Okay without looking around any more,   I’m sure most of you could list a large amount of things that are blue but how many reflective surfaces can you list?  Close your eyes for a minute and recall them now.    Now look around for those reflective items.  Chances are if you did this correctly there are MANY more reflective objects then you first thought.

So why didn’t you see them the first time.  The simple answer was you were ‘filtering’ for blue.  That’s right your blinders were ’set’ for blue.

In NLP and Hypnosis we call this ‘filtering, matrixing or deletion and distortion of irrelevant information’.   Now there is A LOT of dynamics going on whilst this is happening and  I could spend a great deal of the day writting about this.  However the intent of this article is to provide some useful and easy to understand  information while at the same time providing a bit of education about ‘what’s going on’

So what does this simple little exercise demonstrate and more importantly how does it apply to you?

Quite simply it shows that when you are focused on something, that becomes your focus and alot of other things become ‘invisible-like’  Your mind is taking in massive amounts of information all the time.  What you see, hear (externally and internally), smell, taste and feel (both textile and emotions). And this little mechanism can be and is our friend, most of the time.  It stops us from going into ‘overload’.  Unfortunately this same process can also be what our nightmares are made out of too.

Have you ever caught yourself saying ‘This always happens to me’ or ‘This is my life!’ when describing some not so positive event that has just transpired to you.  Well this is your filtering attempting to wreak havoc on your life.  Your friend turned foe.  It is also one of those things in life that can create some very limiting beliefs, that given enough time will get hard wired into your brain and limit your potential.

Simply stated ‘the seeds that you water will grow’  meaning if you focus on something it will come to be.  And before you know it, it will become an almost invisible pattern in your life.  Good or Bad is completely irrelevant. 

Our brains LOVE patterns and are always seeking them out to help us verify our own existence and to prove that we are correct in our assumptions.  We humans are programmed to always be right even when we aren’t.  Once a pattern is established, they can be difficult to locate.  For this reason alone many people will fall into the same ‘traps’. 

Take for example a woman who has been in a series of bad abusive relationships.  Is she looking to get into an abusive relationship?  NO!  Not conciously anyway!  Unconciously she may be looking for a guy that she ‘feels’ good about and that particular trait might very well be the same thing that could be a tell tale  sign of an abuser.  The woman in our example sees a ’special something’ in her next potential guy that she mistakingly labels as a ‘good feeling’ when actually it’s her brain saying I know this pattern and am comfortable with it.  The pattern is not good or healthy for her but it is familiar and thus comfortable to her.

So what do we do with this?  How do we begin to understand our own filters?

1.  Be aware that we all filters of some sort.  Most are good and some are not.  Just being aware that they exist is a good start.

2.  Review your own believes.  As we grow in life, we also can outgrow some believes.  Believes that once served us well may no longer usefully serve us.  (an example of this might be when Mom lovingly told you to eat all of your dinner off your plate because their are children in the world  that were starving.  Unfortunately there are children in the world that are starving but it’s no longer healthy for you to act on this belief if you are packing on the pounds and bordering into obsecity.)

3. Pay attention to your ‘pet peeves’ and ‘buttons’  You know the buttons!  The ones when someone says something to you and it burns your biscuits sort to speak? If you find yourself getting steamed up about something, it might be time to review why it ‘gets you in a tiff and then figure out if that belief is still useful.  It might be or it might not be.  Either way is there a better way to deal with them?  

4. Change your beliefs.  In the example at step 2,  it’s far healthier for you to realize that it’s okay to have a little waist and that the little waste is better left on your plate. Or even better yet,  to only put on your plate what you need to achieve your ideal weight.  (BTW an easy way to do that is to find out the calorie intake of the weight you want to be and only eat that much.  It might be slow going doing just that but eventually you’ll be that weight and that wait would be worth it wouldn’t it?

5.  Monitor your thoughts.   We all have negative and positive thoughts (yes even me!).  The trick here is to catch and guide your thoughts to what it is that you really want to be thinking. Doing this activity will eventually imprint a pattern into your mind and form  a strategy for matrixing the ‘good things ‘ in life, and you’ll be able to almost always see the ‘Silver Lining’, smell the roses and feel good.  After doing this for a while, you won’t even have to consciously catch your thoughts, you’ll be doing it unconsciously with little to no effort.  You’ll be to busy appreciating all the positive things occuring in your life and accepting the not so good things much easier then before.

 It is good and healthy to have boundries and limits, but it is also good and healthy to review them every so often too.  By being aware and mindful of the ‘walls’ we put up and the ones that we need to take down, we are essentially assuring that we are living the happiest life we can.   It is also important when looking at these boundries, be it for change or not that we consider how it will effect our lives in the long run.

Until next time stay healthy and don’t let your blinders blind you

It should also be mentioned that NLP is a meta practice and encompasses far more then what was contained in this article. Without further delay here’s the article.  Enjoy!;

 Imagine. You’ve gone to a friend with a concern and they look at you and then tell you ‘It’s all in your mind’ and then they seemingly dismiss your concerns.

Well, they’re right, at least partially. The truth is nearly all our personal concerns are inside our head. While these people’s words have a ‘ring of truth’ to them, dismissing your concerns is rarely helpful. What you really need is a solution, isn’t it?

  So, what is the solution? I’d like to suggest an option called Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP is one of the more recent ‘mind technologies’ and since its origin in 1972 has been making some major changes to the way we look at our lives. Below are steps in the basic outline of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) ‘model of change’. These steps can help with ‘matters of the mind’;  

1)      Imagine with all senses and in GREAT detail what it will be like when the problem is solved.

2)      List the possible solutions to the problem, then take off the critic’s hat and brainstorm more solutions, as many as possible. 

3)      Examine each of these solutions and keep the one(s) that get the same results as described in the first step.

4)      Do a ‘my world check’ - How does each selected solution affect family, work, friends, etc? Which solution(s) work best for EVERYONE?

5)      Finally, imagine living the best solution or solutions out successfully.  Repeat this step several times.  Thinking, Feeling, as though the situation is resolved NOW.

Yes, a lot of problems are ‘all in your head’ and are very real to you, however, problems are only problems when a person can’t see options. Once new options are thought up, the problem becomes an opportunity. Solution focused tools like NLP can certainly make a big difference in getting problems ‘out of mind’ and more importantly, get you focused in a healthier new direction.

There are a few factors you should look at when you are selecting a hypnotist.  Below I’ve stated the most pertinent ones;

The hypnotist/ hypnotherapist is current -  Alway make sure that the hypnotist has a valid and upto date certificate (Ask to see it).  With most reputible hypnosis guilds or organization there is a requirement to have a certain amount of hours of continuos learning ensuring that your hypnotist is keeping current with the latest and upto date information in the world of hypnosis.

The hypnotist / hypnotherapist is practicing - It’s usually more effective to find a hypnotist that is doing his/her business on a regular  basis rather then someone who is doing it on a part time basis.  It only stands to reason that someone who is using the skills will be more proficient then someone who has learned it but only practices it occasionally.  A good rule to follow but is not hard and fast rule is: Find a hypnotist that does hypnosis full time rather then part time.

Research his or her Guild or organization -  There are a TON of different organizations out there, some only consisting of one or two people that want to give the appearance of a professional guild.  Learn to discipher which ones are valid and which ones aren’t.  A little bit of research can save you alot of grief afterwards. The largest and most recognized hypnosis organization in the world is National Guild of Hypnotist, more often then not they can direct you to a legitimate organization, even if it’s not their own.

Communicate with your potential hypnotist -  It’s okay to start the communication via email, but it would be a wise idea to speak with him/her over the phone as well.  This does two important things;

1) Let’s you get to know the hypnotist well enough to know that you will at the very least get along with the hypnotist.  Rapport is extremely important when using hypnosis.

 2) It gives you a better opportunity to ask questions about your specific case and their procedure for dealing with it.

Other Skills? - Does your hypnotist utilize any other skill sets to enhance the hypnosis?  There are quite a few other skills that can improve your hypnosis experience.  Skills such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to name a few.  Find out if your hypnotist uses other skills and make sure they are current in them too.

Word of Mouth - Ask around, there are lots of people that have gone or know people that have gone to see a hypnotist and these people will often be willing to share their knowledge or experience about the hypnotist with you.

Things to watch out for;

A hypnotist who is being more then he/she actually is - a hypnotist / hypnotherapist is not necessarily a social worker or psychiatrist or psychologist and they if they’re reputible, they’ll be up front about that.  If they are giving you the impression that they are more than they are and perhaps throwing ‘labels’ around like they are a psychaitrist be weary, be VERY weary. Ask them about their training, qualifications.

Watch out for degrees - There are lots of people with degrees out there, some are valid and some aren’t.  On a side note, just because a person holds a legitamite degree does not necessarily make them a better hypnotist either. Again the most proficient hypnotists tends to be the hypnotist that uses his skills full time to earn a living.

The price - Yes, it’s great to find a bargain but you need to ask yourself what quality of work are they going to be doing inside your mind and what is your mind worth to you?  There are lots of hypnotist out there that are there to grab a quick buck, oh they’ll hypnotize you and you might even be luck enough to get something useful out of it but becareful.  A skilled hypnotist will usually charge around $100 to $200 per session and their sessions will usually be about 1 hour to 3 hours. 

The follow up - Any hypnotist that is worth his wage will have some sort of follow up policy.  My own policy is periodic follow ups for one year after the last session and the client has a choice as to whether they would like or require these follow up calls.  I usually make the calls  2 weeks after the last session,  one month, and every three months after that upto a year.

A hypnotist that guarentees results -  There are no true guarentees for hypnosis.  It is simply another tool that can and often does yield positive results.  Again be weary of the hypnotist that promises you guarenteed results in a one hour  $50 session.  It can happen but more often then not it doesn’t.

Finally!

The most important requirement next to having a valid certification is making sure that you are comfortable with your hypnotist and that you feel that he/she does have your best interest at heart.  Following the above guidelines, can greatly enhance your experience and increase the amount of success you will have!

I look forward to hearing from you