changing habits Archives

Liberation from You

April 6, 2016/by Ted Moreno

Bob Marley (photo by Euli Frey)

Liberation. The word is inspiring and filled with history and meaning.

Look up the phrase “independence” on Wikipedia and you’ll get a definition about countries, nations and states and self government.

Look up the word liberation, and you won’t get much. As a definition, three words, actually.

Why so much about freedom but so little about liberation?

I think it’s because when we’re in a prison cell, or in a dictatorship where we’re unable to travel freely, we know it. Those things are obvious to see and easily trigger a desire to be free from them.

What is not so obvious is when we are a prisoner to our own mind.

Liberation: What we really want but don’t know it.

People can get comfortable living in a dictatorship. Prisoners can become accustomed to and even comfortable with prison life. “This is how it is. We just have to make the best of it” is how we might come to acceptance of these conditions. But we don’t deny the fact that we aren’t free.

Not so when it comes to our minds. We have the capability to live our whole lives imprisoned by our beliefs, thoughts and feelings, and believe the whole time that we aren’t. This is called delusion.

This is what we all truly desire: liberation from the things that keep us from happiness, health, and prosperity, including the inability to see them for what they are. We seek liberation from unhappiness, unease, discontent, and discomfort. We want liberation from emotions such as sadness, anger, guilt, regret, and fear. We want freedom from bad habits, patterns of thinking that don’t serve us, and lack of self worth and self esteem.

At our core, we all seek liberation from what holds us back from what we want. What is required is liberation from being blind to the fact that the biggest thing that holds us back is ourselves.

The problem is that we can get pretty chummy with those things that imprison us. We can become so comfortable and so accustomed to living in fear, anger and sadness that we come to accept it as how it is. This way of being can become so pervasive that if given the key to our own liberation, we will give it back and say no thanks. Then, we will blame something or someone else for our inability to step through the door.

True liberation, true freedom, is being able to see what is true and act accordingly. The truth will set you free.

The truth is that most of us will never completely escape the emotional landscape that surrounds our humanity. We will be subject to grief and sadness, anger and resentment, guilt and regret, unease and discomfort.

Our liberation comes from seeing this truth with stark clarity and exercising our freedom to choose how to respond. To be liberated from ourselves is to see clearly that we don’t need to be slaves to our emotions, desires, regrets, or habits. We can at least acknowledge that the chains that bind us to an unfulfilled life are illusory, and like wisps of smoke, can be blown away at any time.

But it’s not easy. Most people need some help. The best that most can hope for is to achieve liberation from the heaviest chains, and only you know what they are.

“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.”

~Bob Marley, Redemption Song

Ted

You can hear the podcast of this blog at TedMoreno.com, or Soundcloud, or iTunes.

Why You Need Discomfort!

February 18, 2015/by Ted Moreno

One hot summer day found me at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I was on a river rafting trip with Arizona River Runners and 30 other people. My buddy Brian was driving the boat on this 9 day trip down the Colorado River.

One evening after dinner while people were pitching their tents, one of the passengers came running up to tell us that there was a rattlesnake near the tents. Brian grabbed his “snake tool” and we headed off to capture the snake and relocate him to another part of the beach. A few of the passengers were quite fearful because they had never seen a rattlesnake.

Try as we might, we couldn’t get close enough to snag it. The snake preferred to stay deep in the brush. We assured the frightened passengers that snakes would rather avoid people and that this snake would try to get as far away from us as possible.

On the last day of the trip, a woman approached me and Brian and confided that she was so uncomfortable with snakes that she had decided to stop drinking water. Her plan was to get so dehydrated that she would have to be helicoptered out of the canyon. Temperatures at the bottom of the canyon can get as high as 120 degrees in the summer, so if you don’t drink water you can get dehydrated bad enough that you’ll have to be flown out to the nearest hospital. Cost: $1500 for the ride.

She had a choice: possibly risk her life by dehydration and pay for evacuation from a trip which she had already spent a good deal of money, or face her discomfort in order to experience a once in a lifetime adventure.

She chose to stick it out. She realized that to experience the beauty and majesty of the Grand Canyon from a boat on the river, she would have to endure some discomfort. Like any wilderness expedition, a river trip down the Canyon involves blazing heat, sleeping on the ground, no shower or public facilities, and an array of wildlife including poisonous snakes. At the end of the trip, she shared that it was one of the most incredible experiences of her life. She decided that she could endure some discomfort.

How many opportunities for growth have you passed up because you wanted to avoid some discomfort? How many exciting adventures have you missed out on? How much of the juice of life have you left behind because it might involve discomfort?

T. Harv Eker says in his book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”: “The only time you are actually growing is when you are uncomfortable.” Where you are now in your life, financially, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, is within your comfort zone. To grow, to learn and to change, you need to step out of that comfort zone and get uncomfortable.”

It’s not easy to do something you’ve never done before. It won’t feel right, you won’t be doing it perfect, you will feel out of place, it’s not what you thought. However, with a little consistency and by doing it regularly, something interesting happens: It starts to get easier. If you persist, something amazing happens. It becomes very comfortable to do it and possibly uncomfortable not to.

This is how habits are formed. You give your(subconscious) mind time to get comfortable with something new by walking through the initial discomfort. Think about the things you want to do but haven’t, like starting an exercise program, taking a class, going on a trip, introducing yourself to someone or joining a club or organization. Is it the discomfort of the unknown that’s stopping you? If you want to move you in the direction of embracing discomfort for growth or learning, here are some things to thing about.

Why Discomfort?

Life is not always comfortable. Discomfort will come along for no other reason than the fact that you are alive. Even if you could stay in your jammies watching tv all day, you’d still get hungry, bored, etc. What kind of life is that anyway?
There are areas of your life where you already accept discomfort because there is a great payoff in doing so. Example: getting up to go to work, going to the dentist.
Discomfort by itself won’t kill you. It might make you grumpy, angry, scared, or nervous, but rarely does anyone die from discomfort.
You need discomfort. That’s how life gets your attention. You are forced to take action even if you don’t want to. For example: ” I don’t have time to eat but I’m so hungry I can’t think straight.”
Discomfort makes like worth living. There is discomfort in uncertainty. But if all you ever had in your life was certainty, you might do something to screw it up just to make it more interesting. (People do it all the time, for example, creating drama.)
You can feel uncomfortable and not let it stop you. When you are uncomfortable in a new situation, simply acknowledge that to yourself. “I’m uncomfortable but I don’t need to let it stop me.”

The reason hypnotherapy is effective in creating change is that it helps your mind become comfortable with the new and unfamiliar. Try this on: every time you feel uncomfortable see it as an opportunity for growth. Embrace discomfort! Welcome it! If you are uncomfortable, it simply means you are alive and growing.

If you just can’t stand the discomfort but have decided that you need it, I can help you. Contact me by clicking here.

Ted

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31 Scary Questions to Ask Yourself

October 30, 2014/by Ted Moreno

It’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.

Am I happy?
If I’m not, am I waiting for something to happen to be happy?
Is it possible for me to decide to be happy now?
Do I know what I want?
Have I given up on getting the things I want that are truly important to me?
What fear keeps me from living the life I want?
Have I become cynical, negative, or resigned?
Do I like myself?
Am I able to quickly name 10 great things about me?
Am I taking care of myself?
If no, do I feel I’m worth taking care of myself?
Am I getting the love and attention I want and need?
Do I have fun regularly?
Do I have fulfilling social interactions?
Am I expressing myself honestly and authentically?
Is there someone I need to forgive?
Is there resentment burning inside of me that I need to resolve or express in a healthy, productive manner?
Is there a negative belief that I need to release or let go of?
Is there a change I need and should make NOW?
Why am I here?
Is there a valid reason for the things that I am doing that are stressful and overwhelming?
Am I giving me the me time I need?
Do I have regular moments of peace, calm and tranquility?
Do I have frequent feelings of gratitude?
Do I complain a lot?
Do I hang around negative people that bring me down?
Is my work meaningful and fulfilling?
Do I compare myself to others and find it creates despair?
Am I caught up in a lifestyle that I feel is not meaningful to me?
Am I happy with the answers I have to these questions?
If not, what can I do today to change?

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

Hypnosis 101: How Does It Work?

September 10, 2014/by Ted Moreno

In last week’s post I talked about how hypnosis is a natural state we all go into; while watching TV, while driving, while exercising, before we go to bed and right after we wake up.

That attached diagram, (courtesy of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute) is what I use with every new client to explain how hypnosis and hypnotherapy works.

From the time we are born until about 8 years old, we are very suggestible. That just means that we take in everything as absolute truth. As children, we do not have the ability to analyze incoming information; we believe everything we are told. Most kids are walking around in hypnosis.

We learn likes and dislikes, what we are capable of, what we are not capable of, what is fearful, desirable, etc. This is the creation of our so called Life Script: a collection of beliefs and “knowns” that shape our behavior and thinking. This happens at the level of our subconscious mind, so we are not aware that it is occurring. We all fall under the hypnosis of our culture, and adopt the beliefs of our parents, religion and society.

Between 7 and 9 years old, we begin to develop the “critical mind” which blocks suggestions into our subconscious minds. We began to question incoming information, we began to ask why, and to seek to understand the information presented to us. At this point we begin to develop our conscious minds, which we use for decision making, reasoning, analyzing, and logic. We start to think for ourselves.

As you can see from the diagram, the subconscious mind makes up 88% of our total “mind power” according to some estimates. The conscious mind, only about 12%. The subconscious mind has a much greater influence on our behavior.

What brings people into my office is the realization that they have a problem that they cannot seem to solve on their own. For instance, they can’t quit smoking, or get rid of anxiety or get motivated.

The reason for this is that that their subconscious minds contain the programming that keeps them anxious, or procrastinating, or smoking, or overeating. This programming comes from childhood. For instance, in the case of smoking, someone may have seen their parents smoking, saw that they look relaxed when they were smoking, and maybe even saw commercials for smoking. (“Winston tastes good like a cigarette should”)

Their subconscious mind is familiar and comfortable with smoking, to the subconscious, it’s a “known”.

So even though they may want to quit smoking, the part that wants to quit is only 12 %: the conscious mind. But 88% wants to keep smoking. Which do you think will win out? Of course, the 88%.

Hypnosis as a tool for change.

This is where hypnosis comes in. When a person is in hypnosis, their critical mind, whose job is to be the gatekeeper to the subconscious mind, takes a break. They become very suggestible, or, open to suggestion.

So in a hypnotherapy session, I can use the power of suggestion to get the subconscious mind familiar with what the goal is, so that the goal now becomes a “known” to the subconscious mind. With enough repetition and reinforcement, by coming to a few sessions or listening to recordings that I make for my clients, they can begin to reprogram their minds to stop smoking, be more calm and relaxed, or be more motivated. See how that works?

I specialize in helping people quit smoking, release anxiety, and get motivated! If you want to know more about how I can help you, click here to contact me. I can help you change your mind one thought at a time!

Ted

How To Put Yourself Into A Hypnotic Trance

September 3, 2014/by Ted Moreno

Well for starters, you can register for Self Hypnosis for Success and take control of what goes into your mind! The class begins January 24th from 9 am to 10:30 am at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, CA. Click here to register.

Or, you can go into hypnotic trance by being overwhelmed. Too much noise, too much activity, too much to do, too much going on. If it becomes to much to deal with, your mind will seek to escape by going into what we call a hyper-suggestible or trance state, aka hypnotic trance. Think “running around like a chicken without a head.”

Hypnosis is a natural state we all experience. We’re in hypnosis half an hour before we go to bed and half an hour before we wake up. Perhaps you know people that walk around all day in a hypnotic trance? Perhaps you?

Watching the news on television can put you into a hypnotic trance under uncontrolled conditions. You go into a hypnotic trance by sitting still, fixing your gaze on the talking heads, and having a passive mental attitude. Television news is designed to provoke emotions. Most of the time these emotions are fear, sadness or anger. You may have an inner commentary about these emotions such as “That’s terrible!” “Oh my God, how sad.” “I hate those (liberals, conservatives, politicians, etc)!” Think about how this affects your mental state and how you view the world.

Learn to Put Yourself into a Hypnotic Trance

Do you really want to learn how to put yourself into a hypnotic trance? Register for my Self Hypnosis for Success class starting on September 20 at 9 am at Pasadena City College. The class continues on the 27th and October 4th from 9 to 10:30. To register, click here.

Use the power of self hypnosis to:

Have the mindset and attitude for success in business and personal life.
Get rid of procrastination that keeps you stuck and in a rut.
Feel less self-conscious and more relaxed and confident in social and professional situations.
Increase sales through higher confidence and less call resistance.
Get relief from stress, anxiety and fear.

Learning self hypnosis is the most powerful way of using the hypnotic trance for your benefit. Register for Self Hypnosis for Success and take control of what goes into your mind! The class begins January 24th from 9 am to 10:30 am at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, CA. Click here to register.

Hope to see you there,

Ted

Are You Ready for Change?

August 27, 2014/by Ted Moreno

Are you ready for change? You’d better be. Because it’s coming like a locomotive and if you’re not ready, you’ll get run over.

I remember when we went from rotary dial to push button, then to cordless. I got my first cell phone in 2005.

I remember using lps, (long playing records) to 8 track, to cassette, to CD, to iPod.

Those changes were easy, and fun.

Other changes were not so easy. The transition from college to work.

I didn’t learn to use a computer until 1998. That was hard. I’m still learning.

Getting married was great but having kids required a period of adjustment, from only being responsible to myself to being responsible for the care of another human. I thought I was ready for change but I wasn’t so ready.

I pushed back when I was informed that it was time for my baby daughter to start eating solid food. I had just gotten the baby food thing down. I wasn’t ready for change.

Letting go of the naive idea that all I had to do was print business cards and my phone would start ringing. Not. I had to learn to market my practice. (“Turn and face the strain” D. Bowie)

Every time I thought I had it figured out, something changed, and most of the time, I wasn’t ready for the change.

The pace of change in our lives accelerates exponentially. I read recently that there has been more change in the last 30 years than in the last 300.

We as 21st century humans must assimilate change and new information more rapidly than at any other time in history. To achieve our goals such as happiness, fulfillment, or prosperity, we must be willing to let go of the old and move into the new and unknown. That is my business, the business of change.

Are you ready for change?

Change will come knocking… wait, back up. Change will crash through your door and come rolling in whether you are ready for change or not.

Birth and death, growth and decay, marriage and divorce, buying and selling, falling in love and falling out, getting hired, getting fired, getting on board and jumping off, sometimes you make the choice and sometimes it’s made for you.

How do you get ready for change? You get ready to let go. You realize that all things are in transition and that all things must pass. It’s not easy and most don’t navigate change easily.

When should you get ready for change? You probably won’t until you realize that you are not ready and that the train is about to clobber you. That’s when it become apparent that it’s time to leave your car stuck on the track and run like hell.

Can we be ready for change? Probably not most of the time. But when it’s time to change, time to let go of what’s been, we can be ready with the belief that we can do it with grace, trust and confidence.

Ted

Having trouble dealing with change? Click here to contact Ted.

The Shackles of Shame

July 23, 2014/by Ted Moreno

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(Video 32 seconds)

Shame. Say the word out loud and feel it’s intense power.

The root of the word shame is thought to come from an older word meaning to cover, as in covering oneself. When we feel shame, we cover ourselves, literally and figuratively.

Eve was said to cover herself in the Garden of Eden when she realized she was naked. She became ashamed of her natural physical form, the essence of her human-ess.

Eve After the Fall, Auguste Rodin.

(Photo by MichaelLovesArt)

When we are shamed as children we are uncovered and our error is exposed; “Shame on you!” or “You should be ashamed of yourself.” Yet, like Eve, as children we are often shamed for what is natural to us, i.e picking our nose, touching ourselves, or hitting our siblings.

The affect of shame, either taken on by oneself or given to us by others, can be subtle but devastating and long lasting. We can stuff shame down so deep inside that it becomes covered even to ourselves.

Yet the effect, like the word, is powerful. The lengths we will go to cover and hide our shame can keep us from ever fully living life. It is very hard to be happy carrying the ball and chain of shame.

We can become bound by the shame of who are or who we are not, what we do and what we don’t do, what we’ve done or what we failed to do, where we are in life or where we are not.

We can become so bound by shame that we stop moving, stop trying, stop expressing, stop loving. We will go into emotional hiding. We will go to great lengths to avoid anyone seeing us for who we think we are. God forbid we are uncovered as a fallible human being.

The Antidote for Shame

The antidote for shame is self forgiveness. We can accept our humanity, which includes the experience of triumph as well as failure. We can make amends, write a letter, seek absolution, apologize and ask for forgiveness.

And we must be willing to fail again. We must be willing to acknowledge that living fully means often falling short of the mark (the original meaning of “sin”). But first we must be willing to uncover the shame to ourselves, then to another. This takes courage and a desire to be free from hiding who and what we are.

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”

~Brene Brown (click on the link for her TED talk on shame.)

Thanks for reading,

Ted

To hear a podcast of this blog, go to TedinYourHead.com

Weight Loss is Seldom About Weight

June 11, 2014/by Ted Moreno

“Truth is Beauty” photo by Jennifer Morrow

Of all the things I help people with in my hypnotherapy practice, it seems that weight loss is the most difficult.

I don’t really advertise it. When someone calls me for weight loss, I tell them that it is going to be a minimum of eight sessions. I want to make sure they are serious.

Because weight loss is rarely about food and weight.

I was recently asked by the amazing Lauren Herrera of Pilates Barbell Club in Pasadena to be a contributor to her Triple Fat Loss Formula Program. (Click here to see outtakes of a video we made.)

She posted a blog post with words that carry uncommon wisdom and leave no doubt in my mind that she “gets it” when it comes to weight loss and fitness. Here’s a little of what she wrote:

“Food issues” and losing weight are rarely about the food or the weight.

Our interaction with food and our reliance on self-acceptence through a number on the scale or tag on our clothing perpetuates a never ending battle of self-hate, deprivation of food, insane exercise regimens (over-doing cardio, or actually doing an ‘insane’ workout) encompass the never-ending cycle of diet, binge, repeat. Or worse, diet, workout like a nut, get injured, then binge out of depression and defeat and then repeat.

If it’s not about the food, than what is it about?
Well, YOU. And everything that makes you UNIQUE, WONDERFUL, TALENTED and LOVABLE. Even if you don’t see it.

Weight loss is about being ok with and accepting yourself.

Lauren’s ideas about weight loss reflect an enlightened approach because they speak to the reasons why weight loss can be so hard.

The reason weight loss can be so difficult is because very often food is used to soothe negative emotions such as stress, low self worth, worry, anger, and emotional pain such as loneliness and depression . It’s hard to see these emotions as part of the cause of being overweight when so much attention is on comparing one’s body to the body on the latest cover of Whatever Magazine. Or, focusing on the latest diet or work out fad.

Furthermore, weight loss can be sabotaged by what is known as “secondary gain”. This is a situation where subconsciously, there is more advantage to keeping the weight than losing it.

For instance, after the loss of a relationship and the resulting heartbreak, a woman may desire to lose weight, but be unable to do so no matter how hard she tries. This can be a fear based protective mechanism to avoid attracting another relationship and the emotional pain that may result. This is almost impossible to see in one’s self without some help. But if you can see it, then you can deal with it through compassion and love for yourself to heal and move forward.

This blog post is not about how to achieve weight loss, it’s simply food for thought (no pun intended) if weight loss is one of your goals.

A very helpful question to ask yourself in your quest for weight loss is “What am I hungry for?” We are all hungry for love, attention, happiness, acknowledgement, and acceptance. Once we can identify our deep seated human needs, then we can begin to work on getting those needs met. If we can’t identify our needs, we will find a way to ease the pain of the lack of them, be it through, food, alcohol, drugs, sex or work.

The intention behind weight loss should be to honor the gift of our bodies through physical fitness and health. Start with that in mind and everything else will follow. Like Lauren says:

Truth is our attractiveness will fade with age. But, our ability to be independent, self-reliant and MOBILE when we are pushing 75 is the bigger picture. Enjoying the 100 year lifespan we are projected to have is what it’s about for me.

Me too. Hope to see you in 2060.

Ted

Self Hypnosis Class Starting June 14: Master Your Mind

June 4, 2014/by Ted Moreno

Why is permanent change so hard?

The answer is because only 12% of your mind (conscious) wants to change. Your subconscious mind, which is 88% of your mind, wants to stay the same. What your subconscious mind wants is based on your childhood conditioning, past experiences and beliefs.

You have the ability to change your subconscious programming using self hypnosis. You’ll have an opportunity to learn self hypnosis at my upcoming Self Hypnosis for Success Class at Pasadena City College starting June 14th. Click here to register.

Self hypnosis is used by celebrities, athletes, performers, business people, salespeople, and entrepreneurs. Why? Because they know that to achieve high level success in any endeavor, you must master your mind. You must take control of what you think, because you become what you think about.

Learn Self Hypnosis for Success!

Self Hypnosis for Success begins Saturday, June 14th from 9 am to 10:30 am at Pasadena City College and continues for the next two Saturdays (6/21 and 6/28). To register, click here.

Master your mind using self hypnosis to:

Have the correct mindset and attitude for success in business and personal life.
Get rid of procrastination that keeps you stuck and in a rut.
Feel less self-conscious and more relaxed and confident in social and professional situations.
Increase sales through higher confidence and less call resistance.
Get relief from stress, anxiety and fear.

Master your mind and put it to work for you! Click to register

In Self Hypnosis for Success, you will learn:

How to put yourself into hypnosis.
How to use the power of suggestion to re-program your subconscious mind.
How to put it all together to create a mind conditioned for success in just a few minutes a day.

If you are one of those people who know that the quest for self improvement is never ending, you’ll want to register for Self Hypnosis for Success by clicking here.

Hope to see you on June 14th,

Ted

Image by Skye Moorhead

What’s The Deal with Affirmations?

October 30, 2013/by Ted Moreno

Many people think that the practice of saying affirmations is kind of a new agey, hokey thing. (Maybe they saw that affirmation guy on Saturday night live …) However, I think they can be very powerful as a technique for programming your mind for achievement of your goals.

I’m no biblical scholar or even an avid reader of the bible, but there are two passages that I think speak to the power of affirmations.

First, in the Old Testament, Moses wants to know God’s name. God says his name is “I AM”.

Second, the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

A definition of God could be “the Creator.” To me, the message is clear: Word is the creator. And the creator’s name is “I am.”

Even if you don’t believe anything in the Bible, I think we can agree that words, or language, are powerfully creative. We create with our language, not only by what we say, but by what we think, and we think mostly in language.

Both philosophers and shamans agree that our world is created through language. The Buddha said, 2500 years ago:

” We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.”

I use this idea of creative language to help my clients achieve their goals through the use of affirmations. I listen carefully to the language they use to describe their challenges. This gives me a clue as to their belief systems. As a hypnotherapist, my job is to help them create beliefs that help them get what they want. I do this by using the power of suggestion (language) while they are in hypnosis.

But, I also teach them how to use the power of suggestion on themselves.

Remember that language is creative. Well, it’s also hypnotizing. To put a person into hypnosis, all I need to do is talk to them.

And that’s how beliefs are created. Someone tells you something over and over again when you are highly suggestible (such as when you are a child) and you believe.

This is how television advertising works. While you are in a highly suggestible state (watching television) you receive repetition and reinforcement of the belief that you need a particular product.

You can also talk yourself into a belief. People do it all the time. The only question is: Are those beliefs working for you? If not, you can talk yourself into a new belief.

I think one of the most powerful tools to do this is through the use of affirmations.

Using Affirmations.

Affirmations are declarations that something is true. But how does something become true? We affirm over and over again until we believe it. Whether it’s true or not doesn’t really matter except for how that belief affects us.

I help my clients develop new and empowering beliefs outside of our sessions by having them affirm the new belief over and over again. The key to learning anything is repetition and reinforcement.

What words will they use to affirm their new beliefs? Well, it’ll start with, you guessed it, “I am…” For example, “I am confident and trust in my ability to achieve my goals.”

They might say “But that’s not true!” But it doesn’t matter, because an affirmation is not meant to be true. It’s a tool to get the subconscious mind familiar with new ways of thinking that’s empowering. If they say it enough times and with a high degree of emotion while in a suggestible state, it will become their new belief, and this will shape their actions.

Why? Because the subconscious mind (88% percent of your mind by some estimates) will always move you towards what is known and familiar. So I use affirmations to help my clients’ subconscious minds get more comfortable with what they want and less comfortable with what they don’t want.

The technique I give my client is very simple. Come up with three affirmations, say them out loud every morning and night, (times when you are very suggestible) and hand-write them once each.

Have you ever heard someone say “Talk is cheap”? That’s simply not true. The truth is that people cheapen talk by using language that is dis-empowering.

Consider that every day you speak your world into existence and that talk is not cheap but quite valuable. So why not use this simple little technique to begin to speak into existence the world that you want to experience?

If you would like more information about how to use affirmations, just call me or email by clicking here. After all, talking the talk is good, but sooner or later, you gotta walk the walk.

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