Our Own Stories and How They Cause Limiting Beliefs

I enjoy going to the movies. There’s something special about seeing a film on the big screen as opposed to TV.

But for me there’s something missing from most movies I see these days… a good story.

I understand that Hollywood with their big budgets and special effects these days can make even the most unbelievable of plots seem real using digital wonders and highly talented individuals using software.

But I’m not blinded by this any longer and it’s all beginning to fall flat as the plots are shallow and the films are less about a vehicle for wonderful storytelling and acting and more about blinding me with digital science.

There are exceptions where the story and acting is front and center and the special effects are there and well done but support the story.

As humans we are all about stories and live them out in our lives every day.

Our stories are important to us as they explain what we think and why we think the way we do. It’s what makes each of us unique. Our stories start at birth and as we grow so do our stories and help to shape and expand our futures.

But they can unfortunately confine and limit us as well causing us to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Like the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray we can end up living the same story with the same result everyday… until WE decide to change it.

Helping people change their story to get a better result is what I’ve chosen to do.

It’s hard but rewarding work.

People who come to me don’t have a Hollywood budget but they do have a fascinating story and my role is to spot what it is about their story that’s hindering them from getting the results they want – such as becoming smoke free, losing weight, or reducing anxiety.

Your “story” is just another term for what I call your Mental Blueprints – shaped by your life, environment and decisions you’ve made up to now. As I mentioned your story or beliefs can also severely limit what you achieve and the results you get.

The wonderful thing about your story is… it can be changed.

I’m not suggesting you quit your job, divorce your spouse, or move to another country because of reading this email – although if you know this is what you need to do then maybe this email is the sign you’ve been waiting to read.

No, I’m suggesting you rewrite your own story in chapters just like a book. Tackle one issue at a time.

I know your next question is something like: “How do I know what to tackle first?”

It’s a good question and one most people need help in identifying. If you feel you’re living out a story every day you need to change then seeking professional help to make change is not just one option but could be your best option.

But first here are some free resources to get you started…

Check out an article I wrote about Mental Blueprints  and one about Limiting Beliefs here.

Both of these articles will help you gain an understanding and insights into your story and arm you with information on choosing how you best can go about changing your story to get better results.

Let me know how you enjoy them.

Erika Slater CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis

Three Steps to a Healthy You

If you're reading this blog then chances are your health is important to you - both physical and mental.

You see the things I help people with mostly relate to health issues such as losing weight, quitting smoking, relieving stress and anxiety. These all effect health and this is why most people come to see me as a hypnotist.

Here is a three step process you can use to begin to get on the road to be healthy which should be top of mind for everybody.

Step One is all about taking inventory of your health today, and knowing where you want to get to so you can decide on the changes you need to make.

Step Two is about committing to the changes you want and practice the mindset shifts you need to make to get those changes you’ve identified in step one.

Step Three is the final part. Everything up until now has really been preparation. This step is all about action and making the changes stick.

I bet you're looking at this now and saying.... "That's a lot of work Erika."

Yes, it is. I didn't promise "simple or easy" in the title did I?

You see that's a lot of the problem we have with getting healthy. It can be involved and even messy at times but also... a large commitment. But it's worth it.

To go deeper into the topic I've written a more in-depth article about these three steps and exactly how to go about these three steps so you come out of it with a plan for moving forward.

I also discuss ways about keeping on the path during step three, and where to get help.

I've even included a resource section at the end for further reading and where you'll get alternative views and ideas.

I hope you enjoy the article and use it as springboard to getting back on track to being healthy if you feel.. and we all do from time to time... life has got in the way and you've wandered off-course a bit.

Here's your sign to get back on track... it's too important for you not to...

To read my blog post on three steps to getting to a healthier you and making it stick click here >>>

Erika Slater CH
Free At Last Hypnosis
North Grafton, MA 01536

How to Put Your Goals on Autopilot

The full article of this except first appeared on my blog as The Goal Behind the Goal and How to Put Them on Autopilot here >>>

In this excerpt I'm going to focus on what to do once you've got your goal established.

Read the full article if you feel you struggle with the process of setting a goal. And when I say struggle I don't mean the mechanics of a goal but actually deciding the right goals for you. If you've ever got a goal and then been disappointed when you've achieved it - kinda let down - then there is most likely a problem with your goal setting process. Same if you've set a goal but no matter what you do it has alluded you over the years - again, something going on here you should pay attention to.

But let's move on and assume you have a goal that once achieved will make you happy, proud, and rich - or at least one of these.

So you have your goal and it's time to figure out how to achieve it - Right?

STOP. You've missed a step. Before you go any further you need to be able to describe to anybody who asks what is the purpose behind your goal?

This is important as the purpose behind your goal is what gets your mind and energy excited. It's also critical for obtaining the "buy-in" from your unconscious (subconscious) mind. You see your unconscious mind will prove to be your best ally in achieving your goal. Describing the purpose behind your goal allows your unconscious mind to figure out ways of getting you to your purpose.

Words are important.., especially those you speak to yourself.

Your unconscious mind reacts better to describing how you will feel once you get your goal. Feeling is all important as many people set a goal of getting something material such as a car or house or marriage, but what they're really seeking is a feeling. The feeling they'll get when they sit in an expensive sports car, or large 4-bedroom house on a lake or beach, or when they meet somebody they love.

These are just examples, but maybe closer to home to what you want would be goals such as quit smoking, losing weight or getting fit. Again, I'd challenged you to describe the purpose which if you dig deep enough would reveal the feeling you're after.

But how Erika do I know when I've got to the purpose and feeling - you ask me?

Here's a simple trick. Ask yourself "why" until you can't answer that question any longer. So if you decide to go on a diet ask yourself why you want to go on a diet? When you have the answer write it down and then repeat the why question to that answer... and so on until you truly can't answer the "why" question anymore.

At this point you've likely reached the real purpose on why you want to go on a diet. It could really be to lose weight so you can fit into a pair of 10-year-old jeans in your closet, or it could be about achieving some emotional gap you feel you have.

Just do the exercise and be open to where it takes you and the answer you get. For this is the answer to program into your unconscious mind. Once you've done this then your unconscious mind will work 24x7 to get you the goal you want!

You'll have effectively put your goal on autopilot so to speak.

How do you program the goal into your unconscious mind?

Just the fact you've described your purpose can be enough. But if you're still struggling then hypnosis is the best way of programming as it talks directly to your unconscious mind bypassing the clutter of your conscious mind.

There are self-hypnosis products specially designed to help with programming your subconscious mind with your intent, or you can seek out the services of a professional hypnotist.

Let me know if this has been useful to you by leaving a comment below.

Erika Slater
Free At Last Hypnosis

What Are Mental Blueprints and Can They Be Changed?

Today I want to talk about mental blueprints.

Most of us know about DNA from a genetic sense and that certainly influences a good part of our lives from a physiological perspective, and I've come to think of DNA as our body blueprint.

However when talking about mental blueprints you can in one sense think of them as DNA for our soul. The main difference being that unlike genetic DNA we can influence and alter our mental blueprints.

While there are ongoing arguments about whether mental blueprints can be passed down like DNA from our family lineage, there is no definitive evidence to support this at present. And based on my experience mental blueprints can be changed especially those causing anguish and keeping us from getting what we want out of our life.

Mental blueprints can be laid early in life. They can be influenced by many things but a common theme is the environment we grew up in - family, or lack of, especially.

I'm not necessarily talking about major abuse here, although that lays solid mental blueprints that can last for life if left unchecked. And there are also good blueprints we have learnt but people don't come to see me about changing positive blueprints - just the negative ones.

Can you give me an example Erika?

Okay. Here's a common one. Being a parent is tough and wanting the best for your children is natural. You want them to be healthy, athletic, smart and loving. Not much to ask is it?

Well, it's not unknown to be a little critical and slipping into comparisons of other kids or family members when talking with your children. But if this becomes a theme then the child comes to expect criticism not matter what they do or achieve.

Eventually as the child moves into adolescent and beyond into adulthood they have a mental blueprint they're not good enough or everything they try fails. It becomes a self-esteem issue, which follows them into work and relationships.

You can see how this can be damaging to anybody and get in the way of their dreams and wishes.

Not everybody who has experienced critical parents or other family members is destined for low self-esteem - but it does impact many.

Getting mental blueprints changed takes work and many people seek help. CBT - Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Hypnosis are both effective in providing help in overcoming negative mental blueprints.

Contact CBT therapists and Hypnotists to determine if either of these therapists can help you.

I go into more depth about Mental Blueprints and how to overcome them in a recent article at my resource website here >>>

Please let me know if you enjoyed this article.

Erika Slater CH
Free At Last Hypnosis

Pattern Interrupt - Overcoming Your Habits

Our habits are all about patterns. Patterns are learned either consciously or subconsciously. Many of our patterns are forged early in life or happen because of an event.

There are good patterns and bad. Bad patterns tend to keep us doing things that are not good for us or stop us progressing. I help people with bad patterns.

Old patterns die hard. When breaking a pattern the words you chose are critical, and it tends to be why most people fail. They words they use for instance may be "I'm not going to smoke." However, the subconscious skips over the negatives and instead focuses on the word smoke. This is interpreted as - "Oh you want to smoke - no problem, let's do it."

There's a little more than that going on in the mind but you get the basic drift.

Pattern interrupt is a technique used in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and used to break habits or consciously stop you doing something you're trying to remove from your life.

You can perform Pattern Interrupt on yourself but it requires you to have a high awareness level. You need to catch yourself doing the habit you want to stop - maybe you continually berate yourself damaging your self-esteem and confidence. Hands up if you do this? Yes, me too!

Once you become aware you're berating yourself you stop in mid-stream and do a 360-degree and instead of berating yourself you start positive talk about yourself. Simple example but you get the idea.

Oh, that sounds hard, you say.

Yes it is. As I said you have to be in tune with your thoughts almost constantly - waiting to pounce on those negative words to yourself.

But there is an easier way to break these patterns, and its using hypnosis.

If you're interested in discovering more about Patterns and how they're formed and more importantly options to overcome them then I've written an article called Pattern Interrupts - Breaking the Habit which you can check out here >>>

Best wishes,

Erika Slater CH
Free At Last Hypnosis
www.freeatlasthypnosis.com 

What is Hypnosis?

When people find out I'm a hypnotist I usually get a question which goes something - "So what is hypnosis?"

People are interested in finding out how it works and if it can help them. For sure people are skeptics - and they have a right to be. After all Hollywood's portrayal of hypnosis tends to be dark and sinister, and then there is stage hypnosis with it's entertainment focus - and generally making people look silly or vulnerable.

Therapeutic hypnosis is a different animal though.

In explaining what hypnosis is all about and how it works there is a need to explain some basics of the minds working - as we know it today. We are still learning about how our own mind works, and is it fascinating!

Most people know there is a conscious mind and a subconscious mind - also known as unconscious mind - I prefer to use the term subconscious.

Hypnosis works on our subconscious mind which is where all the good stuff is stored - but it also stores bad stuff. Memories, habits, blueprints, patterns, and... wait up there Erika I hear you shout!!! I get the memories and maybe habits, but blueprints and patterns? What's that all about?

Hang in there with me.

I've written a series of articles to cover all the basic topics but today I want to introduce you to the first in the series - "What is Hypnosis."

It's a long article but will give you a good grounding in the basics of hypnosis. It's my preparation before we get into blueprints and patterns which is where I'll explain how you can use hypnosis to make significant changes in your life to achieve the life you desire for yourself.

Big claims I know.

But the fact is the only thing stopping you getting what you want in life is you. But you've heard this before and most likely still stuck in the same place. So you need more than a statement it's YOU and looking for some guidance and instructions right?

As they say - you've come to the right place. But we have some level-setting to do around concepts.

Here is the link to the article What is Hypnosis >>>

Please let me know how you enjoyed the article and how I could make it better for you.

My next post here will introduce the concept of "blueprints."

Erika Slater CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis

FREE Self-Hypnosis Workshop in North Grafton MA

For those of you living in the Central Massachusetts area you may be interested in a free 1/2-day self-hypnosis workshop I'll be running in September 2015. This will be aimed at people who are serious about learning how to blast through barriers and beliefs holding them back from getting what they want out of life.

I've been in my hypnosis business now for over a decade and in that time have seen many people push past their own barriers to achieve amazing results.

Self-hypnosis allows you to access the wonderful resource you were born with - your subconscious mind. This is where your habits, beliefs, and barriers are stored. Some of these support you as you go about the day - others can get in the way without you realizing.

The fact is your subconscious mind doesn't distinguish between good or bad habits or beliefs. They just are there.

Hypnosis allows us is to "talk" directly at our subconscious mind and erase habits and beliefs not supporting us any longer, and replacing them with positive ones.

My self-hypnosis workshop will provide you three basic techniques to get yourself into self-hypnosis. You'll have a chance to practice thee during the workshop and then attend a follow-up to get feedback and guidance on any stumbling blocks you've met along the way.

The first workshop will be in September 2015 and you can learn more about it along with the date by going to the registration page here >>>

There is a limit of 10 for this workshop as that's the capacity of the room. I'm also not sure if I will run a second so if you think this interests you - and don't forget it's free - and you live in the North Grafton MA area then do please check it out to see if it will work for you.

There are some conditions so you'll won't to check those out as well.

Once more here is the link to the registration page with all the details here >>>

Erika Slater CH
Director
Free At Last Hypnosis