Living The Lucky Life

Written by: Debbie

What if I told you that you could be lucky, starting today? Luck is not just the whimsy of fate, but rather, it is a formula. It has been said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. So, imagine being prepared and ready when happenstance occurs and turning mere chance into huge successes.

Lucky people generate their own good fortune. They use four basic principles. The first is getting rid of that stinking thinking. When you view at a circumstance, trying to understand the lesson or at the very least how this experience will be helpful to you, there is no failure, only success. How often do you hear about the person who is held up by circumstance, only to miss an accident by mere moments.

The second principle relates to trusting your intuition, recognizing opportunity knocking. Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson is a great example of this. He is one of the founders of the Home Shopping Network. He was running a radio station in Clearwater, FL. One of his advertisers had product to sell, but no money left for advertising. The radio station was in trouble. So, Bud told the DJ to sell the product on the air. It sold out! The rest is history as they say, Bud Paxon is a wealthy media executive now and the home shopping industry produces a $2 billion dollar plus annual revenue.

The third principle is simply expecting good things to happen! If you are on the look out for the good, you will be more apt to notice it. Have you ever heard a winning team say, we expected to lose? No, they go out and play as if they are going to win, regardless of the odds or hype around them. I believe that Tiger Woods expects to win every time he picks up the club!

The fourth principle is resiliency. That’s right, transform the negative into a positive. Have you seen the Nike commercial where Michale Jordon states, ” I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot – and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Lucky people adopt that winning attitude.

Well, your luck is about to change for the better. Today, in honor of St. Patty’s I am launching my new hypnosis program, Living The Lucky Life. There are two great tracks on the CD, filled with information and a hypnotic opportunity for you. Even luckier, I am reducing the price for one week only. So go to my website and check out this Lucky deal today!

“To Sleep, Perchance to Dream”

Written by: Debbie

Oh sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Do you feel as though you sleep walk through your days? Do you spend hours awake in bed with your mind racing, only to have it shut down during the day? Sleep deprivation sufferers number from 50 to 70 million nationwide! This is National Sleep Awareness Week and no one is more aware than the weary.

Lack of sleep adds weight to our bodies. Insufficient sleep affects growth hormone secretion that is linked to obesity. With a chronic lack of sleep the amount of hormone secretion decreases and the chance for weight gain increases. But wait, there’s more! According to the National Sleep Foundation, “Blood pressure usually falls during the sleep cycle, however, interrupted sleep can adversely affect this normal decline, leading to hypertension and cardiovascular problems. Research has also shown that insufficient sleep impairs the body’s ability to use insulin, which can lead to the onset of diabetes.”

I have a client who was a chronic non-sleeper. I know because her emails to me arrived in the middle of the night, waiting for me to rouse from my slumber to see her frustrations spelled out in black and white. Her battle with the bulge was surpassed by the struggle to sleep. She ached through out the day and ate to comfort herself at night. Double whammy!

We reviewed the practical suggestions of the National Sleep Foundation and then added hypnosis to the mix. We worked in my office on creating the mind set to sleep, allowing that inner voice to quiet. I gave her a recording I created with hypnotic suggestions helping her to fall asleep to. I am delighted to say, she is now “sleeping like a baby” and releasing excess weight.

Sorry, writing this has made me tired, I think I will go take a power nap……

Stress and DNA

Written by: Debbie

Scientists have confirmed what the overwhelmed have already known. Stress increases aging. Want proof? Just look at the aging that occurs in our presidents after four years in office. Increasing scientific evidence suggests that prolonged stress takes its toll on the body, in other words there is no separation between mind and body. According to a study done at UCSF, our bodies respond to our psychological environment. It was further reported that chronic stress may modulate the rate of cellular aging by affecting molecules believed to play a key role in the weakening of the immune function.

Our DNA is affected by stress. Researchers examined structures inside cells called telomeres, the caps at the ends of chromosomes. These are the molecules that carry genes. In a study at UCSF with two control groups, the findings reported that the telomeres of women with the highest perceived psychological stress showed the effects of the equivalent of approximately 10 years of accelerated aging. This was compared with the women across both groups who had the lowest perception of being stressed.

I have a dear friend who last year went through tremendous stress in her life. She dealt with the difficult illness and eventual death of a friend/mentor. Her teaching career, which had always been her passion, became more about numbers than the sharing of information with a new regime taking over the college. Her family dealt with an upheaval and her health is challenged by a chronic illness. Those of us who love her, became concerned.

She was fortunate, she was able to retire and move to the mountains for 6 months of the year. She spent time hiking and reflecting. She took time to heal. Upon her return, I could not believe it was the same friend. She looks ten years younger and is more like herself once again.

We don’t all have the good fortune of retiring and moving away like that. However, imagine making the choice to change the stress in your life today. Reduce stress by 10% at first and then continue to reduce stress 10% at a time until it is manageable. Begin with deep breathing. It is a physiological impossibility to feel stress and breathe deeply in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Humor is our friend. Through humor we are able to re-frame a situation and quiet the inner critic. This allows you to gain perspective and release endorphins, the feel good chemicals of the brain. Personally, I remind my son every morning on his way to school to find a reason to smile and laugh. I ask him after school, did anything happen today that made you smile?

Hypnosis is an awesome opportunity for stress relief. Picture and imagine sitting someplace safe and allowing your thoughts wander to comfort and serenity. Allow your muscles to relax, releasing tensions and tightness. Then just imagine that everything in your world is right. After all, in this moment, it is. I think I will go relax into a hypnotic state myself now……..

On The Radio Update

Written by: Debbie

This morning was the big event. I went on air with Fisher and Boy of 97x. We had so much fun. Now, it needs to be understood that this is a drive time radio show. Their main objective is entertainment. In fact, that is why they do what they do. It is a passion for bringing a little joy into the lives of their listeners. They shared with me how they love what they do, hope to create a positive moment in the lives of their audience and leave everyone with a smile for some portion of the day.

That is awesome. By creating those laughs, they are shutting off the inner critic. The upper left quadrant of our brain is where that critic lives. By allowing a few moments of fun before starting the day, they are helping their listeners to begin a workday refreshed. The folds of the brain can change, helping to create a permanent positive outlook. We went after the hypnotic portion of the show with that attitude. Let’s have some fun and help people laugh.

I helped Fisher go into hypnosis. He was calm and relaxed. Boy was funny, asking for hypnotherapy on the air to change everything from Fisher’s attitude to world peace. Somewhere in between, we found a compromise.

I believe we accomplished our goal of fun, laughter and even a bit of understanding about hypnosis. The emails and phone calls seemed to weigh in with that opinion. A 20 to 1 in favor of our silliness. So, you can decide. You can laugh if you have a sense of humor. Here is the link: http://97xonline.com/morningx/

One more benefit for me, my nephew called my husband. He wasn’t expecting to hear his aunt first thing in the morning. He was laughing at his aunt and probably relieved I’m not his mom! My poor kids, he he!

Into Great Silence

Written by: Debbie

I went to a movie with friends Friday night. The movie is called Into Great Silence. It is a documentary about life in a monastery where the monks have taken a vow of silence. There is no dialogue (remember the vow), no soundtrack, no drama, no romance, not much of anything but monks and their chores. The movie lasted 3 hours! By the end of it, my end was sore.

It was interesting to me to observe the people in the theater. The silence seemed difficult, somehow. I heard people commenting to one another or themselves, clearing throats, sighing, etc. This is often true in communication. Sometimes, when a client comes into my office for a desired change, the change they request is not the one they really desire. I allow them to talk. If I don’t respond with a comment right away, they will continue to speak. For them, the silence must be filled! It is in these moments that I learn the true nature of their visit, their true desire.

During the hypnotic portion of the session, I enjoy creating silence, long pauses, which can be filled by a powerful subconscious mind with visions and experiences of acquiring that new habit, goal or desired behavior. It is in these moments that I can practically see what they are creating by the changes that occur in their face, breathing or body position. It is a thrill to see them reach a resolve or a level of commitment to themselves in the silence.

I think Seneca said it best, “It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence.”