New Beginning Words...

Begin. To have commenced is half the deed. Half yet remains; Begin again on this and thou wilt finish all...Ausonius

Related Words - resume, continue, pick up, reopen, recommence, renew, reopen, take up

Labor Day & back to school....It's that special time of year for beginning again, children or not. For me, this date has always been a restarting point for things unfinished....rather like New Year's Day. Labor Day is a bit different though. There is no new resolution. It's more like a personal fall cleaning up or clearing out. Underneath the disorder I can sense my desire & willingness to pick up where I left off.

For some reason, Labor Day has a gentler, friendlier restart button. Perhaps it's because no one talks about it very much, so the fear of being criticized for failure or not achieving is less. After all, it's not a resolution or anything. It's simply something that was left unfinished & perhaps no one will even notice that you restarted whatever it is.

Truth be known, very little gets finished in life.... at least in my life. For me that includes managing my weight, minimizing my pile of magazines, completing my writing assignments, my love for icing, or having my home dust free & the bathrooms completely clean. I'm so glad to know this because then now I can stop efforting & striving over so many things. Perhaps I can even begin enjoying them.

It's easy to see why I had spent a good part of my previous life bogged down, almost to the point of burnout. With my new definition, I am free to simply relax, picking up any challenge where I left it untended, no longer racked by shame or guilt. No need to hide anymore, from myself or the judging eyes of others. What a relief !

As a clinical hypnotherapist & writer, I'm geared to thinking within hypnotic metaphor. Here are some areas in my mind that had something to say to me this morning...

1. It's a good idea to put some things down for awhile. As I mentally walked through the areas of my life, noticing what was left unattended, I couldn't help but notice that some areas were doing better on their own since I left them alone. I'm not surprised, acknowledging that I have a tendency to beat things to death, or smother them with attention if they are not responding in the way I think best. Sometimes I can become breathless in the process, even if there is no aerobic activity involved. Talk about efforting !

2. There are 24 hours in a day & that includes 8 that should be dedicated to sleep. No one gets more or less. I'm just like anyone else with owning too much to do. On the days I can't breathe I know I'm in trouble. For some deep & hidden reason, this a big learning curve for me.

I have some ideas about why this is, but what is truly important is waking up to it & getting practical. I don't have to look far to know what has to go. It's vital for me to be ruthless in my clearing & cleaning, not just with my possessions, but with the intangibles as well. This is never easy, but it is incredibly rewarding. Even throwing away socks with holes can seem like a break-through moment.

3. Choosing what is truly important to me can focus my mind. Just like cleaning & clearing is vital, so is deciding on exactly what I want. It's amazing that we can have so much of so many things & still not have what we want. How does this happen? For me, it's always been about not clearly defining what I want. In order to do this, it's necessary to truly slow down, to clear, to be still & then to begin to define. When I work with myself I utilize automatic writing. For my patients, it's easy to go into the workshop of the mind with guided imagery, enter the metaphor, perhaps shopping for the details. In both scenarios, the subconscious mind joins in the creative goal building & then sets a plan of action.

4. I can always be healthier. Eating correctly for my body needs, excercising, managing my addictions & a host of other areas can all benefit from beginning again. Exploring ways to do this always triggers additional areas to present themselves. This morning I was having a look at my nutritional areas when I heard from my skin department. When we become purposefully still, either in meditation, hypnosis or automatic writing, the messages begin to flow, but never in a way of becoming overwhelmed. The subconscious mind understands the need for balance or homeostasis & takes one towards that. If anxiety is in the way, it simply means that you have to release & go deeper down to pass that obstruction.

5. I don't have to be perfect. I just need to be present. Growing up in a critical household, I developed many automatic mind programs about the need for perfection. This was one of many that kept me locked in my personal prison for decades. For me, it is very important to begin the mangement of these automatic programs over & over again. This is how they weaken or diminish. Some of mine that could do with some refreshing or clear eyes include approval seeking & self-doubting. Do I have others? Of course I do. I'm human. But, once again the subconscious mind is kind & prefers balance. When we take the initiative to work in one area, the others will simply follow suit.

So, enjoy Labor Day....a perfect day for reflection & an opportunity to wake-up & enjoy the fresh air that surrounds new beginnings.

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Everything is in process. I put things down & I pick things up. I enjoy the act of beginning again. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Winning the Mind Game - A Total Sports Advantage - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Critical Words...

Blessed is the man who can take bricks thrown at him & build a sound foundation....Tom Pryor

Related Words - captious, carping, caviling, cavillous, censorious, critic, faultfinding, hypercritical, overcriticaldiscerning, discriminating, penetrating; finicky, fussy, particular; belittling, demeaning, disparaging, humbling, lowering.

Over the past few days I found myself journaling about criticism...self-delivered & delivered by others. I learned from one of my patients that Gemini was in retrograde or something like that, meaning that communication is off. Of course this made me feel better immediately, knowing I had little to do with all the criticism floating around me.

Automatic writing or journaling is very helpful for me personally & I often recommend it to my patients as well, even if they balk about writing. The balking is usually fear-related. Yes, writing is committing ink to paper....or at least it was in the past. I still journal with real paper & pen. It helps to slow the mind down, allowing the images or ideas to form.

After so many years of working in this field, I'm still amazed at how the subconscious mind will cooperate with emotional reframing & healing. Sometimes all I really need is a good metaphor to manage my heavy-air days.

As I broached the subject of critical words, here are some things that came off of my pen....delivered directly from my subconscious mind.

1. Criticism can be a good thing, even if the person delivering it does not mean it as such.....myself included. Of course we are our biggest critic. That's no secret. I'm also well aware of constructive vs destructive criticism. However, I often have a problem with accepting the term constructive criticism, especially when it is delivered in what appears to be a destructive way. Or, is this just a matter of Gemini in retrograde?

2. It doesn't really matter if the criticism is constructive or destructive, nor if Gemini is having a problem or not. I can benefit from all of it... & if there is plenty of it around, it follows that I would could have a wealth of benefits, if I just did what I needed to do. Hmmm....

3. The subconscious mind often connects things in strange ways in order to make it's point. I was brought back to my time of nursing in Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center & to the memory of debriding wounds. Wounds cannot heal properly until the dead or infected tissue is removed, often speck by speck. The job of the wound care nurse is to utilize different techniques to achieve this. However, it cannot be done all at once. It is a process, sometimes taking months, depending on the depth or complexity of the wound. The metaphor is forming....

4. Emotional wounds are similar to physical ones. They must also be debrided. Criticism is like pouring acid into certain emotional wounds. Anyone who has experienced this phenomena is certainly familiar with the combination of physical & emotional pain that results. I know that I am....

5. Many of us were born into a very critical environments, thus making us highly sensitive to critical words. Simple words, even if delivered in a constructive way, can be very frightening & debilitating. As a child I had no power & had to develop ways to survive this type of environment, but as an adult I do have power & so it is my responsibility to debride mywounds so I can heal & continue my self-growth.

6. Managing stress is not the same as debriding wounds. While it is very important to eat correctly, meditate, exercise & practice mindfulness, if I truly want to heal & manage my emotions at higher levels, I must be willing to cleanse & debride my wounds.

7. Emotional wounds are debrided through awareness & timely releasing. When criticism is painful, there is a wound that needs to be cleaned. The process is simple, but not always easy. I remember that when treating a patient's wound, I'd often tell them, Yes, it hurts & no, it won't hurt forever. I remember....the patient learns to bring his/her attention to the breath & to ride it, just like riding gentle waves in the sea. The physical pain begins to move to the side & then diminishes. The patient learns to see/sense the wound healing from the bottom up.

8. The same holds true for emotional healing. As the wound heals from the bottom up, the mind will often send fragments of the debris. These may be in the form of old memories or emotions that need to be released. Opening & healing is now in process...

More About Criticism & Connected Conflicts...

There are other things that are helpful for me to remember. First off the bat, conflicts & criticism are inevitable, as long as I'm willing or interested in standing up for what I believe are my rights or beliefs.

It does help to simply the actual word conflict or criticism. The subconscious meaning of words can be so powerful as to disallow any scrutiny because of the attached, automatic mind fear patterns. Conflicts are simply two sets of demands, goals or motives that appear to be incompatible. I must remind myself that I deal with conflicts all day long. Some might be small & I may not even label these as conflicts, but they are nevertheless. This is a very important awareness because as I view them under the conflict or criticism label, I'll come to know that I have been developing excellent resolution skills for a very long time, some actually from early childhood.

Conflicts & accompanying criticisms come in sizes including small, medium & large. Some are more uncomfortable than others. The more uncomfortable tend to be connected to deeper wounds or more sensitive areas in the subconscious mind. Keep in mind that these are very valuable as debriding tools.

The conflicts or critiques I play in the theater of my mind tend to be more frequent & often larger. It's important for me not to forget that these also effect my body physiology & bring more debris to old, deep wounds. Engaging the thought process in awfulizing is a very bad habit & one that can have serious physical & emotional consequences.

This happens to be one of my habits & so I've asked my own subconscious mind to wake me when I'm doing this, so I have the opportunity to break the habit & release the stress. At the same time, I'll take advantage of the self-criticism & do a very more steps to debride any old wounds.

Simple Metaphors for Managing Criticisms...

Here's one I utilize for myself quite often. When someone is critical of me, I change those words in my mind. They are critical of something I've done. This simply means that we have a difference of opinion about this something. That is easier for me to accept & curbs the production of stress chemicals. Remember, I was born into a very critical environment, so I am very sensitive.

Next, in the theater of my mind, I take the "something" & rinse it off under my very beautiful golden faucet. I want to remove the emotional component that was part of the delivery. This way, I am free to examine the "something" & decide if I want to change anything about my part or my beliefs. I may do this immediately, or decide to wait. Then, I might simply thank the other person for bringing this to my attention & to let them know that I'll think about it. This moves me out of a defensive position, into one of maturity & self-control.

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I sense my personal pain & work with it directly to heal my deepest wounds. I have choices in any & all conflicts. I'm the writer, director & producer of my own life. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
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Winning the Mind Game - A Total Sports Advantage - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Failure Words...

Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was...Richard L. Evans

Related Words - default, delinquency, dereliction, neglect, oversight, laxity, negligence, remissness, slackness, indifference, unconcern

What we think or what we entertain is what we get & the same goes double for failure. Unfortunately failure mindsets are a dime a dozen. You don't have to look far to find them...in others or more importantly, in yourself. It's rather amazing that we succeed at anything, given our usual interior weather. Look closely; it's usually either raining, storming, blowing, snowing, cloudy or completely parched & drought-ridden.

Thoughtout this blog I've reminded you to look for emotional carriers, especially those that attempt to color your life with negative mind states. Pay attention to the word attempt. No one can do anything without your permission. Mind-underline that for yourself, for most of us tend to forget it. Just because someone in your environment is coloring in a negative fashion, you do not have to breathe it in. It's like second-hand smoke. You do not have to breathe it in. You have choices.

Even though I can't see or hear you, I have a good idea as to what you are thinking right now, the reason being that in the past, I've said most of those things to myself or to others in relation to myself OR I've heard it from others in my work as a clinical hypnotherapist.

So, let me tell you this...

Changing mindsets is a skill, just like anything else. Think for a moment about how many things you have learned from the time you were just a baby. Take a mind-visit back to your early childhood & find the time when you simply didn't entertain failure. That time is there......so go find it & then sense yourself reconnecting. However you might like to imagine that....do it. Notice that during this time you were also independent of the negative-crayoning of others. Take your time in this area of self-exploration for it is very important & can work to change your life experiences considerably.

In short, you need to know that you can achieve things. You can work through perceived failure. You can recognize negative-emotional crayoning of others & that you can choose not to accept it.

Now about the definition of failure.... I'm sure that you already know that failing at something just means that you haven't figured out how to do it yet. That is all that it is. Now others might have more to say about it, but again, that is their negative crayoning & you already know what to do about that. In case you have forgotten, or haven't read those blog entries....when you don't want to accept negative-crayoning your task is to ...

1. notice or wake-up
2. breathe from center & relax your body
3. release the image or emotion
4. place a new mind program on your mind screen

When you experiencing a perceived failure, it's time to go back to the drawing board. For most of us, we take too big a chunk & so of course, we tend to choke. Now what would you do if you were choking on something? Well, if it were me, I'd do whatever I had to do to get the offender out of my mouth asap.

It's the same with anything else. Break the perceived failure into pieces & study them independently. It's best to do this in deep relaxation. That way, your own subconscious mind will assist you in finding a better way. If you experience mind-confusion when you try to do this.....the chunk is simply too big OR you haven't quieted the mind sufficiently.

Most of you have heard about your intuition or inner knowing. That is your subconscious mind in action. In order to take full advantage of it, you must relax very deeply & then you will be gifted with eureka break-through thoughts or ideas or serendipity. Nothing is free in life. As I tell my patients, the piper must be paid. If you want your own mind to assist you, it is up to you to change your internal weather system.

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I wake to my perceived failures & mind-edit them easily. I am aware of my internal weather systems. I stay keenly aware of negative-crayoning & make good choices for myself. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
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Winning the Mind Game - A Total Sports Advantage - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Royal Funk Words...

Related Words - coward, chicken, craven, dastard, funker, poltroon, quitter, yellowbelly

My first patient today told me that she was in a royal funk, rather like a burn-out in her recovery program. I've known her for quite awhile now & while she is doing very well, she is in one of the more difficult parts of her path...where big changes are not seen, but the daily disciplines must continue to be in place if change is to happen down the path.

When I first met her she was almost knocking on the door of diabetes. Her body fat percentage was quite high & her lifestyle behaviors were typical of a person in her path position. Of course, she needed to make lots of changes, not only in the practical sense, but emotionally & behaviorally as well.

In her behalf, she was highly motivated.....in my opinion, mainly by fear of becoming diabetic or having a heart attack. Fear is usually a great motivator. The sicker the individual, the easier the changes. However, when someone hasn't experienced a motivating level of fear, they are less likely to participate in the change mechanism.

They may even refuse, or make up & accept excuses that will get in their way. We call this denial, rationalization or avoidance of the truth. That's why a person who just wants to lose weight to get into a smaller size is not likely to be successful.......especially if they have a high body fat percentage. What has to happen on a daily basis just doesn't seem worth it, but when you add fear into the equation, the desire to be compliant rises to the level of fear.

I find this quite often in smokers, especially those looking for the magician or wizard. They would like to stop smoking, but they really don't want to work at it......but, if hypnosis will just allow them to stop thinking about wanting a cigarette, they will consider it. Obviously, this person is not going to stop smoking until the fear-factor increases.

But, back to my patient with the royal funk. It's funny how things happen. I was thinking about her before her appointment & had made up my mind to push her into some changes that probably she wouldn't want to make. I was a little nervous about this, but had definitely made up my mind to go for it. This was before I knew about the royal funk. & how happy I was to hear that this accompanied her into the office today.

Let me explain why I was so happy. Royal funks are precursors of major change! The subconscious mind is alerting the individual that there is an uncomfortable level of dissatisfaction with this, that or the other. The individual is coming out of automatic-pilot stagnation! How perfect for what I had in mind. In this instance, my patient had made her primary changes very well, but the body & the mind needed more. She was ready to enter a new level of self-care, one that she would not have been able to manage earlier in her recovery.

The time was right & the mind was ready. When someone has the primary changes in place, the next avenue is to enhance the exercise program, as well as to introduce the person to the segment of the population who works diligently on a daily basis to bring their bodies beyond the norm.

You will find this segment of the population at your local gym. Day in & day out, there they are........& not just the svelte younger set. In our local gym, the one that I frequent, you will find people of all ages, including the quite elderly, each focused on their own exercise program & goals. To use an excellent metaphor, it is really very moving to observe them....& this environment is definitely contageous in a very positive sense.

It would not be enough to give her direct suggestions about going to the gym. I needed to take her there hypnotically & motivate the entire daily process. I also needed to take her into the future where she could truly feel all the gifts she would be receiving. I decided that these gifts had to be beyond what she was already working towards. In other words, I had to make a supercalifragilisticexpealadious experience for her to try on for size.

This meant some very powerful imagery that was emotionally charged. I also had to order the parts of the change. She had to commit to visiting the gym, getting the paperwork, signing up, organizing her orientation, moving past the fears of this & into her first day, including organizing her clothes for work, etc. In hypnosis, this is done in a matter of minutes. The die is cast & the motivation is placed...

Now, we all have royal funk experiences, myself included. Instead of smoldering with them, recognize them for what they are & get excited about the power & energy they hold. Decide to open them & go for the gold.

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I recognize my royal funks easily. I move through them quickly & transmute their energy into positive, creative outcomes. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Self-Discipline Words...

Life is tons of discipline...Robert Frost

Related Words - self-will, self-command, self-control, self-government, self-mastery, self-restraint, willpower

We all know about self-discipline....or do we? I know we are familiar with the term & probably can even define it, but when it comes to the application, the meaning of self-discipline seems to evade most of us. Some of my patients refuse to acknowledge that they have any self-discipline at all........as if accepting that fact would mean that they should/could have it in any & all areas of their life!

Let's review normal for a moment. While it's true that each of us is certainly disciplined in certain areas of life, no one has it across the board. So, why should we care about this? Well, it's actually quite important to realize that if you are disciplined in a particular area of your life, you can utilize that discipline subconsciously by applying it to another area where you may need more of it.

Most people who come to my private practice are seeking magic. In a way, it's so pleasingly child-like to share conversations with them, but on the other hand, one would think that by the time one reaches adult-hood we would be able to separate fantasy from reality. I've come to the conclusion that just about all of us, myself included, hold out hope for the manifestation of our very own wizard.

The most difficult part of my work is to break the magic spell & introduce the truths about self-discipline & wake people up to what they already have in place. I usually have to work quite hard to make this sale to my patients. It's so hard to let go of the wizard. It's sad in a way, because the truth is that self-discipline is actually very enjoyable.

If we weren't disciplined in so many areas, life would be a horrendous daily struggle. Think of some areas of your own life where you are disciplined. How about getting up in the morning, having breakfast, organizing your clothes & papers for work, brushing your teeth, organizing your home, etc. More than likely you have more disciplined areas than non-disciplined ones & this is good news.

Take a moment to think of some areas in your own life that you would like to bring over to the disciplined column. A few of mine include my exercise program, my book writing & weeding the garden. Just identifying these puts the subconscious mind on notice & a motivational plan is already in the works. That's the power of Interactive Awareness & Self-hypnosis.

We tend to plant negative motivational programs quite easily. Sometimes we aren't even aware that we are doing so. Here's an example....For some reason the term self-discipline receives a bad rap & a negative motivational code. Just saying it can scare people into the corner. This is irrational because self-discipline actually makes life easier.

My job as a clinical hypnotherapistis to gently bring my patients out of hiding & onto the particular goal path that needs the discipline. Once in motion, they will see & sense that this path is already lined with all sorts of motivational images & affirmations.

Most people think about self-hypnosis in relation to developing self-discipline to stop smoking or to lose weight. This is like saying that a fork is only used to eat meat or salad. There are actually hundreds of applications for self-hypnosis from medicine to sports to self-development & then some.

You know the old saying, it's all in how you look at something. In the practice of self-hypnosis, Self-discipline is a KEY MINDSET. In actuality it is a MASTER KEY MINDSETto success & high level achievement, as well as high level health. And so, we applaud this MINDSET right from the get-go. In the practice of interactive self-hypnosis we develop a new self-profile of success, as well as a strong sense of purpose.

While words are the tools of the hypnotherapist, the words form images that are emotionally fired. It's rather like relaxing deeply & then walking into the new self-profile & experiencing the many aspects of it. An experienced hypnotherapist can truly design an extraordinary experience that will/can program the subconscious mind in hundreds of ways. And while a picture paints a thousand words, a self-hypnotic image paints a thousand subconsicous mind suggestions.

Here are some self-discipline suggestions I planted today. Some were for patients & others were for myself...

1. Weight Loss - the images that my patient needed to experience were all about ordering her new discipline, as well as being comfortable & happy with this for many calendar months. In the past she had failed simply because of her disorder & lack of discipline.

2. Exercise Program - I visited myself in my mind's eye & positively experienced the full hour on the treadmill. I also experienced increased endurance on my weight circuit. I removed some negative-based emotional states that don't enjoy being in the gym & brought in my fun-self. I also removed the clocks that interfere with my discipline by telling me to hurry-up.

3. Lifestyle Changes - this patient needs to make a series of changes due to a serious medical diagnosis. This includes stopping smoking, losing weight & exercising. This is over-whelming for the patient & adds to the fear around the diagnosis. The images designed for her were very gentle, rather like kindergarten. New beginnings....building the different disciplines easily, playing with their parts. The patient became the student of the disciplines & sensed her own enjoyment at putting them together.

Spend some time thinking about your own issues now & allow your own subconscious mind to send up some suggestions. Just reading this material is enough to stimulate that happening.

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I enjoy building disciplines in my life. I easily see/sense areas that would benefit from this KEY MINDSET & provide it for myself. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents


Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

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It's Time to Stop...Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Self-Anxiety...

You can turn the tide of your life from negative to positive results through your constructive words...Winston Churchill

Related Words - panic, concern, concernment, disquiet, disquietude, solicitude, unease, uneasiness, worry, doubt, mistrust, dread, uncertainty; distress, misery, suffering; dread;

Oh....where to begin on the subject of anxiety. Why do I feel that I must write about this today? This morning I was doing some automatic journaling for myself & my own anxiety issues came off the end of my pen, completely uninvited, but obviously wanting to roost on my desk. After writing yesterday's blog on the theme of the day, I couldn't help but hope that anxiety was not going to be today's theme.

Since I've been practicing automatic journaling for decades now, I know to trust it & that means to just go with the flow without judging or fear. For those of you who aren't familiar with this type of journaling, I suggest that you give it a whirl. It's quite simple. Open a new journal or notebook that is dedicated to this task only. I use a spiral notebook......I actually have two sizes, one 5 by 8.5 & the other 8.5 by 11. I prefer to write in the larger one because there is more space, but sometimes I like to pop the smaller one in my briefcase & take it on the road with me.

To begin, put a decent amount of time aside for yourself. For me, that means at least 15 minutes & preferably more like 30. Sometimes I'll get to the office a bit early, specifically for this purpose. Next....open the journal & have your pen ready. Don't use the computer for this. The mind will gift more to you if you put the pen to paper. Relax deeply, just for a few minutes. I call this settling in..........& then begin to write.
Don't be concerned about sentence structure, grammar, etc. Just let the pen flow. Write whatever comes. Stay out of judgment. If the mind sends ramblings, so be it. Write them.... & if nothing comes, write that as well. Keep going for the length of time you have decided to write or fill the amount of space you have decided to fill. Keep to the discipline. And once you have finished, put it away.

Here are some journal entries of mine from today - see how many themes you can spot. Look beyond the obvious. Remember, this is coming directly from my own subconscious mind. Also, look for the affirmations; the positive mind programs that were given to me through the end of my pen.

Changes in the wind. Patients leaving. Wondering where this will leave me. Remembering the other big change time after my mother died. I had next to no professional practice. The phones were quiet. My emotions ran away with me...fear...not knowing what to do. I was gifted that time with the idea to design audio programs. That came on the rear of a tear. Here I am once again....but it is not quite the same. Life has not been static. I have things to do & places to go. I'm busy. New patients are coming. I'm satisfied. Book ideas are coming. I'm challenged. It's time for something new. The nail biting book will be ready soon. It appears unfinished, but it isn't. Putting my ducks in a row. Organizing things that don't invite organizing, like relationships & my decision to change my soap. I need something new, perhaps the seminars that came to me while in Spain.............

My first patient arrived. I've been seeing her for over four years. She was only fourteen when she first walked into my office. She sat in the pink chair & hid behind her hands. She only weighed 90 pounds. I've known her at 65 pounds & now, while she is only 102 pounds, she is different. She leaves for college next week. I'll miss her tremendously, just like a daughter. I even tear as I write this.

She's very anxious about so many aspects of college. Her parents are anxious, imaging all the worst. It's been more than four anxiety-filled years for them & they are rightfully frightened. But today she sits before me & we discuss her dorm-room decor & her new room-mate who is coming with the refrigerator. Simple, but important things to a girl who has made such a journey.

Changes & anxiety coupled together. Fear of the known & unknown. Fleeting little thoughts having the power to turn our blood to ice, often not understood by others who might even laugh at our dilemma. Babies....oh grow up ! Feelings of walking alone on new paths, excited but frightened just the same. Our thoughts connecting up with other past experiences, some good & others not so good. What kinds of memories will we be making? Oh, why can't things just stay as they are, even if they aren't very good? At least they are familiar!

Here are some things my young patient & I did today...

1. Anxiety & excitement are very close in their chemical composition. What's important here is the labeling. It only takes 1/200th of a second to change the label from a fear state, to a positive exciting state.

2. You have the choice & the power to diminish all fears & all thoughts that are fear-related. Take out your re-framing tools or use the pie-cutter. The latter is a releasing tool for diminishing a portion of a fear or anxiety that may present itself as too big to manage.

3. Emotions are like children that wear tee-shirts with their names on the front. You are not your emotions, but you are in charge of them. You have the choice & the power to diminish any & all emotions that are not benefiting you & you have the choice & the power to invite in or enhance any & all emotions that do benefit you. Remember to keep your eye on your mind-assets & utilize them to their fullest. Don't let them get rusty from disuse!

4. Managing yourself & your life is fun! The better you get at a task, the better for you in the long-run. This is how champions are made. If you feel the desire to run & hide behind an old, impotent behavior pattern, wake-up & come forward instead. Meet the bully-factor & disassemble it. Observe it losing power as you gain power. Pay attention to the power of your mindWORDS. They are all coated with chemicals that change the outcomes of your entire mind & body. The more positive-task-orientated you are, the more power you will harvest.

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My thoughts & emotions are things that can be managed. I am not my thoughts, nor my emotions. I have power over the workings of my mind & body. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Assertive Words...

Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength that will always spring up if thou wilt always look there... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

Related Words - emphatic, forceful, insistent, resounding

I must be developing some sort of blog-obsession. When I wake in the morning I find myself searching for my blog-subject of the day. While this is a bit annoying, I can satisfy my mind quite quickly with a quick decision. And then.....the day officially opens & I find myself changing that easily determined subject idea. I know you don't know me, but I can assure you that I'm not a flip-flopper. It's just that each day seems to have it's own the theme of the day that begs to be addressed & sometimes that need is big. It certainly was today.......& the day isn't over yet!

Usually themes really hang out. When they come to visit, they tend to stay. I'm sure you've noticed this in your own life. The theme may roll in gently OR it may arrive with a bang. This morning it was a bang. I had planned on blogging more on dreams for they are favorite subjects of mine & I've gotten fairly good at programming specific dreams, as well as remembering them in good detail. I just love writing about this part of my work, especially because I know how helpful it can be for healing & enhancing creativity. But that will have to wait for another day.

I opened the computer to begin working & decided to check my email. There it was........the theme. I opened three emails & found it smiling out at me. When you've been working in a field as long as I have, you do know when a theme has knocked at the door. This particular theme had to do with the verbal victimization of adult-children by parents or significant others & those adult-children cowering to it. For me, it is like rubbing salt in a wound.

I had to run some errands & found myself in the presence of adults with young children. There was the theme again.... only this time real children were being verbally victimized by their parents. It was like I was viewing the coming attractions to the adult-lives of the young children I was observing. How easy it is to harm a young mind & how long those programs can play out into adulthood causing all kinds of havoc. Adult-children still cowering, just like the young ones I was watching. I truly felt sick.

I went to the office & met up with a new patient. You guessed it.......the theme again. This particular patient came for weight management, but it became abundantly clear that her food bingeing was all about early verbal abuses that were never addressed & she still was accepting them, as if she didn't have a choice in the matter. While her mother, the original deliverer was deceased, she had a new deliverer, her husband. The messages were almost the same. She never learned along the way that while the doorbell may ring, one doesn't have to answer it. In addition, if there is a deliver, one doesn't have to accept the package ......unless one truly wants it.
In my experience we can all do with some assertiveness training work.

Being assertive does not mean being aggressive, although, I was just very aggressive & assertive on the phone a few minutes ago. Years ago I wouldn't have been able to do that & if I did, I'd probably be telling myself what I terrible person I am & no wonder no one liked me. Think about those mind programs! Not very healthy & certainly not very helpful.

So, this is what I help my patients to program in Interactive Self-Hypnosis...

1. We will work to enhance your ability to be assertive. Framing something as an ability says a lot to the subconscious mind. Becoming assertive is a skill that we get good at by practice. Remember, practice makes perfect....or almost.

2. We will work to enhance your ability to speak up for what you need, to speak up for what you want, to set boundaries, to learn to say now, to see yourself being in charge of the quality of your life in your mind's eye & knowing/believing that you deserve the very best.

3. We will work to enhance your inner programming to expect to receive the very best for you from others & also from yourself....& to give the very best to yourself in each moment.

4. It's important to know that defects in programming begin very early in your life & these defects have been closely tied to the development of your self-image & self-esteem. In other words, how you see yourself & feel/believe about yourself.

5. Early programming defects present false beliefs as truths, disallowing you from seeing yourself as you truly are....a human being with rights, with needs, with desires....a dignified human being harboring the rightful expectation of being treated with respect. Many people may have assisted with placing defective programs in your inner library & often this was not intentional, but actually followed their automatic behaviors that were out of balance in some way. While this isn't an excuse, knowing this can give us the power we need to change these very old programs.

In the practice of Interactive Self-Hypnosis we build new models for representing & caring for ourselves with respect & dignity. We expect this from ourselves & from others. If others miss the mark, we make it clear that this is not acceptable. We don't have to shout or get into our child-self to do this. Actually this is never a position of power. In Interactive Self-Hypnosis we are always in direct communication with the Higher Part or Mature Part of ourselves that takes charge when the going gets rough for the inner-child.

We were born alone & we will die alone. What we achieve & how we achieve it is up to us. We teach people how to treat us & it is never too late to get these lessons straight.

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I respect & honor myself. I teach others to do the same through my healthy beliefs, my healthy actions & by setting healthy boundaries. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents

Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

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Self-Cluttering Words...

There are days when all we can see is clutter. Do know that those are good days, for we cannot change what we cannot see. Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Related Words - confusion, ataxia, ballup, chaos, disarray, disorder, huddle, muddle, snarl, topsy-turviness, hash, hugger-mugger, jumble, jungle, litter, mash, mishmash, muddle, rummage, scramble, shuffle, tumble, hodgepodge, macédoine, medley, mélange; disarray, mess, muss, ruck

Even the related words for clutter tend to clutter ! Today I so wanted to write about dreams, but my own personal clutter won out. I even received several emails about clutter.........so clutter it is.

I truly shouldn't be writing this blog entry because my entire office is a mess. For the past week I've been working on a variety of projects, most of which required pulling my filing cabinets apart. As I searched for things I needed, I was struck by how disorganized my files had become. When did this happen? It seems to me that I had re-structured them not all that long ago.........or was it?

Once we begin to notice clutter it tends to turn up everywhere. I walked into my office closet & there it was........every shelf & drawer. Piles of things that I have little recollection of placing there. How is it that I can be with these piles every day, yet not see or remember anything about them?

I noticed that I was actually afraid to look around the rest of my life with my eyes of the day. What if I found this everywhere? Could I possibly be that lost in my life.......AGAIN?

My memories went back to the late 80's when I had a clutter-wake-up. We were living in the Albany, NY area & my husband was re-locating to Oklahoma & I was to stay to market the house & finish up some work projects. Our sons had just left for college & even the dog had run away. Yes....I was alone with myself, something that I preferred not to experience. During those years my bingeing issues were big & unresolved, usually waiting around any corner to take over my life.

To complicate matters, my husband suggested, quite strongly, that I clear out the house. I was stunned by this because to me, the house was just fine. It was clean. I was a good homemaker. We needed all the things that were there & I certainly wasn't about to get rid of the things I'd collected & loved.

I remember the cold & snowy night I returned from Oklahoma, feeling alone & frightened for some reason. As I waited for the house to warm up, I began thinking about what my husband had said. I decided to have a look in one cupboard in the kitchen to see if he could possibly be right. I couldn't believe what happened next. It was like I never, ever truly looked inside that cupboard, yet I was in & out of there at least a dozen times a day. I was especially stunned by the piles of margarine containers that were bent out of shape & yellowed. There must have been 50 or so.......

Why did I own these? I seemed to remember that I collected them for leftovers. Quite honestly, I don't like leftovers & certainly these were the most depressing containers I'd ever seen. I remember tearing... What had happened to me? How widespread was this pattern of disorganization & not-remembering? I opened a few kitchen drawers & realized that they contained things that I didn't even recognize. I had no idea what to do with some of the gadgets that lived there. I began to feel surrealistic, like I was a visitor in my own life. Since I was working in gerontology with Alzheimer's patients at the time, I began fantasizing about perhaps being in the early stages. Not very funny. For some reason my bingeing came to mind.........yes, it was like my entire life & home were on some sort of bender.

By this time I knew I was on to something, intuition perhaps & I had a slight twinge of awareness that this was going to be a very important something. My inner mind suggested that I make some spot visits to other rooms..........no matter where I went, the same was waiting for me. My goodness. Think further.....And if this was the case with my home, what about the other parts of my life? I thought about my work, my hobbies, my goals & my dreams....my relationships. Were they also full of clutter & detachment? What couldn't I see? What was I missing?

Of course, this idea added to my earlier uneasy feelings about being alone & being afraid of myself, but sometimes when fear mounts, it does reach it's peak & thank goodness, that is what happened for me. I reached the top of the fear- mountain & now I could sense the release. I was willing to see & so now I was free to take care of things.

How does one begin when there is so much clutter, confusion & disorganization? Here are some things I did. They may sound a bit excessive, but I needed a plan to set me free.

1. I rented a copy of Ghandi. I knew that he had gotten down to one loin cloth & his glasses. I thought he would be a good mentor for me. I watched it twice !

2. I decided to set up 3 categories to help me evaluate my possessions & those I had ownership over. These included garbage, things I didn't really need or had too much of & had to go & then, group 3....things I needed or truly loved. The last was a tricky category because the binge part of me could say this about anything. For this reason I set up a temporary area in the garage. I could place things there & after a week I could re-evaluate. There is something positive about getting things out of the house. This is the beginning of releasing......

3. I made a folder for each room & listed every area separately, including each drawer, closet, shelf, etc. When I began a room, I had to stay with it until it was finished. Of course, some rooms took me a week or so. The basement took me several weeks. What I mean by staying with it was that I didn't allow myself to do a drawer in the kitchen & then one in the bedroom. I noticed the tremendous desire to do this........it seemed far too related to my troublesome behaviors of the past & so it was disallowed.

4. I made myself actually touch or handle everything I owned. Then I decided it's category. And yes, this was very time-consuming, but as I look back, it was a very important rule. I learned much from this exercise & it translated into changed behaviors that follow me to this day. Rarely do I purchase things I don't really love or need. I used to buy more compulsively & so this was a tremendous benefit for me. I learned to appreciate what I had & of course, realized that I had far too much. I didn't need all of these things to live happily. In fact, they had gotten in my way.

5. I allowed myself one job & two hobbies. One hobbie had to be a physical activity & the other one could be whatever I wanted. The reason for this rule for me was that I had tons of hobbies. I started things, but didn't finish them. I'm a person who is interested in just about everything. I love to knit, sew, embroider, do needlepoint, do beadwork, do crafts, etc., etc. As for work, I had several jobs going, yet I wasn't truly doing what I wanted to do. I came to realize that unless I stopped this binge behavior, I would never come to do what I really wanted to do. In other words, I was pushing my subconscious mind to focus hard. My mind had gotten lazy through the years & so my goals had wandered away.

6. I rewarded myself each day with something non-tangible. I had forgotten how to do this & so for me this was another adventure in getting to know myself better.

It took me about 3 months to complete this task. It was truly a journey to find myself & to get to know myself, perhaps for the very first time in my adulthood. I did end up reviewing my relationships & actually ended a few friendships that truly weren't. I shortened my Christmas card list..... & enhanced my most important relationships.

So, how long did this last? Well, at the beginning of this blog I mentioned that I was surrounded by clutter. Obviously, this is an ongoing process, but it is very rewarding. I do the house thing every year or so........or when it speaks to me. Once you have done the big process, more frequent messages are received.

If you are motivated to do this, don't be surprised if you get some big releases & creative break-throughs ! I'm expecting one once I clear out this closet!

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The true & creative me is located under that pile of clutter. As I come out of hiding & direct my attention to my clutter, I come directly in contact with my true self. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents

Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

mindSCRABBLE...The Game of Programming Your Mind for What You Want

It's Time to Stop...Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Future-Pacing Words...

My future belongs to me. I am the writer, director & producer of my own life. Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Related Words - time that is to come,aftertime, afterward, by-and-by, hereafter, offing, to-be, beyond the present

We tend to mimic sailboats....blown this way & that, our directions decided by something out of our control. In this metaphor, the wind representing life. Unfortunately this is a very stressful way to go through life. In addition, it is next to impossible to reach our deepest desires if we continue to choose this way of living.

In the previous blog entry we discussed the power of regression. The entry before that focused on tweaking different areas of our life, thereby requesting our subconscious minds to give us suggestions & connected plans for making things better. I've been trying to write the blogs in some sort of order, so those of you who might be interested in working with these creative tools could follow along. If anyone is having difficulty, I'm very available online. You can email me here or visit one of my websites where more than likely you can jump right on my desk through the human-click button.

Future-pacing is another time-line tool that is very valuable & quite easy to commandeer. While it is certainly possible to simply jump on the time-line & go forward, I prefer to do some pre-time-line work beforehand. I will, however, do this pre-work in a light hypnosis. In other words, I'll plan some quiet time & then relax deeply.....slowing my brain waves down below the alpha level. I've written about this before & it is very simple to do.

For those of you who need a quick review, here it is:

Find a chair that is comfortable & settle down into it. Sense the chair holding you up. Now allow your body to sink into it, just as if magnets were pulling you down. You might like to take a few yawn breaths & sense your breath sitting in your lower abdomen, just as if it contained a merry-go-round horse. Pay quiet attention as it goes gently up & down.

Have a journal available or even a piece of paper will do. I rather like journals because they seem to attract the subconscious mind. Make a little map that represents your future. Purposefully think about yourself in that area..... begin with the near future, perhaps tomorrow & then move on to next week.....followed by a month down the road. See/sense a calendar turning gently, noticing that small images of your successes are stamped on each date. You don't have to see them in any detail.........just notice their existence.

Some thoughts will be coming into your mind right about now. You might want to write them down or even ask them some questions. It's important to notice your future as a real thing....not just some nebulous time down the road. That's why I suggest that you draw out some sort of image to represent it. This will give you a mind-focus for respecting it, etc. Never again will you treat it in any negative fashion or disregard it as if it didn't truly exist. It does exist & will come to pass.......& you will guide it gently towards what you want to happen.

We get what we think about all day long. Think in negative terms & guess what you will receive? Of course, you may think this is obvious & why should you spend time reading or thinking about this. Don't be fooled. You may know it, but there isn't one of us who doesn't fall into this mind-trap, myself included. But, the more you future-pace, the less you will find yourself programming your mind for negative experiences.

Once you have journaled & explored some thoughts about your future, start detailing the things you would like to experience. Yes, this does take time. However, your time is much better spent programming what you want, then letting the winds blow you without your direction. That is poor time management, besides making it more difficult to get back in the direction you want to go. For many people, the trip back is perceived as being too much work, so guess what? They stay wherever they end up, thanks to the wind.

Future-pacing is all about planning the details of what you want as if you already had it. Certainly you can add dates, etc. Make it as specific as you like, but truly image & emotionalize it. Treat your future-paced images with a host of affirmations. I like to detail my images in writing & then visit them in the theater of my mind, especially before I go to sleep at night. I want my subconscious mind to play with these images during my dream states. This is a powerful time for accessing your deepest levels of problem solving & creativity.

In the next blog I'll touch base with dream programming. Keep in touch & if there is something you might like me to write about here, I'm only a click away.

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My future falls off the end of my pen. I communicate easily with my future-selves. They help me to comprehend what is possible & then to plant it. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents
Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop
mindSCRABBLE...The Game of Programming Your Mind for What You Want
It's Time to Stop...Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Time-Line Words

We all have a past path & a future path. One is filled with treasures waiting to be gleaned, the other waiting to receive the new plantings. Elizabeth Bohorquez RN, C.Ht

Related Words - Review, revert. turn back, go back, reverse, recall, remember, bring forward, go forward, think forward

Who wouldn't like to adventure in a time-machine? Most of us love the thought of going back in time or forward into the future. In the practice of Interactive Self-Hypnosis we experience this daily. It's known as working your time-line.

Even if you don't practice self-hypnosis as part of your creative life, you do work on your time-line. You just don't do this purposefully. Indeed, it is much better to use this powerful tool well, for if not, you may find yourself hanging around in negative trash while inhaling the toxic fumes. Instead, you could be transforming the negative trash into powerful, positive fertilizer to expand growth for one or several of your current or future goals.

If you doubt that you hang out on your time-line, start to pay attention to your thoughts as they speed through your mind. Just think about the last few hours inner activity. Did you have any thoughts about something that happened in the past? Could you feel/sense the emotions that were connected to those happenings? Did you have any thoughts about something in the future, either something you are planning or something you don't want to happen? Again, could you feel/sense the emotions connected to those happenings?

OK.....this is time-line work. These thoughts came on automatic pilot. Most likely you experienced emotions or physical sensations while you were inner-exploring these thoughts. It's important to know that these emotions, or chemical experiences, were etching those thought programs into your subconscious mind....they were becoming your goals or strengthening already present ones.

Because you weren't working purposefully with your time-line, you may have programmed your mind for goals or happenings that you don't want. Even when interacting with past memories or experiences, you will actually etch them further into your mind IF you don't choose to release them in the moment they are playing. It's so important to pay attention to your thought genres & your attitudes or emotional states. They can either play havoc OR help you enormously.

REGRESSION POINTERS

In my work as an RN, medical, sports & self-development hypnotherapist, I don't get into past-life regression. Quite honestly, I don't even discuss it. Everyone has their own thoughts about this & since it doesn't have to do with my clinical work or writing, I like to leave it to those who are in that field. The regression work that I practice with my clients & within my own life experiences, has to do with the time going forward from birth. On the future time-line, we go forward to the end of life.

Here are some of the areas I like to explore in regression. You can also practice doing the same by relaxing very deeply & spending some quality time with your younger Selves...

1. Going back to the day of your birth. Seeing/sensing your parents holding you. Pay attention to how young they appear, perhaps immature. Introducing your adult-self to them & noticing how amazed they are at your growth & maturity. This is also the time when you take possession the infant & begin your journey of self-responsibility.

2. Visiting your infant & early-childhood selves. Noticing how you were parented in these very early years & then stepping in & taking responsibility, perhaps improving or updating your early care. In self-hypnosis the mind accepts the last suggestion presented & so this is an opportunity to have a very early fresh start. You can also pay attention to your achievements in this area of your time-line. Notice how you learned to turn over, to sit, to stand, to walk, to eat, to speak, to play, to toilet train, etc. You can begin to collect or glean your successes right here. The attached affirmation could be, I know how to be successful.

3. Middle childhood & teen years. Perhaps you would like to make some editing changes here. Pay attention to parenting, school experiences, siblings & other relationships. Collect successes & re-edit learning-failure experiences to benefit you. Place some powerful affirmations here as well. An example, As I grow, I learn. Every experience is a growing & learning experience.

4. Early adult years. - Pay attention to your Selves during these years. Notice that you can interview each of them. Ask them what they need. Bring them gifts from their future. Notice that they have successes to share with you. Glean these. Wash off any learning-failure experiences, leaving the inner success-core jewels intact. Affirmation - There is success in every learning-failure. I know how to clean it & access it.

5. Adult years. Practice entering all kinds of experiences. Look for the successes & learning-failures. Tend to them. Interview your Selves. Ask questions & bring some gifts. Notice how they are opened to taking you deeper into the experiences, allowing you to remember from your current adult-self. Knowing that you have come for the inner success-cores.

6. Re-editing the past. Take the position of writer, producer, director of your past & re-edit or re-stage it to your liking. Manage emotions both positive & negative. You can do this in your mind's eye OR you can do some automatic writing/journaling. This is my favorite method & I'm always surprised at some of the gifts that leave the end of my pen.

In the next blog entry I'll do some future-pacing with you.

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I enjoy visiting my past Selves. We communicate easily. They help me to uncover & harvest my inner-success-core jewels. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

mindSCRABBLE...The Game of Programming Your Mind for What You Want

It's Time to Stop...Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Tweaking Words...

Nothing is static. Everything can be made better by enhancing focus & upgrading desire. Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

Tweak Related Words - adjust pull off, pluck, pick off, fine-tune, pinch, nip, squeeze, tweet, twinge.

Everyone wants to progress.... that's a given, but because we have so many different areas to manage.....all containing a multitude of goals, both big & small, it's a wonder that we do as much as we do. For most areas of life & for most goals, we have a tendency to be lost in very powerful automatic pilot programs.

I was brought to this line of thinking today by a client of mine who is leaving for a trip abroad. When planning her session, I decided to help her install a subconscious mind tweaking program that would benefit the many areas we are working on together. It helps to know that when one leaves home, a large portion of automatic pilot programs get left behind as well.

Even something as mundane as brushing the teeth, takes on a new pattern. Take a moment to think about how many areas will change for my client.....you might be surprised. Those of us who work in the field of focus, flow, concentration & clarity know the value of changing.........even little things. So, when one goes abroad lots of little things will simply change. It's like a gift waiting to happen.

When old patterns are broken, even if just temporarily, creative-opportunity spaces appear. These spaces are very valuable assets & afford a perfect opportunity to revamp different areas of life that might benefit from some re-thinking or re-direction. I call this tweaking. The re-direction or re-editing can be accomplished in large or small areas.

Tweaking can be a conscious or subconscious mind activity. I personally like to explore both avenues. In the past, some of my best break-through ideas came through subconscious mind tweaking, although conscious planning also has tremendous benefits. While this is a big subject for this blog, I can certainly touch on some areas that may actually tweak your desire to learn more.

What areas are best to tweak?

I actually like to program my own subconscious mind to tweak in all major areas of my life, because I never know where the most powerful gifts are coming to come from. This is exactly what I did with my client. Break-through idea may appear small on the surface, but can have big ramifications. This happened to me when I was tweaking my food & beverage intake. I got the idea that I truly could stop drinking caffeinated coffee. While this may not sound like a big thing, trust me it was. I had been addicted to caffeine for over 30 years & so, there wasn't an area of my life that was not affected by the absence of this substance.

It is often difficult to tweak without slowing the brain waves due to mind-turbulance. I also call this run-away brain syndrome. Take a moment to tune into your own thought processes & take notice of their speed. Think of them as traffic & you might be shocked at how fast it is going. Think about catching one of those thoughts & you'll get the idea of how necessary it is to slow the brain waves.

Once the brain waves are slowed, not only can you catch the thought, but there are other benefits as well. Stress chemical production is diminished. It is then possible to access the door to the subconscious mind. This only takes about 1/200th of a second. Now you are ready to program the subconscious mind for a good tweaking session.

Here are some areas my client tweaked....

1. Weight Management - As we entered this area of her subconscious mind programs, we noticed the many different aspects of her self-discipline. Some appeared to be working quite well, others not so well. However, we asked the mind to tweak all areas, the reason being that everything can be made better. We just may not know this consciously. For imagery we utilized a laser light & focused it on food shopping, refrigerator, cupboards, exercise circuit training, walking & swimming programs & her emotional component. The process is as simple as "notice or call attention to, laser light, tweak." The subconscious mind will respond to this by sending suggestions or new action programs.

2. General Health- We separated her general health from her weight management program because we wanted her subconscious mind to highlight that important area. As we walked through her body departments, we simply "noticed, laser light & tweaked." The mind will simply produce improved self-care programs in the different areas. Perhaps some areas won't have any, but most will.

3. Relationship with Self - This is the most important relationship area & often the most ignored. My client needs lots more work in this area including building her self-image & self-esteem. As we located her different object-goals in this area, she "noticed, laser light & tweaked." These included caring for her personal needs, having fun, building interesting work, hobbies, self-thoughts, choosing more emotions that build, etc. Because this was done hypnotically, her subconscious mind will bring forth new ideas, along with the organized plans.

4. Financial - Like all of us, my client certainly needs some tweaking in the area of money management. When we are over-loaded with daily tasks, we often miss out on making corrections or building new opportunities. The subconscious mind is never too busy to work things out for us. All we need to do is ask, so we tweaked her budget, bank account, spending habits & investments. It will be interesting to see what gifts she receives in this department.

5. Home - This is a very easy area to tweak. My client & I visited all the rooms in her home, as well as her car & pool/garden, pointing the laser at all sorts of things. Her subconscious mind will send her a multitude of suggestions for making her life better in these areas. It's so common to stay on automatic pilot in relation to our home environment, for this is where we come to rest & recover from our work & social life. Whenever I tweak my home area, I find myself removing clutter & organizing areas that have been ignored for quite some time.

6. Relationships - My client has many relationships including her family & friends. It's not uncommon to take these for granted, so tweaking will usually improve their quality. My client is ready to think about some additional relationships & so we asked her subconscious mind to make a note of this & bring forth some suggestions. I won't be surprised if she begins to be more open to meeting new people.

6. Future - Tweaking the future is great fun & filled with possibilities of all kinds. This is a great opportunity to let her subconscious mind know what sorts of experiences she would like to have. We simply brought forth images & gave them a super-charged laser tweak. And, we left the following affirmation in this
area......THIS OR BETTER !

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I welcome change in all areas of my life. I enjoy it. I'm ready for it. ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents

Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

mindSCRABBLE...The Game of Programming Your Mind for What You Want

It's Time to Stop...Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD

Striving Words...

Take the gentle path...George Herbert

How hard we all try to achieve things.......& how many different things we try to achieve. No wonder so many of us are so tired. Sometimes life is like a continuous uphill climb. So, no matter what you are looking to achieve in your personal & business life or in creative endeavors, be they at your computer or on the playing field, it's a good idea to keep a look-out for this potentially dangerous mind-state.

Often when we are alone or in our regular life-patterns, it isn't as noticeable, unless someone draws our attention to it, at which point most of us would become defensive. Here are some catch-phrases that come my way....This is just the way I am or If I don't keep working hard, I'll never amount to anything. Or.......Leave me alone. I know what I'm doing. Do you?

I just came back from spending a weekend with 35 strivers, all under one roof. It was a meeting of publishers & writers, each one on a separate mission for success, including myself. Quite frankly, I'm mentally & physically exhausted. And while the meeting was excellent & had a very positive energy, being around any striving-energy can be depleting & especially when it is your own.

Like many meetings, this one was filled with so much information, that I could feel my mind setting up protective blocks....actually backing up from the continuous barrage being thrown at it. To make matters worse, it was Saturday & my creative mind is not used to this type of treatment once Friday has passed. But, this was an important meeting, so of course, I wanted & needed to stay focused. However, the more I pushed myself to do this, the more my mind rejected my personal demands.

Perhaps you've found yourself in a similar scenario. Most of my patients & students tend to strive & then to suffer from the striving, some actually burning out, for as I mentioned above, striving is contagious, even within ourselves. The more we tend to strive, the quicker we seem to burn!

Here are some suggestions for dealing with a striving-nature....

1. Watch out for it. Most of us have the tendency to effort or push ourselves & ifyou are an A-type personality, you will have higher levels of this trait. It's important to be honest with yourself & avoid defending what you know to be true. Keep in mind that you are the person who will pay the piper.

2. Make plans for it. I don't go to many meetings & so, sometimes I forget about it until I'm in the middle of the problem. However, once it rears it's head, I'm ready. First, I need to realign my goals for being at the meeting. I may need to remind myself that it isn't necessary for me to absorb everything that is presented or discussed. This is a letting-go subconscious mind suggestion & a very powerful one. It tends to break that perfectionistic, obsessive-compulsive, tension-building mind & body set.....an enemy to creativity, concentration & focus.

3. Lighten up. While this is a bit like step 2, it is more in keeping with the mind programs of having fun & actually enjoying the learning process. When I'm working with clients of mine who are in school, no matter what the level, I find that they often need new or restructured mind programs in this department. So, how do we purposefully lighten up?

A very simple exercise is to take a cleansing breath, sense magnets pulling you down into the chair, tilt your eyes up just about 20 degrees & see/sense yourself having a good time, of course, appropriate for the place & time. It's not necessary to image this as a Disneyland experience! Remember that the mind will follow the body.........so a good emotionalized image is all that is necessary.

4. Watch what you eat & drink. Always have a good nutritious breakfast that includes protein & whole grains. Limit your caffeine & sugar intake. It's almost par for the course that meeting break foods will include plenty of caffeinated drinks, sugars & refined foods. Watch those candies & mints that are often placed on the writing tables. These types of foods play havoc with blood sugar levels & therefore build emotional roller-coasters. They make it more difficult to stay relaxed & focued...........thus increasing the desire to strive.

5. Observe your communication skills. Are you spending more time speaking than actively listening? Are you feeling the need to sell yourself to others? This is a good opportunity to stay in awareness & inhance your listening. Sense yourself enjoying this & if the little mind voices come to tell you that you are missing opportunities, remind yourself that this is not so. A good listener tends to make a better impression that one who talks to much. If you tend to have social anxiety, make note of this. Bring back that earlier image of being deeply relaxed & enjoying the party.

6. Trust your mind to do the necessary listening. When the mind & body is well-nourished & relaxed, you can program it to do the listening for you. Here is how to place those suggestions..... as above, take a cleansing breath, deepen & tilt your eyes up gently. See & sense the information coming from the speaker & entering your own mind. Notice how relaxed you are & how easy this process is for you. Celebrate this.

Know that this is not New Age but instead, suggestions relating to emotional crayons that energize the imagery on the mind screen. Keep in mind that the right side of the brain likes emotion in relation to any suggestion. However, it's in your best interest to keep the suggestions & the emotions positive. It's just as easy to program your mind for what you don't want & then to emotionalize it in a negative fashion. Not a good idea, so pay attention to what you are doing...

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I'm awake for any & all striving. As I let go, my creativity enhances....Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

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Letting Go Words...

Letting go is not easy, but nature demands it...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht

The nests are busy this time of year. Young children are heading off to their first school experience, while the newly graduated seniors are packing for their first college experience. Others are moving into their first apartment & beginning a new job. So.....the nests are empying & my office is filling up with the problems of those left behind.

Many of us couldn't wait for the day when the kids would leave. Perhaps, like me, they put their perceived creative lives on hold, placing family first. I met a woman yesterday who can't find time in her day to wash her face.....forget taking a relaxing bath. While I'm always stunned by confessions such as these, I truly shouldn't be. I'm still young enough to remember many of the ways in the past that I ignored my Self, but yet never saying no to anyone about anything they may have wanted from me.....a true push-over, if there ever was one.

Another interesting phenomenon is the number of patients who make appointments to manage their weight or to stop smoking, after their children have left for school or left the nest completely. It's like there is no time available to pay attention to one's Self when the children are around.

These individuals, mainly women by the way, tend to have yo-yo weight or stress-related problems. Their pattern is to wait until there is less pressure from demanding family members & then give themselves an ounce of permission to quickly attend to whatever they have been ignoring, perhaps for years. Hurry-up is the name of the game. "Let's get this corrected now, because I won't have any time once we get into the holidays."

For me, as a health care professional & as well as someone who has been there as a mother, daughter, wife, colleague, etc.....these are scary patterns with a potential for danger. They need to be corraled, taken apart & then put back together in a healthier way. So, just as we let go of our children, we can take this opportunity to let go of our old sick patterns of caring for our Self.

We don't seem to forget that we are parents or employees or even the boss, but for some reason we do have a tendency to forget that we are individuals that need personal attention....& on a daily basis. Besides having physiological needs, we have emotional & creative needs. These need to be provided to ourselves, by ourselves.

While this may sound like a lot of jibberish, trust me on this one. In my profession I get to see the outcomes that happen when these things are missing. You can see them too, if you look. Pay attention to how many drug advertisements are on television or in magazines. Notice what they are for. Most are prescribed for stress-related diseases, or for losing weight, sleep disorder, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, GERD, lack of energy, depression or anxiety disorder.

Back to the nests for a moment. When nests empty, there is often an increase in relationship problems between those that are left, especially if all children have flown away. Conversations are often stilted, or halt all together. Husbands & wives may run for cover. Who is this man? Who is this woman? Where are the things you had in common so long ago? Where did they go? Do I still love this person, or is he/she just a convenience you've gotten used to?

Perhaps for the first time you notice that all you ever talked about were your children & their activities. With these things gone, depression often enters. It's not uncommon for alcohol usage to increase or eating disorders to surface. Perhaps the children were the buffer to relationship problems that were ignored over the years. Empty nest often means additional expenses & new worries. Plenty of things to think about here....

It's good to know that we are not alone for these problems are universal. I suggest that my patients take this time to learn about who they are & what they want for themselves. This is a good time of life to re-build old dreams. Just about anything is possible. Take the problems out from where they have been hiding & put them up on the table where you can see them clearly. Don't be afraid.....they won't bite you. Take your time as you observe them carefully.

Notice what works & what doesn't work. Bring in forgiveness & compassion. Use images for these. Pretend that you are in a workshop & have all sorts of tools available. Go ahead & fix what needs fixing. These are interactive self-hypnotic suggestions & your own mind will work it's magic, once you take the initiative.

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I focus on the many areas of my life where letting go will be beneficial. I'm getting good at this... Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
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Moment Words...

The ancestor of every action is a thought...Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was just having a conversation with a young patient of mine who has a history of anorexia. She was telling me that she doesn't think of herself as being too thin. So, of course, her actions match her thoughts. She is not about to eat what her body needs IF she believes what her thoughts tell her.

So, it becomes important to change her frame of thinking & then to motivate within the new frame. It's also important for her to work with dissecting her momentary experiences, especially those that are cementing her potentially dangerous thoughts.
Here is a bit of what I had to say in this regard...

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 & work hard to keep cameras away. Of course not everyone is the same. Even if we like the way we look & view photographs of ourselves, what we get to see is only a momentary image caught by the lens, now seen through our own perception & inner judging program. For certain, we do remain a mystery, both outside and inside! Therefore, it is important to have someone you trust to tell you the truth.

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, our thought processes, or our momentary experiences. Sometimes we awaken if the body part screams loud enough, but even then, little is done about the underlying cause. Sometimes we notice a mood flucuation caused by negative-thoughts, but may not choose to release these in a healthy way.

We may turn to medication to obliterate the symptom, or to another substance or controlling behavior, to mask the truths. If the family history pulls towards addiction, these symptoms then become the hooks & an unhealthy pattern of behavior is etched into the subconscious mind.

Managing the mind & body connection takes skill & practice. Although knowledge & awareness are valuable, they are not enough. There must be action that will change the body physiology, as well as open the mind for re-programming.

My patients utilize two different tools. It takes a bit of practice to develop skill, but once they do, they can apply these tools to all different aspects of their lives. These two tools interface with each other, so sometimes it isn't clear as to which tool is being utilized. It's rather like driving a car, or performing any other automatic experience.

The first tool, called interactive awareness, calls us to attention. We awaken & catch the moment. Once the moment is caught, we can accomplish a number of things, including entering the moment & changing whatever we want. In this step we are utilizing the second tool, that of Interactive Self-Hypnosis.. We can notice how quickly they interface. This can take as little as 1/200th of a second.

When someone becomes skillful with these tools, it is possible to simply notice & change an outcome very quickly indeed. This is powerful in sports, as well as in other areas where optimum performance is desired. For myself, I find this useful in the practice of my profession, as well as in the unfolding of my daily experiences, including my relationships. The day is only half over & I can't count how many times I've pulled into my moments & edited some old mind program that was getting in my way, or used it to open my mind in a creative endeavor.

My patient needed to pull into moments that were acting as triggers for her anorexia. I've known her for quite some time & so I'm aware of her triggers, but each time we work together, different life experiences light up different aspects of her triggers. The same is true for all of us, including myself. Of course, I'm aware that I'm stress-triggered by chaos & the need to control, or my undying need to be right. However, each day I get to see these old issues in a new light....depending on what I'm experiencing in any given moment.

It is helpful 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.

Like everyone else, I tend to auto-pilot through life. So, I notice my thoughts & connected moments as DVD programs that play in my mind. I sense them as being separate from me....this is a form of detachment or disassociation. This is a very workable image because my subconscious mind already understands what a DVD is & accepts that it can be removed if I don't enjoy the program.

To help me wake up to mind programs that are negative, or as I like to call them....unskillful, I employ my subconscious mind librarian. Mine happens to be a she. In deep relaxation I have asked her to show me any & all DVD thought & connected moment programs that take me away from any of my major goals, that I have previously outlined for her.

It's really quite amazing to experience some of the awakenings. Some are small & some are big....but the subconscious mind librarian is always on target, for indeed, each one of them is capable of programming my mind for outcomes that keep me off goal course. In fact, I've had a few DVD wake-up calls while writing this blog entry!

Once you are awake, it's simply a matter of taking a cleansing breath from the lower belly, relaxing into the moment.......sensing letting go.........& then......tilting your eyes up just about 20 degrees, locating the inner mind screen & seeing/sensing an emotionalized image of what you want, just as if you already had it.

As for my patient, she left the office today seeing/sensing herself at her healthy weight & enjoying giving herself this gift of health. She visited her future-Self & received a big thank you for not complicating her life.

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I easily awaken to moments & their imbedded thoughts. I mind-edit for what I want, as if I already had it in the palm of my hand ...Elizabeth Bohorquez, RN, C.Ht
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Offerings for Publishers, Editors & Agents

Beyond Disorderly Eating...The Truth About Sugar & Bingeing & How to Stop

mindSCRABBLE...The Game of Programming Your Mind for What You Want

It's Time to Stop....Nail Biting - Book & Interactive Self-Hypnosis CD