Good Things are Like Purple Shoes

If I were to ask you right now to tell me everything that had been good about your week, would you be able to?  How many things would you be able to come up with that could go on the list?

 

Good things are like Purple Shoes……why? I hear you ask!!…..I’ll tell you….

If I were to ask you right now whether you had seen any Purple Shoes because I wanted a pair and couldn’t find any, it’s likely you’d shake your head and say ‘No, I never see Purple Shoes’

However….now that you know I’m looking for Purple Shoes I’ve brought them into your focus.  You’d suddenly start seeing Purple Shoes on people walking by in the street, in the shops, on TV, you’d notice them if they were in the corner of the screen when you were surfing the net.  You may even notice a pair of Purple Shoes peeking out from the back of your wardrobe that you forgot you bought so long ago.

As you started to become more aware of Purple Shoes, you’d start actively looking for them.  In work you’d purposely look to see what shoes your colleagues were wearing.  When your family came to visit you’d check out their shoes, when you were visiting the dentist you’d take a sneaky look just to check if there were any Purple Shoes there.

It would become a game you took pleasure from and maybe even a little sense of achievement each time you found a pair.  You would start to realise there are Purple Shoes everywhere, then you would begin to congratulate yourself that you know this and that you know how to spot them and where the best places are to look.  You may even return somewhere just because you know it’s a place you’ve found Purple Shoes before and delight that there were more Purple Shoes when you got there.

Good things are like Purple Shoes…..

When you bring them into your focus and make yourself aware of them you suddenly realise they are everywhere.  The more you find, the more you delight in them.  The more you learn about where they are the more you visit that place.

Next time you think there’s nothing good in your life, go looking for your Purple Shoes….you’ll be amazed how many there are out there and where you’ll find them.

HYPNOSIS - FRIEND OR FOE?

We hear so much about Hypnosis in the press and who would want to be a killjoy about such stories as the Hypnotists who apparently fell, knocked himself unconscious and left a group of people in a state of Hypnosis that they were –so the story ran - unable to come out of until a new Hypnotist had been brought in?  These stories are great fun.  They tap into the common, albeit inaccurate belief that whilst Hypnotised the subject is under the ‘power’ of the Hypnotist.

We often find that fully qualified Clinical Hypnotherapists whose work is to use Hypnosis for the benefit of the client, often leading to outstanding results, improving the client’s life beyond recognition on occasions, become very upset about such stories.  They worry that members of the general public who may otherwise spend years more of their life dealing with difficulties such as depression that may be ruining their life, their ability to work and their relationships will become reluctant to experience Hypnotherapy as the solution to their problems, despite an idea that this could be, and often is, the one type of therapy that will lead them into a happier,
more fulfilled life.

My view is that Clinical Hypnotherapists such as myself, have nothing to worry about.  The business of Stage Hypnosis continues to thrive.  Shows are often ‘sold out’ and I
can’t imagine that there would ever be a time when the Stage Hypnotist, having ‘primed’his or her audience would be short of willing volunteers to come up on stage
and undertake the ‘suggestibility tests’ that are often a hidden pre-cursor to the Main Event – for those not in the know, this is the part in many shows where the Stage Hypnotist will test how willing the volunteers are to ‘play the game’.  When so many audience members are still so willing to participate in these shows, despite the dramatic media stories about getting ‘stuck’ or behaving in a way that was apparently against the participants conscious or unconscious will, my view is that fully qualified
Clinical Hypnotherapist have no need to worry that truly troubled members of the public will be put off from seeking help with their Irritable Bowel Syndrome (for which of course, the British Medical Association have acknowledged the role of Hypnotherapy in the treatment of), or their Panic Attacks, OCD, Pain Management, Sleep Problems or many, many other conditions Hypnotherapy has proved in many research studies to help, by amusing media stories about the tool of Hypnosis being used for Entertainment purposes – and of course, we must not forget that these stories appear in areas of the media whose purpose is also to Entertain!

By stopping for a moment to consider whether we would play games on a computer to test its suitability for undertaking serious work projects we can begin to understand
the differences between Stage Hypnosis and Clinical Hypnosis.  A properly qualified Hypnotherapist undertakes training to obtain a Hypnotherapy Practitioners Diploma which is recognised by the Open University and is equal to a Level 4 Qualification (45 Undergraduate points).  Many practice Hypnotherapy in a Solution Focused way which focuses the client on their preferred future rather than psycho-analysing the possible root cause of the problem. Many also register with National Council of Hypnotherapist, which as part of their strict Code of Ethics, dictates that members attend regular Supervision.  We have to ask ourselves why anyone who had gone to all this trouble to obtain a professional qualification that enables them to help clients into a far better future, would want their client to ‘cluck like a chicken’? We would be far too busy resolving a fear of flying, needles or dentists, or teaching a mother-to-be relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques for  coping with childbirth in a manner which helps ensure their experience of childbirth is as calm and positive as possible – rather than the dramatic and torturous experience they have previously been taught to expect.

As a member of NCH (National Council of Hypnotherapists), AfSFH (Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapist) and holder of a Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma and Diploma of Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy issued after a full and intense course at an accredited Hypnotherapy Training School, I believe that the general public can make up their own mind and recognise the truly amazing value of Clinical Hypnotherapy, and continue to enjoy the highly entertaining stories portrayed in the media about Stage Hypnosis for Entertainment purposes.

Hypnosis in all its forms, will always be a Friend for me.