Tuning In

A strange as it sounds, we only have a vague idea of what we look like on the outside. Many of us can’t bear looking at self-photographs and work hard to keep cameras away. Of course not everyone is the same. Even if we like the way we look, and view photographs of ourselves, what we get to see is only a momentary image caught by the lens, now seen through our own perception and inner judging program. For certain, we do remain a mystery, both outside and inside!

A very large percentage of what resides inside of us, physical or emotional, tends to remain mysterious for most of our lives, mainly because we’re not attentive to the clues sent up by the body departments. Sometimes we awaken if the body part screams loud enough, but even then, little is done about the underlying cause. We may turn to medication to obliterate the symptom, or to another substance to mask the truths. If the family history pulls towards addiction, these symptoms then become the hooks, and an unhealthy pattern of behavior is etched into the subconscious mind.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK – WORKING WITH MOMENTS

The practice of interactive awareness helps us to work where the action is, right in the middle of the moment. It will be important to have a working image tool, representative of an actual moment. The reason for this is that moments are difficult to catch, especially in the beginning of your mind-body work. Most of us tend to auto-pilot through life. As you learn to catch moments, you will be practicing the techniques of releasing or letting go. Then, you will be able to add subconscious mind re-programming for managing the many facets of all problems or issues.

In my practice, students and patients work with dry lentils, keeping a jar of them on their desk. I suggest you do the same. Some patients have two jars, one symbolizing moments that are left in life, the other representing those that were missed because of inattentiveness. Of course, we cannot catch all moments. It is ridiculous to think that we would even want to, but we certainly do want to catch the key moments. Those will be different for everyone, but as you learn to work with the tools of interactive awareness and self-hypnosis, you will become aware of the areas where you need to wake up, then change. Your subconscious mind librarian will assist you.

READER QUESTION

"I’ve noticed that when I am eating lots of sugar foods or involved in disorderly eating, my body is filled with tension. I’m a runner and areas of old injury hurt more on these days. Perhaps the most frightening part is that I have an underlying anxiety that doesn’t seem to be connected to anything that is going on in my life. I just feel awful. I would like to understand what is happening and why. Knowledge is definitely motivational for me."

In this chapter you will begin to understand more about listening to your body communications. This reader is ahead of the game. She has already noticed that her body speaks a different language when her diet is inferior. More than likely, the underling general anxiety represents reactive hypoglycemia. In Chapter One you learned how food stress changes your biochemistry. Now you will begin to see those Knowledge Hooks as they appear in your own body and mind. Remember that it is not enough just to know something. You must go the next step, joining in the action.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK –MENTAL BIOFEEDBACK AND BODY SCANNING

Most of us are familiar with the term "biofeedback". Individuals are hooked up to a special machine, then taught relaxation techniques that help the body to maintain a healthy blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, etc. The person can see the special screen that shows their progress. This type of training can be very empowering, as the mind and body connection is personally experienced. This is especially important for individuals caught up in stress reaction that can be dangerous to health outcomes.

Body scanning is mental biofeedback. There is no need to be hooked up to a machine to change the way your body functions. This mind-tool holds a big advantage because in any moment in time, the person practicing mental biofeedback can change a mind or body outcome. There are also other advantages. As one learns to observe the momentary body sensations over a period of time, the body sensation patterns become clear. One can see how they are attached to particular emotional states, or perhaps other triggers such as situations or even relationships. Another advantage is the feeling of self-confidence in being able to change an unpleasant or frightening sensation, right there in the moment, whether it be peaking or just beginning to build. As one becomes more practiced in the skills of mental biofeedback, it becomes easier to catch the body sensations at earlier moments, when it is much easier to diminish or release them. This is extremely empowering. Later on you will learn many applications for doing this.

CONTAINMENTS AND RELEASE

Containments are invaluable because they allows us to work in big areas of our lives without feeling overwhelmed. Body sensations can be overwhelming, especially if they are not contained or released. In that circumstance, the body and mind will produce even more sensations to deal with. A good example of this is anxiety and panic disorder. Anyone experiencing this problem can certainly attest to this. It’s simple to set up a mind-container. Let me show you how. Take a moment to relax deeply. On your mind screen label a special container for body sensations. Later on you may decide to have several containers for different kinds of sensations, but for now we will work with one container. Notice a particular sensation in your body. Focus or pay special attention to that sensation. Now move it into the mind container. Pay attention. Keep the focus. You can now change the sensation. Practice diminishing it; making it smaller. Dim it, just with the power of your mind. Change the color to one that is pale or uninteresting.

We all have tons of body sensations, but sense very few of them, as they build through our daily physical, mental and emotional stress. The stressors do not have to be big. Low level or chronic stress is responsible for much of our illness. If you are addicted to sugar, practice disorderly eating, or partake in other addictions, you will tend to have even higher levels.

Through body scanning you will have a glimpse at more of them. Just this small peak will act like the lens of your camera. The sensation will be caught and now you can change it through the mind and body communication system provided by Interactive Self-Hypnosis tools.

SELF-EXPLORATION – TRAINING YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The results you get will equal the amount of work you are willing to do. Mind training is no different from any other training. As you train with the tool of mental biofeedback, you can either become excellent or mediocre. The choice is yours.

You already know that it is not possible to catch and examine each moment. Your true purpose is to engage your subconscious mind in assisting you to release stress throughout the day. It is rather like hiring a highly skilled personal assistant whose job it is to check the body continuously, releasing as much stored stress as possible. The personal assistant will also bring to your attention any body sensations that are too big for it to handle. These you must release, as you did in the above exercise.

As your Therapeutic Self becomes highly trained, you will find yourself spending more time at the slow brain, or alpha level. You will be producing less stress chemicals at this level. In addition, when you are at the alpha level, you are also at the door of the subconscious mind. In this position you have all the freedom to practice many different Interactive Self-Hypnosis applications. You will be learning more about this later in this book.

MIND EXERCISE

You will want to practice body scanning or mental biofeedback several times during the day. It doesn’t take long to do this once you get the idea. You can also train with audio I’ve designed for this purpose, but you will still want to be practicing right in the moment as well. You already have a “mind container” and now I’ll help you design a body container. Please read through this exercise and then close your eyes to practice.
Sit up straight in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Take a big yawn breath and hold it in your mouth for the count of four. Let it release slowly, taking time to do this. Place your fingertips gently on your lower abdomen, allowing it to rise and fall, just like a merry-go-round horse goes up and down. Next, image magnets pulling your body down into your chair, under your buttocks and behind your back, almost as if you were the chair and the air of the room was sitting on you. Tilt your eyes up about twenty degrees and on your mind screen image the number four coming in slowly from a distance. Allow the four to enter your forehead and now focus on the number three coming in slowly, noticing it entering your heart. The two is making it’s way in and entering your lower body and now the number one is coming towards you and outlining your body in white paint, just like a big cookie cutter. Notice you can take the cookie cutter image off and put it back on.

The cookie cutter is your containment. When you are wearing it, all body sensations are contained and you can read them easily. Start reading and inner communicating from the top of your head.

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BodySpeak

These mindBody exercises are a continuation from the last blog entry.

INNER MOTIVATION

Relax as before and bring forth one of your cells. This time I want you to go inside, observing the manager fighting an invader. This one happens to be a bacteria delivered at the water cooler. Notice the manager is looking for supplies in the way of deliveries of food and beverage. You know what you delivered today, so notice this and how the manager responds to what is available. Notice the state of affairs in the cell based on the deliveries of the past week. Notice the response of the cell manager. Open the door and notice that healthy supplies have arrived. Observe the cell manager in action as the bacteria invasion is managed. Know how important your behaviors and habits are to outcomes. Take this moment to make a commitment to a better relationship with your body.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Food allergies and sensitivities are not uncommon especially in those with sugar addiction and eating disorders. Common ones include wheat, corn and dairy. If there is a history of alcohol problems in a family, even if that individual does not drink or is a child, it is not uncommon to have grain allergies. These often surface with accompanying personality or behavioral changes including compulsions, anxiety and depression.
You are working to be aware of how your mind and body react to what you eat and drink. As awareness develops connections may become clearer, an allergist may need to be consulted. Sometimes it is as simple as removing a particular food group and then reintroducing it later on. Other ties the food group may need to be removed permanently to manage the symptoms. In the long run, even though this may not be poplar, the end results will far outweigh the enjoyment of the offending food or food group.

INNER MOTIVATION

The subconscious mind remembers and will pull information together for you. If you have lots of body communications, ask your subconscious mind to remind you to observe particular foods in relation to these outcomes. Ask to be alerted with flags. Sometimes we are so lost in automatic pilot that we simply forget about what happened the last time we had problems with a food. As you learn what you body has to say about something you eat or drink, you will be able to study it more carefully. It's amazing how common food sensitivities are. Relax for a moment and see yourself requesting this service offered by your own subconscious mind.

Now it is time to focus on eating patterns and behaviors. You will soon come to learn that these are just as important as food choices.

WAKING UP TO EATING PATTERNS

Waking up to eating habits is the first step in getting sugar and disorderly issues under control. This is also paramount in developing a nutritionally sound eating plan for your self. We live in a society filled with unhealthy food at every turn. Most of us walk around without any self-discipline. I know many children and adults who have never eaten a fresh vegetable or protein that hasn't been processed. People eat at all hours and often all day long. Few people know what a serving size looks like. Look around. It’s easy to find serving sizes that have multiplied to the point of being ridiculous. The next time you are in a restaurant focus on the plates that come out of the kitchen. The other day I spotted a plate of food that was taller than the woman who was eating it!

Then there are the people who don't eat at all. Many are addicted to nicotine and some to alcohol. They turn their backs on healthy breakfasts, often miss lunch and then have "whatever" for dinner. Addicted people tend to drink lots of caffeine in the form of coffee or soda. Thin people feel it is just fine to drink the regular versions. The more obese tend to drink diet versions, believing this is o.k. as the calorie count is low. Grazing behaviors have become the norm, often replacing regular meals while interfering with normal appetite levels.

Eating habits and the problems that plague them have an extraordinary number of facets. It will help you to observe those of others, even if you do not experience the same. As you collect more and more awareness, your own subconscious mind will feel confident in showing you additional facets of your own. This is key to self-improvement.

QUESTION FROM A READER

"I honestly don’t like “healthy food” and never have. Does this mean that I will never enjoy eating again if I choose to lick my sugar addiction? This doesn’t exactly motivate me to want to change!"

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

It’s not uncommon for those addicted to sugar to report not liking healthy foods, but this is more of a generalization that a fact-filled statement. If Pierce were asked to choose some foods that he enjoyed off of a table with a hundred or so choices, I will bet that some of the foods he would choose would fall in the healthy category. “Generalizing” is a common pitfall in the addictive personality, often used as an escape mechanism from dealing with the truth and making change. As you continue to explore this book you will find that managing sugar addiction is more about what you need to add to your nutritional intake and less about what needs to be taken out.

There is tremendous power in awareness and waking up from automatic pilot. As your awareness is heightened, new choices will appear almost magically. Change and lifestyle change in particular is often perceived as being difficult, if not impossible. While there may be some obstacles to overcome, if the new chosen behavior is imaged with powerful, positive emotional states and then placed hypnotically, the journey miles will be very different.

Lifestyle change means what it says. This is not something temporary, but permanent. This alone scares people who prefer to hang on to what they know, even if it is not working or is truly detrimental to their health. You can see examples of this without even looking very hard. In fact, why not look right inside yourself and find some very personal examples.

Earlier you learned about your family and personal medical history and how it connects to sugar and carbohydrate issues and how they connect to weight gain or yo-yoing. While it is important for everyone to pay attention to eating habits, it is paramount for those with sugar, carbohydrate or any other addiction. Not to do so is flirting with disaster in the present, as well as down the path. Make no mistake, every meal is important and can either take you towards chronic killer disease or towards a very high level of health and performance.

SELF-EXPLORATION

What time do you get up in the morning? Do you feel well rested? Do you dream? These are all-important questions and need awareness application. Some people are early risers and have a morning ritual. Others prefer to wait until the alarm rings for the third time and then find they rushing through their morning needs and often out the door without any nutrition at all. Smokers or those with a history of smoking often stop long enough for a morning coffee or grab this on their way to work.

I’m sure you have heard this before! Breakfast is a very important meal and must not be missed, especially if your goal is to manage a healthy weight and move away from addiction. While you don’t have to eat the minute your feet hit the floor, you must plan for breakfast. In the chapters that follow you will learn about healthy choices and what your body needs if you are sugar or carbohydrate addicted. These choices will also hold true if you have a problem with nicotine, caffeine, alcohol or drugs. In this work you are learning to observe and so do notice your appetite, determining if it is high, medium or low. You might also notice if you body sends communications about hunger such as tummy hunger, other physical signs and of course feeling shaky, lightheaded or weakness. At this point you haven’t learned about what you need to be eating and so make note of what you currently eat and drink. It’s important to set up a knowledge hook for this and later you will hang a motivation on it.

Review your past behaviors and notice if you ever skip breakfast and the reasons why you might do this. These are areas that will need correction in the future. You will learn how to defend the needs of your body from outside forces, such as schedules, business breakfasts, etc. Notice if you ever become hungry between breakfast and lunch and again make a note about this. If you do notice mid-morning hunger, determine the distance from breakfast and then think about what you tend to do about this, such as getting another cup of coffee, visiting the snack machine, or perhaps smoking. Later on in this work you will come to understand much more about why your body responds in this way and what needs correction.

Most of us live on auto-pilot and have little idea as to what we put in our mouths to care for our body cells. Water is a very important health drink and water consumption needs awareness work. Think for a moment about your water consumption in the early part of the day and make some mental notes about this. Few people consume sufficient water, instead filling the body with coffee, tea and soda, all of which take away from high level health.

QUESTION FROM A READER

" For some strange reason I gag on water. This is why I drink diet drinks instead. I can’t imagine ever being able to drink eight glasses of water a day for the rest of my life. I almost have to laugh thinking of it ! How ca

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BluePrints & RoadMaps

INNER MOTIVATION

You may or may not notice that you are building a new structure for your lifestyle behaviors. Your map is like a blueprint. When architects work with blueprints, they also have drawings of what the building will look like when it is completed. I'd like you to put together some inner pictures of what you will look like, as well as how you will feel physically when you are at 100% completion.

Perhaps you've been there before and so you know what images to bring forward. If you haven't any idea, simply make something up, just as if you had a photograph sitting in front of you, and you could sense the body communication. Look at the photograph through a mind-magnifying glass. While this may sound like a silly game, it is not. It is serious mind programming. You get what you think about. Later on you will find out more about the power of your thoughts, but right now go ahead and do this part of the work. Now hang those photographs on your new knowledge hooks.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Managing sugar addiction means working continually to correct insulin resistance. This work could be called disease prevention. You must eat correctly every day. No day is an exception. Remember the bank account. Each and every day you must work to manage your emotional states and stress levels. It will take hot desire, motivation, persistence and self-discipline to achieve correction. Most of us have little or no experience in self-manufacturing inner chemical states, but this is what is needed to make a permanent lifestyle change.

Do know you are not a beginner. You weren’t born yesterday. Throughout life you have been building resilience that has been stored in your subconscious mind, and you can retrieve it. You have all kinds of resilience, big and small. Resilience means that somewhere along the road of life you have survived through something. The longer the survival process, the more resilience you will find in the memory. People who have stopped drinking, smoking or lived through a life-threatening experience, challenged disease or a disability usually have good resilience. However, if you feel you are short in this department, you can also build role models for resilience and actually transfer from them hypnotically. Let's practice.

INNER MOTIVATION

Let’s practice on the mind screen. Tilt your eyes up and locate it. Now take out your blueprint or map, placing a calendar of last month in the upper right hand corner. Tear off that calendar and place the calendar page for this month on the blueprint. Pick up the corner of this month's calendar and notice there is one under that for next month and one under that for the month after. In fact notice that there are unending calendars waiting to come to the top.

This is a mind program for understanding that the work you are doing is ongoing. It does not have a beginning or an end. Where did we ever get the idea that if we eat well this month, then next month we can eat whatever we want? It should be clear by now. The cell managers remain the same and need the same foods to stay healthy. That doesn't mean that you can't have certain treats, etc. and must live a rigid life. It does mean that you must be self-responsible and stay aware of what your body needs in order to function. Remember, you don't know how to be a cell yourself, so it is in your best interest that you stay in focus.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

It’s not uncommon for women to have gynecological or hormonal issues related to sugar addiction or disorderly eating. While there are other reasons for irregular periods, pre and post-menopausal symptoms, sugar or imbalanced eating can be the culprit. Be sure to check things out with your gynecologist. Then, correct your nutritional intake. You might be pleasantly surprised at how many symptoms are connected to not providing your body with what it needs.

KIDS AND SUGAR ISSUES

The sugar culprit begins its destructive work early in life. Even small infants are treated to this substance by doting parents who often have no idea that they are setting up a life long addiction in their precious offspring. In fact, most parents would deny that they do this at all. Many would insist that they only provide the very best nutrition for their children. I hear this over and over in my office. Then the truth is uncovered as we discuss what truly goes into the mouth of the youngster over a twenty-four hour period. This is why knowledge, coupled with heightened awareness is so very important.

I’d like to share a patient history here with you. Sarah was only five when she came to my office. As she was fair skinned and blonde, I had to look closely to notice that she had no eyebrows or eyelashes. In fact, a good portion of the hair on her head was also missing. Her Mother had cleverly combed it so it wasn't so noticeable. Sarah suffers from trichotillomania, or compulsive hair pulling. Although there have been no epidemiological studies to identify the actual number of people with this condition yet, it is estimated that in the United States alone, there are probably between 6 to 8 million sufferers of trichotillomania.

According to Dr. Doris Rapp, the author of Is This Your Child, children with tricotillomania respond well to dietary change including reduced sugar intake. Sarah's mother maintained that her nutrition was healthy, but my assessment didn't agree. Over 85% of Sarah's intake was in the form of very high-glycemic or refined sugars. The first order of business to help Sarah was to redesign her eating plan and eliminate a good number of the sugar foods. While it's a true challenge to clean up a child's diet, it is possible. It helps to allow the child to participate in the planning and shopping. Self-hypnosis etches new mind programs and helps the child manage the left over stress, once the food stress is in control.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Learning to listen to your body is one of our most important holistic tools. The cell managers communicate with you through body sensations. The process of body listening is known by many names including mental biofeedback. We choose to take messages through the practice of body scanning. This technique is taught in the top stress reduction clinics of the world and is a way of re-training the body to release stress chemicals. The body and mind often have much to say about the food connection.

You will be learning more about working with body sensations later on in this program. For now let us focus on the food connection to body sensations. If you are not eating a balanced or sufficient diet, your body will produce stress hormones that will communicate with you through body sensations. These stress chemicals include insulin, adrenaline, nor-epinephrine and cortisol. Some corresponding body sensations could include headache, muscle spasms, weakness, lightheadedness, poor vision, nervousness, exhaustion, fatigue, mood swings, as well as a variety of tension related symptoms.

Most of us tend to eat on automatic pilot, without any concern for the resulting mind and body chemistry. As we travel through our day, we might have a tendency to pick up small snacks, cookies, candy, pretzels, coffee, soda or juice. Perhaps a coffee mug lives on your desk. Each time you eat or drink, your body must perform its chemical balancing act, making special effort to keep the body in balance. If you continue along in this way, day after day, the body often develops food stress, or the inability to manage, especially if the rest of the nutritional intake is poor or inadequate.

INNER MOTIVATION

Take a moment to elicit your relaxation response. Tilt your eyes up slightly, placing one of your cells up on your mind screen. It doesn't matter where it comes from. Each and every time you eat something, the food rings the doorbell of the cell and the cell manager cannot say no to the delivery. If the delivery is healthy and timely, the manager is delighted, but if it is unhealthy and untimely, the manager is in trouble. Feel how good it is to know that you do know this now and that you have powers beyond what you thought before you had this knowledge. We are motivated towards and away from. This imagery exercise is a good example of both. Be sure to place it in a place of honor on your road map.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Boosting the immune system is another important focus of living holistically. The immune system is the defense system of the mind and body against microorganisms. One of the most negative results of excessive levels of stress, or poor body management is the effect on the immune response. This is often seen is someone who has frequent colds and other infections. There is much research in progress regarding how stress affects the immune system, and especially regarding autoimmune diseases including allergies and cancer. There is also the psychological aspect of seeing oneself as a frequently ill person. This can be potentially damaging to the self-image and self-esteem, thereby directing outcomes not in keeping with high level functioning.

How you choose to eat directly affects your immune system. There is little discussion about this fact of life. The problem is that we tend to be asleep to the needs of the body in the now, but more so in the needs of the body in the future. What you eat today has an outcome down the road as well. Imagery and self-hypnosis will help you to wake up and also to place permanent wellness programs into your subconscious mind. The work you are doing here is not difficult, but it is awake-work a

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Toe Stubbing

Here we are continuing from the last blog entry.

INNER MOTIVATION

As in all motivational work, read through the exercise and then close your eyes, reviewing what you just read as if a movie were playing on the movie screen right behind your closed eyes. Make certain you will not be disturbed as you read and work with these tools.

Waking up to your life path is good news. However some people do not see it this way. Usually this is because they do not have knowledge hooks or motivational containments. They awaken into a highly stressed time of life with no tools. This can be overwhelming and frightening. No one is born with life-management tools. Few notice they don't have them until a life path wake-up is experienced. People tend to dream-walk until they stub their toe or completely fall down. By reading this book you are awakening and hopefully you haven't stubbed too many toes.

Knowledge and understanding are keys to success. You will come to understand why you binge or have your other problems. You will be able to put down your fear in a containment. As you bring your problems to the light, you will see them clearly. The fog will lift. You will come to understand that managing your problems is not a curse, but a gift. The problem is waking you up. Your food and beverage changes will benefit you through the rest of your life. You will be your future experiences, moving away from medical complications into a healthy life.

Spend a moment imaging your binge, disorderly eating or addictions as a child wearing a tee shirt with it's name on the front. Pay attention, noticing it is only a child, and that you are an adult in charge of it. Locate your containments of knowledge that are growing as you read this material. Invite a sensation representing confidence to arise deeply inside yourself. Your subconscious mind knows where your confidence is located and will play it if you request it. Do so now right in eye view of your disorderly child, and notice it noticing you.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

In school you began with ABC, and in this work you begin with basics as well. These become your touchstone. This is where you will return if you fall off course. In the next few chapters you will learn about food groups and what your cell managers need to run the cells of your body. Every cell in your body is an expert at what it does. Your heart cells know how to be heart cells. Liver cells follow their own job descriptions. If you were asked to step in and be a heart cell for a day you simply wouldn't have a clue. As we come to understand this rather child-like story, we can see the important reality underneath. We are totally responsible for what the cells receive in the way of nutrition and stress management. So, your job is quite simple. You need to provide that or else live with the negative outcomes that will eventually knock at your door.

You are learning to observe yourself in relation to food "as if" you were under your own microscope. You will get very good at self-observation and this will take you to safety, to higher health, as well as to optimum performance. Sometimes you will have to begin again, returning back to basics. This is not failure, but re-structuring. Whether you come back once, or a hundred times, this is where you come. It helps to know this. This way you won't be left wandering through life not knowing what to do or where to go. After all, you are only human!

Sugar and the body response to it, is the world’s most widespread addiction. This substance is everywhere and is socially accepted. Few people actually recognize the extent of their sugar addiction until becoming more aware of the moments surrounding their eating behaviors. The ability to see moments is key to successful addictions management, especially in relation to sugar as it is the underlying addiction to all addiction.

Managing sugar addiction and bingeing starts with preventive nutrition. It's important to remember that food and beverage are chemicals and react in the body as such. You have already read about your family medical and addictions history that affect your genetic wallpaper. How interesting that few people consider their food intake in relation to the workings of their body, much less their minds. What a gigantic mistake this is!

As strange as this sounds, food intake is seldom a consideration when stress management is needed. The food connection is also missed more than not in relation to addictions management. This is particularly unfortunate as proper nutritional management helps the addicted individual to get back into control. An important resource book on this subject that you might enjoy reading is "Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition" by Joan Mathews Larson, Ph.D.

A visit to the local supermarket turns up tons of sugar choices for every age group. As you follow the exercises in this book, including the practice awareness shopping, you might be stunned by the sheer number of foods that boost sugar addiction. You may think that you are already aware, but hold that thought in abeyance until you complete the work presented here. For those of you who can't wait, a good eye opener is making a list of your favorite foods. If the title of this book appealed to you, I already know what's on your list!

Whether you are looking to improve health or obliterate an addiction, you must always begin your travels with what is placed in your mouth on a regular basis. As you work with the food logs presented in a later chapter you may get some big surprises. How quickly we tend to forget what enters our mouth! How unfortunate that in America our basic nutritional education is very limited, if present at all. This gives opportunity for food industry advertisers to position themselves as reliable sources of what we need to be eating. One doesn't have to look far to know that they are hardly a reliable source.

INNER MOTIVATION

When we find ourselves lost on a road and not knowing where to turn, it is comforting to have information. This book is designed like one of those road maps with lots of informational blocks surrounding the actual map. Relax deeply and see this image as it relates to your road map. You don't even need to close your eyes to do this work. You can image hypnotically with your eyes wide open. Of course if you want to shut them that is fine, but you don't have to. Return to the beginning of the last knowledge hook and re-read the paragraphs. After each paragraph see it as part of your road map. Just read and place the image. Each time you read a knowledge hook in this book, place it on your road map. These motivational areas surrounding your new knowledge will enhance each other. You are now in the process of powerful self-motivation.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK
Few people really know what it is like to feel 100% well. Most of the time when I ask patients when was the last time they really felt healthy, a look of surprise fills their face. The reason for this is that few people eat a well-balanced nutritional program for any length of time, or stay chemical free. Therefore they have not had the opportunity to notice the mind and body under those circumstances. Most people are completely unaware that they could be functioning on a much higher level; physically, mentally or emotionally. One important reason they may not be achieving these goals is that they are not aware, and not working on the nutritional aspects of their self-care program.

While this book is about disorderly eating, it is also about disease prevention. It’s about optimum functioning of both mind and body. Just through the reading, you are already employing powerful tools that slow your brain waves. You are releasing stress in this very moment. However, if your body is responding to food stress of any type, it is very difficult to achieve these results. Remember the mind and body are one. They are connected in every way. To function at a higher level, all cells must be cared for and kept in good physiological balance.

Most people don’t pay attention to what is going on in their body. They are disconnected unless a screamer appears. It is very unlikely a person will connect body sensations with foods they have eaten that particular day. If the change is rapid, such as a stomach ache, or intestinal upset, they may connect it, but if it presents with vague symptoms such as those accompanying tiredness, depression, anxiety, agitation, poor concentration, anger, moodiness, muscle cramping, headache, boredom, or insomnia, it is more than likely that they will place the blame on someone or something else, thereby missing the boat entirely. To complicate matters further, certain foods may cause reactions on one day, and not on another, making it more difficult to make that important connection.

A NOTE TO NEW READERS:

This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" This book is not published as yet, but you have the opportunity to read it in it's unpublished state. If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears

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Inventing Knowledge Hooks

Keys for managing sugar addiction, bingeing, disorderly eating, while building healthy lifestyle changes, include paying attention to details, examining moments in transition, designing and building new disciplines, as well as mind motivations. This chapter is about paying attention to the many aspects of the food connection, while moving in the direction of change. It's not enough to know what to eat and what not to eat. The knowledge alone holds little motivation for the long- haul discipline needed to achieve permanent success.

Self-discipline walks hand in hand with inner motivation. You already have the coupling of these in your subconscious mind in the form of past successful experiences. You practiced this, with interactive self-hypnosis, in an earlier chapter. These tools are now becoming a part of your own subconscious mind library. You are now able to apply them to managing the different aspects of your bingeing, sugar addiction or other addictions. Soon, you will be able to mentor off of these, building new programs with inner creativity tools. Then you will be able to design goals, active them, while continuing to mind- motivate in moments of transition. This book is providing knowledge, some new and some old, but perhaps only forgotten.

Just knowing something is not enough. The world is filled with people who know things, but don’t act. Knowledge must be contained and organized into a plan of action. Then one must step into the action.

MORE ABOUT KNOWLEDGE HOOKS

Throughout this book you are collecting knowledge hooks. Think of these as being similar to coat hooks. After locating or designing your motivations, you will be asked to hang them on the knowledge hooks. There are different kinds of motivations. Some will motivate you towards a positive or reward experience. Others will motivate you away from positive experience and towards negative ones. The levels of positive or negative motivation can be enhanced or diminished. These are interactive self-hypnotic tools that will allow you to take charge of your own mind programming. Both types of motivation can work well, but a balanced approach seems to work best in most people.

OPENING THE FOOD CONNECTION…HYPNOTICALLY

Perhaps you have known about your binge behavior or sugar addiction for awhile, or maybe you just woke up to it. It’s possible that you didn’t know the relationship to other addictions or chronic disease. Patients often tell me its like dream-walking their way up to a particular moment in time. As their eyes opened, they found themselves in the deep, dark place of bingeing or sugar addiction . This is just an illusion, for little happens over-night. More than likely their sugar addiction had been building for years. If you return to the assessment area in this book, I'm sure you can spot the beginnings of food issues in your own life. Remember, knowledge is king. The more you collect, the easier it will be to see even beyond what you can see now. This will allow you to travel further towards high level health and optimum performance.

Students often ask if it possible to be born with a sugar-addiction? They remember their parents telling how cranky they were, and the only way to stop the crying was to give them a bottle of condensed milk that was watered down. Of course that is much sweeter than regular milk. It certainly is possible for a very young child to crave sugar, especially if the family medical history is positive for the diseases and addictions that were mentioned earlier. This is seen in crack babies born to addicted mothers. However, certain babies do need a different type of formula and unfortunately most physicians, in the past, weren’t aware of how to solve these problems. But while the past is useful as a bank of information, you are now living in the present. Your responsibility is to self-manage from where you are now.

In this program you will be working with tools of regression and future pacing. This actual book is written with specialized imagery woven through the fabric of the pages allowing you to go back in time and also forward. If you are unfamiliar with medical hypnosis, or the practice of active imagery let me share a bit with you. For thousands of years the unique powers of these mind and body tools have been well known, but unfortunately found themselves tucked away on a back shelf, out of reach of those who would benefit from them. In this experiential book you are invited to reclaim these tools, dust them off and learn to apply them through different areas of your life. You already have an advanced tool of mine, called interactive self-hypnosis. This type of self-hypnosis allows you to communicate directly with the library of your mind in any moment that ticks on your watch.

Your subconscious , or creative mind loves to learn through stories and metaphors. Whether you are reading this book to stop bingeing, to manage sugar addiction, disorderly eating, chronic disease, or simply to enhance your lifestyle, these images will glue themselves to your specific goals or desires. There is no need to effort, for this is the gift of active imagery.

BUILDING CONTAINMENTS

When working with lifestyle change, it helps to have some inner organization. You will also want to use self-hypnotic organization with other large projects. I like the metaphor of containments. These are simply "mind containers".

Just for a moment image a table with many containers. Locate the labels. Each time I ask you to build a containment for some knowledge, you will mentally come to this table, choose a container and label it. Each and every time you work with this particular area of knowledge, you will take the container off the shelf, and work with it in some self-hypnotic way. When something is contained it is easier to manage, as it no longer sits out in the confusion of the world. You mind and body will not only see it as less stressful, but will find it much easier to send you free floating thoughts or suggestions relating to it.

Now it's time to begin collecting knowledge, locating the hooks and hanging up some motivational mind programs. Then you can place these in labeled containers in the library of your mind.

KNOWLEDGE HOOK

Let's begin with imaging a baseball diamond, a great organizational metaphor for the problems we are focusing on in this book. In fact, you may remember working with this very image earlier in the book. This metaphor works for many different kinds of goals. Remember, you are always the batter. Most of us know there are four bases. In the baseball game of life, first base is the food connection and it is here that you will collect very important knowledge. You will then find out how to apply your motivation to the knowledge.

First off the bat, few people think about what they eat and drink in relation to the needs of their body. Even fewer think about what they put in their mouths in relation to their family and personal medical history. In most people’s minds, it is like these things have no relation to each other. It is actually uncommon for someone to build a connection between what is eaten and the function of the mind or body.

It helps us to think in imagery. We were all born with genetic wallpaper that comes with designs from parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on. Some of us were born with a tendency towards certain diseases such as heart, diabetes, circulatory diseases and certain cancers. This tendency towards is a biochemical factor that can cause you to either over-produce a hormone called insulin or to develop a resistance to it. You visited this knowledge earlier in the book .

You also learned that through the years you might have developed some of the risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, obesity or yo-yo weight gain patterns. Perhaps you added a history of smoking, alcohol or drug addiction. How you managed stress over the years also is an important consideration when evaluating where you are in relation to where we want to go and how your food connection hooks up. Now that you know this, it is a good time to work with the knowledge. If not, it will have the tendency to go out with the tide.

INNER MOTIVATION

Many people have difficulty finding a place to begin lifestyle change and so they answer to this by not beginning. They either procrastinate or bury their head in the sand, either way achieving the same negative outcomes. But you are not like most people because you are reading this book, and you can choose to begin right in this moment. There is no need to wait. Let me show you how.

Read through this exercise and then close your eyes . Earlier in the assessment area you learned a simple relaxation response. Employ that now and go a bit further by tilting your eyes up just slightly, allowing your mind screen to appear behind your lightly closed eyes. Notice a movie is in progress and that a hand is being extended to you, offering to pull you forward. Take the offered hand with confidence, knowing you have nothing to lose in learning about yourself and wanting to change. Your subconscious mind is now engaged. You are on the path to first base.

Your past family is waiting for you with their rolls of wallpaper. Walk past each member, even if you don't know them, thanking them for coming. Place all the wallpaper into your cart and go into a quiet place where you can spend time reviewing it. The more you understand and accept where this comes from, the better your self-care will be. There is no room to be upset. Just like anyone else, you received both good and bad from those who came before you. Your work is to do your best with what you have. You can choose to commit to this now through the planting of an inner motivational affirmation:

• I understand and accept my genetic wallpaper.
• My wallpaper serves as a guiding light to the needs of my mind and body

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Inside Sleep
originally posted: November 10, 2009

Which comes first....good eating habits or good sleep habits? You may think that they have nothing to do with each other, but this is wrong thinking. Everything is connected & so your addictive behaviors are connected to your sleep behaviors. How you sleep is very important to the management of addictions. The body needs a deep level of rest and to produce dreams. These assist in stress release, as well as problem solving. Some people have bad sleep hygiene. Some is related to food stress & the practice of other addictions, as well as "not releasing stress" during the day. Remember the blog entry on releasing? In addition to our daily stress building, many of us were taught poor sleep hygiene. Go ahead down your past path & notice if anyone mentored these behaviors to you? It's also a good idea to review your sleep history, noticing if it was something you looked forward to or something you fought. It's not uncommon for those of us with addiction histories to have stressful sleep "stories." Of course you already know that you can delete these from your "story book", while planting new, healthy patterns between the pages of your new book.

MIND EXERCISE

Relax deeply into the moment. Utilize your breath to take you deeper down to a place where you can watch your story up on your mind screen. Take a moment to review your current sleep habits, as well as how you prepare for sleep. When you are ready, regress and visit some early areas that signal sleep information available. Trust your subconscious mind to show you the areas. There is no need to effort. Simply elicit your relaxation response and request any information that might be helpful in relation to sleep pattern improvement.

CLAIRE

"I’ve always been a follower from the time I was a child. I’m beginning to get annoyed with in myself. Sometimes I dream that I wake up in a totally different mind and body. The idea of changing seems too big a job, especially with all the other things I have to do in my life. Is it truly possible to make really big changes or should I just settle for who I am and let it go at that?"

It's interesting that Claire is asking questions in a different genre, although "dreaming" is in her question. Reading Claire's question helps us to see how writing helps us to understand thought patterns. When we think the mind is going very quickly, but when we write things down the mind slows and gives us information to work with. Here you can see some of Claire's frames and inner programs. Perhaps you would like your subconscious mind librarian to answer her questions. Relax deeply for a moment and observe the writing that comes off the end of your pen.

LET'S EXPLORE STRENGTHS

Stay deeply relaxed, but turn your attention to yourself now. You have many strengths. They are located in your experiences on your time-line. Early strengths are just as important, if not more so, than current ones. Take ample time to regress and visit past experiences. Ask your subconscious mind to name the strength being presented in the experience you are observing. Sometimes we have difficulty naming them, but they are there. Once you are aware, you can bring these forward and future pace them. That means you can attach them to new goals that haven't been achieved as yet. You will also learn to apply them "in the moment." This is the true power of Interactive Self-Hypnosis.

LET'S EXPLORE WEAKNESSES

While strengths are important, weaknesses are key to improvement. Only those who are willing to identify these short-comings will achieve at high levels. It doesn't matter what the goal. You need to see the flags and get into the pit with them. Every weakness holds the secret for success. Hypnotically you can open them up and engage them in the process of goal achieving. This is called transmuting. Later in the book you will learn many ways to work with these jewels. For now, take this basket and go collecting. The more you bring back the better. You can find them in the past, as well as in already formulated future-paced files.
How do you spend your free time?

How you choose to spend your time speaks volumes about you. It is in this area of detective work that you will find keys to managing your addiction. This is a good train to regress on. Go back and review early years, noticing your play and choice of hobbies. Sport is also important. Truly visit and become involved in the experience. Notice how you feel about yourself during these times. Move forward to the time when you stopped doing certain things, taking time to notice why. You may uncover some hidden de-motivators that are best seen in the light. Check out your current free time and any hobbies, as well as the level of involvement that you allow yourself.

SETTING GOALS HERE & NOW

What would you like to achieve with this work? Be very specific. Sometimes we think we know what we want, until asked to explain or define it. This may be one of those times. Don't just cop out by stating "I'd like to manage my sugar addiction." Write down how it will be when you do this. Truly explore as if writing a letter to someone about your decision to work in this book. This will become part of your blueprint for change.

Aside from the above, write down some of your other goals. Be specific. Review the different areas of your life such as health, relationship with yourself, with others, prosperity, work, home, spiritual, future and anything else that presents itself to you. You might want to relax deeply before writing, taking time for your subconscious mind to connect up with you.

What do you see as problems, obstacles, old beliefs, etc. that might be getting in your way towards your goal achievement? Some of these rocks may be on the surface and so it's a god idea to locate them. Others will be underground and they will pop up as the work continues. If you have difficulty focusing, relax deeply when doing this work and regress a bit. Look to experiences where you didn't achieve what you wanted to and then ask your subconscious mind to show you the problem or obstacle. Make some notes about these. If they weren't properly managed then, they are probably still hanging around.

CLAIRE
]" As I see it, my paths are loaded with rocks thrown all over the place. It’s like there is nothing but rocks. Is it possible that there isn’t anything else there and if so, what can I do?"

It’s not uncommon for individuals with addiction to see as Claire sees, but this only a perception and can be changed. We all have rocks. Claire framed them as negatives, but as we do this work, rocks are seen as powerful tools for change. So in actuality, Claire has a goldmine on his path.

A NOTE TO NEW READERS:

This experiential blog/workshop is based on my new book, "How Many Cookies Will It Take to Make Me Happy?" This book is not published as yet, but you have the opportunity to read it in it's unpublished state. If you are new to my writing, you might want to read the earlier mini-chapters. They are available on FaceBook, The PublishersMarketPlace & at the following link. Remember to scan down to find the earliest chapters & work your way up. http://beyonddisorderlyeating.blogspot.com/
A bit of background.... we are working with creative Interactive Self-Hypnosis imagery, planting suggestions directly into the creative subconscious mind as you read along. What appears like a story is a series of self-hypnotic sessions, designed to bring about desired lifestyle changes. The inner mind is creative & rather child-like, loving to play with images, especially when they are emotionalized. Just like the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words", well-planted mind images, can be worth hours of therapy. We can actually change or motivate in 1/200th of a second. So come along & look forward to some lifestyle-changing events.

Copyright 2009 Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
May not be copied or reproduced without permission of the author.

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht is author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It. She is also the writer/producer of over 350 mp3/CD programs in the areas of medicine, health, prevention, addictions, self-development & sports for adults & children.

http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.bohorquez
http://www.twitter.com/elizRN

http://www.hypnosis-audio.com
http://www.sugar-addiction.com
http://www.international-medical-health-writers

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Stress Meets Disorderly Eating
originally posted: November 7, 2009

We always begin to change from where we are, but we always seem to be in so many places at the same time that it feels overwhelming, often making it difficult to push through and to begin. We get caught up in our health, relationships, work and home to name just a few, not knowing what to do first. They all seem to flow into each other, but this is an illusion because they are all separate. In order to see their separateness, we have to slow the mind down, be in positive expectation and willing to look closely. The tools you are learning here allow you to slow down so you can look at specific areas, while working inside them. Here you are learning how to separate the areas of your life, set goals in each, manage the emotions both helpful and non-helpful in each area, while programming for success.

Disorderly eating behaviors, in fact disorderly patterns in general, are the result of unresolved or unreleased stressors. You already know that some of these patterns go back to infancy, perhaps even genetically inherited. In this area we are going to explore your history of unhealthy "dieting." You will come to understand that any manipulation of food or beverage intake will be considered "dieting." But first, we'll open the mind to the prodromal stressors, many of which you will find to be related to "dieting" behaviors, both big & small.

OPENING STRESSORS - MIND EXERCISE

This "awareness box" will help you to locate and label your stressors. The images that come to mind as you spend time with the box will be yours and yours alone. No one's stressors are the same as anyone else's and that's important to remember. No matter how well you know someone, even a family member, the stressors will be different. Even the idea of walking in their shoes will not give you this liberty. Think about that for a moment....hopefully it will bring you to a higher level of compassion, not only for others, but for yourSelf as well.

Let's get started. Take a few moments to relax deeply in your chair. Invite your belly breath to rise and fall in your lower abdomen. Go ahead and ride it. Now, image your thoughts slowing down as if you were approaching a cross road where your attention is needed, for indeed it is.

In order to get started it helps to know how you view your current stress levels. What areas of your life are most stressful for you? Do you have any insights as to why this is so? Even if you don't know, those stressor images may demonstrate to you now. Remember, when you ask a question from the position of "deep relax", the subconscious mind will answer. Let's turn the coin now and notice what areas are the least stressful and look to your insights as to why. As you work with these observations, be sure to take advantage of your personal journal. Your subconscious mind will assist you in opening those areas that are important for you to know and manage.

WEIGHT & DIET HISTORY

I suggest you relax deeply as you enter each area of exploration. Practice separating all areas with quiet moments. You may be over-weight or not. You may even be under-weight. Sugar addiction and disorderly eating problems run the gamut and your focus is to enter the honesty center and know where you are. Only when you are in full awareness, can you work to change. Change is all about seeing the small facets. Often times they hold the key to the bigger changes. Just like in the study of physics, one has to get the ball to roll. So the question up for review is this. Have you ever been on a diet or purposefully altered your food intake?

CLAIRE" "I’ve always dieted whether I was fat or skinny. It was all my friends and I ever talked about. In fact, I think I’m addicted to dieting and wonder how I’ll get along without it? When I think like this my self-esteem goes right out the window."

Claire brings up some very good points that need addressing. How many times have you done this and at what time in your life? Look back to your early childhood and see if you can see the beginnings of this, and then zoom up to the teen years. Who were your teachers in this subject matter? We are such a food-body focused society and very young children are falling under the media spell as well. These are indeed dangerous times. Notice if these behaviors are tied to having children, sex, marriage, jobs or something someone told you.

How did you do this? What types of diets did you experiment with? Be sure to regress back to early childhood here as well. Sometimes we followed our peers, or older siblings. In teen years it was often friends or the current craze. Remember your body had to adjust to these eating changes and what you may be experiencing now is the culmination of all those attempts at weight loss. It truly helps us to own this information. We can then let it go and move on to healthier ways of managing our body.

What were the results, both long term and short term? What did you actually experience from these experiments? Did you feel successful or did you see yourself as a failure? What did you learn here. These are all subconscious mind programs and it is very important to examine them and the beliefs that are held in those files.

How did you feel body-wise? Describe how you saw yourself in your mind's eye. Do you take yourself apart and judge in this way? Do you frequently think about how other's see you and do you make changes based on these thoughts? Are there parts that you like more than others? Mind words are very important, for they are subconscious mind programs and are linked to many other areas and show up as self-confidence, self-esteem, self-image and a host of others. They work to measure our abilities to take on new challenges and to build relationships. Spend time here uncovering and unlocking. If you feel uncomfortable about writing these things, notice that and make certain that your work is kept in a place that is held confidential.

How did you feel emotionally? Go back to visit these times. If your emotions were coats, hold them up so you can see them clearly. If you have difficulty seeming emotions clearly and putting a name to them, you might want to open to the area of the book called "emotional crayons". As you work through this book you will not only find spotting emotions to be much easier, but they will no longer overwhelm you. So for now, work to examine your emotional self. Sometimes we get teary when doing this work. This is just a form of releasing by the subconscious mind. Give yourself a moment to center and then return to the work at hand. Sometimes we fear our unknown emotional self and this keeps us literally locked up in our own private jail. This work is about uncovering the jailers and leaving the prison permanently.

Did you develop any new behaviors during these experiments? Sometimes we leave experiments, but still carry some behaviors with us. For example, an individual may stop bingeing, but become very rigid in food matters by sticking to such a strict discipline that doesn't allow for spontaneity. A good way to find these behaviors is to regress back and keep a current window open on the mind screen. Ask the subconscious mind to place any old behaviors that you carried forward into the current window. This will keep you from blocking memories as they rise to help you.

Why did you stop each experiment? What happened? Be as specific as possible. All memories hold resilience or power. You are learning how to open stored memories and retrieve important information that can heal the past and pace the future. Take time with this work. These questions will also show you areas of motivation, or tendencies to lead or follow. While you are working with sugar addiction, do know that behaviors carry over to other areas of life. Getting to know yourself at this level is invaluable.
It’s important for you to know that it is possible to free yourself from all of this mind clutter and to truly be healthy once and for all.

CLAIRE: "Is it enough to change eating behaviors or must I exercise as well. In the past exercise seemed to make me even hungrier and wanting more sugar. Is it possible to stop this crazy cycle?"

What Claire has experienced is not uncommon. Think about yourself as if you were a car engine. You need fuel and the amount is determined by how far you are going. The body works the same way, but if you have a tendency towards sugar addiction, you body needs very specific fuel to meet your exercise needs.
You may enjoy exercise or not. You may exercise even if you don't enjoy it or not. Finding patterns is helpful to making change. Some people start and stop quickly before achieving their goals. They tend to fizzle out. This is a mind program. Remember that you cannot change what you don't see. You have already been practicing regression or going back in time to visit memories. As you practice regression and open files about exercising from the time of childhood, you will locate problem areas as well as powerful resources. All of this information will be useful as you work through the program.

When regressing, take some time to interview your early selves. Just as if they were sitting in front of you,

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Re: Learning Self-Hypnosis - blogRADIO - Mountain Climbing (October 13, 2008)

Good post. It's interesting that you mention the impostor syndrome.

Over 20-years ago, I saw Paul Newman in an interview say that he always had the
feeling that someone was going to come through the crowd, take him by the arm and
say, "It's over Newman. It's all been a mistake. You're coming back to paint
houses."

When he said that, I immediately understood the feeling. Later I learned that he was
describing the impostor syndrome. The Impostor Syndrome is the feeling that you are
not as smart, talented, or skilled as people think you are. It's the feeling that you
are a fake and have been getting away with something and are about to be found out.
It affects 70% of adults and is especially prevalent in high achieving women.

I've spent the past two decades living with and learning about this common
condition.

The Impostor Syndrome is a fascinating topic and the subject of my new book, "The
Impostor Syndrome: How to Replace Self-Doubt with Self-Confidence and Train Your
Brain for Success."

You can download Chapter One, "Paul Newman and I" at
http://www.JohnGraden.com

Re: Clearing Clutter... Inside & Out (December 16, 2007)

Hi Elizabeth:

When I was a behavioral health case manager for a major hospital in Florida, I had
the occassion to view many peoples homes; and many of these people were very ill.
Some of them were more able than others, to allow the clutter in thier lives to fall
away or be removed.

A fellow nurse case manager once said to me: "I can't be sick or die yet ..... I
haven't cleaned my house" Sometimes I wonder, if I became ill today - would I
feel okay having others judge the inside of my house and closets and drawers?

Perhaps the greatest gift that we can give to ourselves is simplicity and a clean
clutter free environment. There is a freedom and a quality of energy enhancement in
room that is free from excess or accumulation.

Freedom from accumulation allows the psyche to be less burdoned as well. It is a
shedding of a skin and a purging of the unused, that will release us. Release is
freedom and freedom is like the breeze through a tree - flowing and natural.

Releasing objects and clutter give me a place and a space to be more natural and
flowing.

Christina Hyland R.N. PhD

Re: Working Through Self-Anxiety (December 5, 2007)

Thanks for this post. I have the added challenge in my life of anxiety and panic
disorder. I just heard yesterday that I need to go back after a mammogram for further imaging, due to a "thickening" in my breast. Talk about feeling
overwhelmed by anxiety! I take a lot of comfort from your writings and it's especially helpful to see your
personal fears and concerns shared via the journal entry.
May we all live in saftey, be happy, be healthy and live with ease, Suzanne

I enjoy each and every one of your blogs. Particularly
today, because the ability to speak up for ones self and set boundaries is empowering and enlivening. We are all faced with particular situations when we hesitate or second guess ourselves .... "should I speak up or just hold the peace" There are great lessons in becoming assertive in a balanced sort of way! I thank you for reminding me this morning in your blog.

I too am an R.N. and a certified hypnotherapist. I am new
to hypnotherapy, but have studied holistic psychology for
quite some time.

Again, I really enjoy your work! Thank you.

Sincerely,
Christina Cameron Hyland R.N. Ph.D.
www.globalintegrativehealth.org

Re: mindART - Working with Imagery (August 26, 2007)

Eliz, I am glad that I am able to comment on this post. In my ongoing psychotherapy,my therapist has told me that it is good to put down ANYTHING that I FEEL during the course of the week. Examine it, see if I can make changes and objectively observe any results be it positive or negative. Today is Tuesday August 28 and I have a session with him at 10:00. I am very excited in this session in such a way that I have created a scenario where I can be on the offensive or the defensive. I mention both of these areas in a positive way. I am sure that you are familiar in hockey,the position of goalie and that of either the offensive right or left wing or center. If I am the goalie I am trying to stop the offensive from scoring. I use this analogy because(I love hockey in the first place)which I think has a very positive outcome on what happens during this analogy that I play out in my mind. Trying to find ways to either stop the offensive from scoring or...if I am on the other side of the puck I am trying to find ways to score. I mention both of these scenarios because of the different things that come up during the course of life. Writing this down is helping me greatly. Attaching scenarios that I am familiar with that affect me in a positive manner I believe helps me a great deal. I thought I would mention these two images because I have been using them as of late and I also LOVE to work with imagery. This is a bit of a lengthy comment here but I am very upbeat on results. Thanks for this post.

Re: Inside Secret Eating (July 5, 2007)

That could have been me! How do I break this habit?

Re: The Creative Body Connection (July 26, 2006)

Seeing everything in a drawing like you put it in this article here makes me get in touch with everything a heck of a lot more clearly, Eliz. It appears that I have PLENTY of work to do since I have been diagnosed with GAD. That was about 5 years
ago and it has been going up and down with me as well as my seizures ever since. I also believe that I am identical with Jennifer here in that I do not talk about what is bothering me, ever, except to a psychotherapist that I see weekly. I am sure that I have plenty of points within me that are storing a hell of a lot of tension. It is no wonder that I am trying to deal with all my s

Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht has been working & writing in the field of mindbody health, self-hypnosis, addictions, creativity & optimum performance for over 30 years. She is a graduate of Rockland Psychiatric Center, SUNY; Graduate Nurse Intern, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University, N.Y. She is President & Program Designer, Sarasota Medical & Sports Hypnosis Institute, Sarasota, FL & online at http://www.hypnosis-audio.com & http://www.sugar-addiction.com

She has written & produced +350 audio CD programs for adults, children, students & athletes, as well as several books in original Interactive Self-Hypnosis. She specializes in the food connection to addiction, optimum health & performance. She is the author of Sugar...the Hidden Eating Disorder & How to Lick It, as well as Beyond Disorderly Eating...the Truth About Sugar & Binging & How to Stop