mindset

Honouring the Greats: Rules of the Mind – Part One

Deana Morris Uncategorized , , ,
Honouring the Greats: Rules of the Mind – Part One

Why do we think the way we do? Why do we behave in ways that undermine our deepest desires?

Frustrating isn’t it? Our thinking mind knows what we want, but somehow we sabotage that goal. We tell ourselves we’re aiming too high, or we can start tomorrow, or we respond from a place of deep emotion and past memories – ‘I don’t deserve… I’m not good enough…’

The mind is really very logical – when you know the rules. Master hypnotherapist Gil Boyne’s Rules of the Mind, reveal eight great insights – here are the first four.

We may be puzzled by why we can’t speak with confidence in public, let go of extra pounds with ease, give up smoking, drinking too much or free ourselves from irrational fears.

The job of the hypnotherapist is to help the client achieve their goals; get their emotional mind working for them, rather than against them.

And when the whole mind is invested in achieving desired change, lives change.

Rule Number One
Every thought or idea causes a physical reaction
Your thoughts can impact on all the functions of the body. You’ll have heard about ‘being broken hearted,’ having a ‘nervous stomach’ and how a ‘gut reaction’ kicks in when we sense all is not what it seems. Ideas that have a strong emotional content invariably impact on the emotional mind; the subconscious mind and can impact on the body with the same physical reaction, over and over again.

Rule Number Two
What is expected tends to be realised
Focus on what you want, pursue what you want, pour all your energy into taking massive action towards what you want and guess what… You’ll be in the right place at the right time with the right mental attitude to achieve your goal. The key: keep going. But if you decide not to compete in case you ‘fail’, tell yourself everyone else is better than you, look in the mirror each morning and dismiss yourself… don’t be surprised when colleagues you know don’t have an ounce of your talent get promoted. If you want to win the race, being on the starting line is an imperative.

Rule Number Three
Imagination is more powerful than logic
Your subconscious mind, your feeling mind, is powerfully driven by emotion. Last Saturday I spent 10 minutes clearing a bathroom of eight spiders (apparently a whole family of leggy arachnids had moved in) while grown women quaked in the kitchen talking about how spiders make them ‘physically sick’. These spiders were completely harmless. We ‘know’ spiders can’t hurt us and yet… Phobias are frequently irrational but the imaginative mind needs to be brought on board. We think we’re superior to an over-active imagination, but how many crimes are driven by moments of anger or jealousy? How many more confidence tricksters would be laughed at if imaginations weren’t fired?

Rule Number Four
Opposing ideas can’t be held at the same time
If you believe: ‘my best friend is chocolate,’ letting go over extra pounds is going to be difficult whenever you feel lonely. The words we say have a powerful impact on our subconscious and it does not get irony or sarcasm so even if you think you’re being funny, you’re just underlining a negative emotion solution for your subconscious.  

Gil Boyne
Master hypnotherapist and hypnosis trainer, Gil Boyne, made great and powerful contributions to the world of mental health understanding and mindset training during his lifetime. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Gil Boyne was hailed as a pioneer of modern hypnotherapy, along with Milton Erickson and Dave Elman.

He was also Co-Founder of the British Council of Hypnotist Examiners and Executive Director of American Council of Hypnotist Examiners. Today his Transforming Therapy is taught around the world. His work is reflected in the professional practises of therapists the world over – whether they were trained by him or one of his students at the Hypnotism Training Institute of Los Angeles.

How optimists live longer and three tips for joining their cheerful ranks

Deana Morris Uncategorized , , ,
How optimists live longer and three tips for joining their cheerful ranks

‘We are all I the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars’

Oscar Wilde

Star-gazing like Oscar, pondering ‘what if…’, dreaming of your possibilities… they’re all excellent signs of longevity, according to research recently released by Harvard School of Public Health, whose study reports that optimists live longer. Considerably longer.

The project has concluded that optimists live a whole 11-15 per cent longer and are 50 to 70 per cent more likely to reach 85 years old. 

Defining optimism as ‘a general expectation that good things will happen, or believing the future will be favourable because we can control important outcomes,’ the survey followed 69,744 women for 10 years and 1,429 men for 30 years. The research subjects were surveyed on their levels of optimism as well as health habits.

According to the researchers: ‘The results were maintained after accounting for age, demographic factors such as educational attainment, chronic diseases, depression and also health behaviours, such as alcohol use, exercise, diet and primary care visits.’

This suggests that if we sally forth with a firm conviction that we can live long, fulfilling lives it is far more likely to be so.

We will, of course, be living our lives with that expectation. Planning for our future, living engaged, active lives that nurture our health, mind and inner world. So, yes, optimists are more likely to eat their vegetables, avoid existing on junk food, get plenty of rest, exercise and everything else we know is good for our physical and mental health.

But, of course, every life is touched with trauma, loss and major illnesses are not necessary a result of life-style choices. So could optimism play a role when life plays rough?

The Harvard research group says there’s much more study to be done, but it appears that optimism helps us bounce back faster, because the belief of a fulfilling future supports recovery in the now.

And that is interesting; if optimism can be built as a mental health muscle, then living and loving longer is achievable. Change your mindset and you’ll live longer.

Not sure how optimistic you are?

Take a test! The Life Orientation Test is just 10 questions which helps you assess just how optimistic you are.

Three tips for building your optimism muscles

Deal with your issues
If you’re troubled by past events, get help letting them go if you’re struggling. Holding on to resentment may feel ‘just and fair’, but think about how that feels in your body when you replay those moments. You’ll be happier in the long run when you’re free of their weight on your shoulders. Forgiveness is not for them, it’s for you. It frees you. Their guilt is theirs. Not yours.

2. Work on your mindset
From inspiring biographies to life coach gurus, there are more books than you can poke a stick at out there, all aiming to inspire you to live well and let go of what isn’t in your power to change. Look for what resonates with you, because everyone comes to building optimism from a different place and a different background.

3. Meditate
There is scientific evidence that mindfulness-based therapy can help you shift from a ‘rainy day’ to a ‘sunny day’ person. And, according to experimental psychologist, Elaine Fox, that’s basically learning to meditate. It takes time and it takes effort, but it does work, according to Elaine who has conduced research with pessimistic students and measured their brain states.

Optimism

So are you an optimist?
How did you score on the optimism test? I came out at 23, which to me suggests I have room for improvement and to you should reveal my over-achieving is a work in progress. But then, isn’t everything?