Doing it Anyway

One of my clients went outside of her comfort zone this past weekend.  I had asked her to email me about her experience.

She reported back that she had gone to the movies by herself and had sent out an email inquiry regarding a class she's wanted to take.

Because she felt "nervous and a little uncomfortable," she had  not seen that she had indeed taken two strong actions until I pointed it out to her. 

Yes, she has the inner strength to live a more confident life and this weekend she proved it to herself.  The more she lives her life from that strong, increasingly confident place inside, the stronger and more confident she will be.

In the office, we will continue with EFT, TAT and hypnosis to fill-in those old grooves of nervousness and discomfort, step by step.

 

All Aboard the Energy Train

Being at the ACEP International Conference gives me such a wonderful feeling of belonging.  This, in spite of the fact that I identified myself as a hypnotherapist  long before I ever heard of EFT, let alone TAT.

I love the reverence for research-based findings in this group, while maintaining high respect for the transpersonal and esoteric elements of working with energy that are impossible to prove scientifically.

I am now done with the Essentials of Energy Health Part I training.  Part II is being offered at the end of the Conference and I didn't sign up for it because I was concerned about overwhelm at that point.  The past two days have helped me integrate previous trainings in a new, more usable way.  My clients can expect some dazzling new methods of identifying obstacles in their progress, and clearing those obstacles.  Whereas I have been using a pendulum to determine the direction of any given session, I can now offer my clients applied kinesiology or "muscle testing" to involve them in the process.  I can now also identify and correct energy imbalances.  How cool is that!

Tomorrow the regular Conference begins, as does my role as a volunteer for the first time.  I will let you know how that goes.

HypnoTAT

I do believe I've stumbled upon a fantastic combination:  hypnosis and TAT (The Tapas Acupressure Technique).  I'm calling it HypnoTAT.

My second client of the day yesterday was in for his first visit.  As often is the case, I was a "last resort."

Let's call this young man in his early 30's Frank.  Frank had had a medical scare three years ago.  Since then, he's gotten a clean bill of health from every medical professional imaginable:  cardiologist, neurosurgeon, endocrinologist, ENT specialist, even a neurological chiropractor.  Still Frank didn't feel "right."  His head felt foggy and he noticed that his emotions were flat.  He has a good job, beloved fiancée, great family support but felt unable to truly enjoy any of his many blessings.  The psychiatrist he recently saw recommended medication for depression.

As I often do, I dowsed on which technique to use in this first session and was surprised to get a yes for what I call a "Journey."  This is not usual for someone I have just met; but, if I've learned anything over the past 21+ years, it's to do as I am guided.  Frank was a little apprehensive but obviously desperate for a healing change, so off we went.

Using some touch hypnosis and my voice, I helped him relax deeply and guided him to a healing place.  Once there, it became clear that Frank's sense of safety had been severely impacted by the medical scare he'd had about his health.  He was stuck in that fear and unable to move beyond it.

How could I not think of Steps 1 and 2 of Tapas Fleming's brilliant TAT process?  1.  Everything that led up this happened.  2.  All that happened, it's over and it's safe for me to relax now.  I don't have to resonate, identify or connect with that anymore.

After Steps 1 and 2, I continued a few more.  I stopped when it felt right to do so and asked him to formulate a choice of how he would like to feel and be (Step 8).  I finished with the Integration Step.  Before I brought him back to full awareness, I asked him how he was feeling.  "Excited," was the immediate response.

All this was done while Frank was lying back in the recliner in my office, deeply relaxed, and so he didn't go into the pose that is usually an integral part of TAT.  Yet, he received every benefit possible.

When Frank came back from his healing place to full consciousness, he looked completely different.  His skin had lost the pallor I noticed when he first arrived and there was a brightness to his eyes that hadn't been there before.  His smile was wide and genuine.

As he prepared to leave, I asked him to check-in with me in a couple of weeks.  My sense is that if he's not completely fine now, he's certainly very close to it.  I'll  let you know when I hear from him.

For years I have been using EFT (The Emotional Freedom Technique) with clients in trance, a technique pioneered by my cherished mentor Marilyn Gordon, the director of The Center for Hypnotherapy Certification in Oakland.  Now I will continue the fun of exploring the possibilities of HypnoTAT as well!

Real Help for Veterans

 

 



One out of five veterans suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).  Symptoms vary in intensity but even the mildest can interfere severely with the peace of mind and heart of men and women who have served our country in war.

 

In November 2013, The Contra Costa Times/San Jose Mercury News published an editorial by Harry Croft, MD, a psychiatrist who has worked with over 7,000 veterans diagnosed with PTSD, and Sydney Savion, EdD, a retired military officer and applied behavioral scientist.  In the article, originally published on November 8, 2013 in the San Diego Union-Tribune, these two experts outlined four myths about PTSD. 

Myth #4 is significant:  There is nothing that can be done to treat the condition.  Once you get it, you got it and there's just very little that can be done for you.  Not true at all!

 

Unfortunately, the writers did not elaborate on what can be done.  So let me fill-in that gap.

 

It is well-documented that Energy Psychology therapies such as The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and The Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT) yield outstanding results in alleviating the symptoms of PTSD not only for veterans but civilians caught up such in traumatic events such as the 9/11 World Trade Center bombing, Hurricane Katrina and the Boston Marathon bombing.  

 

Why isn't every Veterans Administration therapist trained in energy psychology?  Why aren't the energy therapies widely acknowledged as the go-to treatments for PTSD?  The answer lies in the tremendous power of certain well-funded associations of conventional psychologists who have been blocking such recognition. 

 

We owe our veterans our very best resources and support as well as our thanks.  If you know any veterans who are struggling with the symptoms of PTSD, please tell them about the powerful Energy Psychology techniques that can help them get their lives back.  www.energpsych.org has more info.



Back Just In Time

Having just returned from France through SFO, yesterday's plane crash really grabbed my attention.  Just reading the related articles in this morning's paper got my empathic channels going.

When something like this happens, I relate to the people on the plane, the friends and relatives of those who died or were injured, the people who watched the crash from the ground, and the passengers whose unrelated travels were interrupted or cancelled.  Why?  Because flying phobias are often born or deepened in those very incidents and my client files are filled with these stories.

Years ago I worked with a woman who had just missed her flight out of the Denver airport.  As she stood at the gate watching the plane she was supposed to be on take off, it crashed right in front of her.  She had to be heavily medicated in order to board a flight home when flights were once again available and suffered for years from horrific flying phobias. 

As with so many of my clients, she came to me as a last resort, without any real hope of getting relief from her crippling fears. 

Her description of the crash was crystalized in memory and full of sensory details.  Since the subconscious has no sense of time and since part of her had frozen as she watched the crash, this made perfect sense. 

Using EFT (The Emotional  Freedom Technique) we slowly, gently and methodically dissolved the hold the experience had on her, moment by moment, memory by memory until she could recount the entire experience from beginning to end without any negative emotion attached.

She thought it was a miracle.  I knew it was just EFT doing its magic.

Kids & Teens

 

Thank you, Lucy, so much for meeting with us. [My daughter] really did get a lot out of her time with you. She listens to your CD almost every night before bed. Her anxiety that started at the beginning of school has basically disappeared - yay! - and she's smiling and more playful again now (her old self).

 I think we would like to come back to see you sometime for a check in.

 Thank you again, and see you soon,

EK

 

It’s been hard enough for us adults to process the gauntlet of disasters dominating the news over the past few months.  What about the young ones in our lives?   Their coping tools are even more limited than ours. 

Especially if your child has just completed a challenging school year, consider the benefits of a few sessions of my work.  EFT and TAT are perfect avenues for bringing closure to difficult relationships and lingering unhappy memories from the previous school year, while custom hypnotherapy CDs help establish a solid new blueprint for success in the forthcoming year.

 If your child has experienced the agony of bullying, I can help.

 If your child had a bad year academically, I can help.

 If your child has had difficulty with shifting friendships, I can help.

 If your child experienced text anxiety, I can help.

 If your child wants to improve athletic skills, I can help.

 If your child is curious about new ways to think, behave, react and even write, I can help.

 

             

EFT to the Rescue!

A few weeks ago I gave a free EFT introduction at the Women's Health Center in Walnut Creek. One of the participants sent me this note afterward:


"I want to share with you that the night I got back from the EFT class I introduced MIA to do EFT on an issue she has been having for the past 2 years with one of my nieces that goes to the same high school...(long story) MIA has gone thru stress about her so we did EFT together, did it around 4 times. Amazinglyyy!!! she did shift!!... she woke up the next day and surprised me of her reasoning. It has been the greates shift EVER!. MIA is now doing EFT at school when she needs to...she shared with me...Mama...I went to the restroom to do EFT on a situation I had at school and I feel great!. We have been also doing EFT when she is overwhelmed with so much school work and amazingly!! she says she feels motivated and capable to handle the work.

Just wanted to share that with you."

This is reprinted with permission; MIA is not her real name.

A Day of Wonder

My TAT mentor, Lisa Saubolle, ends each of her emails with "May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder." John O'Donohue

Today was such a day.

It started with a wonderful email from a client who was crowing that he'd gotten his three lowest golf scores of the year + a silver medal in an important East Coast golf tournament + aced an important sales presentation abroad.

That would have been gift enough.

But then I met a new client who had come in for smoking cessation. There was no question that she had been guided to me. As I got to know her a bit, it was clear that she was someone very connected spiritually and that my usual smoking cessation protocol (a unique combination of EFT, guided imagery and hypnotherapy) could be dispensed with for her. Instead, with her permission, I used my touch hypnosis technique to help her relax completely and prepare her for a journey to the Sacred Space of her House of Healing. I figured she was connected enough with her Guides and Angels that they would take care of things. And boy, did they!

She had a remarkable healing from her Guides. They literally cleansed her body of the cigarette smoke as well as her desire to smoke. They showed her many wonderful images and symbols she understood clearly, including the message that this healing was permanent. Me? I took copious notes and held the space.

When it was over, she looked absolutely radiant. She was so happy and calm and, yes, a bit awestruck. She tossed her final pack of cigarettes into my special red basket before leaving. Sweet!

Even though such experiences happen rather frequently in my office, they are a constant source of inspiration and gratitude for me. It is proof positive that when we set the intention to heal, it is a sacred intention and therefore all of our Guides and Angels gather to support that intention in whatever way is meaningful to us.

What a day!

Flying Phobias

Did you know that I have a 100% success rate with fear of flying? This includes the woman who changed her reservations at the last minute, watched the plane she was originally scheduled to take collide with another plane upon take off, and was so distraught she had to be completely knocked-out in order to get home later. Her husband wanted to take her to Italy for a special anniversary and she wanted to enjoy the ride. She did! 100% success rate without any negative side effects. There's not a pharmaceutical out there that can match that.

My success rate in helping people overcome panic, anxiety and other debiltating fears (driving on freeways, over bridges and through tunnels come to mind) is not 100% but for those who stick with me, it's pretty darn close.

Average length of treatment is 6 sessions and usually combines EFT with hypnotherapy. The side effects my clients report include improved sleep, better outlook, more confidence. How cool is that!