Category Archives: Hypnotherapy

Moving on….

Emotional baggage, grief, Hypnotherapy

As the water flows down the waterfall, so too do emotions flow relentlessly when a parent dies and more so, when it is the last remaining parent and you become an orphan.

Many people are familiar with Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief but  there are other variables in the process.
Many people would also be familiar with the quotation “No man is an island”, which was a sermon by John Donne in the 16th century.
“No one is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others.”

But what happens if you have a long term partner or spouse? 

Can you rely on the in-laws to emotionally support you as you go through your grieving process?

What about friends? 

Who would you rely on? 

It would be nice to move through the stages Kuebler-Ross outlined with no extraneous factors. 
So what if you are feeling bereft of support? 
Seeing a Grief Counsellor may help to work through underlying issues that were already in the family dynamic.

  

Reaching out to the past

Hypnotherapy, Insights, Past Life Regression, Philosophy, Transformation

I continue to be surprised at what happens during a Past Life Regression.
Each time prior to a session, I begin to have niggling doubts.
Is it real?
Am I just making it up?
What will happen?
 I am lucky to be associated with a group of people who train Hypnotherapists to lead clients through Past Life Regressions.
In fact, I did the training myself.
I have had a couple out of curiosity and a couple as part of someone else’s training requirements.

The first Past Life Regression I had took me back to a scene in World War 2. It was a very powerful session and I came away thinking that I must have made it up. Several weeks later I met an elderly woman who waved at me and came up and hugged me – she had a sense we knew each other. I was on a school excursion at the time, so I made a time to go back and see her.

What transpired was amazing.

She brought up the subject of Past Lives and I enquired why? The conversation turned to my experience and I told her the name of the person I was in my past. She beckoned for me to come with her to the bookshop – her book was there and the details we had just talked about in it………… We both had tears and hugs and I left her with the card of the hypnotherapist I had seen, if she ever wanted to get a copy of the session. When I discussed the session with my father as he is a returned Allied soldier, and showed him the book, he went quiet. He was part of the Allied forces that liberated a small hospital on the border of Belgium, where a number of young women and girls were being held, including the woman who wrote the book.

Another Past Life session that was notable, was as a result of a specific issue I was having regarding a mentor suggesting some training. As she discussed a process of the training, I had an immediate gut reaction and said “No”.
It was crystal clear that I would not go down that path.
Every cell in my body was rebelling against doing this training. I couldn’t fathom out why and decided that there must be a subconscious block.
My mentor suggested that it was due to my “money issues”.
The hypnotherapy session went almost immediately into a past life. My throat constricted and I began feeling as if I was choking.
The Hypnotherapist regressed me further back to the time leading up to these events and I found myself in a narrow tunnel that had been built as an escape route from an old European castle.
I was fleeing with my mentor, who was at that time also a trusted companion. As we opened the escape door and emerged into a small clearing in the woods, soldiers fell upon us and bound us. I was seated on a horse with a rope around my neck …………..my friend had betrayed me and we were hung.
Researching the dates that came up was interesting, as were the characters. Around the same time, I had been in contact with a distant cousin in Canada in regards to our shared Scottish heritage.
He had been fortunate in discovering a matrilineal record and it was interesting to find that the officer who was in charge of the group in my past life regression was recorded as marrying one of the women in my family tree. She met a violent end as did his previous wives.

Very recently I had another Past Life regression and another family connection. It didn’t take long and there I was back in the Scottish Highlands. Walking down a narrow track to help out a young woman, who in this lifetime, is my own daughter. The date was very specific,  as was the area, and combined with a Google search about the events around the date and the details on my family tree, there was another connection.
I don’t recall that I knew that the ancestral home was in Aberdeenshire, but there it was……

The leaving of this life was peaceful….. like a fog gently rolling in and the soft grey just gathering up an old woman who had fulfilled her life purpose in that lifetime………

Insights are still forming and a task in the next few weeks will be to listen again and transcribe the recordings.
In this way, I will look for themes and understanding of how the past has shaped the present and future………

One of THOSE days…..

Education, Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Meditation, Philosophy

Have you ever had one of those days when just about everything was just not working for you?

  •  Slept through the alarm clock,
  • got stuck in traffic, 
  • running so late that everyone thought you weren’t coming in,
  • burnt your mouth on the coffee you so desperately needed,
  • realize you had left an important document or report at home on the table where you had put it so you wouldn’t forget it, and on top of all of this,
  • everyone else seems to be in a foul mood.

 

Can you recognise what kind of state are you in?

State refers to your physiological and psychological responses to a situation.

Psychologically if you were having a day like this, you would probably be a little flustered and distracted, perhaps a little anxious.

How you manage your anxiety is what matters. Your awareness and recognition whether you are feeling anxiety, frustration or relaxation, all contribute to your wellbeing.

  • Are you experiencing events in a hurried, forced or leisurely manner?
  • Do you have particular triggers that cause us to feel in a certain way?
  • What are you picking up from non-verbal communication such as body language or voice tone?

Children often have a build up of excitement, as their birthday or a festive event like Christmas approaches and this is likely to be a state that is pleasurable, enjoyable………

….yet with a hint of anticipatory anxiety.

You may feel relaxed and at ease when the sun is shining because you associate this with holidays and good times, but another person may have a completely different perspective.

Take exams and tests.

You may have done really well as a child all through school, but as an adult when you studied for a test or exam for something that you really were not enjoying, your perception of your ability changed and you developed an anxiety around academic performance.

What is going on in your body while all this happens?

Changes in physiological state include changes in respiration rate, muscular tension, blood pressure, facial colour and temperature changes. Your “flight or fight” response is starting to kick in. Perhaps even a “freeze” response if the event is dire.

Sustained stress, including psychological stressors, will create changes in your physiology and if left unattended, will result in poor health.

Health issues that come about because of ignoring your stress responses are:

As stress increases, so too does the level of Cortisol inside the body. It’s a necessary hormone that the body produces to help us with stress, but too much stress equals too much Cortisol. An excess of Cortisol will raise your cholesterol and blood pressure, leading to Heart Disease. Stress hormones have the effect of thickening your blood, great if you are a warrior and get stuck by a spear or sword – it will slow down your blood loss, but not so good if you are sitting at a desk all day and your arteries begin to clog.

Social stress creates undue stress for many people and the emotions have been known to trigger cardiac events.

Cortisol also encourages fat storage, so if you are stressed about losing the excess kilos you have put on from stress related eating or the stress of dieting, you will continue to pile on the kilos…..

you can see that it’s a vicious circle…..

When you are stressed, you burn fewer calories and you are more likely to consume more food, particularly carbohydrates for quick energy. Unfortunately, this stresses the body further, as too much food is generally consumed, and the excess calories are converted to fat, which accumulates in the abdominal area. More people are turning to surgical solutions, such as the Gastric Band to create a smaller stomach in their quest to reduce weight. Imagine how easy it could be if you could use the power of your mind to do the same thing…….

Modern stress differs significantly in that the battles that we fight are not likely to be fighting the Sabre Tooth Tiger or a Woolly Mammoth, but a traffic jam on the freeway or a mountain of paperwork.

Other metabolic induced changes caused by an excess of Cortisol are:

  • Insulin resistance leading to higher blood sugar levels and Diabetes,
  • Reduced levels of oestrogen or testosterone which decreases the libido,
  • Suppression of immune cells leading to more frequent colds, flu or infections.

Chronic stress results in Cortisol and Insulin levels rising and signalling the fat cells to store as much as possible and hold onto the fat in case of “famine”.

The stressful event doesn’t even have to be real….. just the imagining of what “might happen”, the stress response will be the same.

So if you are overweight and cannot shift those kilos, you now know why.

Quite literally, you can put on weight even thinking about it!

Nature also gives us another hurdle to jump.

As we age, our metabolisms slow and a 50-year-old requires fewer calories than a 15-year-old. We also tend to move less as we age, thus not burning up the calories consumed.

Moderate exercise will relieve us not only of the burden of the excess kilos but also reduces stress, increases muscle tone and bone density. The flip side of the exercise coin is that excessive exercise can create the very stress that it is supposed to relieve, with élite athleteswho over train experiencing increased Cortisol levels, depression and weight gain when they stop training.

Another factor that leads to raised Cortisol levels is lack of sleep.

We are often “wired” in to our TV or computer in the evenings and long into the night. Excitement is provided by the latest “who did it” or action show and it is easy to lose track of time when engrossed in the plot.  Sleep deprivation – meaning less than 6 hours a night – will predispose you to insulin resistance or diabetes. The advent of the industrial age saw a good night’s sleep cut from around 9 -10 hours a night to the 7 or less hours we enjoy now.

Raised Cortisol levels affect the quality of our sleep in so many ways. An inability to relax in the early evening will cause the mind to become active later, resulting in insomnia that in turn results in feeling less than bright during the day. The fatigue that accompanies this cycle of events then leads to anxiety, forgetfulness, confusion and a tendency to more frequent infections. The increase in anxiety is caused by the stress hormones interrupting the function of neurotransmitters in the brain, causing physical changes in the brain.

The longer you go without doing something about stress and your response to it, the more chronic diseases such as IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Asthma, allergies, Crohn’s Disease and other inflammatory diseases begin to manifest. Therefore, if you have frequent gut or lung ailments it can be an indication that you are not managing your stress well.

Having a strong and supportive social network is a good start to managing your stress.

Exercise will enable the body to use the stress hormones in the way nature intended and managing the mind through meditation will reduce them further.

Naturally, these are simplistic solutions and there is more to managing your stress than these three suggestions, and if you have a medical condition you should continue your treatment and see your medical practitioner.

Call or email to make an appointment for a session on how to reduce your stress.

The unique therapy based coaching sessions will enable you to gain clarity in just a few sessions with the support of natural therapies such as Hypnotherapy, Homeopathy and Reiki should you require them.

Is time speeding up or am I slowing down?

Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Philosophy, ,

Well I’m not sure whether it is or not, but this weekend time will stop for a second as the clocks are adjusted and a second added.

Will we notice it?

Time seems to fly by at present. The time spent writing new course material, updating blogs (not that I have been very diligent on this one!) and keeping track of all the marketing through social media, it seems to me that time is at a premium.

Measured by the ticking of the clock, which some clients assure me they can hear on their hypnosis recordings, time is constant. It is what we do in that moment.

What distractions can keep us from finishing a task that is less enjoyable?

As one who is easily distracted by bright, shiny things and loves to wander down the path of endless learning, I am very clever at putting off the unpleasant or boring tasks. Setting out simple and achievable goals for the day and creating a routine is important. Yet, even in that split second that I paused after the last full stop, my eye caught on an uncapped pen which needed to be tidied up before finishing for the weekend.  Sometimes I reflect in wonder at the Diplomas on the wall, knowing that there were many distractions along the way.

So imagine what it would be like to be a time traveller, with the ability to manipulate time, feelings and outcomes.

Just take a moment to slip into the past to sort out the things that didn’t go as well as you expected or zip into the future to playfully fine-tune those outcomes and become extraordinarily successful, how would that be? Imagine how annoyed those who continually stare back at the past will be. Do you feel sorry for their continued aches and pains as their body inexorably trudges forward in time?

Is time travel really possible?

Well, the answer could be yes or no, as people are frequently moving their issues through time just by their use of language. The energy of what we say changes with the way we use tense to indicate where the issue is. We can move our issues through space and time in this way, and we can move our issues energetically to other people by generalizing or sharing your story or pain.

Typically a conversation that moves an issue to another person would go like this “ I have a horrendous meeting today – you know what it’s like when your stomach gets wobbly and you start to feel nauseous….” When you hear the words “….you know what it’s like….” There has been an energetic shift.

Here is an example of how you can manipulate time into past, present or future:

I have a issue

I did have a issue

I had a issue

I’m going to have a issue

I’m having a issue

I’ve always had issues

I’ll always have issues

I’ll always have had issues

How do you feel as you say each of these? Where are you? In the past, present or future and have you sped up time or slowed it down with the energy?

Now change issue to something pleasant. Like delight, pleasure, bliss, joy, exhilaration.

Notice how different that feels and how your thinking has changed. Notice whether you have used language in the past, present or future. Changing your words, can change your perception of time and outcomes!

Life Lessons

Homeopathy, Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Philosophy, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, , , , ,

I came across a saying at a training I went to recently:

“Are you ripe and rotting or green and growing?”

I would like to think that I am still green and growing, even though chronologically am scooting through the years.

The past 12 months have provided me with some great learning moments and the highs and lows of seeking to bring more balance into my life.

Challenged by new learning systems, particularly self paced study with webinars, and not face to face contact, I managed to achieve a bit over the months.  Difficult to find the balance between the detail that is required for submitting University papers and competency based  questions, I probably over intellectualized each question on the Cert 4 papers that I handed in.

The few face to face trainings that I did attend were quite unlike previous lectures or workshops and high energy and at times I was quite out of my comfort zone. All good though and I came away with new skills that I am putting to use on a daily basis.

Most of the year has been out of my comfort zone and parts of it have been a bit of a blur.

Physically, I was knocked out with a cardiac event – the date is indelibly marked in my mind – Thursday 10th February 2011. Emotionally, I was overwhelmed by the support of a few special people who have held my hand as I mended my heart. Particularly painful was the realization that family were not part of the healing process either at the time of the event or after the surgical ablation in July.

A bit like Humpty Dumpty, I felt like I had fallen off the wall and couldn’t be put back together again, but my “healing team”, consisting of a Homeopath, an Acupuncturist, a Hypnotherapist and a couple of Reiki Masters all worked hard to contribute to my improved health. I will also acknowledge the Cardiologist, in that he sorted out the electrical malfunction. New friends have been made and they may not be aware of the pearls of wisdom that they have given me at different times.

The lessons that clients bring are all part of the journey. It truly is a privilege to work with them and honour their trust as they go into a hypnotic trance. Each session has its special moments and it is quite profound to see the relaxation on their faces when they finish a session. Truly a trance-formation!

So the journey continues, veering down the spiritual road now, having picked up the tools of Reiki and Polarity Therapy  that I had set aside for so many years. Just recently I re-visited the EMF Balancing course that I did (OMG – that was last century!!)  And having picked up these tools, I am meeting and noticing people in my life that are claiming their spirituality, acknowledging the subtle energies of the body and feeling so much better for having them in my life.

Energy systems

Energy, energy fields, Hypnotherapy, Philosophy, Polarity, Reiki, Zen Chi

The energy exploration continues…. In the past week or so I have come across Vivaxis, which warranted a look at and a continuation of studying the human energy body.
In many cultures there has been a long and detailed study of the energy systems of the body – particularly in India with Ayurvedic Medicine and China with the energy of the meridians found in Acupuncture.
All of which leads back to where I started, going back to Reiki and Polarity Therapy, both of which I studied and now use on a daily basis.
Part of the daily practice in this year of energy exploration has been the use of the zen chi machine and I am now combining that time with listening to hypnotic recordings. Gradual changes in my personal energy are being noticed and I feel more centred and clear.

Monday Meditations

Education, Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Philosophy,

Yes, check the calendar, it’s Tuesday! The last 2 Monday evenings have been set aside for meditation and although the group is small, I am getting so much more than I thought possible from it.

I scheduled ten  sessions, each with a different topic and designed for both the regular meditator and the beginner.

Week one began with breath work, using different styles of breathing including counting the breath, and alternate nostril breathing. That one can be tricky if you have a cold or hay fever!

Week two was progressive muscle relaxation. We did going up the body from the feet to the head and then down again in a different style. There are as many variations on progressive relaxation as there are teachers, but I based the first on Ian Gawler’s interpretation and the second was what I use in some of my hypnotic inductions.

We had a short discussion whilst waiting to see if more people were to arrive about Chakras meditations, but we may not touch on this until the Mandala and meditation session in late November.

The mind is much clearer and the manual is on the way to being written. So many other books to read and reference from, but it seems that Mindfulness meditation is the path that I am most drawn to. It is a joy to sit a record the exercises, although there are a few “office noises” invariably just as the session is about to finish. It just means that I treat that as a rehearsal and do it again, and find that I relax more as I get into the flow of recording.

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De-Hypnotise yourself

Hypnotherapy, Life balance, Philosophy

I like to joke with my clients about my habit of choosing black to wear.

It’s not that I live in Melbourne, where black is a favoured colour at all, but it’s the case of the “pot calling the kettle black!”You see, I’m an expert on stress! Not only do I give presentations on how to identify it and reduce it, but being competitive, I can probably do stress better than most!

So how has stress served me? Apart from giving me a topic to talk about; when I removed a major stressor from my life – working in schools – I experienced a post stress, cardiac event earlier this year. Which of course has given me another topic related to stress to talk about!

Working through the stages of grief that so often accompanies a life changing situation, that Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified, I went straight into the first stage:

  • Denial – it’s not happening to me. So much into denial that I put myself into a hypnotic state and waited for the symptoms to go away, which of course they didn’t.
  • Anger – I got angry with everyone; myself, family, the doctors, the nurses….. I was ready to get up off the hospital trolley and go home because NO-ONE was telling me what was happening to me, prior to the angiogram.
  • Bargaining – this was a fairly brief stage,  more along the lines of how I might re-organize my lifestyle and having to come to terms with asking people to help, which was a new and difficult experience.
  • Depression – debatable whether I got to this stage. I did experience anxiety as I was continuing to have symptoms and sought professional help to manage this. Unfortunately the psychologist I saw, considered that my symptoms were more mental than physical and I went back into the “angry” stage, contemplating cancelling a scheduled cardiac procedure, which subsequently showed a physical issue.
  • Acceptance – I have now accepted that the events happened and through my own process, have come to the conclusion that I happen to have a condition (insert your own condition here…)that can be treated by…… you guessed it….. Hypnotherapy!

William James put forward the theory that 95% of our mind works at the unconscious or sub-conscious level taking care of biological functions as well as so much more of what we do and think. Like an iceberg, only 5% is on the surface. If this is so, then we can harness this unseen energy to change our focus.

It’s all about mindset.

So if you have just been diagnosed with a health problem, perhaps Type 2 Diabetes or a Cardiovascular issue, are you the person with the disease or do you just have symptoms of the condition?

We know that the potential of the human mind has barely been used and if this is so, then it is possible to de-hypnotise yourself from the suggestion that your future will be the same as the next person’s, without taking into account differing lifestyles.

If you are anxious about your health, or have been recently diagnosed with a health condition or experienced a series of cardiac symptoms, then a few sessions of Hypnotherapy combined with some powerful coaching techniques will help. Call to book a half hour complimentary session to discuss how you can use Hypnotherapy to successfully manage your mindset and reduce anxiety.

Club secretaries or organizations may be interested in the one hour presentation on 10 Keys to Managing your Health  as this is particularly relevant to the Baby Boomer generation.

 

Stepping Stones on the Spiritual Road

Education, Homeopathy, Hypnotherapy, Philosophy, Spirituality, Steiner
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right
Am I on the right spiritual road or not?
Who knows?
Who cares?
Somewhere along the road, the tradition that I was brought up in lost its relevance. 
It may come as a great surprise to some that know me, that at 13 I wanted to emulate a great aunt and don the habit. At 16 I was reading the Golden Bough, encouraged by teacher at school who seemed to understand my search for meaning. At 21 I was debating the finer points of Gospel with the door to door “God Botherers”, inviting them in for lengthy discussions. Having read the King James Bible from cover to cover a couple of times is a definite advantage. Reading the Koran, parts of the Bhagavad Gita and study of the various branches of Buddhism across Asia at University didn’t make for comfortable conversations in the suburban mother’s club or my previous friendship circle.
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs
Over the years, the roads to organized religion and spirituality diverged. The exploration of spirituality beckoned and the first stepping stone along the road was Reiki. Before I really knew what it was, a colleague at a Catholic school put her hands on my shoulders one afternoon. My blood felt like it had turned to lemonade – tiny, sparkling bubbles of furious energy rising to the top of my head and beyond. It was a defining moment and the next few years were spent in practical applications of Reiki.  Apprenticed to an old style teacher, I progressed and grew through the different levels. A long suppressed intuition began to emerge, but not without growing pains. Dreams became more vivid and the messages within them sometimes quite challenging. A more tangible reminder of the pain was falling down the garden stairs and snapping a ligament which stopped me from taking classes with an artist, who had been recommended by my teacher. I found out just recently that he is very involved in a cult called “The Family”. Quite literally stopped from going down that particular path!

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
So here I am, stuck in the middle. Still looking at organized religion on one side and spirituality on the other.

Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do,

I have friends of many faiths who seem able to accept their religion without question and I yearn for this simplicity. I have faith, I feel it, but it’s not tangible.
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
Continuing along the stepping stones, one step at a time. Exploring Christianity further and taking Confirmation lessons. Berated by the local Vicar for having pagan books and idols in my house. He suggests that the books on Buddhism, Islam and Judaism are to go. He is horrified that I have entered pagan temples and have Buddhist and Hindu art on my walls. Intuitively I step away and the next stepping stone is labelled Steiner education. This one resonates with me, but only for a while. How wonderful it is to see the education of the child as a whole person, nurtured and all the creative gifts brought out. Four years of evening classes that stimulates the mind and heals my own inner child. Then one evening, one of the instructors, a young man, tells the class he is a Nazi. My heart freezes.

Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,

Later, another lecture on how civilizations and societies grow to their peak and then fall. I see that there are people clinging just as rigidly to the principles of this education system and in denial about some aspects of modern life.  I know it is time to move on, take another step along the road.
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

The next stepping stone awaits.
An interest has grown out of the Steiner studies and I explore the world of Homeopathy. 

The search for an individual remedy to match the overall symptoms of the patient is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The remedies are tested on humans to produce the symptoms of illness. The modern medical profession deride the philosophy and bray about “evidence based research”, forgetting that in Hahnemann’s time they used bloodletting to cure fevers and poisoned their syphilitic patients with Mercury. Hahnemann’s theories about hygiene proved to be correct and are now adopted as sensible practice.
Three great friendships formed along this pathway and sadly only one survives. The first friend to go was one I went into practice with. He took his own life with homeopathics and I stopped seeing clients.  The second friend died just recently and luckily the friendship with the third is still strong, but there was a moment when I thought it might be me checking out of this life earlier this year.
Well you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please…. Please…..
Moving in and out of formal education forms the next series of stepping stones. Suffice to say that my sojourn in the education system is pretty much over. At least I gave it my best shot! 
Having a child that was diagnosed as ADHD puts a whole different perspective into being both a teacher and a parent. My teaching seemed to gravitate towards this group of students who were square pegs in round holes. 
Fortunate to assess and work with students and adults labelled with learning difficulties for 18 months gave me a new skill set to take back into school. 
At first it felt like I was home. 
Teaching was enjoyable, but the staff politics poisonous.
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
The next stepping stone was a re-exploration of Christianity. I ended up teaching religious education as well as Japanese. Even though the school espoused Christian values, behind the scenes there was very little honesty, love or charity. One of the risks of living in a house perched on the side of a steep hill is lots of stairs. Another trip down the stairs and another ligament, however I ignored this as a sign to change direction and continued on.  I was promoted and asked to re-write the curriculum and did so, but the toll on my emotional and physical health as a result of the intense bullying in the department was too much. The day before school was to resume, I resigned and never went back.
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck again on the spiritual road, another stepping stone presented itself to make the way forward easier. A friend had started up a Hypnotherapy college, would I be interested in coming along for an introductory course?
Why not? I was in the process of putting myself back together and came to the conclusion that this may just uncover the causes of my dilemma with spirituality and religion. In the meantime, I had been offered a position in an Islamic school, which I declined mostly because of my feminist views about the headscarf.  The Hypnotherapy course was over too soon and I discovered that my fellow students also held similar spiritual beliefs. I stayed on and did the Diploma and am finding that the more I work with my own subconscious, the more comfortable I am becoming with my spirituality. Another prod from my Reiki teacher to encourage me to become ordained in her Independent Christian tradition. I nearly did it. Just at the last minute, I bailed out. Couldn’t do it. The faith is there, the belief in something is there, but it’s not strong enough to bind me to that tradition.
A brief stint of eighteen months at a small government primary school gave me a positive experience to finish my teaching career with. Smooth stepping stones to pave the way to a different life. Another stepping stone was training in Past Life Regressions and my own regressions have been a shining light as to why I haven’t embraced organised religion.  Yet another stepping stone along this richly paved road has been my Coaching studies. What a plethora of intellect, talent and people open to change! Some amazing people with strong faith in their various religions.  I have a touch of envy, as it seems to be so easy for them to accept. Friends with some, observers of others, and the gifts so readily given have helped me to learn so much more about myself on this stage of the journey. I wonder if I can give back equally. I am grateful for all that has been given so generously.
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you.
Yes, I’m still searching.
Not so stuck, because I know there is faith and it’s within.
Lyrics by Stealers Wheel.

Spiritual Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy, Philosophy, ,

Spiritual Hypnotherapy – an interesting term. Historically, most religions have used the trance state to reach enlightenment. Meditation and prayer can result in ecstasy states for some fortunate people.The Sufi have their Whirling Dervishes and the monks of old had their Gregorian Chants. Look into the religions and you will find many activities that lead to altered states.

Trance states abound in modern society. Television is our most common mesmerist. The subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) beat of music can lead to  an altered state of awareness as well.So if your teenager is listening to their “doof doof” music while doing their homework and they get that far-away look in their eyes, it could be a great time to offer some suggestions about cleaning up their room…….!

Many people will be familiar with Hypnotherapy used in a Clinical sense – most commonly for stopping smoking or other addictions. It is used effectively in the Medical and Dental settings for anaesthesia and allaying anxieties.

Some will have even experienced stage hypnosis and clucked like a chicken or forgotten names or numbers. But Hypnosis is not mind control – all Hypnosis is actually self Hypnosis. You will only go into trance if you want to.

How long can you stay in trance? For as long as you want to! In Spiritual Hypnotherapy you may have a Past Life Regression session lasting  2 or more hours. A Lives Between Lives session can go for 4 or more hours.

So why Spiritual Hypnotherapy? The mind/body connection is not fully understood and I must admit I was very sceptical about this area when I first came across it. I had a Past Life Regression out of curiosity. What came out of that gave me goosebumps – the session was recorded and I have gone back over it several times. I spoke in another language and the session was validated several weeks later when I met a person who “knew” me, but I had never met. When we discussed my session, she produced her autobiography (which I had never read) and details matched. I had thought the session was an interesting “story”, but now there was a twist!

When the opportunity to train as a Past Life Regression Therapist, I went along for the experience. Again a smidgen of scepticism. Each session is different and I do enjoy being there as the “tour guide” to the client’s experience. Some sessions seem more vivid and real than others. One client in particular stands out. For the purpose of this article, I shall call her Jenny.

Jenny presented for a Past Life Regression partly out of curiosity, partly because she had a niggling problem that seemed to have no medical reason. She is a Reiki Therapist and very aware of the various metaphysical connections with aches and pains and had explored the physical and the metaphysical in search of an answer. She was open to whatever would come up in her session. Jenny went into trance very easily, helped by her meditation and Reiki practice and slipped into her past life with no effort at all. She described a town in old rural Japan where she was an educated young woman. Jenny was caring for and teaching some children when the town was attacked and she was speared in the abdomen and died.

Some weeks later, she was working in her clinic and one of her clients slipped into trance during a Reiki treatment and described the town and Jenny’s death, thus validating her experience for her. She realized that she had no longer experienced abdominal pain since having the Past Life regression. Knowing how she had died in that life appeared to remove the need to continue experiencing the pain in this lifetime.