Cloak of Protection

In my previous post I wrote about a useful technique to help protect you from others negativity called the Cloak of Protection.

For pregnant women their beautiful bump can be like a shining beacon for all and sundry, friends, family, colleagues and even strangers to share their horrors and fears of birthing. I tell my clients to politely ask others to not share all this negativity and if they don't to place their fingers in their ears and sing lah lah lah until the offending person stops.

For those who feel my first two suggestions are not suitable there is as I've already mentioned the Cloak of Protection. I've been getting so many fantastic examples of how women are using this technique both from those using my Hypno 4 Birth Home Study Programme and my face-to-face clients that I thought I would offer it as Christmas Gift for readers of my blog (this gift is now out of date but if you would like to purchase this mp3 you can do so on my site)

If you are reading this and you are not pregnant you can still use the mp3 to learn the technique but just set the intention beforehand to ignore the references to pregnancy and birth.

Merry Christmas

Learn Self Hypnosis with free mp3

It has been a ridiculously long time since I've sat down and wrote a blog entry. I have no excuses. Yes I have been busy, both professionally and personally, but I cannot deny that there would have been periods during which I could have found time to post. However, as I am a big promotor of living in the now, I will not ponder on the lack of commitment to my blog over the past year but will instead talk to you about something more exciting, self hypnosis!

It is wonderful to have sessions with a hypnotherapist who can help facilitate great changes in your life but that change always comes with personal responsibility. Every course of treatment, must include teaching self hypnosis, in order for clients to be able to tap into this wonderful resource without the aid of another person or always having to listen to a hypnosis session on a CD or mp3.

There are many different ways of entering the state of hypnosis but one of my favourites when teaching my clients is simply the "journey to your special place". Now to make it easy for you, I have recorded the session I do with my clients as it is the easiest way to learn, but the intention in the session is to learn how to do it yourself and not to rely on the mp3 in order to reach the state of trance (in fact I don't give my clients the mp3 so mums-the-word ;-)).

When working with the subconscious it becomes the most engaged when we use our senses widely and therefore this technique follows 3 signposts; a relaxing image, a calming sound and a positive feeling. You will then be directed to a wide staircase that will either be going up or d0wn, you will know when you get there. The staircase is an indicator to the subconscious that you are ready to move more deeply into trance. However, don't look for a shift as this will have the opposite effect by engaging the conscious brain and thereby bringing you out of trance. Just know that it will happen on a subconscious level, trust that it will happen. The steps will direct you to your special place and you may by now be wondering what that is.

Your special place is a place that you may have been to before, a place you'd like to go or completely make believe. It is up to you, it is simply a place that you can imagine yourself relaxing and enjoying being there, and you can simply choose to go to your special place just to relax and escape for a while. But, if I left it there then I would be selling hypnosis very short, as once you are in the state of trance you have the ability to make some very profound changes in your life.

The mp3 will therefore guide you to find a door. This is a special door as it always knows where you need to go when you open it and pass through and you will then be given some ideas of how you might use this wonderful state of hypnosis.

And I will leave the blog entry there for now to give you some time to listen to the mp3 and explore some uses of self-hypnosis for yourself. Once you've done that leave me some comments with your thoughts and perhaps what else you may like to learn about utilising the state of trance and I in turn will respond with a further blog entry on using self-hypnosis.

Enjoy!

Free Birth Affirmations mp3

What you spend time thinking about dictates the choices you make and therefore the actions you take which in turn leads to consequences. Whatever point you are in your life right now is a result of choices you have made in the past. Whatever you get in the future will be the result of choices you make now. Your choices are determined by what you think about therefore you are in control of what happens to you in your life by what you tell yourself your thoughts.

Taking responsibility for what you believe, your thoughts and therefore your actions is a big step forward in achieving the birth that you want (and I would go so far to say the life you want). But there has to be a desire to change. We naturally learn to filter out anything that doesn’t fit with a particular belief so what we expect is what we end up getting. If you are convinced that birth will be difficult and you believe that there is nothing you can do to change that then you may not have the motivation to look for different ways to approach your birth preparations, engaging in horror stories and negative images of birth and dwelling on negative thoughts. My guess however would be that you are at least at a point where you believe that birth does not necessarily have to be that way otherwise you wouldn’t be here reading my blog.

Affirmations provide a structured way to practise new thoughts, and a lovely starting point for helping you transform any negative beliefs about labour and birth, which is why I've decided to give this mp3 away for free.

Daily practice is necessary to become competent but in time positive thoughts about birthing will become your new habits of thinking in turn supporting your chances of achieving the birth you seek.

Taken from the Tums 2 Mums Hypno 4 Birth Programme. If you like to find out more about this programme please click here.

Flip a coin technique

Sometimes when I am working with a client they find that the cancel technique is not enough to help them move from a place of negativity and worry to one of positive thought. And I can appreciate that when you are really low, it is not always easy to imagine a wonderful event or experience in your life, just because you know that by doing so you are no longer able to focus on all your concerns and worries. It is just too big a leap!

The good news however is that there is another very simple yet powerfully effective way of diluting the worries. I call it the 'flip a coin' technique.

The idea is that your negative and positive thoughts about a particular subject are actually two sides of the same coin.

• So you start off on the negative side of the coin and 'ALLOW' yourself to feel all that negativity as much as you do - really experience it in that moment. Then you flip the coin over and whilst on the positive side you IMAGINE the BEST it can possibly be. The absolute BEST in can be - in that moment.

• Then flip the coin back over again and notice that you feel different - it may be slight but you DO feel differently.

• Then once again, feel whatever negativity there is in the moment - how you feel right now. Then flip the coin back over and once again IMAGINE the BEST it can possibly be. The absolute BEST in can be - in that moment.

• Then flip the coin back over and once again notice that you feel different - perhaps noticing a bit more of a difference this time.

• Then once again feel whatever negativity there is. Then flip the coin back over and once again IMAGINE the BEST it can possibly be. The absolute BEST it can be - in that moment.

• Then flip the coin back over and once again notice that you feel different - by now you will becoming quite amazed at how effective this technique is.

Simply carry on flipping the coin from one side to the next until you have completely watered down the negativity and are feeling positive once again.

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This is one of many ways I support my clients both face-to-face and using Skype. If you would like to know more please visit my website www.tums2mums.com

IVF success rates double when using HypnoFertility

With permission of the group admins I've just joined the IVF group on www.babycentre.co.uk. I approached them because I love supporting women on the HypnoBirth board and asked if they felt I could be of any help to women going through the IVF process.

I posted with a little introduction to myself and have been amazed at how many women have since sent me a message saying that they would love to know more. So here I am writing a blog post that I hope not only the women on the IVF board will find useful but also anyone else planning on, or in the midst of, IVF treatment.
It is first of all useful to understand what hypnosis is.

Hypnosis (the trance like state) is actually a state we move in and out of all of the time. When we drift off to sleep at night and wake up in the morning we move through the hypnogogic state, whilst daydreaming, lost in a good book or caught up in a great film we are in a state of trance. In fact any time we have our focussed attention on something we are likely to be in the state of hypnosis.

When we are fully conscious and aware we have a critical factor of the brain that acts as a filter. This filter is based on our belief system and causes us to analyse what is the best course of action for us in any one moment. When we move into a state of trance this becomes sidetracked and we therefore become more open to suggestions. This is important to be aware of because both positive and negative suggestions can get through. There is a lot of negative hypnosis about fertility. When a woman is having IVF how those in authority talk to her about what she will experience, how her body will respond and most importantly statistical chances of success can actually have a physical effect on her body.

Your subconscious mind is the part that runs your body (ie all of the functions we don't consciously control). It does this by responding to images that we create from everything we see, hear, read, talk about, think etc (we are not consciously aware we are doing this as it would drive us mad). Those images then evoke a set of emotions that tell the body what it needs to do. The subconscious primary role is to keep us safe and this is useful to be aware of when we are looking at any type of fertility issue because our reproductive processes are not part of our survival. If we have a lot of stress caused by our current life or events from our past (causing blocks that we may not necessarily be aware of) this can be interpreted by our subconscious as a message that we are in danger. In turn it can physically change what is going on in our body and prevent a woman from becoming pregnant. Even when a woman is having IVF treatment we want to ensure that the subconscious understands that she is 'safe' and in turn work with her treatment rather than against it.

So what does it feel like? That is like asking “how long is a piece of string?” Everyone experiences hypnosis in a different way. The most important thing is not to try, the more you try the more you will engage your conscious brain and will be less likely to move into the state of trance. You should simply set the intention to allow yourself to experience trance in a way that is just right for you. Instead of judging how you feel know that it is working for you, in the way that is best for you. Some people feel very heavy, others feel light and tingly and some feel nothing at all but are just aware of my voice or their own inner thoughts as they relax more deeply.

Okay on to some useful things whilst progressing through IVF treatment.

We've seen in the above explanation that your subconscious mind will respond to what you spend time focusing on so it is important prepare yourself emotionally before you commence IVF and have techniques to support you in maintaining a healthy mental attitude throughout. I would say up front though this is not about squashing difficult feelings down and walking around with a 'Polly Anna' smile on your face. This would be completely counterproductive. It is always important to experience difficult emotions but learn ways of not being overwhelmed by then.

Setting yourself a goal

Set a goal for how you want to feel throughout the process. For example 'feeling relaxed in my body and calm in my mind'. This goal will be completely personal to you. Then plot it on a scale.

0 - the worst you could feel. Based on the above example this might be 'experiencing so much tension body it hurts and constantly anxious and on the verge of tears.

10 - the best you can feel. 'Completely relaxed in my body, positive and able to progress through my day with confidence'

Plot on the scale where you are now and what you need in order to move you up the scale and stay there. This will help you maintain focus and track progress.

Practice relaxation

The following 5,4,3,2,1 mp3 gives you both a useful technique to use throughout the day to promote relaxation in the body and also provides a lovely progressive relaxation session to listen to regularly to help de-stress your mind and body.

Maintaining a healthy attitude

I always introduce 'Worry Time' to my clients. Find a 15 mins slot each day when you are allowed to worry. Let's say it is 8pm. Throughout the day if a worry turns up treat it like someone who has turned up early for an appointment. Imagine saying to them "what are you doing here, you are far too early, go away and come back at 8pm when our meeting is planned". This may make you feel a little silly but in turn it will help take the emotion out of the worry and move you past needing to in that moment. You have also acknowledged the feelings and so it will be easier to let it go knowing you can come back to it later. When you get to worry time if you want to have a good worry then do so but ONLY for 15 minutes. Then you need to 'change your state', by which I mean go and put on a fab bit of of music and dance around your front room, or have a cuddle with your partner, or a nice bath with candles - the important thing is to make it a treat and something that will completely change your mood.

Another useful technique is the cancel technique which will help you switch negative thoughts into positive ones.

Positive Imagining

You will find a detailed explanation of what I mean by this when reading about the cancel technique but here I want to specifically introduce the idea that you can use your imagination to enhance and work with your treatment. There is no need to use text book explanations for this remember your subconscious only understands imagery and emotion. All you need to do is use the 5,4,3,2,1 relax technique that you have learnt about previously to take yourself into a nice relaxing state of trance and then imagine that you are tiny enough to be inside your body (just let your imagination bring up whatever it wants - you will be surprised how easy this is). Then imagine how you want things to be. For example when thinking about your eggs imagine the best quality eggs you can. I've had clients say that they were in the supermarket and opening a box of eggs and making sure that they were all completely perfect. Another was painting hers like easter eggs and I've even had one imagine Faberge Eggs. You can imagine your uterus as the most wonderful home possible for your baby to grow. Some imagine a beautiful nursery, others luxurious textiles and colours. I've had clients do some redecoration or carried out a good spring clean. Again just allow your imagination to find things it wants to do. Don't judge what you are doing just follow what feels right.

Prior to egg collection and embryo transfer imagine everything going exactly as you want it to be. Prepare yourself to be as relaxed as you can by using 5,4,3,2,1 or listening to an mp3 if you can when at the clinic.

The two week wait

This can be a challenging and anxious time so think about some useful and enjoyable ways of spending this time. Creative tasks are especially effective for maintaining a healthy focus of attention.

Place a coloured dot on different things - your watch, phone, bathroom mirror, etc with the intention that every time you see one of these coloured dots they will trigger a positive visualisation, for example 'your baby is safe and settling in nicely in your womb'.

Spend time imagining your body accepting the embryos. All the other cells can have a welcoming party or you can see them with arms open wide and making space for them to settle in. Another lovely visualisation is to imagine them being placed in little car seats, safe and secure.

Practice relaxation every day and utilise the Worry Time and Cancel Technique.

Further support

For those of you reading this please feel free to ask me any questions about this both on reading or as you use the techniques I will be very happy to help. You can do these either on the comments section of this blog entry or on the IVF Baby Centre board.

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My plan is to write a complete IVF Support Programme (to be ready by August 2012) that will also include 'Fear and Emotion Release', "'Ego Strengthening' and specific mp3s for the different stages of treatment but I hope for now those embarking on IVF will find this blog post useful.

If I have sparked your curiosity and you would like to know more about HypnoFertility sessions please email me at dany@tums2mums.com. Should you require I offer a free half an hour consultation so that you can meet me and ask any questions you have.

I work successfully with clients both face-to-face and using Skype.

Christmas Gift

I am sitting here feeling very smug and happy with myself, there are 10 days to go till Christmas and I have FINISHED all of my Christmas shopping. In fact I had actually completed buying all of my presents last Friday, although this may be due to the fact that I did most of it online so there was not too much dragging a toddler around Bluewater this year. I did however make one trip and for anyone shopping there last Friday I was the poor mum walking around with the giant dalmatian balloon floating just above my head!! Still it kept Evan happy and we just about made it through the day.

I then realised that there was one very important gift that I hadn't done yet and I am now sitting here at 5 in the morning sorting that too.

If you are pregnant I hope you enjoy my Cloak of Protection mp3 and benefit from the powerful yet simple technique it teaches you. If you are not pregnant please share this link with anyone that you know who is. You really will be giving them a fantastic present by letting them know about it.

Taken from the Tums 2 Mums

Hypno 4 Birth Home Study Programme

“Unfortunately for most women as they become pregnant their bump seems to become a glowing bright beacon for all and sundry to approach and share all their most awful and intimate stories about pregnancy, labour, birth and being a parent. The media, films, soaps and birth channels all know that calm, relaxed births are not ‘sensational’ TV and so rarely show good ones. Although ironically to watch a woman labouring calmly is the most sensational thing you could want to see.

I urge you not to get involved in negative conversations about birth, stop people in their tracks when they want to share a horror story and don’t be tempted by the birthing channels (there are plenty of wonderful hypno births to watch on You Tube).

However, as determined as you might be that you will not accommodate any of the above, sometimes you can hear or see something so quickly that you don’t have time to stop it and this is why I have included the ‘Cloak of Protection’ mp3 in this programme.

You will learn whilst listening to this mp3 how to place an invisible cloak of protection around yourself which will shield you from any negativity, causing it to bounce off of you and preventing the messages from becoming absorbed by your subconscious mind."

Please note that the link for this Christmas offer will be removed on the 6th January 2011.

I'd love to know how you enjoy it so please take the time to leave a comment on my blog.

Merry Christmas everyone xxx

Valentines Competition

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Elie (please email so I can send you your prize)

Joanne Ball

Chloe Chatnoi

@law4mumpreneurs

Marie

NOTE: As a special thank you for those of you who have entered this competition but not been lucky enough to win, I would like to offer you the opportunity of purchasing the programme for the amazing price of £26. If you are interested in this offer please email me at dany@tums2mums.com

Okay so I know that Valentines day is all about love and affection between intimate companions but for many that love culminates in having children so I thought it would be a lovely time to launch this competition. It also happens to coincide with the completion of a very exciting project and so the timing is perfect.

That project was the turning of my Hypnosis for Childbirth mp3s into a complete Hypno 4 Birth Home Study Programme. I have been busy putting together a workbook/manual that helps women understand more about the benefits of using these mp3s during childbirth and I've also done some re-writing/recording and added 2 additional mp3s.

As you work your way through the manual you will learn:

• How the muscles of the uterus are designed to work during labour and how fear and anxiety affect them working efficiently.
• How to change negative thinking habits and beliefs to positive ones that support your desire to have a calm, comfortable birth experience.
• How to tap into your own natural birthing instincts.
• What hypnosis is and what it isn't.
• The impact the mind and your imagination has upon your body and what you experience.
• A variety of techniques to use during your pregnancy to prepare your mind and body for a positive birth experience.
• How your birth companion can support you.
• How to use the techniques during labour and birth

The manual is supported by 8 mp3s and a relaxation plan to help you structure your practise. You will also be sent an invitation to my private Hyp 'n Happening Google Group where you can post any questions you may have and meet other mums and mums-to-be using hypnosis for their birth preparations.

The mp3s that you will receive are as follows:

• 5,4,3,2,1, relax which is already available as a free download so that you can find out if you enjoy listening to my voice.
• Cloak of Protection to protect you from outside negative influences (a new mp3 currently not available)
• Birth Affirmations which provide a structured way to practise new thoughts
• Natural Calm Progressive Relaxation.
• Glove Relaxation to learn how you can utilise the power of your mind and your imagination to change your experience of sensations within your body (re-written and newly recorded)
• Cushion of Comfort to stimulate your endorphins your body's natural pain relief.
• Surge with Sea Birth Rehearsal Imagery (a new mp3 currently not available).
• Fear and Emotional Release to help let go of any negative thinking and beliefs, to clear the way for your new positive thoughts that will lead to the acceptance that birth can indeed be a calm, comfortable experience that YOU are in control of.

All mp3s are accompanied by beautiful piano music written and recorded especially for me by Paul Herbert.

And the good news is that I have FIVE of these new Hypno Birth Home Study sets to GIVE AWAY. All you have to do is to write about this competition with a link to this page of my blog to let others know it is available. It might be that you are a member of a forum like NetMums, Baby Centre or Mums Like You, a keen Tweeter on Twitter or have your own blog.

Once you've done that comment on this post with the link to wherever you've written about the competition (or email me at dany@tums2mums.com with your link) so that I can add your name into the draw. The more links you place the more entries you will have into the draw (this can include different birth boards on the same forum).

And even if you are not pregnant why not do this for a friend. The opportunity to have a more positive birth experience is the best gift you could give them.

The competition will run for a month starting today (Valentines Day) and closing at midnight on 14th March (my Birthday - how appropriate) . The draw will be made on 15th March and winners names will be placed on the top of this blog entry (if your due date falls within this period and you would still like to benefit from this programme email me separately).

Please help me spread the word that birthing really can be a normal, natural, comfortable event for most women.

Sorry seat and the power of words

For those who have come across this entry via my "Hypnosis Techniques" section should note that this is not actually a hypnosis technique but it is tapping into how powerfully words affect our behaviour and therefore worthy of its place under this label.

A few weeks ago I had one of those "ding!" moments as I call them. I was scrolling through my tweets on Twitter and came across mention of the "Sorry Seat" from one of my Twitter pals, Natalie from Sophie4Sophie Well of course as a hypnotherapist, who is always teaching people how the words they use/hear (internally or externally) impacts on how they see themselves and in turn what they attract into their lives, it made so much sense. I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before.

When I used to put Evan on the naughty seat she would of course sit there (or not) for the whole time reflecting on the fact that she was naughty. Now reflecting is a big word for a 2.5 year old and to be frankly honest there was less reflecting and more demonstrating of just why she was sat on the naughty seat. However, the very first time I told Evan that she was going to have a Time Out on the Sorry Seat she did in fact sit there quietly for the whole time very obviously thinking about the need to be sorry. How do I know this (apart from the fact that she wasn't continuing to be naughty)? Because after a few moments she said "mummy I'd like to be sorry now". So I went over and she said and signed (this is one sign that hasn't yet been lost which I find very sweet) sorry! And told me why she was sorry.

And no this wasn't a fluke. Every time she has been placed on the Sorry Seat the same thing has happened. And I've taken this a step further. I'd always understood that you don't tell the child it is naughty. That the action was naughty or it was naughty behaviour. However, they are still focussing on being naughty and so now whenever she is doing something I don't want her to I say "Evan if you do not stop doing that you will have a Time Out on the Sorry Seat" and I begin to count from 1 to 3. I very rarely get past 1. This never used to happen I always got to 3 before and then had quite a battle getting her on the naughty seat and keeping her there.

The power of words never ceases to amaze me. Thanks Natalie for teaching me this fab little gem!

Please enjoy this lovely relaxation mp3 on me

I am very happy to say that I have finally found the time to record the following mp3. Something I've been wanting to do for a long time in order to offer my readers the chance to experience one of my mp3s for free and also to enjoy the relaxation that brings.

On the face of it this mp3 is a very simple progressive relaxation but it is done in a very clever way (even if I do say so myself ;-)). It also has a useful twist in that you are learning a very quick and easy way to send relaxation through your body any time you choose (eyes open or eyes closed. Resting at home or in a queue at the Supermarket).

So why is it different? Firstly, the way it relaxes your body. Rather than just saying relax your shoulders, arms, chest, etc. which to be honest is very difficult to do. Think about it now if I say to you "relax your shoulders", you may adjust your shoulders physically or you might imagine your muscles being more relaxed if you have any experience with relaxation techniques but it is still quite a difficult request. If however, I ask you to use your mind to imagine your shoulders moving away from your neck (not physically moving at all just sending the message using your mind) the only way for your body to respond and carry out this instruction is to relax the muscles. You will notice as you progress through the mp3 this is how I get you to relax many of the muscles within your body and then using your mind to imagine moving the comfort this brings on to the next set of muscles.

Secondly, the useful twist comes with the addition of imagining numbers as you progress down through the body '5,4,3,2,1'. These numbers become a very useful trigger for each of the muscle groups to which they are attached to relax. This happens very simply by taking in a nice relaxing breath in and as you breath out seeing, sensing or imagining the numbers 5,4,3,2,1 relax. Listening regularly to this mp3 together with taking every opportunity to use this simple technique will ensure that you can easily move from feeling tense, wound up, anxious, etc to feeling calm, relaxed and in control any time you want to.

I hope you enjoy it and please leave comments to let me know what you think. This mp3 has been deliberately written for general use and is therefore not specific to pregnancy, labour and birth. If you enjoy it and would like to find out more about my Hypnosis for Childbirth set of mp3s please take a look at my shop.

This is the link in order for you to download the mp3. Please share with your friends if you feel they would enjoy it too.

Twitter Two

I've attempted a silly play on words up there in the title but feel the need to explain.

I am having a second attempt at getting my head around Twitter - hence 'Twitter' and 'Two' and I love owls so I kind of made it sound like an owl. Or for those who are in the know when it comes to owls you need two owls to hear the twit and the twoo because one says twit and the other says twoo. Oh my goodness if you are still with me on this post I congratulate you :-)

Anyway my love of owls has inspired the name of my new online shop, HypnoWise, which isn't launching for a few month yet (I've got a juicy project lined up to launch it and it is going to take a bit of time). I'll of course let you know when it is ready though.

http://twitter.com/Tums2Mums

Sometimes it is the only way....

We all have that little chatterbox in our head. I like to think of mine as a little cartoon devil and angel one sitting on each shoulder. This helps me to not take my chatterbox too seriously.

But sometimes that chatterbox just won't shut up will it? Often when there is some negativity going on in our lives but I also find that it can be disturbing when I'm excited about something too. Don't get me wrong I don't want to stop being excited but when it is keeping me up at night that doesn't really work for me.

The problem with this chatterbox is that it is very loud and so listening to a nice relaxation hypnotic session or carrying out some form of progressive relaxation down through the body doesn't always have the desired affect.

So sometimes the only way to deal with it is simply to bore the pants off of it (a bit like the old fashioned counting of sheep).

So the next time you are being wound up by too much negativity, or dog tired in bed with an overactive brain that won't let you sleep, or any other type of annoyance created by your chatterbox here's what to do.

• Start counting from 10 down to 1 in fraction form (10, 9 1/2, 9, 8 1/2, 8 and so on)
• As you count give each number a colour (eg. the 1 of the ten is red, the 0 of the ten is blue, the 9 is green, the 1 of the half is pink, the line of the half is purple, the 2 of the half is yellow. And so on using your own colours). It doesn't matter if you don't see just imagine that you see the same purpose is served
• Hear the numbers and the colours in your inner ear in a monotoned voice
• Imagine writing them - in the sand with your finger, on a blackboard with chalk or with crayons on a piece of paper. Or perhaps they are in blocks of foam or squidgy plastic, Notice how it feels as you write or hold these numbers in your hand
• If you get distracted just come back to the number 10 and start again.

All the time you are focusing on these numbers; how they look, sound and feel you cannot be focusing on anything else. It may take commitment but you will eventually sidetrack your conscious brain and in turn go into a nice state of relaxation or sleep if that is appropriate. You will also not be able to focus on anything else at the same time and so you will get a break from your chatterbox.

Sweet dreams and positive imagining.

Positive Thinking vs Positive Imagining

So often clients say to me that they can't understand why life is not moving in the direction they want it to. I can't tell you how many times I hear the words "I don't get it - I'm such a positive thinker".

My response is always "but are you positive imagining?"

Before I explain why let's look at some facts about the subconscious:

• It runs your body - all those things that happen without you thinking about it (heart rate, salivation, perspiration, and so on)


• It makes appropriate changes in your body based on what it perceives as your reality


• It doesn't know the difference between real and imagined events. Think back to the last time you saw a thriller or a horror movie - do you remember you heart beginning to race, maybe had goose bumps, on the edge of your seat holding your breath as they climbed the stairs to their impending doom. It wasn't happening to you - it wasn't your reality so why was your subconscious making all those changes within your body?
  
• It doesn't understand words and so responds to the world using imagery


• It is driven by emotion.

So it doesn't matter what you are thinking about what you need to be in control of is your imagination.

Whatever you are imagining your subconscious believes to be real and is making the necessary changes in your body for you to be able to function. This is OK as long as you don't spend huge amounts of time involved in 'negativing imagining' (something that you may not even be aware that you are doing).

Now flagging a useful technique

• When you become aware of a negative thought imagine a big red cross through it and say 'stop' or 'no'
  
• Physically push it away and immediately replace it with a positive IMAGE that makes you FEEL good


• The mind cannot hold two opposing thoughts at the same time (try it for a moment think of something that makes you feel sad and another that makes you feel happy - at the same time - you cannot. You can switch quickly between the two but you cannot think about them both at the same time). So all the time you are focusing on the positive image you can no longer focus on the negative one.


• It does take practise - your subconscious will be comfortable with what you are currently doing. Although the more you make the effort to cross out the negative images and replace with the positive ones that makes you FEEL good the easier it will become.

By doing this you will ensure that your subconscious isn't needlessly getting you ready for an emergency state. Instead ensuring that all body functions are working normally.

Where to start...

So here I am - finally blogging. Where do you start with your first post? I probably shouldn't even be trying to put fingers to keyboard at this time of night (00:14 or should I say morning) particularly as I'm tired. But I've started now so I'll give it a go.

I've been spending a lot of time recently answering questions on the Baby Centre HypnoBirthing Group and loving being able to reach out and share my knowledge with the women who are planning on having calm, relaxed, comfortable births (yes I really did say calm, relaxed and comfortable in the same sentence as birth). It got me thinking that I could reach out even further if I started a blog (assuming I can get some people reading it of course).

So I plan to share stories, tips, advice, freebies here on my blog about using hypnotherapy for:

• Fertility (I currently have a 75% success rate helping women with fertility issues to become pregnant)
• Pregnancy (you don't have to put up with morning sickness you know)
• Birth (calm, relaxed, comfortable - yes, yes, I hear you say but how do I achieve that for myself?)
• And Beyond..... there are so many things you can achieve with the power of the mind

I truly have the best job ever.

• That amazing moment when a woman tells me she is pregnant after so many years of trying.
• Seeing the look of amazement on a woman's face when she has begun her session so green with morning sickness, that she cannot speak, then as she opens her eyes at the end feeling so completely wonderful
• Reading and hearing all the beautiful birth stories and seeing the lovely baby photos
• And Beyond.... so, so much more