By Peter Adams                                                                             
Author of VisualFestation                                                               
www.VisualFestation.com 

My Wife and I love to go to a local restaurant which has excellent Mexican food.  We have been dining at this restaurant for roughly four years.  One of our favorite dishes to order off of the menu is “Mexican Egg Rolls”.  We first saw these ordered by another patron years ago, and they were so big that we had to ask what dish it was.  The lady who ordered them said that they were amazing and it was her favorite dish.  

The Mexican Egg Rolls is a delicacy made out of shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, and sliced jalapeños peppers which are wrapped in a tortilla and deep fried.  The restaurant likes to use jalapeños which are really hot, so we typically remove them, but we often times don’t find them all until it is too late.  

Last week we were sitting near to the Owners of the restaurant and when we commented about how much we liked their food, especially the Mexican Egg Rolls.  We also said we try to avoid eating the jalapeños, and how often times missed one forcing us to drink a full glass of ice water.

The Owners of the restaurant then told us to just order them and tell the waitress to “hold” the jalapeños.  They said that the dish was made to order and that you could also mix and match the ingredients.  We were in shock, as we had always “assumed” that they were a packaged dish that was from a vendor.
 
How many times in our lives do we settle for not living the life of our dreams, but instead make assumptions that we cannot for whatever reason.  In the example above, it never occurred to us that we could have the dish exactly the way we wanted it.  The whole time we settled for digging out the jalapeños, when all we had to do was ask and we could have had them the exact way we wanted them.
 
There is nothing you cannot Be, Do, or Have.  Get clear on what you want.  If your life is giving you jalapeños and you don’t like it, change your order and ask for what it is that you want.  

Happy New Year to All!
 
Your life is a sum of your experiences. The way your life feels is the result of the meaning you place on the events in your life, in other words, how you perceive your outer world.  Your mind is amazingly and endlessly powerful.  You can make major, positive changes in your life simply by exploring your inner world and making tweaks and adjustments.  What happens on the outside starts on the inside!  
 
We wish all of you  a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012!  Make this your year to thrive!
 
All the best,

The Step Beyond Team
 
 

When life seems overwhelming, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to let go of what we are hanging on to. The problem is, sometimes we don’t realize we are hanging on.  One sign to look for is an endless cycle of thoughts that get you nowhere other than where you began.  Another is physical symptoms. Our bodies are always talking to us.  Have you ever woken up with a stiff neck, yet there is no apparent reason for it? If you look a little deeper, often you will find you had a particularly stressful or challenging week.  These signs are our minds and bodies telling us to ‘back off’.  Instead of obsessing over the same problem over and over (which only makes things worse), try taking a walk, calling a friend, or doing something 'out of the box'. And always apply the 80/20 rule:  spend 20% of the time figuring out what the problem is, and 80% on resolving it.    Anything that is out of your control is best just tossed away.  Ask yourself - what am I holding on to?  What can I do TODAY to simplify?

Some of us often get stuck in our heads, wrapped up in endless thinking that leads us nowhere but more confused than when we started. Or it may lead down a path of sadness, fear, anger, or another negative emotion.  Most of us know that thinking over and over about an unsolvable problem is useless and a drain on our energy. Then why do we do it, and how can we stop?  As human beings, we are wired to want to figure things out.  When there is something that is unexplainable, our brains sometimes don’t know how to handle it.  That’s how our thinking can work against us. The way through this is to learn to let go of useless thinking patterns.  There are various methods to do this. One very effective way is through meditation. Meditation is the process of focusing the conscious mind (the part of us that thinks and analyzes), on one point of focus. This is similar to giving a kitten something to play with so she doesn’t climb up the curtains.  With our minds, this keeps the thinking part on one object so that we can become a silent observer of our thoughts. Over time we can see more clearly our thinking patterns, and be in a positive to change them. Another effective method is hypnosis. In hypnosis, the conscious, thinking part of our minds is on the backburner, and our subconscious is at the forefront. In this state we can teach ourselves to literally let go of thoughts we don’t want to keep thinking about.  Then, when in a conscious state, we can re-access the hypnotic experience and let go of unhelpful thinking patterns.  Our minds are powerful, and we can learn to use them to make positive changes in our lives.

What is Hypnosis?

There are many misconceptions about hypnosis.  We wanted to shed some light on this to eliminate confusion. Hypnosis is a natural state. It’s similar to when you are driving and you miss your exit, when watching a movie that you are engrossed in, or listening to music that captures a mood or engrosses you.  You are not ‘thinking’  during these times. You are in a deeply focused, relaxed state, and it feels good. 

You have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind. Your conscious mind has a part that is rational, that rationalizes.  Your subconscious mind is where your emotions, beliefs, and conditioning are stored.  When you are in a state of hypnosis, your conscious, rational mind is on the backburner and your subconscious mind is at the forefront.  In this state you are very receptive to suggestions because you have direct access to your subconcious mind and your inner workings.

You are hypnotized everyday by advertisements and TV commercials.  Advertisers are brilliant at getting their audience into a focused state (i.e. hypnosis), then hitting them with suggestions such as ‘give a donation’, ‘buy our product’, or they show images of their product so that when you go to the store that very same product makes you feel the same way you felt when you watched their commercial.  This happens without you knowing why.  Notice this the next time you watch TV.

Can hypnosis make you do things against your will, or reveal your deep dark secrets? Absolutely not.  In no way is the hypnotist in control of you.  The hypnotist is simply facilitating the hypnotic state. During hypnosis you would instantly get up and leave the room if it caught on fire, even if had previously felt like your arms and leg were too heavy to move. You would never do anything, or accept any suggestion that violates your morals or values. Stage hypnotists appear to make people do strange things while hypnotized. The truth is that these people are doing these things because they have a desire to be outrageous. If the stage hypnotist chooses their subjects carefully they will have willing participants.

What can you expect during your hypnosis session? Being in a hypnotic state is nothing strange or unusual.  There is a specific state that the brain enters into when it is receptive to suggestion. It may feel like you are not in a trance, or in hypnosis. For most people they simply feel relaxed. An experienced hypnotist will take time to get to know you, and ask questions to make the session most effective.

Perhaps now you can understand how hypnosis is a powerful tool for making lasting life changes. Your mind is very powerful, and you can learn to harness its power for your betterment.  Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sometimes we get stuck in the middle ground of ‘should I – shouldn’t I’, unable to make a decision.  It is important to think through decisions carefully, especially big impact important ones.   However overanalyzing can be counter-productive. This can come into play with decisions such as changing jobs, moving to another city, trying something new, etc.  The other aspect that can work against us is getting bogged down in fear or the ‘why nots’.  This can happen with health related goals such as weight loss, quitting smoking, starting an exercise program, etc.  Sometimes it’s best to stop thinking, let go, take the leap and go for it. Just decide, and DO!

A good friend once advised “go where the love is”.  In other words, we all affect each other for better or for worse.  Just like what we ingest can affect the way we feel, the same is true for whom we spend our time with.  When we are surrounded by angry, negative people, we can end up feeling the same way.  When we spend time with inspiring, positive people, we end up feeling great.  Ask yourself whom you interact with on a daily basis. Of course some of this is out of our control, for example, in work situations, at the grocery store, etc.  Outside of these situations, who is in your life? Who are the people you text, call, or email?  What do you talk about with these people?  What do they want to talk about? The first step is awareness. Be aware of where you are choosing to put your energy, and who is involved with that.  Once you’re aware, you can make decisions on if it makes sense to continue as-is or make some tweaks.  Do you have any related experiences you would like to share? We’d love to hear from you!