Sigil Journaling

Theory of Mind - Brief Outline of How Hypnosis Works

Seeking Adult Nail Biting Cessation Subjects, Southeast Virginia

 Seeking Adults Who Wish to Cease Nail Biting

I seek to connect with individuals who desire nail biting cessation help for a win-win opportunity. Having completed the HMI College of Hypnotherapy 300-hour education program, I am now conducting pro-bono sessions as part of a self-created internship. This is  an important step in my education. If you have any adult patients in your practice ready to quit biting their nails, hypnotherapy can be an effective cessation method. Please have your patient or patients contact me and we’ll begin with a phone consultation to evaluate the appropriateness of hypnosis for each individual. 

Confidential

No-fee offer starts March 15, 2022 and runs for a limited time

Suzanne C Skidmore, CHt Hypnosis Practitioner 

Heritage Office Park

913 First Colonial Road Suite 202 Virginia Beach, VA 23454 

757-574-2969

scskid@gmail.com

https://transcendentdiscoveries.blogspot.com

No Fee Hypnosis Sessions - Virginia Beach

I'm pleased to announce the upcoming practicum phase of my hypnotherapy education. Having completed Hypnosis Motivation Institute's foundational 300-hour program I seek subjects for a win-win opportunity. No-fee General Self Improvement sessions will be offered through to the end of 2021. 

What is hypnosis? It is a natural state we find ourselves in throughout each day. One example that translates easily to hypnotherapy is our state of being when engrossed in watching a film. The plot line, the characters, the dialogue, and other elements draw-in our attention. Our day-to-day is released as we experience a change of state. In hypnotherapy we work together to discover your desired plot line so-to-speak. In a relaxed, hypnotic state your desired changes are offered with supportive wording and phrasing.

Is hypnosis safe? You will be aware and in control. You will not be "programmed" to do anything you don't want to do. Your desired changes will be addressed incrementally in a positive manner. Aversive techniques and wording will never be used. As a certified hypnotherapist and not a licensed therapist or counselor the sessions are for vocational and avocational self-improvement. A phone consultation will determine if hypnotherapy is appropriate for you. If you are experiencing physical symptoms or behavioral issues a referral from a medical or mental health professional may be needed. This is not uncommon and is a safeguard for your well-being.

Ethics indicate I do not practice hypnotherapy with someone with whom I have a secondary relationship: a family member, friend, neighbor, business associate, my doctor, dentist, etc. There are safeguards for this circumstance and we can discuss how a session can be approached.

I am and all subjects must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated. I am happy to wear a mask upon request. If anyone has illness symptoms we reschedule. My training includes live, online video sessions which is an option in case of illness or for other reasons prohibiting in-person sessions.

In 2022 I will narrow-down my specialty areas as well as establish office hours at the First Colonial office space and a fee structure in 2022.

Please contact me if your group is in need of a speaker in 2022. I can present fun and rewarding presentations on topics such as but not limited to self-hypnosis and therapeutic journaling within Virginia Beach and Norfolk.

Check back to this blog for updates. Thank you!

 

Launch

Happiness, Desire, Dissatisfaction

A theme that has been coming around is centered on happiness, desire and dissatisfaction. I've been playing in the dichotomy. There's a dance to being happy, content and allowing desire to propel energy into new directions. Dissatisfaction has a sense of being threefold: 

1) Feeling dissatisfaction as a natural part of the human experience. 

2) Dissatisfaction is what propels human evolution. 

3) Dissatisfaction can be a source of self-knowledge. 

I'll address the three points briefly, thus: 

1) There's nothing to be done about #1! It's done, let's handle it. 

2) The Dalai Lama teaches desire must be present, including what propels one to move toward enlightenment. And where would we be without many billions of humans over time desiring to improve on __________ (fill in the blank)? 

3) I recall Angela Farmer, the inner body yoga teacher, presenting a way to view asana. In a demonstration she began in a simple seated pose then slowly moved into a complicated twist. Along the way into the tangled up posture Angela said something to the effect that we humans like to get ourselves into puzzles, quandaries. Everything can be gliding along calmly then we have an idea. We can't help it, it's what we do. She went on to say the journey of moving into the new territory is about presence, not losing ourselves or shutting off or closing down or powering through mindlessly. As we take the ride of desire and act we have the choice to do so with a conscious attitude. 

My take away is we can enliven our inner world of transcendence safely when we're the ones coming up with quandaries for ourselves. It's a nice place to exercise self-awareness while emotion and our habitual patterns arise. The outer world of course offers its share of material to handle and another is right around the corner. It's coming whether we're ready or not. Why not have a little practice under the belt? 

In embracing the happiness-desire-dissatisfaction three-legged stool I appreciate the tale of Arjuna found in the Bhagavad Gita. Behind the deep questioning is the desire to engage in this world ethically. The more compassion felt by someone, the more likely they will tend to get twisted up in angst. As Angela Farmer demonstrated in the asana workshop years ago, a greater or lesser degree of peril and conflict offers the opportunity to wake up. If we're given one thing over and over again in this life it is change. It's all in flux. 

None of this is profound really. Maybe anyone who has lived long enough settles down and comes to these conclusions. [However, I recall from where I started and have much gratitude for helpful teachers and practices and honor myself for working at it.] What is a little profound, and I'm not sure if I can articulate it, is how the simplicity of it allows me to touch the river of life, so-to-speak, in a deeper, richer manner. I suspect heart is in there too, along with surrender and trust. Chatter and tension fall away more so, taking a back seat. The logical realities that come with knowing how we humans function makes for a more efficient way to navigate this life and the mind-scape. The more proficient I become in managing fluctuations of the mind-stuff* the less I feel the need for outer circumstances to meet expectation. Interestingly, outer circumstances are aligning quite pleasantly. I wonder about the order of things.

This little thesis may or may not have articulated the connected themes at play for me lately. Take what works, leave the rest. Peace!

* Dr. V.S. Rao English Transcription of Patanjali's Yoga Darsan (also known as the Yoga Sutras)

Chapter 1, Aphorisms 2-3:  YOGAH CHITTA VRUTTI NIRODHAH

YOGAH=Yoga CHITTA=of the mind-stuff VRUTTI=modifications NIRODHAH=restraint

The restraint or hinderance of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga. 

10 minute collage

Monoprint Series - "Mask On, Mask Off"

Sigils & the Subconscious

As a way to weave affirmation into the subconscious I've been exploring sigils. Creating a sigil is a way of taking a statement of intent, pairing down the number of letters by eliminating duplicates, adopting a different alphabet and artfully writing the letters in such a way that it doesn't look like a word but a design. There are more than a few approaches to creating sigils. When I do them (& just about anything) there's a sense of play yet a tone of serious intent too. After they hang for a while I often cannot consciously remember the exact meaning of the chosen phrase which is the point: the subconscious knows and is absorbing the affirmation without the conscious mind needing to know, analyze, or judge.

Did hypnosis solve my glaucoma problem?

In 2013 an opthamologist started to monitor my eyes as "glaucoma suspect". His only recommendation was for me to cease taking decongestants (so as to avoid the added pressure those over the counter medications can cause) and to come back about 2 times per year to establish a firmer diagnosis. I complied with all. Subsequent visits showed the same slightly higher above normal pressure...

... until the last one!

Following a lot of drops, poking, prodding and high-tech measuring I noticed the opthamologist and his assistant were seemingly perplexed as they reviewed results on the computer screen. There was no sign of pressure anymore. Everything was within normal limits. He had no explanation except maybe the equipment failed during the last visits. He also said something to the effect that "glaucoma just doesn't go away..."

It wasn't until I was driving home from this eye exam that I remembered a specific phrase in one of the custom hypnosis recordings a therapist made for me. First he'd do intake about what was going on in my inner and outer life. Then the therapist would lead hypnosis while recording it for me to listen to as homework. On one of these recordings he included phrases about "pressure is reduced in your life, pressure is reduced in your eyes". I listened to these recordings a few times during the week. But the recording with the "reduce the pressure in your eyes" statement was one of many. It was only 1 sentence heard only occasionally. Apparently it was enough to filter into my subconscious. Never for one minute did my conscious mind think the glaucoma problem would disappear.

Since this non-scientific but certainly very cool result I've started to write my own self-hypnosis scripts on other subjects and make recordings. Listening to my own voice took some getting used to but it's fine now. Next month I'm taking an eGroup with Henry Reed through Edgar Cayce's A.R.E.

Deepak Chopra recently stated in an interview that most skeptics out there don't take their skepticism far enough. I'm on the skeptical side, often stating I'm skeptical of my skepticism. I do however believe in practice. Try something, see what happens. Look what happened to me. I don't have to go to the eye doctor for another year.

A short clip of Deepak Chopra's interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apz4YGj_jTs

June 14, 2015:
In a conversation with someone with whom I'm only slightly familiar I shared the above experience. After stating I haven't shared it with the opthamologist because he may not believe it she: suggested he's not the right doctor for me, sited a study about the power of a physician's opinion over a patient's healing, his possible non-acceptance will likely risk this healing experience and I should find someone else. I gave it some thought on the ride home and soon determined no, he is the right doctor for me. I like him, he's a good diagnostician and that's what I want from him. I have no intention of turning over power to him. Her words were potentially more disempowering than my doubt in his possible inability to believe in the power of hypnosis. She probably meant well but she doesn't know me at all or enough to understand how I operate. This is one more confirmation to no longer give unwanted advice. I read a bumper sticker recently: Silent and Listen share the same letters.

Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. Meditation Garden

The visitors center reflecting in the pond.

Little bamboo forest.

4 LOVE beads in front of the waterfall.

A set of runes I made scattered on a tree stump.  

Cherry Blossoms at Edgar Cayce's A.R.E. in front of the "old hospital"

Labyrinth At Edgar Cayce's A.R.E.

I live a mile and a half from the headquarters dedicated to the work of the well-known mystic Edgar Cayce. There's a labyrinth up on the hill in front of "the old hospital" with a view of the ocean in the distance. The pattern is a replica of the Chartes Cathedral Labyrinth in France except this one has 2 dolphins in the center, as seen in the top photo. It's a treasure to have this meditation tool in my neighborhood.

Pollen In A Puddle

SARK Exercises

 The study of SARK's 1991 book encourages me to simply play with color and shapes like a child.

The Matter of Nothing

It's hard to tell
How many times
We work on this
Getting-it shit
I don't get it
Do you?

Leaves will whither down
Before it comes to me
Or you, for that matter

Understand that things mean this---
Or that, for that matter

It matters no more
Too many spaces to fill
Words to read
Roles to play

Let it be your own
But-
Only if you want, you wish

There needs to be nothing

- I wrote this on 4/28/93 in one of my sketch books.

SARK - Sally Arial Rainbow Kennedy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TywDZCUN1wk

Art IS Magic

With my study partner we're working on A Creative Companion - How To Free Your Creative Spirit by SARK (1991). Prior to our weekly telephone conversation we email one another photos of visual work. She sent a photo of an abstract drawing of a figure playing in a leaf pile. In our discussion she described how it depicts her childhood memory of raking and jumping into the oak leaves. When she said this I could smell the leaves! Art is magic...

Mythic Journeys Film

If you like the work of Joseph Campbell you'll enjoy the film Mythic Journeys. Myth is presented as emergent truth. Myth is a false thing that reveals the truth.

One particularly humorous comment was made: when following one's bliss one should be prepared for blisters! It reminds me of the idea of the trickster, which is present in many traditions.

"If you can imagine something then it exists. If not right now, it exists as potential because imagination is a never ending horizon." - Deepok Chopra

http://www.mythmovie.net/

Mythic Journeys is on Netflix Watch Instantly

Your art is the Holy Ghost blowing through your soul.  - Jack Kerouac