Overcoming Barriers

Everyone has heard negative messages in their lives.  Perhaps a parent says something out of frustration but self-esteem and confidence were unaffected.  Thousands of acorns blow from the tree but very few take root and grow.  But against the odds, it does happen.

Every year it is common to receive calls from adults that are taking licensing or postgraduate exams.  Some fail by only a small margin.  Recently a young man came in with a complaint of failing his state bar exam for the second time.  “I get into the exam room, my hands begin to sweat, I get this dizzy feeling, and everything I know seems to dry up.”

This bar student, in hypnotic relaxation, was able to go back to the exam and virtually relive all thoughts and feelings that occurred in that moment.  Following those feelings back, he drifted to a much earlier time when he was in grade school.  He was listening to his teacher tell his mother that he was having trouble in algebra and needed help.  He remembered the “look of disappointment” on Mom’s face.  He also remembered Dad telling him that he’d “never amount to anything”.  Dad also told him he wasn’t as smart as his older brother.  “You obviously inherited your mother’s brains.  She didn’t do well in school either.”

Seeing things from the perspective of an adult, the bar student understood that there was nothing wrong with his ability to study.  He’d already gone through undergraduate and graduate school, and passed the exams with perfectly acceptable grades.  Although consciously he recognized this, he was able to correct his thinking more deeply through Hypnosis.  As if digging deep into the ground and finding the particular root of the tree that was malformed and deprived of nourishment, the young lawyer to be was able to reform that damaged tendril.  He was then guided to visualize himself calmly sitting for the exam – Composed, focused, answering the questions easily, rapidly and correctly.  He phoned me after he passed the exam, and then went on to pass two other exams for two other states as well.

Hypnosis is used to access inner feelings, which may be overwhelmingly strong at times.  During hypnosis one is always awake, aware and in control; hypnosis is deep, inner focus.  Just the opposite of sleep, the person is relaxed but hyper-focused on the words of the Hypnotist.  Engrossed in every word, concentrating on the Hypnotist, the person hears all other voices and sounds peripherally.  As if in a guided daydream, the person follows the Hypnotist’s instructions and can trace those unpleasant feelings back to the times when they occurred.

Overcoming barriers to success, whether taking an exam, or surmounting any of life’s challenges, Hypnosis can help to reveal the roots of feelings to rework the pathways.  All of Hypnosis is Self-hypnosis – The Hypnotist simply guides the client within themselves to heal the hurt, nourish the strengths that have always been there, and to grow strong and well.