsy again.

Create a relaxing environment in which to sleep. Make sure it feels  comfortable to be in your bedroom, including mattress and pillow. Temperature, humidity, and noise level can all affect how you sleep. Insure that these work for you instead of against you. Use eye pillows, ear plugs, humidifiers or white noise generators to help.

Sleep is one of the basic requirements for life, yes? Doing what you can to make sure it is of good quality can add quality to your life. If you need help sleeping, give me a call and I’ll give you 20% off my regular fee for one hypnotherapy session for better sleep.

Good night!

How to Program Your Mind for Success in Less Than Five Minutes a Day

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What if I told you that I could teach you a system that takes three minutes a night that would program your mind for more money, more success and more happiness? Would you take three minutes a night and do it?

You might be saying to yourself  “Sure, I’ll take three minutes a night to make more money, have more success and happiness!”

Well, the reality is, you’re wrong,  you won’t.  And even though you say you want to be more successful, prosperous, happy, that fact is… you don’t. That’s our nature. Change can be the hardest thing in the world. Why?

Because of the most  powerful force in human behavior which is….. homeostasis. The innate drive to stay the same. Homeostasis is the enemy of change. To change you must acknowledge this fact. How can you fight something unless you know it exists?  We see homeostasis in our physical body; if we get to hot, we sweat to cool down. If we get too cold, we shiver to bring our temperature back to where we are comfortable.

Psychologically, we do that same thing. For most of us, if we are short of money, out of a job, car soon to be repossessed, we become very motivated. However, when things are going well, we have a tendency to relax, and consider this: if things are going too well, we may even sabotage our success. Why would  we do such a thing?

Because your subconscious mind knows only two things: knowns and unknowns. What is know is familiar and comfortable, for example, the amount you have in your bank account. What is unknown is fearful to the subconscious, for example, a lottery winner of mega millions who very quickly finds himself back to where he started, wondering “Where did it all go?”

What do we do about our innate drive to stay the same? We work to change incrementally a little every day by sending the subconsious mind different information to get a different result. See, the subconscious mind makes up 88% of your mind. This is automatic behavior. This is your so called life script. And every day you wake up you see it: the car you drive, the house you live in, your bank account etc. This is the information that you receive every day that reinforces your comfort level, that is, your “knowns.”

Our challenge is to introduce new information into our subconscious mind that creates new “knowns” that are in line with what we want in our lives. However, we must introduce this new information in a way that the subconscious mind can understand and take in deeply so that your “ceiling” of success begins to change. The most powerful and simplest way to do this that I have found is through the Mental Bank Program.

The Mental Bank program was invented by Dr. John Kappas, the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI), the nations first accredited college of hypnotherapy and the place I received my training as a hypnotherapist.

I’ll be presenting the Mental Bank  on Monday, October 5th (today) from 7  to 9pm at HMI in Tarzana. I’ll be teaching  how to start the process of incremental change towards success happiness and prosperity in three minutes a day. It’s a powerful and remarkable program.

The really good news is that you don’t have to go to Tarzana to learn the Mental Bank Program. You can go to www.MyMentalBank.com and watch George Kappas, director of HMI and son of Dr. John Kappas, present the Mental Bank Program via streaming video. If you are interested in moving yourself forward and beyond your current level of success, performance, wealth or happiness, then I highly recommend this two hour video.

Only a small percentage of people reading this will check out the video, which is why there are so few that are really enjoying the level of success that they would like. I challenge you to take the time to check it out. It’s interesting and informative and George Kappas does a great job making it fun to watch. Let me know what you think, OK?

Have a great week,

Ted

What Does It Feel Like To Be Hypnotized?

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“It kind of feels like how Dave the astronaut felt in “2001 A Space Odyssey“, doesn’t it!?” I remember someone telling me way back when I announced I was going to college to study hypnosis.144308

“Umm..well, no, actually, it’s not quite that dramatic”, I replied, feeling bad that I had squashed his illusions. (He seemed pretty excited.)

As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, you already know what it feels like because it’s a natural state you go into regularly. Some people seem to spend most of their waking day in a trance state. (This is called hypersuggestibility, resulting mostly from being overwhelmed.) In fact, people that spend a lot of time feeling like that will often say after their first session “I didn’t really feel any different.”

When you are in a hypnotic state under controlled conditions, such as in  my office, you will be awake, aware, and thinking thoughts. Even thoughts as to whether or not you are really hypnotized. You hear everything that is being said and are in control enough so that you are not going to reveal anything you don’t want to. Also, you certainly are not going to do anything wacky unless you want to. (The only one allowed to be wacky in my office is me.)

So what about stage hypnosis? A good stage hypnotist asks for volunteers. Think about this: “Who would like to come up on stage and experience hypnosis?”  asks the stage hypnotist. The people in the audience wildly waving their hands to be picked  already know that to expect. We can say that thay they are already suggestible to the idea of going up on stage and getting a little uninhibited. If the hypnotist sees that there is resistance from any of the volunteers during the induction, he will put that person back into the audience. The people on stage are really hypnotized and can be given suggestions that they will act upon. That’s how stage hypnosis works.

Tell you what I’ll do. Anybody out there that would like to experience hypnosis, email me or give me a call and I’ll give you a first session for $75 just for reading my newsletter. New clients only!

I promise not to make you cluck like a chicken or bark like a dog unless you want to, and remember, I charge extra for working with animals. 😉

If you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or share it with your social networks.

Tman

 Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach
Certified Hypnotherapist
Specializing in Your Success
www.TedMoreno.com                                                                       
 (626) 826-0612
 

Toads and Deep Relaxation

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Spadefoot Toad

Spadefoot Toad

I was thinking about frogs as I fell asleep the other night. Actually, it was toads. Spadefoot toads to be exact. You may be thinking: what do toads have to do with deep relaxation? Well, it started with the weather.

Friday I woke up and there was rain. In June. In all my collective years here in the LA area (30 years) I have never seen rain in June. I was pleasantly surprised because I love rain. I lived in Tucson, Arizona for almost 20 years and the best part of that experience was the summer rains that desert dwellers call monsoons. These are summer lightening storms, sometimes very dramatic, always welcome and refreshing at a time when everything alive and a few things that aren’t are withering from intense heat.

The rain we had on Friday brought back vivid memories of  those summer rains. As I lay in my bed that night, I imagined myself back in Arizona, on the front porch of some old house, watching the rain come down in sheets. I was told once you never forget the smell of the Sonora Desert after it rains. I found this to be true  that night as once again I smelled the wet creosote, and breathed in  the thick moistness of the warm air.  I thought about the song of the toads, awakened from their slumber by the gods of thunder. At first, I felt an aching to be back there, but suddenly this was replaced by  gratitude the likes of which I have not felt for quite some time. All the tension and stress of my life disappeared. Concern and  worry about the circumstances of my life faded.  I realized that I had been blessed with these experiences, they were mine to savor whenever I wanted to, they could not be taken away from me, and I felt supremely grateful. I found myself in my own special place as I fell into a peaceful sleep.

Special Place is an Therapeutic Imagery  tool that I use quite often in my practice with my clients. You can use it anytime you want, when you desire, peace, comfort, ease, and relaxation. Simply sit or lie down and be still and take some deep breaths. Focusing and relaxing each part of the body can be helpful. (This is called a progressive relaxation). See if you can tap into the still place inside of you. Then imagine, pretend or visualize a place that you have either been to or have seen. Or, you can create one in your minds eye, with the elements you desire. Make sure this is a place that  represents relaxation, peace, tranquility, serenity. See if you can connect with the sights and colors, shadow and light. Notice if you are sitting, standing or lying down. Check if there are any scents or smells to this place. See if you can hear the sounds. Give your self suggestions along the lines of  “I am in my special place and in this place I am safe and secure, happy and in control, peaceful and relaxed.”

If you practice this a few times, soon you’ll be able to quickly create a powerful image that can be used in any situation to produce a relaxed and comfortable state.

And if you should meet any spadefoot toads in there, please say hello for me.

If you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or share it with your social networks.

Tman

 Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach
Certified Hypnotherapist
Specializing in Your Success
www.TedMoreno.com                                                                       
 (626) 826-0612

How Hypnotherapy Can Help You Change (Hypnosis 101, Part 2)

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“There’s a part of me that  wants to change but there’s another part of me that doesn’t, and that part always seems to win out!”

Sound familiar? There is a lot of truth to this statement. What we are talking about is a conflict between two minds: the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.

Let’s just put it in plain English: the reason it is so difficult for folks to change is because the subconscious mind makes up 88% of your mind  and it likes what is known and familiar. It does not like to change. Your conscious mind makes up 12% of your mind and oftentimes cannot overcome the power and influence that the subconscious mind has over our behavior and thinking. To make changes in our lives, we must get our subconscious minds on board so that it starts to become familiar  with the change we want to make. Hypnotherapy is a very effective way to do this.

Here’s an  illustration of how this works. Let’s say you are born into a family where both mom and dad smoke. As children, we believe everything we hear and see. You hear dad saying quite often “I need a smoke”. Dad seems pretty happy after he has a smoke. So does mom. One day you ask for a cigarette. You are told cigarettes are for “big people”. You want to be a big person too. As you grow up, the people that care for you, love you, and keep you alive, smoke. This becomes your reality. Grownups smoke and they seem to really like it.

A few years down the road, you are smoking too. Maybe you started smoking to fit in with other kids who smoke. Perhaps life got a little challenging and somehow you knew that smoking would make you feel better about these challenges (think adolescence). Maybe you were bored one day, came across your parent’s cigarettes, and stuck one in your mouth. Soon, you are acting out a “script” given to you in childhood which goes like this: to be the person you want to be (cool, tough, grownup, etc.) you must smoke.

Fast forward to 2009. No one seems to like smokers anymore. It’s getting  darn near impossible to find a place to smoke. Cigarettes are outrageously expensive. And just last year, your mom was diagnosed with emphysema. You start thinking about quitting. You try a few of times to quit but last only a couple of days. That time you quit for three days you almost strangled the kid behind the counter at Starbucks  because  the foam wasn’t right in your latte.  You try gum and decide that that really sucks. The patch helps a little but it’s just not the same as pulling that pack out, smacking it against the palm of your hand, pulling out a cigarette with your mouth and lighting it with your favorite lighter. Man! That first hit. You may wonder how you can ever quit, it’s all you’ve ever known! It’s who you are, it’s what you do, it’s what you like, why, cigarettes are almost your…..friends.

But deep down inside you are starting to suspect that these may be false friends. And that these “friends” may be  killing you, at least that’s what everyone says. Maybe you try again to quit, half heartedly. You start to become resigned that you may never quit. Then someone tells you they quit with hypnotherapy. You get the guy’s number, you give him call, you make an appointment. You wonder what’s going to happen.

What happens of course is that you come into my office and quit in one session. But how this happens, Iwill  tell you in the third and final part of Hypnosis 101.

If you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or share it with your social networks.

Tman

 Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach
Certified Hypnotherapist
Specializing in Your Success
www.TedMoreno.com                                                                       
 (626) 826-0612
 

Welcome New World Fair Subscribers!

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I’d like to extend a warm welcome and a gracious thank you to all the wonderful people I met at the New World Fair that expressed an interest in my newsletter/blog. The New World Fair was held this past Saturday and Sunday at the new exhibit hall in the Pasadena Convention Center. I’ve been doing these expos for five years now, and they take a lot of time and preparation as well as follow up. Not to mention the energy needed to be on your feet for two days greeting people and spreading the word about hypnotherapy. What makes it worth it is meeting and talking to some really fabulous and interesting people.

Being at these events allow me a glimpse into the perception the public has regarding hypnosis and hypnotherapy. As a woman walked by my booth today and looked my way, I greeted her with a smile and asked if she would like to enter our raffle for a free hypnotherapy session valued at $125 dollars.   “I don’t think I would like that” she replied.                                                                                                                                                   “Why not?” I asked.                                                                                                                                                                                                        “I don’t know” she said and kept walking.

I found this exchange  quite telling. Remember, the reason I exhibit at these events is that I expect that the folks attending have some  interest in either tarot, channeling, biofeedback, palm reading, incense, Ascended Masters, hemp, chiropractic and other therapies including hypnotherapy.  Most of them, (including myself) are interested in ingesting various berries, juices, tonics, green tea, special salt, and various flavors of Clif Bars. In other words, the expectation is that there is some degree of exploration,  curiosity and open mindedness among most if not all of the attendees. Obviously, this is not the case. My cursed idealism!

Seriously though, what we’re dealing with is fear of the unknown, perhaps the greatest fear. Mix that in with a little misinformation and you end up with  people that can really be served by the  hypnotherapeutic process but who are unwilling to even consider it because they fear being controlled, or that they will  reveal their deepest darkest secrets,  or will make fools of themselves.

That’s why I do these events: to spread the word, educate, inform, and dispel misconceptions. It’s also about connection, maybe getting a few people in the recliner chair we had set up in our booth for the purpose of letting people experience hypnosis.  Which we did. And the best part of it is when you count them out of the trance and they open their eyes and look at you and smile and say “Thanks, that was great.”  Like I said, that pretty much makes it all worth it.

It’s after midnight and I need to get to bed. (Tomorrow’s my stay home dad day, tougher than any expo.) Next week we’ll continue Hypnosis 101 with a discussion about the power of suggestion using hypnosis.

Until then, have a beautiful week.

If you liked this post, please leave a comment and/or share it with your social networks.

Tman
 
 Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach
Certified Hypnotherapist
Specializing in Your Success
www.TedMoreno.com                                                                       
 (626) 826-0612
 

Welcome to Ted’s Hypnotherapy Blog

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Greetings! With the help of my good friend Jim Locke of Axon Tech, I now have my own blog. I am currently negotiating the learning curve. More later.