Archive for November, 2008

Some things just click.  Alone they are great, together they are fantastic.  Hypnosis and EFT, the Emotional Freedom Technique are like that.  

One practitioner called it weed whacking, and then mowing to make things smooth. My approach is bit more gentle, I think of it like pulling weeds, so you are free to grow whatever you want or need.

For the past year I have been experimenting  with the format of the Breakthrough Sessions. I like doing groups. Everyone benefits and it is cost effective. 

The last Breakthrough Session was really powerful.  I allow my intuition to start somewhere with someone. I tap on myself and the person I am working with mirrors me, while I talk. I don’t know where the words come from, but things slip out of my mouth and I just keep going. Everyone taps along. 

What I find is that the repetition puts everyone in a bit of a trance, including me, and we get results.

On Monday, we tapped on the fact that Carol had a new kitchen, a new juicer, as well as fruits and vegetables that were going to rot if she didn’t use them soon. But they were more like props for the life she wanted and couldn’t get herself to live. She said, “I don’t deserve to feel good”.

We tapped on all of the reasons why, and this came up as another aspect from being sexually abused, and then not being believed as a child. Letting go of that kind of emotion is powerful. 

As we went around the room, one person’s relief seemed to feed the fire of the next person’s ah!ah! The next participant, who has made real strides, surprised me when I saw tears streaming down her beautifully round face. She sighed and said, “I gave up on myself at eighteen years old”.

I hope you enjoy Nina Simone, and this song, as much as I do. Sugar, more often than not, is a euphemism in music. This is one of my favorites. Her artistry is incredible.

In the past Letting Go of Sugar Hypnosis Hour, attended by “newbies” and “old timers” I was reminded that it is a journey, and not a destination. It is certainly not about never having sugar again, but It is about changing your relationship.

Sugar happens to be a drug, which some of us have or have had a harder time with than others. I began by explaining my own love of sugar.

Sometimes people don’t hear that so I give details, “Back in the day, I would treat myself to a pound of Dilettante chocolate, way too many Snickers bars, and if you want to hear about my love of frosting and cake, pull up a chair.

I had gone to Simply Desserts in Fremont because a new client waxed poetic about their cakes, and I wanted something very tempting for class. As soon as I walked in the door, I was nearly knocked down by the smell of sweetness and then I was in the Dreamland: picture perfect red-headed girls, a beautiful mom, wide planked wooden floors, and cakes from fairy tales. Yes, a real drug den.

I left without a piece of cake. I had to go somewhere less intoxicating.

The first time Catherine came to my one of my Sugar Workshops she confessed that it was either a sugar day or not a sugar day. On a sugar day, she would eat pretty much only sugar.

I would like to say she immediately took the cure after that one class, years ago, but she did not. Catherine is a good example of determination. She came back several times. With the combination of EFT, hypnosis, counseling and her own very stubborn spirit, she changed her mind and has turned her behavior around.

My spirit soared when she said, “I just take care of myself. I eat what I want.” Next up was Patty. She said, “I can’t believe how far I have come. I used to say, “I am going to be bad and have this.” Now it makes me laugh and I cringe a bit when others say it. If I really don’t want something and I feel tempted, I just imagine pickle juice. It is kind of fun and I am almost fifty pounds down, yeah me!”

Did it take each of us some time? Yes. Was it worth it? You betcha!

A newer client talked about how she loves to go out and treat herself. Her affection wanders but is consistent in that all sweets are special, and especially when shared. As we used EFT on her desire for the beautiful and sexy piece of cake I did bring to class, her craving waned and she made the comment, “If you are going to mess with me, I don’t want it.”

We did a couple of EFT rounds of tapping and I slipped in some statements about entitlement. When I finally ask her if I could throw her piece of the cake in the garbage, she did not flinch, but I could feel that going through her mind was, “I can go buy my own piece of cake.”

We saw each other the next day and this is what she said: “When I left class I thought, I can go buy a piece of cake. But then I thought, I am kind of hungry, I want some protein. For some reason I drove by Red Lobster and I wanted to go in. I have never even been to a Red Lobster before. Then I wanted deep fried prawns. I haven’t had deep fried prawns since I was a little kid. It used to be my favorite. I stopped eating them after I ordered prawns a restaurant that was a little more expensive than usual for my family. When I bit into one it was runny, but I knew if I said I didn’t like it, I would get into trouble, so I said it didn’t taste right, because that was the safer thing to say. My step dad immediately said, “You ordered it you have to eat it.” My mom reached over and took a small taste and she said, “They don’t taste right.” My step dad thought she was just siding with me and insisted I eat them. Well, my mom bless her, ate half, and we both got really sick.

He never admitted there was anything wrong with those prawns. We were just sticking together. “ At home her step dad was allowed sweets, but she wasn’t.

That Hypnosis Happy Hour for Sugar was in July. I ran into her yesterday and she said, Yes, I still have my favorite bakeries, but my approach is different, I don’t feel so compelled and sometimes I can take a few bites and leave the rest. I also spoke to Catherine today; she said she made a pumpkin pie, ate one piece, felt satisfied, and someone else ate the rest.

To learn more about how you too can change your mind about sugar, check out Letting Sugar Go, a great way to ease your way into a different relationship with all things sweet.