By: Seth-Deborah Rothm R.N.

Did you know that most heart attacks occur on Mondays? And that lifestyle choices such as what you eat and your exercise patterns are not the first indicators of your potential for a heart attack? Did you know that it is whether you think you are happy or not, and whether you are satisfied with your job or not?? Anyway, that's what Depak Chopra says on a wonderful CD called the New Physics of Healing.

Speaking of the physics of healing, I had an epiphany about self-talk while I was vacuuming one morning. I always teach my clients that everything we say out loud or silently to ourselves is programming. But I don't think it's the words so much as the feelings that we are having when we are saying those words. For example, I've noticed that my New Yorker friends chastise themselves a lot. They're always saying stuff like "I'm such an idiot," and sometimes it's more like "I'm such a f*ing idiot." But one friend, in particular, laughs when she says it, so I don't think it harms her self-image. In fact, she has a very healthy self-image! When we laugh, we release lovely chemicals. When we laugh, we relax. When we laugh, we stimulate our immune system. And I also think, that when we laugh, and when we feel good, we are also creating delightful neural pathways that impact our beliefs about ourselves and the world.

So as always, it seems to go back to feelings. It's nothing more than feelings. Hmm, sounds like there might be a song in there somewhere.

p.s. I think I should vacuum more often.

Seth-Deborah Rothm R.N., NBCCH

Ms. Rothm is also a Certified Medical Hypnotherapist, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, Master NLP Practitioner, Faculty Member National Guild of Hypnosis, Instructor of Medical Hypnosis at The Hypnotherapy Center, Results Coach, and Advanced Reiki Practitioner

Posted by Ron Klein at 03:36 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By: Carol Goldsmith, The Discovery Coach

An anchor means different things to different people. To me, as a Neuro-linguistic coach, an anchor is a conditioned response to an external trigger. An old melody that takes you back to the high school prom, or a smell that puts the taste of Grandma's apple pie in your mouth, are anchors that can carry you far away. To Richard, a U.S. Coast Guard instructor, an anchor means something else entirely.

Or does it?

Recently Lt. Richard was teaching a young Coast Guard recruit about safety on the seven seas. "If a sudden storm comes up and a huge wave hits you broadside," Lt. Richard asked, "what do you do to keep the boat upright?"

The young recruit snapped to attention. "Throw out an anchor, SIR."

Richard nodded his approval. "And what would you do if another wave hit you port-side?"

Again came the answer: "Throw out an anchor, SIR."

"OK," said Richard, a bit wearily. "Now a third wave comes up and smacks you hard on the starboard side. What would you do then?"

"Throw out an anchor, SIR."

Richard's question was triggering a conditioned response in the inexperienced lad. Trapped in a neuro-linguistic box, he reacted as predictably as Pavlov's salivating dog to the sound of a bell, or my car's squealing tires when a roadside ice cream stand appears.

Richard eyed the young recruit. "Let me ask you something, son. Where are you getting all those anchors?"

"The same place you're getting all those waves, SIR."

Flexibility is crucial to learning and growth. But how can we respond in flexible ways when we're hauling around old anchors? Awareness is the first step to making a change.

The next time you react in a way you don't like, notice what triggered your habitual response. It could be a word, a sound, a taste, touch, or smell, a particular expression on someone's face. Hit the emotional pause button fast, then ask yourself: "What caused me to lose my temper, make that remark, feel that sick, sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach, judge that person so harshly?"

Just by asking the question, you've inserted a split-second of thought between the trigger and your conditioned response. Now you can ask yourself the follow-up question that hadn't occurred to the Coast Guard recruit: "What else could I do in this situation? How else could I respond to that wave?"

Train your brain to think about choice. The more you practice flexible thinking, the less likely you are to be knocked off course. And life will be much smoother sailing.

(c) Copyright 2006

To order "The book of carols: Songs of discovery on the path to enlightenment," go to www.carolgoldsmith.com/bookofcarols or call 1-877-BUY-BOOK.

To be added to the "carols" e-list, send your full name and email address to carol@carolgoldsmith.com and put Please Subscribe in the subject line. To be removed from this e-list, follow the same process and put Please Remove in the subject line. Remember to include your full name.

To discover the benefits of personal or executive coaching, contact Carol for a complimentary telephone session. Tel: 703-860-6178.

Posted by Ron Klein at 04:42 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By: Carol Goldsmith, The Discovery Coach
Helping You Discover How To Be Your Best

My Jewish client Jillian loves Joel Osteen, a telegenic Christian minister-cum-motivational speaker whose sermons reach millions of TV viewers each week. Fellow synagogue members wonder why Jillian faithfully tunes into his telechurch. "Because he makes sense," she answers. "His message isn't so much about religion as it is about how we all can live our best lives."

Being a non-denominational spiritual-seeker, I picked up a copy of Joel's bestseller, Your Best Life Now. One story spoke of the search for the Promised Land by Terah, the father of Abraham. Although Terah had a mind for milk and honey, he stopped short of Canaan and decided to settle in Haran instead (Genesis 11:31). Joel pondered the possible reasons for this.

"No doubt it was difficult traveling with his flock, herds, family members, and all of their possessions, " Joel wrote. "You can imagine how stressful that was, not to mention what a headache moving must have been four thousand years ago."

Finally Terah had had enough, "'I can't go any father. I know this isn't the Promised Land, but let's just settle here; it's good enough.'"

Joel added, "I wonder how many times we do the same thing."

I'd been wondering that very thing the night before, while watching a modern American play called On The Verge. In it, three Victorian women hike up their hoop skirts and plunge into the jungles of Terra Incognita in search of promised adventure. They find it. Terra Incognita, as they gradually discover, lay at the latitude-longitude lines where present and future intersect. The farther forward they venture, the more strange words pop into the women's heads: Rock 'n roll. Ovaltine. Jacuzzi. Cool Whip. Hoola-hoop. I like Ike.

It seems they've landed in 1955 (coincidentally, the year when I landed, too).

Two of the Victorians become so enamored of the Eisenhower era that they trade in their corsets for white Capri pants. The third explorer decides to journey on, bypassing Ozzie and Harriet land for the promise of a still better life.

I wondered how many of us would do the same thing.

Are you accepting less than you could do, have, or be? Have you stopped short of your Promised Land, settling instead for just good enough? According to the book of Joel, the God of both the Old and New Testaments wants us to constantly stretch and grow, to explore territories just over the horizon in search of our best possible life.

Both does that mean we should feel dissatisfied now?

I think there's a land that lies just in between, a place where we can feel at home now while stretching ourselves to do, have, and be more. I wonder if the Promised Land is right underfoot. Could it be that we're meant to live on the verge?

(c) Copyright 2006, Carol Goldsmith, The Discovery Coach

To purchase The book of carols: Songs of discovery on the path to enlightenment, visit www.carolgoldsmith.com and click on the book cover, or call Infinity Publishing at 1-877-BUY-BOOK.

To request a complimentary coaching session, email carol@carolgoldsmith.com or call 703-860-6178.

Posted by Ron Klein at 09:02 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Or, One Way that Hypnosis Contributes to a Training for Happiness

By: Nancy Montagna, Ph.D.

John loses in a game of tennis and finds himself depressed afterwards. "I am no good at sports," he is thinking, "Why do I even bother? I am a loser." These thoughts and others like them pass through his mind, barely noticed. Later that day, still feeling bad, he begs out of a plan to watch the Academy awards at a friend's house. The friend had wanted to introduce him to someone he might like to date. He reasons, "I am not in the best frame of mind to meet someone. No one would like a loser." As weeks go by he finds he is no longer interested in playing tennis.

I am a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice. Long before 1997 when the research field of "Positive Psychology" was launched by eminent researcher and then president of the American Psychological Assiocation, Martin Seligman, Ph.D., my approach was solution-focused and positive. I took all of the levels of training in NLP and Hypnosis offered by Ron Klein at the American Hypnosis Training Academy (AHTA), and was delighted with the many effective, positive tools I learned. I am also a National Board Diplomate Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Of the many effective approaches I learned at AHTA, the "well-formed outcome" and the search through the client's experience to access resources that are needed to solve the person's problem have been most powerful. Also importantly, both turn the clients' mind-set from the problem toward the solution and how to use their own strengths to achieve desired outcomes.

Continue reading "The Happy Hypnotist" »

Posted by Ron Klein at 03:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)