Want to Be Happier? Be Generous – Episode 495

/by

It’s a fact and there’s plenty of research to support it: Being generous makes you happy. If you want to be happier, give to others.

It doesn’t need to involve money. Giving of your time and effort in the service of others feels good.

However, research has shown that being generous or donating money, even if you don’t have much, has measurable financial benefits.

Want to be happier? Listen to this episode and make it a point to give more. Don’t be surprised if you get more than just greater happiness.

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

I just turned 66 years old, and I find that at this stage of life I’m doing a lot of looking back.

I’m looking back at not only the things I’ve experienced but also the things that I’ve learned.

Today I want to share with you one of the most important lessons that I have ever learned.

When I was in college, I got a job selling books door to door. The promise was that I could make in one summer what I would make in a year as a student working part time. I did it but I didn’t like that experience of selling. I felt uncomfortable with some of the sales techniques that I felt were manipulative.

I went on to have many sales jobs: door to door, in home presentations, retail.

I had a sales job where the managers and owners drove expensive cares, wore expensive watches and expensive suits. As a young man, I got caught up in that. I wanted that.

However, I found out some things about the company that made me not want to work for them anymore. I quit and was broke for quite a while. I was very unhappy.

I became disillusioned with that measure of success: cars, watches, suits, etc.

I considered becoming a monk and going to live in a monastery. Seriously.

It was about this time that I got into a relationship that ended shortly thereafter in a painful breakup, which I’ve talked a lot about in this podcast and in my blogs.

I learned a lot from that challenge. One of the things that I  learned was that I tended to be selfish. I was always asking “What can I get? What’s in it for me?”

As I tried to get back on my feet after being broke and broken hearted, I looked back and I saw how many people had helped me not only financially, but emotionally as well.

They gave of their time and money for no other reason than they wanted to help.

I noticed that these people were happy. They were content. None of them were wealthy, they were just generous.

It occurred to me that the happiest people I knew were people that were happy giving.

I had been humbled. I had been knocked down a peg.

So, I started asking “How can I help you? What can I do for you?” That felt good. Better then “What can I get from this?”

I started donating money to a children’s charity. This was a real turning point in my life. I didn’t have a lot of money but it felt good to give a bit of money every month to children whose families didn’t have as much as I had. In fact, that habit was so impactful in my life, that I still donate to that charity 40 years later.

Life started getting better. I started feeling better about me.

It’s true. The reason for living is giving. I believe we are here to contribute. And I believe each of us has our own unique contribution that only we can give.

Did you know that there is a science of generosity? Turns out that we are wired to be generous.

Do you want to be happier? Be generous. Research shows that if you give your money and time away, you’ll be happier for it.

Giving creates wealth and happiness by triggering rewards in our brain, reducing stress, and fostering an “abundance mindset” that attracts opportunities.

Being generous releases dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which reduces stress and gives us what some people call “helper’s high“.

Giving without expecting anything in return builds trust as well as reputation.

Do you think that could help your career? Create stronger relationships? Better financial returns?

There’s an article on the website LIFEUSA titled “Why Giving Makes You Wealthier” that states:

“Research from the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (SCCBS) shows that this connection between giving and earning is more than one way. In fact, if you give just $100 more than your neighbor this year, you might see as much as an extra $375 in your income next year. That’s a 275% return on investment! It’s not too shabby for something that also makes you feel good inside.

A 2009 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that charitable giving leads to higher income. For every dollar you give to charity, you can expect to make approximately $3.75 in return, on average.

Studies show that generous people are 43% more likely to say they are very happy compared to those who don’t give, according to the Harvard Business School.

It could be as simple as holding the door for someone or buying a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line. The science is in: one of the simplest ways to increase your happiness is generosity.

Do you want to do a deeper dive into this subject? Listen to the Feb 19 2024 episode of the 10% Happier Podcast with Dan Harris titled “The Science of Generosity: Why It Makes You Happier and How To Do It Effectively (It Doesn’t Need To Involve Money).

We are happier when we’re thinking about how to help others, rather than thinking about ourselves and our own problems.

If someone comes into my hypnotherapy practice and tells me they want to make more money, I’ll suggest that they start donating money.

If someone comes in and they are grieving, I’ll suggest that they volunteer to help others that grieve.

If someone comes in and says that they feel their life has no purpose or meaning, I’ll suggest that they find a way to give.

“Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.”

Martin Luther King Jr. said that.

Remember that you can listen to Ted in Your Head on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. Or,  watch it on YouTube.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

If you feel that a mindset shift to be more generous can be helpful to you, reach out to me at https://TedMoreno.com/contact. Let’s talk and see how hypnotherapy can support you.

Thanks for reading this, I appreciate you!

Ted

The Promise of Light in the Darkest Night – Episode 494

/by

On the day of the winter solstice, ( December 21st), humans from ancient times observed the natural movement from the dark to the light and have celebrated it in many different ways. It’s symbolic of rebirth and new beginnings, as the sun begins its conquest over the cold and darkness of winter. 

Light is the universal symbol for the light of spiritual awareness. The promise that light will return reminds us that we can reconnect with the light within us and shine the light of awareness on our inner darkness.

As humans have done through the ages, we hope to go inside and conquer this darkness, so we can shine again, and even brighter.

Listen to this podcast episode now:

 

In last week’s podcast (“Good Grief! The Holiday Blues”), I talked about the holiday blues, Charlie Brown and the Grinch. (I played those characters in 6th and 7th grade in my school’s Christmas play).

The reason I did that podcast is that I struggled for many years during the holiday season and I still do a little bit.

The reason I’m doing this podcast today is that it’s my continuing exploration of how to make authentic meaning of this time of year.  I guess my struggle has always been to avoid getting caught up and overwhelmed by all the superficial stuff and to stay rooted in what is real.

It occurs to me that question “What is real?” is what stokes my curiosity about these things. “What does it really mean?” I search for meaning.

This particular subject is something I covered 5 years ago and I found it so interesting I thought I would share it again with you. The title of today’s podcast is “The Promise of Light in the Darkest Night”.

Something will happen on December 21st at 3:03 am, PST. The sun will be at the lowest point on the horizon, the point in the year where the night is longest and the day is the shortest in the Northern Hemisphere. This is known as the winter solstice, and it’s a natural, astronomical event that is scientifically calculated to the second, even though many people associate the winter solstice with pagans, druids and Stonehenge.

There are reasons for that.

Humans from ancient times on have observed this natural movement from the dark to the light, and have celebrated it in many different ways. It’s symbolic of rebirth and new beginnings, as the sun begins its conquest over the cold and darkness of winter. After the winter solstice, the days will get longer and warmer until the summer solstice in June, when the sun’s daily path across the sky is at its highest. It then starts moving slowly closer to the horizon to where winter once again reasserts itself.

I read a very interesting book a few years back that was quite excellent in portraying how indigenous peoples looked to nature for transformation and growth.  “Shaman, Healer, Sage”, by Alberto Villoldo, illustrates shamanism as one way that ancient people drew wisdom and healing from nature. He writes that this darkness is an opportunity to work on our inner transformation.

The following is from Villoldos’ email newsletter put out by his Four Winds Society:

“Medicine men and women for thousands of years have celebrated the solstice as a time of moving from the dark to the light and acknowledging the continuity of nature’s cycles.  For indigenous cultures the sun was the source of life, and the center of spiritual awareness. For the shaman this a heightened time of meditation and reflection, a time for inner work and transformation.

…the time of the dark…a time to explore not only what might be stopping you but as a time to plant the seeds you want to grow for the coming year.”

Now you may not be a shaman or a medicine man or women, but as you probably know, throughout the world there are many celebrations at this time of the year because humans recognize that our existence depends on the light of the sun.

We celebrate light, for example, with brightly colored lights hung on our houses and trees, and with holiday candles. We gather to ward off the cold and the darkness and embrace the warmth of loved ones.

The most popular celebration is Christmas, celebrating the birth of Christ, believed by Christians to be the Light of the World, and as God’s son, bringing the world from darkness to light.

Jews celebrate Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, and the Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day on December 8th, the day the Buddha received enlightenment. Diwali is the Hindu Festival of Lights celebrating the victory of good over evil. The list of winter festivals goes on and on.

Light is the universal symbol for the light of spiritual awareness.  To me, spiritual awareness is acknowledging and connecting with that part of us which is infinite, and all knowing. (You might call it God, Infinite Intelligence, Higher Consciousness, whatever your belief system…)

As a hypnotherapist  involved in transformational work, my goal is to help people increase their awareness on all levels, and to shine this light of awareness on those dark, shadow parts that we all have that hold all of us back from realizing our full potential as creative beings.

A popular word this time of year is peace. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, can you take time to connect with the peace that lies deep within you? Connecting with that quiet place within will give you the space to plant the seeds of your own transformation. You might do this through quiet reflection, meditation or prayer. Take some time to yourself to think about your life, and how you want it to be.

Don’t wait until the New Year to plant those seeds. Begin now to write down goals, dreams and visions of what you want to create for the coming year: happiness, health, strength, confidence, abundance. Think about what’s working for you, and what needs to be released that may be holding you back.

Alberto Villoldo said something very intriguing in his book. He believes that we are seeing a new species of human born now on the earth which he refers to as Homo luminous. “Human of light”.

If this is true, (and I would like to believe that it is, regardless of how farfetched it sounds) then we are continuing to evolve as human beings. Let us walk courageously through this dark time, as well as through our own darkness, as we celebrate the light within, in all of our many different ways.

The evolution of our human family need not wait for generations, but can happen now, starting with you.

The darkness at this time teaches us what the trees already know: darkness is only a season, and the light always finds its way back.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Listen to Ted in Your Head on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. Or,  watch it on YouTube

Wishing you a warm and peaceful holiday season,

Ted

p.s. If you need help finding your way back to your own light, reach out for a complimentary phone consultation at https://tedmoreno.com/contact-us/

Good Grief! Do You Have the Holiday Blues?- Episode 493

/by


I played Charlie Brown in my grade school production of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The next year, I was the Grinch that Stole Christmas. Back then, I was a lot like both of those characters: melancholy, cynical, and not enjoying the holidays.

Do you get the holiday blues? Check out this episode where I share how I let them go one Christmas under a clear blue desert sky.

 

 

 

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

When I was in 6th grade I was chosen to play Charlie Brown in my school’s production of  “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.  Unless you are from another planet, then you know that Charlie Brown is the lovable loser of the famous comic strip “Peanuts”. In a Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown finds himself depressed with the approach of Christmas despite all the decorations, cards and presents.

As fate would have it, I was chosen in the 7th grade to play the Grinch in our school’s production of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” Unless you’ve been living in a cave all your life, you may be familiar with the story of the Grinch, a bitter, cave dwelling creature who lives on the top of Mt. Crumpit and who looks down on the residents of Whoville with distaste and envy as they prepare for Christmas.

I don’t know whether it was my incredible ability to transform myself into any character (probably not) or my own somewhat cynical nature even as a kid (probably), but my experience in the past with the holidays has been like those two characters. I’d either get annoyed by the commercialization of the season or I’d look with disdain at those that started to scurry around right after Thanksgiving, gathering gifts and decorations like squirrels gathering nuts. In other words, I would pretty much get a case of the Holiday Blues each winter.

Like Charlie Brown, I’d muddle through each season with melancholy and/or aggravation, or like the Grinch, I’d simply refuse to participate. Maybe I thought I would be able to steal Christmas and stop it from coming by staying perched on my mountain of cynicism. But come it did. Either way, I simply did not enjoy the holidays or look forward to them coming.

There really wasn’t anything in my life to be depressed about. I almost always managed to get home to be with my parents and 7 siblings, never had anything tragic happen during the holidays, and always had enough money to buy some token gifts. I also knew many people who could not say the same.

It was in the last few days of the 90s, December 25th, 1999, that I found myself sitting  in the Saguaro National Park outside Tucson, Arizona.  It was one of those few years that I didn’t make it back to LA. I had hiked into the desert on that clear, sunny morning to sit in the warm sun and just be by myself. At first, it felt strange that I wasn’t hanging out with some friends, or maybe even in church. But you know what? Sitting there in that magnificent desert felt more peaceful to me than any church.

I realized then that I had a choice, that I could make the holidays mean whatever I wanted them to mean, or ignore them completely if I chose. I also realized that if I wanted to feel cynical or depressed, well, that was my choice as well. The reality was that I was indeed very fortunate to be sitting there in that desert in the first place, that I had someone to call if I wanted to, and that I really did have nothing to complain about. I made the decision then and there to quit playing the Holiday Blues and find a new tune.

Perhaps you are out of work. Maybe you’ve lost someone dear to you at this time of the year. Perhaps you are suffering from other challenges, either emotional, physical or financial. If so, try to realize that there are many different ways you can play it, if the song you are hearing is doing nothing for you.

You can create your own meaning about this time of year, one that resonates with you.  You can create your own traditions. Or not. It’s your life, so play your own music and try to resonate with what you hear deep down inside. Get some alone time and get yourself some peace. Or, if being alone is too hard, find someone you trust and talk about what you are feeling.

You know what I do sometimes?  If I’m down during the holidays, I do the Snoopy Dance!
You can click on this link and dance the Snoopy Dance, if nothing else.

“The holiest of all holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart; the secret anniversaries of the heart”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Listen to Ted in Your Head on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. Or,  watch it on YouTube

Need some help navigating the season?  Request a complimentary consultation and schedule your first session
https://tedmoreno.com/contact-us/

Interview with Amir Nowrouz, Licensed Acupuncturist- Episode 492

/by

Have you ever had acupuncture? I had my first acupuncture treatment in high school. I was so impressed with the results that I’ve been getting acupuncture ever since.

That’s why I was so excited to have Amir Nowrouz as my guest on the Ted in Your Head podcast.

Amir is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Certified Massage Therapist.

In this interview we discuss how acupuncture works, how it can help you, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the use of herbs for health and wellbeing.

I am a client of Amir so I can tell you that he is really good at what he does.

If you have ever been curious about acupuncture, check out this interesting episode!

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

 

Learn more about Amir and Acupuncture >

https://rose-acupuncture.com/about

To schedule an appointment with Amir:

https://rose-acupuncture.com/

Amir’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/amir.lac.cmt/

 

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

To reach out to me, Ted Moreno: https://tedmoreno.com/contact

P.S. Listen to Ted in Your Head on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. Or,  watch it on YouTube

My 25-Year-Old List of Things to Do When You’re Struggling – Episode 491

/by


In the 90’s, while I was going through a very difficult time, someone shared with me a list of things I could do to make things better. That list was so helpful to me I’ve kept it for over 25 years. In this episode I’m sharing it with you. It might be helpful if you’re going through a hard time. It might be helpful if you’re not. Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

It was cloudy and the ground was wet when I woke up this morning. The forecast is for rainy weather.

I felt lazy. I didn’t feel like going on my regular morning walk. Usually, I’m highly motivated because I love to walk around Puddingstone Lake.

I stuck my hand out the back door. No rain. The Universe was telling me to put on my walking shoes. So, I did.

My walk was wonderful and while I was walking, I thought about my podcast because today (Friday) is the day I record it.

I didn’t feel like doing that either.

It was a long, stressful week. I wanted a day off.

The other side of my brain started harassing me. “Do it!”

Finally, I said, “I’m gonna let the Universe decide for me.”

At the end of my walk, a gentle rain started falling.

I love walking in the rain. As long as it’s not pouring, it’s one of my favorite things to do.

I felt very calm and peaceful and happy. I was grateful that the Universe had encouraged me to walk and then rewarded me with the opportunity to walk in the rain.

Just then, I remembered a small piece of paper that I’ve had for 25 years. It’s a list of things to do when you are struggling. A friend had given me this list over the phone in 1990 when I was going through a very difficult time.

So, the Universe told me to do a podcast to share this list with you. Here it is:

My 25-Year-Old List of Things to Do When You’re Struggling 

  1. Pet a cat or dog. They like it and it’s good for you.
  2. Play with a child. They need to play and so do you.
  3. Enjoy a nap. Or just lay down with your eyes closed for a few minutes and breathe.
  4. Make hot tea. Herbal won’t wire you. Just holding it feels good and soothing.
  5. Take a walk with a friend or just take a walk. Get out of your head and get soothed by the natural world.
  6. Ask for a hug. Everyone needs one. More often than you think.
  7. Do something not useful but fun. Take a drive. Watch a movie when you should be working. Buy something you wouldn’t normally buy. Go to a museum just to hang out.
  8. Sit by a lake or stream or beach. I did that this morning. Being close to the energy of water is good for the soul.
  9. Work in the garden. Plant a seed. Cultivate a tree. Get your hands in the dirt. Keep something alive and watch it grow.
  10. It’s a 5000-year-old practice for mental peace, health and wisdom.
  11. Listen to your favorite music. Put it on, not as background but as the center of your attention.
  12. Do something you don’t do often that makes you happy. I buy toaster waffles.
  13. Read a novel. Put some time and effort into completing an important book. If you’re not into the reading thing, do an audiobook.
  14. Watch a sunset. Or a sunrise. See the world turn in real time.
  15. Sit with T Bear or your favorite stuffed animal. Even if you’re a dude. If you’re struggling, there’s no shame.
  16. Ask someone to nurture you. Ask for advice, or just for someone to listen. Ask for encouragement or validation. Or just ask to hang with someone that you know likes you.

Things have a tendency to get stressful as we approach the holidays. Print this out and hang onto it. If you’re struggling or even if you’re not, pick one of these and make it a daily habit. Share it with someone else who you think needs it.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Hypnotherapy can help you deal with your struggles and challenges.
Request a complimentary consultation to get more information and schedule your first session.

Take care of yourself for you as well as for the rest of us,

Ted

P.S. Listen to Ted in Your Head on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. Or,  watch it on YouTube

What Do You Know About Menopause? Interview with Sandra Villafan –  Episode 490

/by

According to the National Institutes for Health, most women are completely uninformed or only had some knowledge of the menopause before the age of 40.

Yet, this is a stage of life that impacts both women and the men in their lives. One study found that 73% of women blame menopause for their marriage breakdown.

In this episode, I have an informative, uninhibited and honest discussion about this life transition with Sandra Villafan, a Professional Certified Coach. Sandra is finishing her Master’s in Public Health and is writing her thesis on the subject of menopause.

This is a must-listen for any women who feel that they are on the journey of perimenopause/menopause and want to know more.

This should also be listened to by the men in their lives. Please share this episode with those you feel may benefit from this information.

Listen to this podcast episode now:

In this episode I interview Sandra Villafan, a Professional Certified Coach, and have frank and honest discussion about the topic of menopause and perimenopause.

Sandra is getting her Master’s degree in Public Health and is writing her thesis on this topic.

Sandra provides clear and illuminating answers to questions such as:

  • What is menopause? What is perimenopause. What is the difference?
  • Why is menopause an important life marker for women?
  • How can a women tell if she is in menopause/perimenopause?
  • Why is it important for men to know about menopause?
  • Do men go through something similar?
  • What can women do to experience this transition with greater comfort and insight?

You can also listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or Soundcloud.

Sandra Villafan has thrived in a fulfilling career spanning the realms of higher education and non-profit work. She’s driven by a mission to empower individuals to unearth their inner strengths and discover their own answers. With expertise as a life facilitator, her approach involves delving into crucial exploration questions and maintaining a curious mindset when engaging with her clients.

Sandra holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and is a graduate of UC Davis’s Coaching program. She brings a deep understanding of human behavior and specialized coaching methods to empower her clients. Sandra has a professional certification by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) which underscores her dedication to professional excellence and expertise in coaching. In her personal pursuits, Sandra’s passion extends to advocating for foster youth and prioritizing support for underrepresented groups.

You can get in touch with Sandra at her website https://ventwithpurpose.com which will go live on November 14th, 2025.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Hypnotherapy can help you navigate life’s transitions. Request a complimentary consultation to get more information and
Schedule Your First Session.

I would really like to hear what you think about this interview. You can leave a comment below.

Ted

Boo! Now THIS is Really Scary! – Episode 489

/by

Scary witches, goblins, ghosts and ghouls! It’s Halloween time!

But you know what’s really scary? CHANGE!

Not only that, but it can be hard because there is always a dark side of change and that’s the scary part. Change is scary because a large part of our mind does not want to change.

In this episode, I talk about the meaning of Halloween and uses the dark part of the year as a metaphor for the scary part of change. Listen to this episode so that you can take off that mask you’ve been wearing for so long and let everyone see the true vision of who you can be.

 

Listen to this podcast episode now:

  

 

Listen, like, share, or review!

Are you going to dress up for Halloween? What are you going to be for Halloween? Ever wonder why we wear masks on Halloween? Why we dress up and disguise ourselves as ghosts, witches and monsters? (To see me wearing a really creepy mask, watch this on YouTube)

The modern holiday of Halloween has its roots in both the Celtic celebration of Samhain and the Christian holiday of All Saints Day. Samhain (“the end of summer”) celebrated the end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half”.

The name Halloween comes from All Hollows Even, meaning the night before All Hallows (Saints) Day.

The ancient Celts believed that the veil between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing both harmful and harmless spirits to enter into the realm of the living. Good spirits of deceased loved ones were invited in while harmful spirits were scared off by wearing costumes and masks.

You know what’s really scary? CHANGE. As a hypnotherapist I help people change, and change is not easy. What’s scary is the “dark side of change”. What is the dark side of change?  It’s leaving what is known and comfortable for something unknown and uncomfortable.

Our minds are powerfully drawn to the familiar and comfortable (habits of thinking and behaving), even if we’re aware that they no longer working for us. Our current way of being is rooted in our deeply held beliefs. For change to occur, new beliefs must be formed which create new habits, new behaviors and new results. A new spirit, if you will.

Ancient traditions such as Halloween help us understand the nature of change. To begin the process of transforming ourselves, we must remove the mask of who we feel we are and have always been, and try on a new mask (or identity) that’s more in line with our vision of who we want to be.

The new mask will be uncomfortable and foreign, but the wearing of it scares off the dark side of change, or the spirit of the old behavior, which can hurt us by holding us back from our true power, our “good (god) spirit”. When we don our new identity, we invite that helpful spirit in.

There will be conflict as we try to get comfortable with the new idea of who we are. We will be tempted to put the old mask back on, and at times, we will. Yet, we must continue to wear the new self-perception, the new vision, getting comfortable with it and making it a part of our life. We must remain diligent to not allow the old spirit back into our thinking and behavior.

Quite often, while you are letting go of the old behavior and adopting the new, we’ll have to deal with the darker half, or shadow side of ourselves , which will attempt to sabotage our best efforts.

You’ll be challenged by the dark side of change, and you’ll be tested. You’ll think it’s too hard and want to give up. Just ask anyone who’s tried to quit smoking or lose a significant amount of weight. They’ll tell you, “It’s like there’s two parts of me, one that wants health and the other that wants to destroy me.”

The best way to scare off those nasty spirits is to be enthusiastic. (enthusiasm: en theos, or “the god within”) We enthusiastically keep pretending and affirming who we want to be, in our language, in our thoughts and most importantly, in our behavior. We must continue to hold on to our highest value, or the highest vision of who we want to be.

You want to come to believe in, and hold a vision of, a life that inspires you (inspire: “the spirit within”), so that you can ward of the ghosts of your past and triumph over the dark side of change. 

It’s interesting that All Saint’s Day was originally celebrated on May 13th, in the spring. This date coincided with the ancient feast of Lemuria, where the harmful spirits of the darker half of the year are appeased and exorcised.

As you move into the darker half of the year, take time for introspection. Go deep into the dark places of self-knowledge and acknowledge and accept the masks that need to be discarded. Can you keep their negative influence away with your new face? Can you scare off the dark side of change with powerful trust and belief in a new way of being?

All traditions have their origins in human experience. Our desire to release the old and welcome the new is in accordance with the seasons of life, that ongoing cycle of birth, growth, death and reinvention.

In my practice, I often point to the breath as an example of releasing the old and bringing in the new.

Here is a quote from Amelia Barr, who was an English novelist and teacher in the early 20th century.

“All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves.”

One of my most popular recent podcasts was When Calm Waters Get Rough: Navigating Life Transitions – Episode 484.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Changes are happening so quickly these days. If you’re struggling with transition and changes that are out of your control or, if there are changes that you want to make but are having a hard time with the dark side of change, request a complimentary phone consultation by going to https://tedmoreno.com/contact-us/. You can also DM me on Instagram @tedamoreno. I’ll get back to you so that we can talk and see if work together is the way forward for you.

Thank you for listening. Get outside and see if you can appreciate the beauty of this time of year.

We’ll talk soon,

Ted

p.s. Listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com. You can also watch this podcast on YouTube.

3 Steps to Tap into The Power of Extreme Gratitude – Episode 488

/by

Extreme gratitude is being grateful for everything you can possibly be grateful for.

Gratitude is important because it enhances mental and physical well-being. Gratitude makes relationships better. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook on life. Gratitude can improve mental health by reducing stress and increasing happiness. Gratitude can improve physical health through better sleep and a stronger immune system. 

Imagine what Extreme Gratitude can do for you!

In this episode, Ted shares three simple and powerful steps to begin to have all the benefits of extreme gratitude. A life of gratitude is only one thought away.

 

 

Listen, like, share, or review!

Listen to this podcast episode now:

The Story:

This morning, I went for a walk around the lake like I try to do every morning.

We’ve had rain and cold recently but today was a beautiful day. After, I went to the market and when I went to pay, I realized that I didn’t have my wallet.

I immediately panicked. I had lost my wallet once before while I was walking in the park around the lake. I had put my wallet in the back pocket of the athletic joggers that I had been wearing. I had put my phone in the same back pocket. I pulled out my phone while I was walking, and unbeknownst to me, the wallet came out with it.

I drove back to the park to retrace my steps. I called the park headquarters and a very nice lady offered to send a maintenance person to go see if they could find it. I went to where I thought I had lost it, but it wasn’t there. I was upset with myself.

It occurred to me that perhaps I had left it at home or dropped it. I called my wife and sure enough, my wallet was there. It had fallen out of the little back pocket of the joggers that I was wearing before I left to go walking.

I was overcome with gratitude. Losing a wallet is a huge inconvenience, not to mention the fear that someone with nefarious motives might find it. The last time I lost it though, someone turned it in to the park headquarters.

I started walking back to where I parked my car. The day was warm and beautiful. Just then the nice lady from the park called me to ask where specifically I had been walking. I told her I had found my wallet. I also expressed to her how grateful I was for her concern and time and effort. I also told her how much I loved my park with the lake. She said, “We love it too and we are all grateful that we work here.”

Even though I had a bit of a panic, I was grateful that the Universe gave me an obvious poke to tell me to make sure that I put my wallet where it would not fall out.

Extreme Gratitude

The American Psychological Association defines gratitude as a sense of happiness and thankfulness in response to a fortunate happenstance or tangible gift.

I would suggest that extreme gratitude is being grateful for everything you can possibly be grateful for.

  • Gratitude is important because it enhances mental and physical well-being, Gratitude makes relationships better. Gratitude promotes a more positive outlook on life.
  • Gratitude can improve mental health by reducing stress and increasing happiness
  • Gratitude can improve physical health through better sleep and a stronger immune system.
  • Gratitude fosters empathy for others, strengthens bonds, and encourages behaviors such as helping others.

In addition, the power of extreme gratitude lies in its ability to reshape your brain and improve your overall well-being by boosting happiness, strengthening relationships and not only enhancing but improving mental and physical health. It does this by increasing the release of “feel-good” neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, helping regulate stress, and shifting your focus from what you lack to what you have.

If there is one thing I tell my clients over and over again, it to shift focus from what you don’t want to what you DO want and what good stuff you have now.

Practicing gratitude is a choice, and while it may not erase negative emotions, it provides a perspective to cope with difficult times and build resilience.

How do we tap into the power of extreme gratitude?

  1. Take responsibility for your ability to feel grateful now. Realize that nothing outside of you needs to change or be different for you to feel grateful.

There is a great article on PositivePsychology.com titled “What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?”

According to the article:

“The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. First comes the acknowledgment of goodness in one’s life. In a state of gratitude, we say yes to life. We affirm that, all in all, life is good and has elements that make it worth living. The acknowledgment that we have received something gratifies us, both by its presence and by the effort the giver put into choosing it.

Second, gratitude is recognizing that sources of this goodness lie outside the self. One can be grateful to our creator, other people, animals, and the world, but not to oneself. At this stage, we recognize the goodness in our lives and who to thank for it.

The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. Through this process, we recognize the fortune of everything that improves our lives and ourselves”

A paper published in 2016 asserts that:

“As expectations have changed, gratitude has diminished in western society. Possessions and health are expectations for many individuals rather than considered personal ‘blessings’ that are appreciated. “Gratitude has, for many, been replaced by disappointment, anger, and resentment when these expected ‘blessings’ either do not appear or they disappear” (Passmore & Oades, 2016, p. 43).

  1. Affirm gratitude daily by being mindful of and looking for the blessings in your life.

Get out of your head and stop thinking about what’s going wrong or what you don’t have and look for the good stuff that surrounds you. Notice objects, shapes, colors, designs. Be aware of how things reflect light, how they are constructed, how things wear down. Notice without judgment, only with perception.

God is in the details. Take time to look closely and deeply into things. Feel the surface of something and get present to the textures and what that does for you (or not). Really look into peoples’ faces; notice eyes, hair, and how they use their hands.

Take time for things. We have been hypnotized into believing we should cram as much as we can into each day. Productivity to achieve goals is a worthy aspiration, but taking on too much and running around all the time becomes a grind. Do less better so that you can enjoy life.

For me, getting out into nature is an essential way to cultivate extreme gratitude.

  1. Express gratitude every chance you get.

As often as you can, tell someone “I appreciate you.” Text someone. Send a card, send a letter, send an email. You’re creating a powerful vibration here, an energy that is powerful and impactful.

When something goes right in your life, say thank you.

When something goes wrong, say “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to figure this out.” I was grateful for the scare of possibly losing my wallet because it taught me something.

So much of living from gratitude comes from letting go of our ideas of how the world should be, ought to be, could be or how we would like it to be.

We should try to make the world a better place in whatever way we can. We should be concerned during those times when world is not a good place. But to avoid becoming cynical, resigned, frightened and shut down, we also need to detach and affirm that the world is also a beautiful place and that most people are good. Try to do this regularly for just a short period of time. The idea is to get to the point where you can say truthfully “It’s all good.” This takes practice. Plant the seeds of extreme gratitude and cultivate them daily. Gratitude is a mindset we can develop. If we work at it, gratitude becomes a trait of our being.

Here is a quote by Meister Eckhart, a German theologian, mystic and philosopher who lived in the 13th century:

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you, that would be enough.”

Did you know that you can watch this podcast on YouTube?

Or listen to this podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Soundcloud or TedinYourHead.com.?

Is an attitude of Gratitude a habit you want to cultivate? Tired of being cynical and resigned? Request a complimentary consultation to talk with Ted. Click on  https://Tedmoreno.com/contact.

Ted will get back to you within 48 hours to discuss your challenges, answer your questions  and schedule your first hypnotherapy session.

Thank you for listening and may you always be present to the blessing that you have been given so that you are able to live in extreme and powerful gratitude.

I’m grateful to you.

Ted

 

The Most Powerful Belief: I Belong Here! – Episode 487

/by

Has it been pointed out to you that you apologize too much? Do you feel that asking for what you need or want is an imposition on others? Do you feel that you need to justify your existence?

It’s possible to find ourselves with the feeling that we need to apologize for who we are because we feel bad about ourselves. It’s possible for some people to get to the point where they feel they need to apologize just for being alive. And that’s a sad state of affairs.

In this powerful episode, Ted discusses how to cultivate the most powerful belief: I Belong Here. It’s good that I’m alive. It’s ok that I’m not perfect.  It’s ok that I make mistakes. I DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING HUMAN.

Each of us has been given the gift of life and all that comes with living. Yet so often, we fail to see the beauty within us and within out us. Need a shot of inspiration? Check out this awesome episode of the Ted in Your Head Podcast.

Listen, like, share, or review!

Listen to this podcast episode now:

Let me start with a story that goes back to when I was 7 years old.

I was in church with my dad.

Everything was fine until my nose started to run. I had allergies as a kid, nothing serious, so I always carried a clump of Kleenex with me. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my Kleenex clump, and wiped my nose but it kept running.

Soon the clump of Kleenex was a snotty mess, so I secretly threw it on the floor of the church and immediately felt like a sinner for desecrating the Lord’s house with my snotty tissue. And my nose kept running.

If I had had a long sleeved shirt I would’ve wiped it on my sleeve, but I had a short sleeved shirt. I tried wiping my nose on my bare skin on the back of my hand but that was really gross, and I started to feel miserable because my nose kept running.

What I started doing was squeezing all the snot from my nose into my hand and wiping it underneath my pant leg. Soon my pant leg was wet and snotty, and I almost started crying when my dad noticed my discomfort and asked me “What’s going on?”

I told him with tears in my eyes “Sorry Dad, I’m so sorry my nose keeps running and I don’t know what to do!”

He reached into his back pocket and gave me his handkerchief which solved the problem. After church, he asked “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I think I said that I didn’t want to bother him. But looking back, the truth is that I didn’t feel I was allowed to ask for what I needed, that I needed didn’t matter. The church was more important, not talking was more important, not bothering my dad was more important than my discomfort. He had 8 kids and he seemed like he was bothered a lot.

That’s how I felt as a kid.

 Maybe your childhood was different, but I know I’m not the only one that felt this way as a kid.  I had and still have decent hardworking parents and I’m grateful.  But the messages I got as a kid from the world around me went something like this:

  • Who do you think you are? You’re not special.
  • Don’t call attention to yourself, don’t toot your own horn
  • Stay in your place.
  • Follow the rules
  • Don’t be a bother
  • Don’t take more than your share
  • You only get what you deserve.
  • Don’t rock the boat.

I think if you look for the hidden meaning behind these messages, I think it comes down to two very disempowering ideas: what you think and say doesn’t matter and what you want and need doesn’t matter and by extension: You don’t matter. This is very unconscious. Nobody actually tells you that, but that’s the message. We don’t think these things consciously either. But it’s kind of like a computer virus, a mind virus, operating in the background. Programming is a good name for it.

So, as we grow up, and try to make our way in the world. We encounter challenges, we make mistakes, we fail to do what we set out to do and then we might even start to reinforce these negative messages with our own negative self-talk. Even as adults we have people reinforcing these things. Family members, authority figures, bosses, religion: you are bad, you are a sinner. And that starts to feed these mind viruses and they grow. It’s possible to find ourselves with the feeling that we need to apologize for who we are because we feel bad about ourselves. It’s possible for some people to get to the point where they feel they need to apologize just for being alive. And that’s a sad state of affairs. Some people overcompensate by being bullies or being demanding or obnoxious and that’s sad too.

These are the messages many of us receive, and I know that for a fact after 23 years as a hypnotherapist working with thousands of clients. There’s only one word to describe these kinds of negative messages we get from the world. It’s bullshit.

Speaking of a sad state of affairs, For most of my life, I believed I was a fuckup.

Sorry, but that’s the word I used about myself. I believed I would screw it up. Whatever it was: job, relationship, life, whatever. I didn’t want to get married, have kids, buy a house or start a business. Why, so I could screw it up? So, I would sabotage myself with stuff like perfectionism. “If I can’t do it perfectly, I won’t do it at all.” That’s a very sneaky form of self-sabotage, which is something I struggled with a lot when I was young.

And so consequently, I was always asking myself one terrible question. “What’s wrong with me?”

As a hypnotherapist, some of my clients tell me that they get on social media and they say “Oh look, they’ve got a beautiful house, a beautiful car. Look what they’re doing, wonderful vacations, nice restaurants.”  It’s easy for them to think, “How come I’m not doing that? How come I don’t have that? What the hell is wrong with me?”

Now, we’re not talking about you of course… But you might know someone that can relate.

The only thing wrong with most people is that someone told them some bullshit and they believed it.

Mark Twain said: “The trouble with most of us is that we know too much that ain’t so.”

Where we are children we believe what we are told. From the time we’re born until 8 or 9 years old we take in everything as absolute truth. When people come to my hypnotherapy office because they don’t feel good about themselves, or they feel less than, I tell them “Hey, It’s the programming. Just the programming. The mind viruses you caught from someone else. It’s not your fault. It’s not who you are, it’s just how you are thinking and what you believe, and the good news is that you can change your thinking and what you believe.”

And that’s what I want to talk about today. How to claim our rightful place in this world by changing what we believe. And guess what? You don’t need to do anything or accomplish anything or be anybody to believe that you are ok. It’s a decision you make. Because your value, your worth, doesn’t have to depend on anything out there, it comes from within.

The first step is to realize just how much BS there is out there. There is a lot. All the socialization that tells you that you’re nothing unless you have this or are doing this or making this. It’s hard to find the truth.

Let’s look for what’s true, shall we? Here’s the interesting thing about truth. It’s self-evident; we should be able to see it for ourselves. We shouldn’t have to take anybody else’s word about what is true.

I can’t speak for you, but what is evidently true for me, is that I exist. I am. What that means is that I’m having an experience. Right now. That’s the only thing I can say for sure. I have an awareness that I am having an experience that I call life. This awareness is a fundamental quality of our being by the way. My awareness right now, in this moment, is that life is pretty good.

Look around you. Are you reading this on a computer in a comfortable house?  I’m recording writing this on a computer in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. What are the chances of that? I don’t know but what I can tell you is that right now, I feel lucky to be here.

What did I do to deserve this? The answer is it doesn’t matter because deserves has got nothing to do with it. The idea that you only get what you deserve is just more bullshit. Plenty of people have what they don’t deserve and plenty of others never get what they do deserve. Would you agree? Let’s remove from “deserves” from the equation.

Because here’s the thing. Somehow, someway, I came into existence. I didn’t ask to be born but here I am. I’ve been given life and I consider that a gift.

If you can say to yourself, I exist or I am, then you’ve been given that gift too. And far as I know none of us did anything to deserve it. But here we are.

And look what you get as part of the deal. For most of us, eyes to see. A mouth to taste. A nose to smell. Ears to hear. A heart to feel. A brain to think.

Just by virtue of being born, you get the sun. The moon, the stars, the sea. You get mountains, trees, rivers, lakes. Flowers, clouds, rain, snow. All the beauty of the world is yours should you choose to enjoy it. You were gifted with 4000 years of music, 3000 years of poetry, literature.  50, 000 years of art. It’s yours. You inherited it.

You get to love, be loved and have your heart broken. You get to succeed and fail. You get to have challenges. If you didn’t have challenges you would invent some, I can assure you of that.  You get to be young and grow old if you’re lucky. You get to dream and realize your dreams. Or not.

All this just for being born. Hell of a deal. The universe or God or whatever must love you because it has seen fit to have you here now.

Sometime in the 90’s I was sitting on a mountain looking out over a beautiful valley in the Catalina Mountains of Tucson Arizona. They call these mountains sky islands because you can drive from the desert and in 30 minutes be in lush pine forests.

A voice spoke to me. It might’ve been the voice of God or nature or those mushrooms I ate. But the voice said something profound:

“You’re ok Ted. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just figuring it out like everybody else. You’re only human, and that’s ok. It’s good that you’re here. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back.”

I’d never heard that before in that way, in way that was so validating. It took a while for me to completely get that, but I did, and that shift of perspective changed my life and has brought me here today to share that message with you.

Ever seen the movie Gone with the Wind? There’s a great scene. Scarlett O Hara is the protagonist. She grew up on her family’s plantation vain, self-centered, spoiled by wealthy parents. The civil war comes and sweeps away her wealthy lifestyle. She finds herself destitute and starving. She goes out to the fields to find something to eat but the only thing she can pull out of the ground is a withered carrot. She tried to eat it but gags. She falls to the ground miserable and crying. But then she stands up. She raises her fist to the sky and in a moment of desperation but also of empowerment, she says “As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again!”

Have you ever made a declaration like that? Have you ever been down on you knees or with your back against the wall and you said, “I don’t care what it takes or what I have to do, I’m going to make this happen.” I’ve been there.

That’s what we need to do.

If anything I said resonated with you today, then what you want to do is make a powerful declaration by calling on the powers that be and saying out loud or in the silence of your mind, “As the Universe/God is my witness, I belong here. It’s good that I’m here. Even if I’ve screwed up. Even if I’ve made mistakes. Even if I don’t have that thing that other people have or even if I’m not doing that amazing thing they’re doing.   Even if I’ve done things I’m not proud of even if I fuck it up, I’m doing my best, it’s ok that I’m here and it’s good that I’m here.”

I would suggest to you that this is the most powerful perspective that you will ever adopt. This is the most powerful thing to believe.

Reject any message you ever got from others or yourself that said that you are not good enough or less than or there’s something wrong with you. You are whole and complete right here, right now. You are unique and special and inherently awesome. This is your home. This is your life. Life is up and then it’s down, that’s life. It’s hard sometimes but that doesn’t mean that you suck.

Refuse to apologize for being alive, for being here now. Make a commitment to being unapologetically you. Embrace that fact that you are here now and that that is a good thing if for no other reason than because you say so.   Believe you are here for a reason. Is that true? It doesn’t matter, it’s a good belief to have. It’s a good place to stand. Here’s a quote by Anonymous:

“The two most important days of your life is the day you were born and the day you find out why.”

Stake your claim to all the joy and happiness and wonder and awe you can get your hands on. Be willing to receive what you didn’t earn or don’t deserve but also be willing to do something to attract what you want into your life. You have a right to ask for what you want and what you need and what you want and need is important. Life itself is a gift given to you for reasons we don’t understand, and we don’t have to.

Here’s another quote for you “We have a responsibility to love ourselves. If we don’t, we are contributing to the world’s problems.”

Marianne Williamson said that in her book A Return to Love. Here’s another quote from that book you might’ve heard:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”

Do whatever you can to liberate yourself from fear, from the bad things that happened in the past and from the BS. Do what you can to love and care for yourself. And above all, be grateful.

Want to catch up on previous episodes? Click Here >

Watch Ted in Your Head on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tedamoreno

Are you tired of apologizing for being you? Are you hiding out from life because you don’t feel that you are enough? Is the BS that you were told way back when still holding you back? Hypnotherapy can help. Request a complimentary consultation to talk with Ted about what’s going on and how you can change what’s holding you back. Click on  https://Tedmoreno.com/contact.

Ted will get back to you within 48 hours to discuss your challenges, answer your questions  and schedule your first hypnotherapy session.

The Dangerous Mass Hypnosis of News and Social Media– Episode 486

/by

There is mass hypnosis happening now due to the widespread consumption of social media, the prevalence of social media addiction, and the blurring of lines between social media and news information. The concept of social media hypnosis refers to the trance-like state induced by social media platforms. Just like traditional print and television advertising, this state can be used to bypass conscious thought for marketing, influence and for manipulation. This can often lead to negative outcomes like addiction, anxiety, and depression by engaging the subconscious mind and its negative patterns of worry, fear, anger and even rage.

In this episode, Ted discusses how social media and the inclination of the majority of people in the US to get news from social media is creating mass hypnosis resulting in further division and mental health risks on a nationwide scale. This is an episode you do not want to miss.

Listen, like, share, or review!

Listen to this podcast episode now:

 

I’ve recently gone back to in-person business networking. Before the pandemic, I was a member of a couple of business networking organizations. That all stopped when Covid 19 shut everything down.

Since the pandemic, I haven’t been doing any networking but recently decided to get back into it. I joined a wonderful group and I’m meeting and connecting with other business professionals.

As is the case when I meet new people, the first question they have for me is “What is hypnosis and how does it work?”

If you don’t know, hypnosis is a naturally occurring state we are in daily.

An example would be when you are driving your car, and you miss your turn or offramp because you were “spacing out.”

Another example would be when you go to the cinema to see a movie, and you get so wrapped up in the movie that you forget that you are sitting in a movie theatre.

When you’re in hypnosis in a hypnotherapy session, you are awake, aware, thinking thoughts and very relaxed.

You are also in a highly suggestive state, which means that your subconscious mind is very open to suggestion. Therefore, as a hypnotherapist, based on what you’ve told me, I can create and use suggestions to change your mind in a way that is better for you.

So, getting out among people allows me to share what I do and how it works.

However, there is something else I see happening with people. Considering the recent events of September 2025, namely the assassination of a right-wing political activist, I’ve had a number of people tell me, “I need to get off of social media, I can’t take it anymore! I’m depressed/angry/sad/worried/scared!”

That’s when I realized there is mass hypnosis happening now.

This is a serious problem that we need to be aware of: the dangerous mass hypnosis of news and social media.

The distinction between social media and news information is now very blurred. The BBC reports that more than half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube – overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%).

I recently saw a post on Reddit that asked: “Is social media mass hypnotizing the public?”

They wrote: “I don’t know much about hypnosis, but social media seems like a hypnotist’s dream. Is it plausible that people in control of social media platforms could essentially dictate the beliefs and actions of huge swaths of the public?

The answer is abso-frickin-lutely.

The concept of social media hypnosis refers to the trance-like state induced by social media platforms. Heightened attention, concentration, and suggestibility are characteristics of hypnosis, and this can lead to excessive and unconscious use of social media.

Social media platforms use reward systems to trigger dopamine release, like a slot machine gives back just enough to keep you playing.  This is how addictions are created. There’s an addictive loop that keeps users engaged and returning for more.

This unconscious scrolling combined with  dopamine-releasing reward systems, and the widespread use of social media for news and entertainment,  activate a type of mass hypnosis designed by the platforms themselves to be addictive.

Just like traditional print and television advertising, this state can be used to bypass conscious thought for marketing, influence and for manipulation. This can often lead to negative outcomes like addiction, anxiety, and depression by engaging the subconscious mind and its negative patterns of worry, fear, anger and even rage and depression.

There is an excellent short article at GoldMindHypnotherapy.com written by Katelyn Redwood, a hypnotherapist. She’s also a graduate of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute where I received my training and currently teach. She writes and I quote:

“(But) when the conscious mind gets overwhelmed with too much data at once, the mind can’t keep up the process of organization and cannot differentiate what we’re seeing/feeling from what we otherwise already believe. This means the mind is in a state of hypersuggestibility and we are more likely to accept what we are experiencing in this overloaded state as “true.” This happens in a hypnotherapy session, but in a controlled way with a specific intention.”

She goes on:

“When scrolling through an endless social media feed, there is no way for the conscious mind to process everything you see in a reasonable, logical way. There is simply too much data coming in too fast and the conscious mind becomes overloaded, which means you enter a hypnotic state and therefore are extremely suggestible. If the content you are consuming includes triggering photos, images, or text, you are more likely to absorb it on a subconscious level, which can affect the way you feel and even influence your beliefs and behaviors. This is especially true when the content induces a strong emotion.”

This reminds me of my podcast where I interviewed Rohini Walker to talk about her article “Committing to Digestion in the Information Age.” We discussed the over-consumption of information that has become addictive and normalized.

In a 2020 article published in the scientific Journal Frontiers in Psychiatry titled “Hypnotised by Your Phone? Smartphone Addiction Correlates With Hypnotisability” the authors tested whether there was a relationship between smartphone addiction and hypnotisability: one’s tendency to follow suggestions under hypnosis. Not surprisingly, they found a positive correlation between hypnotisability and smartphone addiction.

The article goes on to state that smartphone use has risen dramatically in the past decade. In the United States, 96% of young adults own a smartphone and half of teenagers report feeling addicted to their phones

In addition, the authors provide the definition of hypnosis by The American Psychological Association as a “state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion”.

The authors of this study propose that hypnosis and heavy smartphone use may share features such as absorption, time distortion, and automaticity.

Absorption refers to the tendency to become immersed in one’s thoughts or experiences (such as forgetting about the movie theatre while watching a film, remember we talked about that?)

Time distortion is when you check phone for the time and realize that an hour has passed and you’re still scrolling.

Automaticity is when cell phone user report feeling a lack of control as they go down the rabbit hole of news and social media.

Are you feeling worried? Concerned? You should be.

On the website 52insights.com, there is a 2020 interview with Tristan Harris.  He is the executive director and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology which is a nonprofit  dedicated to ensuring that the most consequential technologies actually serve humanity. Harris has appeared in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. According to Wikipedia:

“The film features Harris and other former tech employees explaining how the design of social media platforms nurtures addiction to maximize profit and manipulates people’s views, emotions, and behavior.”

In this interview on 52insights.com, Harris states “We’re 10 years into this mass hypnosis.”

What else do you need to know?

Can I give you some advice?

  • Limit your social media consumption. Avoid getting into arguments with people online. It accomplishes nothing and stokes the flames of animosity and division.
  • Notice how you feel when you are exposing yourself to angry, provocative and sensational social media posts and news stories.
  • Get your news and information from outlets that consistently rank high in credibility and are trusted by a wider range of the political spectrum such as The Associated Press, Reuters and BBC news.

In closing, there is much that we should be paying attention to in our country right now. We want to be informed citizenry. We also want to know what we can do to make a difference and that is for each of us to decide.

What we don’t want is to fall prey to the impact of mass hypnosis manipulating us to feel angry, anxious and even further divided than we already are.

Want to catch up on previous episodes?  Click Here >

Watch Ted in Your Head on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tedamoreno

If you need help staying centered and grounded in the face of everything that’s going on, request a complimentary consultation at https://Tedmoreno.com/contact.  Ted will get back to you within 48 hours to discuss your challenges, answer your questions  and schedule your first hypnotherapy session.