I awoke in a tent on a beach on a desert lake on a Sunday morning. Not yet sunrise, there was a silent light, barely interrupted by the notes of moving water. A few stars still floated in a purple sky.
I crawled out, splashed water on my face and put coffee to boil on the camping stove.
I put on a life vest, tucked my ipod into my pocket and my earbuds in my ear, and placed the box with my camera in the red kayak. I got in and shoved off into the still waters of the cove.
I paddled a little ways from the shore, then put up my paddle and drifted. The water was dimpled and translucent like the glass in your bathroom window. In a kayak you sit below the surface of the water, it cradles you and you let it rock you, up and down, back and forth. The high tips of stark mountains far in the distance were lit by fire and a faintish pink colored the surface of the lake.
I’ve been to this cove now, what, 9 or 10 times? We always camp at this cove, it’s like home now. On the beach, three tents, two still occupied.
My ipod sang:
I come back here sometimes
Angels fall fireflies ascend out
Beyond the aching skyline
Reckless distances erupt in intoxication
I drank heavily what was before me and something shifted. I pulled out my camera and took a few shots. Then I put it away and started taking pictures with my mind. I was under the influence of immense gratitude.
Ah gimme gimme good water,
Ah gimme gimme gimme good water
It was good water. I was given good water.
I realized then that I was being given so much more and this realization shook me like a wave. I was being given all of creation, in all it’s magnificence and glory. I was being given a life by life itself and life poured over me and into my eyes, into my ears and settled into my arms.
And in that moment, it was enough. It was all I needed or even wanted. I felt as if I had been given a gift so precious and sweet, that nothing else mattered. I had that moment, it was mine and it was enough just to be there. (Life: “Moreno?” Moreno: “Here!”) In fact, it was so much more than enough; it was all I could ever ask for.
Tears came to my eyes, I must admit to you now. I was held by water, sky and mountains and they spoke to me and said “It’s ok, son.” I was them, and they were me, and it was so very ok. It was a transcendence, a showering of grace. I went looking one morning and I found it, by God, in that quiet speck of infinity.
There once was a note pure and easy
Playing so free like a breath rippling by
I knew then. I got it. I became fully and totally present to my wonderful, beautiful, miraculous life. It didn’t matter how much money I had or didn’t have, how much time I had or didn’t have, how much pain and happiness I’ve had or didn’t have. In that brilliant, holy moment, I did not care because I was in love with f**king everything.
I’m glad I’m alive am I
I’m glad I’m alive
I’m glad I’m alive
I’m glad I’m alive am I
Can you see it now? Can you look out the window and see it? Can you look in the face of the person in the cubicle next to you and see it? Can you see it in the veins on the back of your hand or can you feel it by putting your hands on your face or heart? Can you feel it when you think of the first time your rode a bike or ran through a sprinkler on a summers day, gardenias blooming madly? Can you affirm it when your crusty eyes open and the first light of a new day kisses your brain? It’s there, it’s always there, you always have it, the profound and unfathomable beauty and mystery of your walk on this wonderful earth in this beautiful place at this miraculous time.
You don’t need to do anything or go anywhere or buy anything or be anybody. Everyday it’s gifted to you until it’s not. You don’t have to climb for it, dig for it, fight for it or drift to it. Just look for it, here, now. I wish I could give it to you but you just have to look for it.
But the only thing I have to give
To make you smile, to win you with
Are all the mornings still to live
All the mornings still to live.
To listen to a podcast of this blog, go to my podcast TedInYourHead Episode #81
Being Grateful for the Things that Went Wrong
/18 Comments/in Holiday, Motivation/Inspiration, Personal Development, Self Esteem, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoAs we approach Thanksgiving, much will be written this week about gratitude, how to give thanks, counting blessings, how not to stuff yourself like a tick, etc.
I’d like to suggest being grateful for things in your life that went wrong. Things that didn’t go according to plan.
Now before I go any further let me say that, sometimes when stuff goes wrong, some really bad things can happen. It would be hard to be grateful for losing someone you love in a sudden terrible accident.
Still, many people that I speak with who have lost a loved one, often say that it was a wake up call for them; they realized that they were not being grateful by taking their lives for granted and resolved to live with more passion and love.
Recently, I was watching 127 Hours, the movie about Aron Ralston, the guy who survived a hiking accident by amputating his arm which was stuck under a boulder. Seems being grateful that would be really hard to do. Still, he gave a speech (he’s paid up to $37,ooo for speeches) “about how he did not lose a hand, but gained his life back.”
I had really bad back problems as a young man. Somedays I couldn’t get out of bed. But it got me into a habit of daily stretching that continues to this day that has kept me lean and mean (at least I think so). I’ve also been challenged by severe eye problems that necessitated shots in my eyeball. I asked the doctors “What can I do to keep this from happening again?” They said “Walk everyday.” Being grateful for those problems is easy because I walk daily and I love it. Better than a sharp stick in the eye.
Now when something goes wrong in my life, it’s a bit easier to ask myself “What is the lesson here? How can I grow from this?” Being grateful for the tough times is a little easier while they are happening even though the thanks sometimes comes grudgingly.
Can you look back and feel gratitude for:
You might be thinking “How can I possibly be grateful for ____?”
Well, did you learn something? Did you become stronger? More compassionate? Wiser? More honest? More loving?
Did you find some tough stuff within that you didn’t know you had that still serves you to this day? Were you able to draw out some courage or cleverness that allowed you to get to the other side?
Were you humbled? Did you get closer to God or your fellow man or woman? Was all the superficial, artificial, surface glitter and glam stripped away to reveal the real rock hard diamond deep down inside?
If so, then you’ve got something to be grateful for, my friend. Doesn’t mean you liked it, or want to go through it again, it could just mean that you can say “It happened, I got through it, and I got something of value from it.”
If there is anything in you that is good, strong, right, and true, anything powerful and bold, any small measure of grit and bad- assedness, I’m not sure you would have it without those experiences.
It’s called a re-frame. You pull that dusty old stuff out of the basement, that junk that has been sucking your self esteem and self worth out of you, and you polish it off, hang it up and display it like a badge of honor, even if you’re the only one who sees it. You say to yourself “Yeah, I was flat on my back, I was down and out, I was crushed, hanging by a thread, written off, forgotten, humiliated, burned out and close to dead but dammit, I did not die! I am here to tell the tale! Yes it was tough but I was tougher!
That’s what I’m talking about. Being grateful for every little bit of it. It means you’re alive.
Ted
31 Scary Questions to Ask Yourself
/5 Comments/in Blog, mindfullness, Motivation/Inspiration, Personal Development, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoIt’s all about scary this week as we approach Halloween and Day of the Dead.
It’s a time when it’s fun to be scared, as long as we know that it’s just a movie, or someone dressed up as the walking dead.
Truth is, there are plenty of really scary things out there. But by far, the scariest things are those that we hide from ourselves, the things that we are afraid to deal with.
Unresolved issues that haunt us, pain we can’t seem to release, resentment that traps us in unhappiness. These are the monsters under the bed, the goblins that we spend so much energy keeping locked in the closet, for fear of what they might do if looked at them.
Of course, once we turn on the bedroom light, look under the bed and throw the closet door open, we find that there is nothing to fear.
Shining the light of our awareness on those things that we don’t want to deal with allows us to see them clearly.Then we can take the opportunity to clean them up or straighten things out.
Asking yourself a few scary questions can help you transform an unseen ghoul into Casper the Friendly Ghost. (Who really just wants to lend a helping hand.)
Ask yourself these 31 scary questions and see if any of them make you a little freaky. If so, perhaps you are starting to exorcise some demons! Keep asking yourself those questions and see what comes up.
31 Scary Questions to ask yourself.
Perhaps a few of these scary questions brought up some stuff. You might not be able to answer some of these scary questions in the way you feel you should or would like to.
If so, copy those scary questions and paste them into a word or notepad etc. document. Delete all the questions that don’t have an emotional charge for you. Keep deleting until you have about 5 or 10 of the biggest, baddest scary questions that are giving you the heebie jeebies.
Now keep these questions where you will see them. Maybe write them down on a 3×5 card and carry them around with you. Keep asking yourself these scary questions with awareness so that you can move beyond fear, negative self- judgement and shame and into the possibility of changing the answers.
For instance, to the question: “Do I like myself?” you might answer “No! I don’t! And it really sucks! I hate that I don’t like myself!
See if you can move into non-judgement: “OK, I don’t like myself. I’m probably not the only one. I’m not a terrible person because I don’t like myself. But I want to like myself. So what can I do to begin to like myself?”
See how many of those scary questions you can bury by committing to some action. Bless and release old ways of being that no longer serve you and that are ready to be laid to rest. Then continue on your journey, a little more confident, on your way to an attitude of gratitude.
Need some help on your journey? You can contact me by clicking here.
Ted
Your Beautiful Life
/17 Comments/in mindfullness, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoI awoke in a tent on a beach on a desert lake on a Sunday morning. Not yet sunrise, there was a silent light, barely interrupted by the notes of moving water. A few stars still floated in a purple sky.
I crawled out, splashed water on my face and put coffee to boil on the camping stove.
I put on a life vest, tucked my ipod into my pocket and my earbuds in my ear, and placed the box with my camera in the red kayak. I got in and shoved off into the still waters of the cove.
I paddled a little ways from the shore, then put up my paddle and drifted. The water was dimpled and translucent like the glass in your bathroom window. In a kayak you sit below the surface of the water, it cradles you and you let it rock you, up and down, back and forth. The high tips of stark mountains far in the distance were lit by fire and a faintish pink colored the surface of the lake.
I’ve been to this cove now, what, 9 or 10 times? We always camp at this cove, it’s like home now. On the beach, three tents, two still occupied.
My ipod sang:
I come back here sometimes
Angels fall fireflies ascend out
Beyond the aching skyline
Reckless distances erupt in intoxication
I drank heavily what was before me and something shifted. I pulled out my camera and took a few shots. Then I put it away and started taking pictures with my mind. I was under the influence of immense gratitude.
Ah gimme gimme good water,
Ah gimme gimme gimme good water
It was good water. I was given good water.
I realized then that I was being given so much more and this realization shook me like a wave. I was being given all of creation, in all it’s magnificence and glory. I was being given a life by life itself and life poured over me and into my eyes, into my ears and settled into my arms.
And in that moment, it was enough. It was all I needed or even wanted. I felt as if I had been given a gift so precious and sweet, that nothing else mattered. I had that moment, it was mine and it was enough just to be there. (Life: “Moreno?” Moreno: “Here!”) In fact, it was so much more than enough; it was all I could ever ask for.
Tears came to my eyes, I must admit to you now. I was held by water, sky and mountains and they spoke to me and said “It’s ok, son.” I was them, and they were me, and it was so very ok. It was a transcendence, a showering of grace. I went looking one morning and I found it, by God, in that quiet speck of infinity.
There once was a note pure and easy
Playing so free like a breath rippling by
I knew then. I got it. I became fully and totally present to my wonderful, beautiful, miraculous life. It didn’t matter how much money I had or didn’t have, how much time I had or didn’t have, how much pain and happiness I’ve had or didn’t have. In that brilliant, holy moment, I did not care because I was in love with f**king everything.
I’m glad I’m alive am I
I’m glad I’m alive
I’m glad I’m alive
I’m glad I’m alive am I
Can you see it now? Can you look out the window and see it? Can you look in the face of the person in the cubicle next to you and see it? Can you see it in the veins on the back of your hand or can you feel it by putting your hands on your face or heart? Can you feel it when you think of the first time your rode a bike or ran through a sprinkler on a summers day, gardenias blooming madly? Can you affirm it when your crusty eyes open and the first light of a new day kisses your brain? It’s there, it’s always there, you always have it, the profound and unfathomable beauty and mystery of your walk on this wonderful earth in this beautiful place at this miraculous time.
You don’t need to do anything or go anywhere or buy anything or be anybody. Everyday it’s gifted to you until it’s not. You don’t have to climb for it, dig for it, fight for it or drift to it. Just look for it, here, now. I wish I could give it to you but you just have to look for it.
But the only thing I have to give
To make you smile, to win you with
Are all the mornings still to live
All the mornings still to live.
To listen to a podcast of this blog, go to my podcast TedInYourHead Episode #81
Can Someone Be Hypnotized Over the Phone?
/7 Comments/in Blog, Hypnotherapy, Top Blog Post, Video /by Ted MorenoHave you ever had the experience of falling asleep while being on the phone? Maybe with someone who has a monotonous voice? If so, then you’ve experienced phone hypnosis!
Hypnosis is a state we all go into on a daily basis. When you’re getting hypnosis for hypnotherapy, you’re awake, aware and you hear everything that’s being said. You don’t have to be in the same room as the hypnotherapist, or even the same state. It is language that creates a state of hypnosis, even over the phone.
Hypnotherapy phone sessions are an effective way to get the benefits of hypnosis over the phone.
In my hypnotherapy phone sessions, I’ll spend some time talking to the client about what they would like to accomplish or change. Then we’ll actually do phone hypnosis for 15 to 20 minutes. I’ll record the hypnosis part of the session so that they can listen to it on their own for reinforcement. The results of a few hypnotherapy phone sessions can be just as good as having a hypnotherapy session in person.
The advantage is that you don’t need to jump in your car and go to a hypnotherapist’s office. With hypnotherapy phone sessions, you can get the benefits of hypnosis from the comfort of your own home, where you feel safe and secure. In addition, some people feel more comfortable talking over the phone about their challenges rather than talking face to face. The benefits are deep relaxation and a profound sense of well being. All while putting the awesome power of your subconscious mind to work to create success, happiness and health. And I promise I won’t bore you to sleep in our hypnotherapy phone sessions.
Many of my clients, happy with the results of hypnotherapy, want to refer their family and friends to me. However, sometimes they live too far away to come to my locations in South Pasadena or Covina. Hypnotherapy phone sessions are the perfect solution.
Are you interested in finding out more about hypnotherapy phone sessions?
Do you know somebody in another state or country who would like to be more confident and motivated in their business or personal life? Do you know someone that would like to relieve anxiety when flying, driving or speaking in public?
Just click here to contact me or pass along this link to my contact page: www.tedmoreno.com/contact-us/
And if you call them on the phone to tell them about me, don’t talk to long or you might be the one hypnotizing them!
Your companion on the journey to transformation,
Ted A. Moreno
Personal/Small Business Coach Certified Hypnotherapist www.TedMoreno.comFEEL FREE TO — USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, WEB SITE OR BLOG. Just let me know, and include the following with it:
Ted A. Moreno is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Success Performance Coach. Ted empowers his clients to transform their lives by helping them reach their goals of success, abundance, personal development, health and happiness. To learn more, visit www.TedMoreno.com/blogDo You Suffer from Driving Anxiety?
/10 Comments/in Anxiety, Blog, Driving Anxiety, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoDriving anxiety is the most common form of anxiety that I treat in my hypnotherapy practice. This can range in severity from a hesitation to drive, where anxiety is always present, all the way up to a total refusal to drive at all, in which case it becomes driving phobia. A phobia is a fear that is paralyzing but irrational. Driving phobia is one of the most common phobias.
Driving phobia is a form of agoraphobia, literally defined as is the fear of open spaces. But it’s not the fear of open spaces that scares people, it fear of loss of control. People with a driving phobia or driving anxiety fear being trapped in a traffic jam and unable to escape if they have a panic attack. They also fear passing out, losing control of the vehicle, throwing up or getting into an accident. For many people, driving next to big trucks, merging onto the freeway or driving in the fast lane can be very nerve racking.
Symptoms of driving anxiety
Symptoms of driving anxiety are similar to most other forms of anxiety: heart palpitations, perspiring and sweaty palms, disorientation, confusion, dizziness, dry mouth and shortness of breath. This is the classic “fight or flight response”. Some times people feel that they are going to die or go crazy. This can be really scary and people will simply not drive to avoid these kind of intense feelings. It’s good to remember that these are just feelings and even the most severe panic attacks don’t cause any long term ill effects.
Still, driving anxiety can seriously impact a person’s ability to function on a daily basis if they need to drive to work or drive for a living, especially here in So Cal where driving is necessary to get anywhere fast.
How does driving anxiety start?
Driving anxiety can start in many ways. Usually a person has experienced a car accident or “close call” and that memory is still causing the subconscious mind to be protective. Sometimes, this kind of anxiety can show up out of the blue. If you are a person that is prone to anxiety or fear, then driving may be one place where this shows up.
In addition,having episodes of low blood sugar can create anxiety. If this happens while driving, then you might start associating driving with anxiety. Low blood sugar can be caused from not eating or after eating a meal high in simple carbs or sugar. This is especially true for those that have family histories of diabetes or hypoglycemia.
Driving anxiety can turn into a phobia though avoidance. In other words, of you have some fear of driving and you decide to stop altogether, it becomes a full blown phobia and the more you avoid it, the harder it is to get back in the saddle, so to speak.
The good news is, fear of driving is a learned behavior. If you have ever felt comfortable driving, then that is something you learned. If you are uncomfortable now, you can relearn how to be comfortable again. Here are some tips to help you get back on the road feeling safe and comfortable and confident. If you are currently not driving due to driving anxiety, I highly suggest you get help by contacting me or another professional so I can help you.
Tips to help with driving anxiety.
The most important thing to realize is that even though driving anxiety does not feel good, it will not kill you. It is your reaction to the feeling of anxiety that determines how you manage it. Instead of fighting anxiety, just allow it to be. Notice it, and see if you can observe it with detachment. Take deep breaths and try to remain in the present moment. Realize you have a tendency to create anxiety with your thoughts so try focusing on something else, like the environment, music, or the cars in front of you.
If you are still driving even though you experience anxiety, these tips can be helpful and good luck. However, if your level of anxiety is very high, you will probably need some help. You don’t need to live with the anxiety; give me a call.
Ted A. Moreno
Click Here For a Free Guide to Relieve Anxiety
25 Wonderful Things To Do First Thing in the Morning
/9 Comments/in Health and Wellness, Motivation/Inspiration, Stress relief, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoI believe that what you do first thing in the morning will determine how the rest of the day goes. For the first half hour after you wake up, you’re are in a state of hypnosis, so what you do gets impressed upon your mind and has an effect on your day.
Here’s some ideas for starting your day in a powerful way. Pick one or two that you think will work for you and try them out. You won’t believe the difference it makes when you choose what you’re going to do first thing in the morning.
Step out of the insanity of the daily grind by getting in touch with what is true and meaningful on a daily basis. Making a “first thing in the morning habit” out of just of few of these things can change your life.
If you need help getting up earlier, or with a better attitude, contact me and let’s talk about what we can do to help you start your day in a better way.
Ted A. Moreno
FEEL FREE TO — USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, WEB SITE OR BLOG. Just let me know, and include the following: Ted A. Moreno is a Certified Hypnotherapist and Success Performance Coach. Ted helps his clients transform their lives by and reach their goals of success, abundance, personal development, health and happiness. To learn more, visit www.TedMoreno.com/blogHow to Program Your Mind for Success in Less Than Five Minutes a Day
/7 Comments/in Events, Hypnotherapy, Top Blog Post /by Ted MorenoWhat 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