A meal out of the house today was just the thing to allow some fresh thoughts to come to mind for 2010. Thank you the Quicksilver Mail pub in Yeovil for your £5 special.
Very nice beef casserole and lots of veg; lovely.
Tuesday 29 December 2009
Monday 28 December 2009
Time to relax and think
I'm taking some time out to think about the year ahead.
Now is the time to reassess your goals, set new ones and let go of some that no longer fit your situation.
I will be spending the next few days to clear my mind and allow new ideas to bubble through the layers of conscious and unconscious thoughts.
Why not take the opportunity to do something similar?
Now is the time to reassess your goals, set new ones and let go of some that no longer fit your situation.
I will be spending the next few days to clear my mind and allow new ideas to bubble through the layers of conscious and unconscious thoughts.
Why not take the opportunity to do something similar?
Thursday 24 December 2009
Bloomin ice...
I use pre-recorded CDs to reinforce the hypnosis and personal change work that I do. Just occasionally I don't have the correct disc to hand during a session and so send it out later by post.
This happened recently but since I was travelling past the person's house I thought I would drop the CD in to them.
On my way to the house, I found the black ice on the path and came crashing to the ground without winning any points for style. It hurt!
I am lucky, I don't have brittle bones, but I can quite see how a fall like that for an elderly person would fracture their hip.
Be nice to your neighbours and visitors this year; if it's icy, grit or salt your paths.
This happened recently but since I was travelling past the person's house I thought I would drop the CD in to them.
On my way to the house, I found the black ice on the path and came crashing to the ground without winning any points for style. It hurt!
I am lucky, I don't have brittle bones, but I can quite see how a fall like that for an elderly person would fracture their hip.
Be nice to your neighbours and visitors this year; if it's icy, grit or salt your paths.
Tuesday 22 December 2009
Sometimes a YouTube video can really move you
There are times when we can despair of the world ever becoming a better place. A world where a person can be free to pursue their goals and interests.
This video might just show that it is still possible to hope for a better life for all.
No more comment needed from me.
This video might just show that it is still possible to hope for a better life for all.
No more comment needed from me.
Saturday 19 December 2009
Another Somerset picture
Sunset at Kingsbury Episcopi. I was on my way back from Burrow Hill Cider and spotted the new crescent moon, I pulled in opposite these ponies and so they star in the image.
Yeovil at dawn
I'm having a bit of a picture theme at the moment. This one was taken at 7.35am on Saturday 19th December. It is the view from Yeovil Post sorting office looking towards Tesco. (103 Huish. Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1AA to see it on a map).
The temperature was -3.5 degrees C at the time. Global warming? According to Gordon Brown I'll be with the anti-science, flat-earth brigade.
Local climate change is driven by local changes, urban areas create heat islands. Cutting down trees in Africa changes precipitation patterns. Glaciers melt and reform all the time. Sunspot activity drives weather patterns and we make only the tiniest amount of difference except for the kind of examples I already mentioned.
As ever, if you follow the money trail you begin to see the real motivations of the big names behind carbon trading and carbon reduction strategies. Some will already know this but it's worth saying again, Carbon Dioxide is not a pollutant. We breath it out and plants transpire the CO2 to produce oxygen. Commercial greenhouse growers increase the amount of CO2 in their glasshouse to increase the plant growth and yields!
Now the Copenhagen summit has closed and the agenda did not seem to be about how much of the world could be saved, it seemed to be about how much money the developing nations would get from the 'developed' world. It's easy to believe in Man Made Global Climate Change when you might be getting a share of £100 Billion per year.
Some of the comments made by a minister from Sudan that liken the agreement to the Jewish Holocaust are particularly sickening given that nation's record on human rights abuse.
The Global Climate Change circus is and remains, a nasty sordid money grubbing affair that seems to have little to do the growth of mankind or care for the environment.
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Ninesprings in Yeovil
I normally work from Ninesprings Natural Health Centre in Yeovil. If you are not local to the area, you might assume this is just a pretty name but there really is a local woodland area called Ninesprings which has flowing springs feeding a stream and then a small lake.
This is a winter picture of that lake; as you can see there is still plenty of colour around.
Ninesprings is sometimes spelt as one word and sometimes as two, I have no idea of which is considered 'correct'.
Friday 11 December 2009
Clifton Suspension Bridge
It still looks amazing even though it was completed in 1864. It was Isambard Kingdom Brunel's first project but ironically he never saw it completed as he died in 1859.
I had to drive underneath it recently and took this snap.
Thursday 10 December 2009
Stress makes you fat
As if being in a stressful job was not enough of a problem, it is also now being recognised as a contributor to weight issues.
In today's Daily Mail newspaper they carry a short article about how the combination of emotional eating and stress can make you put on weight.
The stress tends to increase the amount of Cortisol they body produces and this in turn leads to more fat being laid down in the body. It's likely to an evolutionary defence mechanism that allowed humans to survive stressful situations. By laying down a good fat reserve we could survive even if food supplies were short.
What's the answer?
Learn techniques to de-stress, remember to eat only when hungry (not because you feel lonley/sad/depressed etc.) drink enough fluid so that you do not confuse the sensation of being thirsty with being hungry.
Exercise is a good way to relieve stress, as is yoga, walking, self hynosis or relaxation tapes/cds/mp3s. I should add I have a nice range of my own MP3s available at www.gift4life.com.
In today's Daily Mail newspaper they carry a short article about how the combination of emotional eating and stress can make you put on weight.
The stress tends to increase the amount of Cortisol they body produces and this in turn leads to more fat being laid down in the body. It's likely to an evolutionary defence mechanism that allowed humans to survive stressful situations. By laying down a good fat reserve we could survive even if food supplies were short.
What's the answer?
Learn techniques to de-stress, remember to eat only when hungry (not because you feel lonley/sad/depressed etc.) drink enough fluid so that you do not confuse the sensation of being thirsty with being hungry.
Exercise is a good way to relieve stress, as is yoga, walking, self hynosis or relaxation tapes/cds/mp3s. I should add I have a nice range of my own MP3s available at www.gift4life.com.
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Jim Rohn passes away
I learnt from Frank Kern's blog that Personal Development mentor Jim Rohn has passed away.
I only recently discovered the work of Jim Rohn, it seems he's been a guiding light in the world of personal development since the mid 1960s when he began giving talks to business clubs in his local area.
The simple ideas that he put forward help to set you on a path of personal success. Through CD copies of his talks I have also become aware of other speakers like Dr. Dennis Waitley and Brian Tracy.
He always attributed his sucess to the simple but effective ideas of his mentor Earl Shoaff, but that was deny the skills he had in presenting an idea so well that couldn't not understand.
If you have never heard Jim speak then give him a try. Simple truths that will set you thinking about your own path in life. Jim used lots of stories from the Bible to illustrate his points but even if you are not a Christian you'll find so much value in what he says.
I only recently discovered the work of Jim Rohn, it seems he's been a guiding light in the world of personal development since the mid 1960s when he began giving talks to business clubs in his local area.
The simple ideas that he put forward help to set you on a path of personal success. Through CD copies of his talks I have also become aware of other speakers like Dr. Dennis Waitley and Brian Tracy.
He always attributed his sucess to the simple but effective ideas of his mentor Earl Shoaff, but that was deny the skills he had in presenting an idea so well that couldn't not understand.
If you have never heard Jim speak then give him a try. Simple truths that will set you thinking about your own path in life. Jim used lots of stories from the Bible to illustrate his points but even if you are not a Christian you'll find so much value in what he says.
Monday 7 December 2009
How many on Anti-depressants?
This article about anti-depressant drug use was originally post in June this year (follow the link above).
According to the article, there are now some 36 Million prescriptions issued each year for anti-depressants in the UK. That number is up 2.1 million since the last numbers were released in 2007.
Clearly something is very wrong here. 36 million is basically one prescription per adult in the UK population. Either there are a huge number of very depressed people in the UK (always a possibility) or the drugs are being used a universal panacea for the ills of modern life.
I wonder if some of the those people simply have unrealistic expectations about what they may achieve and the clash of the actual and desired outcomes prompts a rush to the GP. (I'm not trying to limit life expectations, merely recognising that not everyone will do what is required to get the glitzy lifestyle.) Contrast the glitz, gloss and glamour of TV lifestyles with your own life and the difference may be too much to bear.
GPs are used to dealing with drugs and relatively speaking, drugs are cheap. Three months of Prozac will be less than 3 months of talking therapy, not really more effective, but cheaper.
The only people gaining with this approach are the shareholders of the drug companies; the people (I hesitate to call them patients) may get some relief but their situation is unchanged, the Doctor may know that the issue is a bad marriage or poor life choices but be left with few alternatives and the we as the shareholders of the NHS pay the bill.
What a waste; a waste of potential, a waste of money, a waste of lives.
Surely it's time to change. Surely we should hold back on the pills and start prescriptions for seeing a therapist or a life coach. How about a prescription to eat a diet that is actually healthy and contains the natural minerals, vitamins and oils that we need to function effectively.
I have no idea where this should start but perhaps one small change might be to promote the idea of non-drug based treatments to Doctors whilst they are still in training. It would be a long task to changing the current situation but it could start one Doctor at a time.
It's also possible that perhaps Doctors should not be expected to have the answers to life problems. We need a new way to deal with life problems for those who choose not to pray or have a religion. A Humanist approach to living a positive life?
Who knows? What is certain is that the status quo will result in all of us being on the drugs and that just can't be right.
According to the article, there are now some 36 Million prescriptions issued each year for anti-depressants in the UK. That number is up 2.1 million since the last numbers were released in 2007.
Clearly something is very wrong here. 36 million is basically one prescription per adult in the UK population. Either there are a huge number of very depressed people in the UK (always a possibility) or the drugs are being used a universal panacea for the ills of modern life.
I wonder if some of the those people simply have unrealistic expectations about what they may achieve and the clash of the actual and desired outcomes prompts a rush to the GP. (I'm not trying to limit life expectations, merely recognising that not everyone will do what is required to get the glitzy lifestyle.) Contrast the glitz, gloss and glamour of TV lifestyles with your own life and the difference may be too much to bear.
GPs are used to dealing with drugs and relatively speaking, drugs are cheap. Three months of Prozac will be less than 3 months of talking therapy, not really more effective, but cheaper.
The only people gaining with this approach are the shareholders of the drug companies; the people (I hesitate to call them patients) may get some relief but their situation is unchanged, the Doctor may know that the issue is a bad marriage or poor life choices but be left with few alternatives and the we as the shareholders of the NHS pay the bill.
What a waste; a waste of potential, a waste of money, a waste of lives.
Surely it's time to change. Surely we should hold back on the pills and start prescriptions for seeing a therapist or a life coach. How about a prescription to eat a diet that is actually healthy and contains the natural minerals, vitamins and oils that we need to function effectively.
I have no idea where this should start but perhaps one small change might be to promote the idea of non-drug based treatments to Doctors whilst they are still in training. It would be a long task to changing the current situation but it could start one Doctor at a time.
It's also possible that perhaps Doctors should not be expected to have the answers to life problems. We need a new way to deal with life problems for those who choose not to pray or have a religion. A Humanist approach to living a positive life?
Who knows? What is certain is that the status quo will result in all of us being on the drugs and that just can't be right.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Lyme Regis Christmas
I was out nice and early this morning; at Lyme Regis I saw their tree and for the first time this season I felt a bit Christmassy......
Lovely tree on a cold and frosty morning.
Lovely tree on a cold and frosty morning.
Monday 30 November 2009
Customer service..what customer service?
Imagine, it's Saturday night, you've had a tough week and decide that tonight you and yours will not cook; you will use the take-away delivery service.
There are plenty to choose from in Yeovil, so out come the leaflets that they regularly stuff through the door.
Go with the usual? No their food seems to have gone downhill recently. Go with this one then, they deliver? Yes, GREAT.
Phone in order at 7.30pm.........how long? One hour; OK no problem.
Wait for delivery.
One hour later no food.
One hour ten minutes, get on phone to takeaway. He's 20 minutes away. OK.
One hour forty minutes; Now I am annoyed, I've been patient but honestly now I'm annoyed.
Wife calls takeaway.......Very sorry....bad weather (WHAT? look out of the window, check for typhoons, none found), driver sick.........it's not even cooked!?! Would we like to cancel?!!!
Cancel order......get bread and cheese out decide to 'out' the Takeaway.
For utterly hopeless service in the Chinese take-away restaurant market in Yeovil Somerset, step forward (wait for the fanfare)
The Hing Lee Chinese Take Away of 24 South Street Yeovil
Who completely and utterly failed to meet their own 45 minute standard waiting time, who invented new weather related excuses for not doing what they said they would do and for wasting their own money promoting a service that they clearly are not able to deliver.
Welcome to the hall of shame.
Leaflet in bin........don't bother asking if I'll give you another chance.
There are plenty to choose from in Yeovil, so out come the leaflets that they regularly stuff through the door.
Go with the usual? No their food seems to have gone downhill recently. Go with this one then, they deliver? Yes, GREAT.
Phone in order at 7.30pm.........how long? One hour; OK no problem.
Wait for delivery.
One hour later no food.
One hour ten minutes, get on phone to takeaway. He's 20 minutes away. OK.
One hour forty minutes; Now I am annoyed, I've been patient but honestly now I'm annoyed.
Wife calls takeaway.......Very sorry....bad weather (WHAT? look out of the window, check for typhoons, none found), driver sick.........it's not even cooked!?! Would we like to cancel?!!!
Cancel order......get bread and cheese out decide to 'out' the Takeaway.
For utterly hopeless service in the Chinese take-away restaurant market in Yeovil Somerset, step forward (wait for the fanfare)
The Hing Lee Chinese Take Away of 24 South Street Yeovil
Who completely and utterly failed to meet their own 45 minute standard waiting time, who invented new weather related excuses for not doing what they said they would do and for wasting their own money promoting a service that they clearly are not able to deliver.
Welcome to the hall of shame.
Leaflet in bin........don't bother asking if I'll give you another chance.
Thursday 19 November 2009
Saturday 14 November 2009
November 14th-Life
I seem to have loaded myself with more work than seems reasonable for one man. However promises have been made and deadlines are not very flexible, so reading, TV and similar activities will be off the agenda for the next couple of weeks.
My evening appointments calendar continues to get busier, it's nice to be able to work with new people every few weeks, it challenges my abilities in a very constructive way.
A former Hypnotherapy student of mine got in touch this week. After a couple of years of doing other things, he has set himself up in practice and crafted a new web site to go with it. If you are in the Swindon area then take a look at the site www.zen-hypno.co.uk which belongs to Tim Butt. Good luck Tim.
One of my sons took himself off to the USA this week. When he wanted to extend his stay by a few days he suddenly became aware of the bizarre world of airline ticket pricing; a world where a single ticket to somewhere can cost more than the return to the same destination. I think it may have been an expensive learning process for him.
My evening appointments calendar continues to get busier, it's nice to be able to work with new people every few weeks, it challenges my abilities in a very constructive way.
A former Hypnotherapy student of mine got in touch this week. After a couple of years of doing other things, he has set himself up in practice and crafted a new web site to go with it. If you are in the Swindon area then take a look at the site www.zen-hypno.co.uk which belongs to Tim Butt. Good luck Tim.
One of my sons took himself off to the USA this week. When he wanted to extend his stay by a few days he suddenly became aware of the bizarre world of airline ticket pricing; a world where a single ticket to somewhere can cost more than the return to the same destination. I think it may have been an expensive learning process for him.
Friday 13 November 2009
Great quote from BBC Radio 4
I heard this on a radio program (BBC Radio 4) about the pottery industry in the UK today.
It was about two guys who had cut loose to start their own specialist ceramics company.
I think I have it correct.
"I'm swimming through the ashes of all the bridges I have burnt!"
Brilliant!
It was about two guys who had cut loose to start their own specialist ceramics company.
I think I have it correct.
"I'm swimming through the ashes of all the bridges I have burnt!"
Brilliant!
Thursday 12 November 2009
Smokers?
I've had a sudden flurry of would be non-smokers booking sessions with me. Is the cold weather finally driving people to regret puffing on the little white stick?
Answers in the comments please.
Answers in the comments please.
Saturday 7 November 2009
What creates apathy?
This is by nature a slightly political post.
There has been for some time now a view that UK voters have become apathetic about exercising their right to vote.
The turnout in local elections often struggles to achieve 25% and even in general elections rarely achieves 50%.
Media commentators wring their hands and write essays on what should be done. They suggest everything from lowering the voting age to making voting compulsory.
Here's some suggestions for all those media pundits and hacks;
Stop treating the adults of the UK like children and they'll stop behaving like children. (I suppose
we could call this the transactional analysis approach). Who the hell needs to be told how to blow their nose and dispose of the paper tissue who is over the age of 6? Patronising video here.
Stop giving outrageous levels of snooping power to any man jack and his dog with RIPA and SOCA laws. Absolutely ludicrous use of powers example here.
Let the voting public have a real choice about the future path of the country instead simply choosing from one bunch of money grubbing politicos dressed in red and another bunch of money grubbing politicos dressed in blue (or possibly yellow). Outrageous money grubbing here.
When we all get a real choice apathy will disappear.
Apathy is only evident when choices are notional rather than real.
Given a real choice people will use their power; it won't happen because the levers of control and power would be ripped away from the current political classes. It would probably take a revolution for that to happen.
There has been for some time now a view that UK voters have become apathetic about exercising their right to vote.
The turnout in local elections often struggles to achieve 25% and even in general elections rarely achieves 50%.
Media commentators wring their hands and write essays on what should be done. They suggest everything from lowering the voting age to making voting compulsory.
Here's some suggestions for all those media pundits and hacks;
Stop treating the adults of the UK like children and they'll stop behaving like children. (I suppose
we could call this the transactional analysis approach). Who the hell needs to be told how to blow their nose and dispose of the paper tissue who is over the age of 6? Patronising video here.
Stop giving outrageous levels of snooping power to any man jack and his dog with RIPA and SOCA laws. Absolutely ludicrous use of powers example here.
Let the voting public have a real choice about the future path of the country instead simply choosing from one bunch of money grubbing politicos dressed in red and another bunch of money grubbing politicos dressed in blue (or possibly yellow). Outrageous money grubbing here.
When we all get a real choice apathy will disappear.
Apathy is only evident when choices are notional rather than real.
Given a real choice people will use their power; it won't happen because the levers of control and power would be ripped away from the current political classes. It would probably take a revolution for that to happen.
Thursday 22 October 2009
Check this out...old chool hypnosis
This is wonderful, a Pathe film clip from 1949 showing stage hypnotist Richard Payne doing what today would be a very mild act.Worth 4 minutes of your time any day of the week, hypnosis in a smart suit.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=47986
A quick thought on goals
I'm paraphrasing some comments from Brian Tracey here but they seem to make a lot of sense to me.
The reason why people don't write their goals down is because it becomes concrete in your subconscious and then must be acted on. We fail to write it down because of a fear of failure, if you don't write it down that won't happen (bit neither will you achieve your goals).
Only 3% of the population have written goals, only 5% have any goals at all. Would you like to guess if they do better or worse than the average in terms of life outcomes?
Yep, you guessed it they do LOTS better.
The reason why people don't write their goals down is because it becomes concrete in your subconscious and then must be acted on. We fail to write it down because of a fear of failure, if you don't write it down that won't happen (bit neither will you achieve your goals).
Only 3% of the population have written goals, only 5% have any goals at all. Would you like to guess if they do better or worse than the average in terms of life outcomes?
Yep, you guessed it they do LOTS better.
Thursday 15 October 2009
Staying organised (part 1,657432)
It's a rather flippant title but just an indication that staying organised is an ongoing process.
At the moment I am reading the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. He advocates getting all the information about current actions and projects out of your head and into some kind of external system.
This, he argues, frees you up to have creative thoughts and become able to deal more effectively with the 'stuff' that just arrives in your in tray each day.
Part and parcel of this concept is having a place or places to put all those project details. It could be a filing cabinet or a stack of index cards but the computer offers lots of possibilities.
One of these is to use a TiddlyWiki that is set up in accordance with the ideas in the book. Good news there is such a thing.
TiddlyWiki is lot like the Wikipedia idea except that you can keep it all on your disc drive or memory stick. You use it through a FireFox browser (other browsers work too) to create your very own Wikki.
It really neat; try these links to find out more
http://www.tiddlywiki.com/
http://tiddlywiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
The version I am trialing at the moment is D Cubed at
http://dcubed.ca/Welcome_to_d-cubed.html
I know it's going to take some discipline to put all my projects and actions on this way but I'm actually quite excited by this!
The TiddlyWiki programs are for free but most will accept PayPal donations to keep down their costs.
At the moment I am reading the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. He advocates getting all the information about current actions and projects out of your head and into some kind of external system.
This, he argues, frees you up to have creative thoughts and become able to deal more effectively with the 'stuff' that just arrives in your in tray each day.
Part and parcel of this concept is having a place or places to put all those project details. It could be a filing cabinet or a stack of index cards but the computer offers lots of possibilities.
One of these is to use a TiddlyWiki that is set up in accordance with the ideas in the book. Good news there is such a thing.
TiddlyWiki is lot like the Wikipedia idea except that you can keep it all on your disc drive or memory stick. You use it through a FireFox browser (other browsers work too) to create your very own Wikki.
It really neat; try these links to find out more
http://www.tiddlywiki.com/
http://tiddlywiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
The version I am trialing at the moment is D Cubed at
http://dcubed.ca/Welcome_to_d-cubed.html
I know it's going to take some discipline to put all my projects and actions on this way but I'm actually quite excited by this!
The TiddlyWiki programs are for free but most will accept PayPal donations to keep down their costs.
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Bigger Breasts with hypnosis
Well, for some people it would be nice right?
Not for everyone clearly, most men would rather not have Moobs (man boobs) but many might be intrigued by the idea.
It hit the news (again) today as a BBC program called Inside Out (a local magazine that varies from region to region) investigated hypnotherapy.
They were alarmed to find out that is was possible for a cat to be registered with some hypnotherapy organisations. Well I have not seen the program but let sanity reign.
They copied an experiment first done in the USA where a cat got registered with a couple of small member organisations. It worked here in the UK too but not with one of the larger organisations and I still maintain that the only licence needed for the biggest hypnotist in the UK is a TV licence. That square box puts more people in a trance than anything or anyone else.
Any way, back to breasts.....can you make them bigger with hypnosis? One of the chaps involved in the program says that it can work.
If asked, I could guess that the answer is yes, but I just don't know. It's tricky trying to measure this stuff because you would need to devise and experiment that looked at all the possible variables from weight gain to hormonal changes before you could tell if the hypnosis had had a profound effect on the breast tissue.
Still, if any university graduates would like to set up an experiment I'd be happy to take part.
Not for everyone clearly, most men would rather not have Moobs (man boobs) but many might be intrigued by the idea.
It hit the news (again) today as a BBC program called Inside Out (a local magazine that varies from region to region) investigated hypnotherapy.
They were alarmed to find out that is was possible for a cat to be registered with some hypnotherapy organisations. Well I have not seen the program but let sanity reign.
They copied an experiment first done in the USA where a cat got registered with a couple of small member organisations. It worked here in the UK too but not with one of the larger organisations and I still maintain that the only licence needed for the biggest hypnotist in the UK is a TV licence. That square box puts more people in a trance than anything or anyone else.
Any way, back to breasts.....can you make them bigger with hypnosis? One of the chaps involved in the program says that it can work.
If asked, I could guess that the answer is yes, but I just don't know. It's tricky trying to measure this stuff because you would need to devise and experiment that looked at all the possible variables from weight gain to hormonal changes before you could tell if the hypnosis had had a profound effect on the breast tissue.
Still, if any university graduates would like to set up an experiment I'd be happy to take part.
Life, death and brain waves
I'm doing more evening sessions these days. It seems to be easier for those who use my services and means the days are spent on other activities.
A brief scan through the news this morning brought up an interesting piece (via The Daily Mail web site) about brain activity as we approach death (sorry if this sound morbid). It seems that there is a huge spike in neuron activity as a person dies.
The articles puts forward the idea that this happens as the blood supply to the brain fails and may coincide with so-called near death experiences.
All interesting stuff and it does make me think about the nature of life and death........well I'm not the first person to cover that territory am I.
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Do we have a sixth sense?
There is an interesting article on the Daily Mail web site today about whether we have a sixth sense. (Actually it looks like a rehash of a press release for a book launch.)
It's worth a look though; it cites some interesting examples of times where people have claimed precognition of forthcoming disasters.
Here is the gratuitous link to Amazon so that you can help pay my web hosting fees!
It's worth a look though; it cites some interesting examples of times where people have claimed precognition of forthcoming disasters.
Here is the gratuitous link to Amazon so that you can help pay my web hosting fees!
Saturday 3 October 2009
Snippets & updates:Oil, music, diabetes & skinny eaters
A variety of interesting thing from the web that caught my attention in the last week or so. DIABETES SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL WITH 145,500 NEW CASES IN A YEAR
Type 2 diabetes is on the rise and we seem to be following the American example in terms of the health outcomes. Remember that too much carbohydrate especially highly refined types like sugar will lead to problems. This is especially true when you have a relatively inactive lifestyle and don't eat a balanced diet. (Balanced in this case means a good mix of fruit, vegetables starchy foods, fats and proteins. By the way, all the indications are that diet style drinks may actually make this worse. They are the devil's brew; try Googling Aspartame.
This is my current musical nemesis...
It seems that naturally thin people who eat large portions can cause us to eat more than we should. There is news about a fascinating study in the link where it seems that if you see a thin person pile up their plate your more likely to follow their example than if a fat person were to do the same.
After all no one wants to be seen to be eating more than a fat person but someone thin can validate a choice to eat more than we should; well if they can be thin with that size portion...
Olive oil and Alzheimer's disease
It seems that one of the chemicals in olive oil that gives it its peppery taste may play a part in slowing down the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Having seen how this illness robs people of themselves, I'd love to see more research in this area.DIABETES SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL WITH 145,500 NEW CASES IN A YEAR
Type 2 diabetes is on the rise and we seem to be following the American example in terms of the health outcomes. Remember that too much carbohydrate especially highly refined types like sugar will lead to problems. This is especially true when you have a relatively inactive lifestyle and don't eat a balanced diet. (Balanced in this case means a good mix of fruit, vegetables starchy foods, fats and proteins. By the way, all the indications are that diet style drinks may actually make this worse. They are the devil's brew; try Googling Aspartame. Learning a musical instrument helps to boost children's memory
I have suspected for some time, that playing (or learning to play) a musical instrument works parts of the brain otherwise untouched in the pencil & paper type learning that often passes for schooling. This article form the Time s newspaper seems to vindicate my views. By the way, I'm still learning to play the harmonica!This is my current musical nemesis...
Want to Lose Weight? Avoid Skinny Overeaters
It seems that naturally thin people who eat large portions can cause us to eat more than we should. There is news about a fascinating study in the link where it seems that if you see a thin person pile up their plate your more likely to follow their example than if a fat person were to do the same.
After all no one wants to be seen to be eating more than a fat person but someone thin can validate a choice to eat more than we should; well if they can be thin with that size portion...
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Weird dreams
Sometimes I wonder what is going on. A completely bizarre dream has me wondering about what I watched or saw that prompted it.
Keywords in the dream: cannibalism, France, Atlantic Coast, mince, pies and couple.
Freud would have a field day.
Keywords in the dream: cannibalism, France, Atlantic Coast, mince, pies and couple.
Freud would have a field day.
Saturday 19 September 2009
Search engines...the rise of Bing
Love them or be exasperated by them, search engines guide many of us through the search for information in this life.
At the moment Google is still my first choice although Yahoo seems to do a good job if you are hunting down people or a specific person. (I'm not sure hunting was the best verb there but never mind.)
However the kid on the block is of course Bing and I'll admit that up until now I have pretty much ignored it as a tool.
Perhaps I should pay more attention though as it has now overtaken both AOL and Yahoo for the number of visitors it brings to my web sites.
Google is still the big guy but Bing has moved from nowhere to around 6% of enquiries (Google is still around 80%).
Something to keep an eye on.
At the moment Google is still my first choice although Yahoo seems to do a good job if you are hunting down people or a specific person. (I'm not sure hunting was the best verb there but never mind.)
However the kid on the block is of course Bing and I'll admit that up until now I have pretty much ignored it as a tool.
Perhaps I should pay more attention though as it has now overtaken both AOL and Yahoo for the number of visitors it brings to my web sites.
Google is still the big guy but Bing has moved from nowhere to around 6% of enquiries (Google is still around 80%).
Something to keep an eye on.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Somedays.........
Monday 14 September 2009
Is LighterLife the weight loss answer?
I have worked with several people over the last few years who had previously been on the LighterLife program of weight loss.
In the main they had lost weight but had been unable to sustain that body weight after they returned to eating normal meals.
It is an aggressive low calorie program that typically limits intakes to around 500 calories per day. At that level anyone will lose weight and fat and even more importantly muscle.
Muscle is important because our heart is a big muscle that works hard for us every day. On very low calorie diets the heart itself may be damaged by the extreme dieting.
If you are considering this path, please research the health implications. It may take longer to lose weight in other ways (including with the aid of hypnosis) but it will be sustainable and you will still get to your target weight in the end.
Full story here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1212909/Revealed-The-obese-woman-whos-millions-extreme-diet-blamed-death-bride-be.html
In the main they had lost weight but had been unable to sustain that body weight after they returned to eating normal meals.
It is an aggressive low calorie program that typically limits intakes to around 500 calories per day. At that level anyone will lose weight and fat and even more importantly muscle.
Muscle is important because our heart is a big muscle that works hard for us every day. On very low calorie diets the heart itself may be damaged by the extreme dieting.
If you are considering this path, please research the health implications. It may take longer to lose weight in other ways (including with the aid of hypnosis) but it will be sustainable and you will still get to your target weight in the end.
Full story here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1212909/Revealed-The-obese-woman-whos-millions-extreme-diet-blamed-death-bride-be.html
Spotless Mind?
Once again a team has supposedly come up with a way to erase bad memories; according to the Daily Mail newspaper.
According to the paper, a team at Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland could develop a memory-cleansing drug that has the ability to remove any recollection of unhappy or embarrassing incidents, like childhood teasing and upsetting memories of a failed love affair, from people's minds.
We are told that it works by dissolving the membrane around the amygdala; the almond-shaped organ in the brain where mammals store their memories of fear.
It seems to have worked in animals, but do you really want to lose all of your fears? Fear is what keeps us safe from dangerous situations. It is a response that enables us to survive.
So while it may sound like a wonderful way to let go of love affairs that went wrong or a powerful way to deal with PTSD, it may not be possible to use it safely.
Both Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and hypnosis offers real drug free alternatives to this with the advantage that natural useful fears are kept in place.
According to the paper, a team at Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland could develop a memory-cleansing drug that has the ability to remove any recollection of unhappy or embarrassing incidents, like childhood teasing and upsetting memories of a failed love affair, from people's minds.
We are told that it works by dissolving the membrane around the amygdala; the almond-shaped organ in the brain where mammals store their memories of fear.
It seems to have worked in animals, but do you really want to lose all of your fears? Fear is what keeps us safe from dangerous situations. It is a response that enables us to survive.
So while it may sound like a wonderful way to let go of love affairs that went wrong or a powerful way to deal with PTSD, it may not be possible to use it safely.
Both Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and hypnosis offers real drug free alternatives to this with the advantage that natural useful fears are kept in place.
Thursday 10 September 2009
Derren Brown; how did he do it?
I watched Derren Brown 'predict' the lottery numbers on TV last night.
I love the stuff he does but I don't think this was much more than an advanced slight of hand (or camera).
It was alleged that he had written the winning numbers on what appeared to be table tennis balls before the draw but crucially they were turned away from the camera's view before the draw.
This was supposedly because the BBC and Camelot would not allow the numbers to be shown in advance of the draw, ho hum.
I don't know how it was done, but I'm fairly sure the numbers were written on the balls after the draw happened (but still with seconds of the numbers being shown).
There was a curious delay whilst Derren was watching the TV screen with a small whiteboard in his hand but did not write the numbers down as drawn; all a little odd. It did make for intriguing telly though.
We are told he will reveal all on Friday night!
I love the stuff he does but I don't think this was much more than an advanced slight of hand (or camera).
It was alleged that he had written the winning numbers on what appeared to be table tennis balls before the draw but crucially they were turned away from the camera's view before the draw.
This was supposedly because the BBC and Camelot would not allow the numbers to be shown in advance of the draw, ho hum.
I don't know how it was done, but I'm fairly sure the numbers were written on the balls after the draw happened (but still with seconds of the numbers being shown).
There was a curious delay whilst Derren was watching the TV screen with a small whiteboard in his hand but did not write the numbers down as drawn; all a little odd. It did make for intriguing telly though.
We are told he will reveal all on Friday night!
Tuesday 8 September 2009
Hypnosis by TV?
I have often felt that television is the number one hypnotist around the world and often people become very receptive to message that are transmitted by the TV.
This chap has an interesting take on it; he is discussing who the TV in America is responsible for spreading the messages of large corporations and Government departments in the USA but I expect it is very similar here in the UK.
Follow this link to read the story. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Mass-Mind-Control-is-Upon-by-Nathan-Janes-090827-627.html
This chap has an interesting take on it; he is discussing who the TV in America is responsible for spreading the messages of large corporations and Government departments in the USA but I expect it is very similar here in the UK.
Follow this link to read the story. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Mass-Mind-Control-is-Upon-by-Nathan-Janes-090827-627.html
Saturday 5 September 2009
New articles online
I've just updated the the Somerset Hypnotherapy web site with an article page.
It will be home for the articles I have written on the topics of personal development and hypnosis.
The first article is up now and you can download it in PDF or MP3 format. I'll add more over the next week or so and hopefully improve the recording quality of the MP3s as well.
Go here to check it out http://www.somersethypnotherapy.com/articles-by-john-burns.html.
It will be home for the articles I have written on the topics of personal development and hypnosis.
The first article is up now and you can download it in PDF or MP3 format. I'll add more over the next week or so and hopefully improve the recording quality of the MP3s as well.
Go here to check it out http://www.somersethypnotherapy.com/articles-by-john-burns.html.
Wednesday 2 September 2009
TV Advert tricks
I have recently become aware of something that seems to be a very sneaky trick by advertisers on the TV to get your attention.
I specifically notice this trick on the recent NatWest Bank advert playing here in the UK where a man is buying Euros for his trip to a wedding in Italy.
What's the trick? The almost imperceptible sound of a mobile phone ringing in the background. Keep in mind that the audio track on the advert has background music, the sound of a voiceover artists and the two actors all in the mix at various times......and that mobile phone.
The most annoying thing is that it works! On more than one occasion I have looked up from whatever I was doing to see if it was my mobile (even though I have a different ring tone set!)
I 'think' I have heard the same trick on other adverts too but have not noted what they were in the same way as the NatWest one.
Has any one else become aware of this?
I specifically notice this trick on the recent NatWest Bank advert playing here in the UK where a man is buying Euros for his trip to a wedding in Italy.
What's the trick? The almost imperceptible sound of a mobile phone ringing in the background. Keep in mind that the audio track on the advert has background music, the sound of a voiceover artists and the two actors all in the mix at various times......and that mobile phone.
The most annoying thing is that it works! On more than one occasion I have looked up from whatever I was doing to see if it was my mobile (even though I have a different ring tone set!)
I 'think' I have heard the same trick on other adverts too but have not noted what they were in the same way as the NatWest one.
Has any one else become aware of this?
Wednesday 19 August 2009
Recording Hypnotherapy CDs (actually any audio CD)
Like many other therapists I record CDs to give away to clients as part of the therapy process. In my case these were recorded in a professional studio and then edited on my PC to produce the final mixed audio track.
These are burnt to CD-Rs as needed and in the past I have always used the free version of Nero I got with my DVD burner to do this. These are audio rather than MP3 files I'm talking about.
I'm not sure why but I started getting more CDs that would skip tracks and sound distorted when using this process. Sometimes clients would report that a CD would be ok up to a certain point and then sound distorted. Not good.
It only seemed to happen to audio CDs, data style CDs always played on every PC I ever tried them on so I figured it had to be some odd combination of media and software.
After much head scratching and plenty of trial and error, here is what I found.
Most modern CD players that have a motorized drive to load the CD will play just about anything. They seem to tolerate all kinds of media; sadly most of my clients had older style manual load CD players.
Lesson 1
Stick with 'silver' style CDs. Take a look at the disc on the spindle in the shop. (I usually buy spindles of 25 CDs). Look at the track side of the disc; if this is blue, green or gold reject the CD. It's not that they are no good, its just that these dye based surfaces do not get read easily by older CD players. Save them for data discs.
Lesson 2
Give your PC a break, if you are recording a CD, shut down unwanted applications that are using CPU time and memory. I frequently have multiple browser tabs open plus outlook and a bunch of other programs to. Shut them down and have open only your CD burner software. In this way the burner software can have plenty of memory and CPU cycles to play with. The older the PC you have the more important this is.
Lesson 3
Select some software that works. I am now using Image Burn which is free for personal use and you can download a copy from this link. The software is great but the interface has more features than you are likely to need. To avoid frustration, take 30 minutes or so to read the online 'how to' guides. It will as the name suggests burn ISO images to a disc but it will also burn a bunch of tracks to a CD; as long as you remember to create a CUE file first. Like I said read the online guide first (I didn't and wasted some time and discs).
Lesson 4
Do not try to burn the CD at maximum speed. When you load a CD Image Burn will check the CD to see what speeds it can be written at. It may well say that it will burn at 48X speed but I recommend that you choose the SLOWEST speed that the disc reports it will work at, typically 8X these days. Once again it's about given your system an easier time of it so that you get the best possible CD at the end.
Burn your CD and then wait for the happy jangly song that Image Burn plays when it has finished. Job done.
Since switching to working this way I have had no rejects after the CD has been written.
If you record your own CDs for music or therapy work I recommend you try these tips, they may save you some headaches later.
If you would like to hear my therapy tracks then go to www.gift4life.com where you can buy the MP3 or CD online.
Friday 7 August 2009
Gift4life.com Web shop & Actinic
My own e-commerce web shop (www.gift4life.com)was set up for me using Actinic 8 software. It handles everything from didgital downloads to shipping costs.
It's not perfect though, or possibly I have been doing something wrong. I was first alerted to this by a lady from Switzerland who wanted to buy an MP3 hypnosis track but found that the web shop added £10 for post and packing! Not surprisingly she decided not to buy but thankfully she did let me know.
The digital download parts of Actnic seem to work well but I'm not sure how fully integrated it is with the rest of the sytem. There is a system setting tick-box to say don't apply shipping to MP3, this was ticked. So far so good, however I had not defined a shipping zone that included Switzerland, it therefore dropped into a default 'rest of world' class with a default shipping charge of £10. This is potty, this seems to take precidence over the global don't charge shipping setting!
I resolved the issue put putting every single country into a zone even if that zone was 'rest of world'. It feels like a messy work around but it seemed to fix the issue.
Back off holiday and wanting to change
As is usual at this time of year things go a bit quiet on the personal one to one work as people go away on holiday. There is nothing to do except maintain the web site and wait for the phone calls.
The first of the 'post holiday' calls have now started and is sometimes the case, a husband will call on behalf of a wife (or vice versa). I always do my best to assist people in this situation by providing information but there is a limit on what can be achieved until the person in question contacts me directly.
I am always aware of the potential for one partner putting pressure on the other to make some kind of change. That does not make for positive results.
Monday 3 August 2009
Take part in a happiness experiement today
Would you like to take part in an experiment to raise the happiness of the whole country?
Great!
Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire is conducting an experiment that aims to measure the change in happiness possible by doing a short, easy excercise.
If you go the the web site (in the link in the title of this post) you will see a short questionnaire and a short video.
The idea is to fill in the questionnaire to measure the before and after effect of the experiment.
Professor Richard Wiseman, who is leading the study, has high hopes that it will, if enough people participate.
"It's well known that happiness is catching," said Prof Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire. "We hope to spread happiness around the UK. No-one's ever tried cheering up a whole country before, and it's the right time to do it with everyone feeling gloomy from the recession.
"Whether or not it will work depends on how many people take part. I've no idea what the tipping point is. Potentially somewhere like London, which is densely populated, you might find people smiling a lot more. It's a mad idea but it might just work."
For the experiment to succeed, at least 10,000 people need to take part, said Prof Wiseman, adding: "We're hoping for more than that."
Let me know how you get on!
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Holidays and contemplation
Now that the summer holidays have arrived the number of clients I see for the next few weeks is likely to drop away considerably.
The pattern is repeated each year; people go away on holiday, they get some time to reflect on how things are going in their life, they decide to make a change when they get home.
Some people will make those changes without any outside assistance, others will get on the phone and start to find out more about hypnotherapy.
If you are about to go away on holiday it's useful to take some of that time for yourself. Create a space where you can have time to reflect on the goals that have some how slipped away from you, the relationships that have become nothing more than an exchange of Christmas cards and the habits that you would like to get rid of.
It's helpful to think about the positive goals you want to achieve, the new skills you want to acquire, that instrument that you always wanted to learn.
Then when you come home; TAKE ACTION!
Thinking about your goals will achieve nothing unless YOU TAKE ACTION.
This is about YOU and what you want, not what other want you to want. There is a huge difference in those two things.
Saturday 25 July 2009
Seduced.....and disappointed
I recently acquired a new Blackberry 9000 for work purposes. Initially I was seduced by all its geekiness. It's got push email, a camera that takes video and still pictures, it can use WiFi, it's GPS enabled so you can see where you are, it's 3G download capable and it hooks up to the Bluetooth hands free in the car, the screen looks fantastic. It has everything that your inner geek could need.
But.....I'm coming to the conclusion that actually it's a bit rubbish. Why?
Well all that techno nerdy stuff sucks the life out of the battery in less than a working day, frankly that's crap.
I have resorted to turning off the WifI and Bluetooth connections in a vain attempt to extend the battery but the effect is marginal at best. Not only that but the GPS seems very sulky indeed and says it cannot see any satellites and asks me to go somewhere with 'open sky' , even if I'm stood in a field!
Maybe I just have a clunker, perhaps I'm being unfair but none of the nerdy stuff means anything if the bloody battery is flat.
Until this techno beast arrived I was on an old data only Blackberry and a mobile phone. Charged up, the that combination would be good to work for at least two days, sometimes three with light use.
It seems we have gone backwards. It's just a bit shit really.
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Car accidents and terminal stupidity
I had a car accident in June. I was stationery, got biffed from behind by a huge Nissan 4x4, who didn't stop.
Not too much damage so I go about my business for the day, report it to the claims handling agent at the insurance broker, stop by the police station and let them know as well.
I had spotted the registration plate for the other vehicle as it drove away; it didn't stop.
Did the police prosecute?No, I don't know why, I thought not stopping after an accident was a criminal offence but it seems not.
The car was repaired (huge variation for prices on this, if you have the same problem get at least three quotes) and is now looking good.
Except............
It turns out that even though I emailed the worlds most comprehensive accident report to the claims broker......they didn't action it. They have no record of it....the chap I spoke to is on a different team and he is away sick at the moment (or some other bollocks).
So instead I have to go through the same shit all over again with a girl whose IQ seems to be in single digits.
"Can I send you the pre-prepared document by email" I say?
"That would be no good I don't have a file to put it in" she replied.
Well bloody well make one is what I thinking but I doubt this girl would last five minutes if she went "off script" and so I'm stuck wasting another 30 minutes of my life telling her what happened, to cover for the stupidity and lack of intelligence of the claims company operative.
Massively annoyed and pissed off by the whole bloody system.
What a fucking shambles.
Not too much damage so I go about my business for the day, report it to the claims handling agent at the insurance broker, stop by the police station and let them know as well.
I had spotted the registration plate for the other vehicle as it drove away; it didn't stop.
Did the police prosecute?No, I don't know why, I thought not stopping after an accident was a criminal offence but it seems not.
The car was repaired (huge variation for prices on this, if you have the same problem get at least three quotes) and is now looking good.
Except............
It turns out that even though I emailed the worlds most comprehensive accident report to the claims broker......they didn't action it. They have no record of it....the chap I spoke to is on a different team and he is away sick at the moment (or some other bollocks).
So instead I have to go through the same shit all over again with a girl whose IQ seems to be in single digits.
"Can I send you the pre-prepared document by email" I say?
"That would be no good I don't have a file to put it in" she replied.
Well bloody well make one is what I thinking but I doubt this girl would last five minutes if she went "off script" and so I'm stuck wasting another 30 minutes of my life telling her what happened, to cover for the stupidity and lack of intelligence of the claims company operative.
Massively annoyed and pissed off by the whole bloody system.
What a fucking shambles.
Thursday 16 July 2009
Ethics Doctors and Depression
When a prospective client gets in touch with a therapist, there is a good chance that they will have already been looking for ways to deal with whatever their issue appears to be.
Often that first port of call is the Family Doctor, the GP.
I have a lot of respect for GPs, they spend their time seeing a huge variety of patients with an almost infinite number of ailments. It's not an easy job, I'm sure.
That said, it is often reported that up to 60% of the problems that patients bring to the GP surgery are psychosomatic, that is to say as much guided by the thought processes and thinking patterns as anything else. Depression arising from redundancy, marriage breakdown or some other cause might get some low intensity CBT, some limited counselling or more likely a dose of anti-depressants.
The way that these issues are dealt with will vary from Doctor to Doctor and from one health authority to another. That Low Intensity CBT might even be delivered by means of PC connected to the internet.
So where is the issue?
If this patient has been through this particular mill and found it lacking, he or she may well call their local Hypnotherapist.
They may talk through the issues at some length before even attempting to construct a therapeutic response. It may be clear from this discussion that the depression is a symptom of other life issues (low self esteem, poor self confidence etc.) that can be dealt with successfully using hypnotherapy. Great!
As part of that discussion the topic of what medications the 'would be' client is taking will be raised. So it will become clear at this point that the GP has diagnosed depression and very likely written a prescription for Prozac or something similar. Unfortunately it seems to be all too easy to reach this conclusion and attach the depression label.
In an ideal world the therapist might write to the GP asking if there was any medical reason why the client/patient should not use hypnotherapy to deal with the root cause of their problems. Hopefully the GP says "it's ok" and we work towards a positive outcome.
Sadly life is rarely that simple. GPs will often refuse to sign anything from outside their office and since as therapists we have a duty of care to client, we probably should not go ahead with any hypnotherapy.
I say probably because the reason most often used by the Doctor for not signing is that they don't understand hypnosis or hypnotherapy. I look at the style of work I have adopted bits of it look like CBT, bits of it involve an element of counselling and of course the use of hypnosis.
If I referred to what I did as Psychotherapy & CBT then I guess life would be easier all round. Perhaps I should forgo the letter to the GP; the Hypnotherapy Society Code Of Ethics does not explicitly call for this but is often considered good practice.
At the moment the outcome is a Doctor's patient who is dealing the symptoms by medication instead of getting to the root cause of the issue.
There has to be a better, more effective way to work than this and perhaps part of that better way forward could be improving the education of GPs as to the usefulness of hypnotherapy.
Anyone out there got some useful ideas to contribute?
Often that first port of call is the Family Doctor, the GP.
I have a lot of respect for GPs, they spend their time seeing a huge variety of patients with an almost infinite number of ailments. It's not an easy job, I'm sure.
That said, it is often reported that up to 60% of the problems that patients bring to the GP surgery are psychosomatic, that is to say as much guided by the thought processes and thinking patterns as anything else. Depression arising from redundancy, marriage breakdown or some other cause might get some low intensity CBT, some limited counselling or more likely a dose of anti-depressants.
The way that these issues are dealt with will vary from Doctor to Doctor and from one health authority to another. That Low Intensity CBT might even be delivered by means of PC connected to the internet.
So where is the issue?
If this patient has been through this particular mill and found it lacking, he or she may well call their local Hypnotherapist.
They may talk through the issues at some length before even attempting to construct a therapeutic response. It may be clear from this discussion that the depression is a symptom of other life issues (low self esteem, poor self confidence etc.) that can be dealt with successfully using hypnotherapy. Great!
As part of that discussion the topic of what medications the 'would be' client is taking will be raised. So it will become clear at this point that the GP has diagnosed depression and very likely written a prescription for Prozac or something similar. Unfortunately it seems to be all too easy to reach this conclusion and attach the depression label.
In an ideal world the therapist might write to the GP asking if there was any medical reason why the client/patient should not use hypnotherapy to deal with the root cause of their problems. Hopefully the GP says "it's ok" and we work towards a positive outcome.
Sadly life is rarely that simple. GPs will often refuse to sign anything from outside their office and since as therapists we have a duty of care to client, we probably should not go ahead with any hypnotherapy.
I say probably because the reason most often used by the Doctor for not signing is that they don't understand hypnosis or hypnotherapy. I look at the style of work I have adopted bits of it look like CBT, bits of it involve an element of counselling and of course the use of hypnosis.
If I referred to what I did as Psychotherapy & CBT then I guess life would be easier all round. Perhaps I should forgo the letter to the GP; the Hypnotherapy Society Code Of Ethics does not explicitly call for this but is often considered good practice.
At the moment the outcome is a Doctor's patient who is dealing the symptoms by medication instead of getting to the root cause of the issue.
There has to be a better, more effective way to work than this and perhaps part of that better way forward could be improving the education of GPs as to the usefulness of hypnotherapy.
Anyone out there got some useful ideas to contribute?
Saturday 11 July 2009
Samuel Smiles Self Help
I am still reading the book 'Self Help' (first published in 1859) by Samuel Smiles. I am three chapters in and am reading the brief biographies of the potters cited as models of behaviour by Smiles.
In this age of the internet it is so easy to forget even going to a public library to find things out was for these men (who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries) an impossibility. If you wanted to know something you trained with a master or learnt by trial and error.
Now we have Wikipedia and look how lazy that has made us, often we don't even bother lifting up a book (me included!) to find something out.
Truly the world has changed a great deal in 200 years. Knowledge is pervasive but I'm not sure about the desire to make use of it.
In this age of the internet it is so easy to forget even going to a public library to find things out was for these men (who lived in the 16th and 17th centuries) an impossibility. If you wanted to know something you trained with a master or learnt by trial and error.
Now we have Wikipedia and look how lazy that has made us, often we don't even bother lifting up a book (me included!) to find something out.
Truly the world has changed a great deal in 200 years. Knowledge is pervasive but I'm not sure about the desire to make use of it.
Friday 10 July 2009
Champix / Chantix again
I recently had a client come to me to help them stop smoking. This is rarer than it used to be, it seems most people who want to stop are taking the NHS (National Health Service) approach.
One of the methods being pushed by GPs is the use of Champix (Chantix in the USA) to stop any cravings. I know that for some people this approach seems to work, sadly for others, including this recent client, it acts as a huge deppressant.
It can push mood to catastrophically low levels, in fact The Food and Drug Administration (USA) will require two smoking-cessation drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to carry the agency’s strongest safety warning about the side effects that can include depression and suicidal thoughts.
If you do feel tempted to stop smoking with these aids please do all the research you can before starting and if your mood is badly affected, stop immediately. There are others ways to become a non-smoker including Hypnotherapy.
One of the methods being pushed by GPs is the use of Champix (Chantix in the USA) to stop any cravings. I know that for some people this approach seems to work, sadly for others, including this recent client, it acts as a huge deppressant.
It can push mood to catastrophically low levels, in fact The Food and Drug Administration (USA) will require two smoking-cessation drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to carry the agency’s strongest safety warning about the side effects that can include depression and suicidal thoughts.
If you do feel tempted to stop smoking with these aids please do all the research you can before starting and if your mood is badly affected, stop immediately. There are others ways to become a non-smoker including Hypnotherapy.
Working on new web site
I have been working on a revamped version of my Somerset Hypnotherapy web site recently. It is taking me much longer than I thought it would.
Video clips will feature on many of the site's web pages along with updated information and the articles that I have published over the last couple of years.
If you'd like a sneak preview then go to www.somersethypnotherapy.com/v3.html.
The links are not yet working but it'll give you an idea of how the site will look.
Video clips will feature on many of the site's web pages along with updated information and the articles that I have published over the last couple of years.
If you'd like a sneak preview then go to www.somersethypnotherapy.com/v3.html.
The links are not yet working but it'll give you an idea of how the site will look.
Saturday 4 July 2009
Thoughts from 150 years ago that seem apt today
Samuel Smiles wrote the original self help book back in 1859 and you can read a copy for free from the Gutenberg Project.
I just started reading it and this paragraph caught my attention;
There is a lot in that paragraph that applies just as strongly today as it did 150 years ago.
I just started reading it and this paragraph caught my attention;
National progress is the sum of individual industry, energy, and uprightness, as national decay is of individual idleness, selfishness, and vice. What we are accustomed to decry as great social evils, will, for the most part, be found to be but the outgrowth of man's own perverted life; and though we may endeavour to cut them down and extirpate them by means of Law, they will only spring up again with fresh luxuriance in some other form, unless the conditions of personal life and character are radically improved. If this view be correct, then it follows that the highest patriotism and philanthropy consist, not so much in altering laws and modifying institutions, as in helping and stimulating men to elevate and improve themselves by their own free
and independent individual action.
There is a lot in that paragraph that applies just as strongly today as it did 150 years ago.
Interested in self help & affirmations?
If self help and affirmations are interesting for you, take a look at this forum posting that I contributed to today. A couple of interesting ideas here.
Friday 3 July 2009
Hot weather = grumpiness outbreak?
In the UK we seem to spend most of the year yearning for the warm weather; when it arrives all we do is moan!
Too hot, too sticky, too humid were all phrases I heard yesterday and the fact is that particularly in hot humid conditions tempers do seem to get frayed more easily.
This doesn't just apply to adults, children can get the grumps too, as my almost two year daughter demonstrated last night.
Cold drinks and a fan will help, but just as we get used to the idea of high temperatures, the weather forecasters tell us that it is about to end. Light showers are expected and we'll probably moan about that whilst being just slightly pleased by the return of cooler temperatures.
If you are feeling very frazzled you could always try my Ultimate Relaxation download here.
Too hot, too sticky, too humid were all phrases I heard yesterday and the fact is that particularly in hot humid conditions tempers do seem to get frayed more easily.
This doesn't just apply to adults, children can get the grumps too, as my almost two year daughter demonstrated last night.
Cold drinks and a fan will help, but just as we get used to the idea of high temperatures, the weather forecasters tell us that it is about to end. Light showers are expected and we'll probably moan about that whilst being just slightly pleased by the return of cooler temperatures.
If you are feeling very frazzled you could always try my Ultimate Relaxation download here.
Wednesday 1 July 2009
Some considered thoughts on the 'No News' experiment
In June I started an experiment where I actively avoided the news. I stayed away from the news on TV, I changed channels on the radio to avoid it and did not buy a newspaper.
I wanted to see what would my response would be to not having that negative deluge of information flooding my thoughts.
First off; it's hard to avoid the news media! This stuff is pervasive, in a modern western culture like the UK it's difficult to avoid seeing or hearing some part of the news media.
Some examples:
I went to the pub.......Channel 5 News was on the pub TV.
I went to visit a company......Sky News was on a TV in the reception area
Go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.........the first thing you walk past is the newspaper stand
I logged into my Yahoo email account..........there are the news headlines on the home page
So the 24Hour news media is hard to avoid; you can, as I did choose to disengage from the endless negativity but it harder than it seems.
So practical consideration aside, what happened?
I gained at least 30 minutes extra time in the morning. I used to watch the news every morning from 6-6.30am (I'm an early riser). Now I use that time more constructively to plan my day or finish domestic chores. I don't miss the highly repetitive nature of the morning TV news show.
With my new found extra time I went back to freshening up some skills that had become a bit rusty. A positive result.
Not watching the late night news meant that instead of having the news agenda on my mind as I went to bed I started thinking much more about the things that are of importance to me and my family.
I thought that I might feel somehow cut off from events without watching the news or listening to it on the radio but the media is so pervasive that it is still possible to know roughly what is going on even when avoiding the nightly bulletins.
At the end of the experiment I feel I have changed, for the better. I make more effective use of my time (surely our most valuable resource) and I'm learning (or relearning) new skills.
I recommend you give it a try. I found it a liberating experience, it's just possible that you may feel the same way too.
I wanted to see what would my response would be to not having that negative deluge of information flooding my thoughts.
First off; it's hard to avoid the news media! This stuff is pervasive, in a modern western culture like the UK it's difficult to avoid seeing or hearing some part of the news media.
Some examples:
I went to the pub.......Channel 5 News was on the pub TV.
I went to visit a company......Sky News was on a TV in the reception area
Go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.........the first thing you walk past is the newspaper stand
I logged into my Yahoo email account..........there are the news headlines on the home page
So the 24Hour news media is hard to avoid; you can, as I did choose to disengage from the endless negativity but it harder than it seems.
So practical consideration aside, what happened?
I gained at least 30 minutes extra time in the morning. I used to watch the news every morning from 6-6.30am (I'm an early riser). Now I use that time more constructively to plan my day or finish domestic chores. I don't miss the highly repetitive nature of the morning TV news show.
With my new found extra time I went back to freshening up some skills that had become a bit rusty. A positive result.
Not watching the late night news meant that instead of having the news agenda on my mind as I went to bed I started thinking much more about the things that are of importance to me and my family.
I thought that I might feel somehow cut off from events without watching the news or listening to it on the radio but the media is so pervasive that it is still possible to know roughly what is going on even when avoiding the nightly bulletins.
At the end of the experiment I feel I have changed, for the better. I make more effective use of my time (surely our most valuable resource) and I'm learning (or relearning) new skills.
I recommend you give it a try. I found it a liberating experience, it's just possible that you may feel the same way too.
Friday 26 June 2009
Watch out for increasing stress levels
An old work colleague called the other day. It was a while since we had last spoken. He started a new job about six months ago and then the company got bought out; there were redundancies and he had to re-apply for his own job. All very stressful.
As we chatted he mentioned his problem; on his way into work he realised the side of his face felt funny. His eye lid was drooping and his lips felt loose as if he had been injected with pain killers at the dentist.
Clearly something was wrong...but he still went into work!
His work colleagues were aghast when they saw him, one side of his face had drooped alarmingly and they were afraid that he may have had a stroke. They offered to call an ambulance and he said NO to that. They sent him off to hospital though, after much examination the Doctor said "Bells palsy".
If you have not heard of it before, here is the description from Wikipedia.
Bell's palsy is a paralysis of cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) resulting in inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause a facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's palsy. Named after Scottish anatomist Charles Bell, who first described it, Bell's palsy is the most common acute mononeuropathy (disease involving only one nerve) and is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis.
Now this man is being forced to take a three week holiday. Thankfully the symptoms are subsiding and he is almost back to normal. In his case the Doctor believed that stress possibly coupled with a viral infection probably caused the problem.
Sometimes we really should pay more attention to our own health and the level of stress we are under. This time it was a warning to take things a little easier, next time? Who knows.
You can help to de-stress yourself with the aid of my free MP3 relaxation recording. Go to www.gift4life.com and put your email and name in the on-screen form. You could be relaxing in just a few minutes time.
As we chatted he mentioned his problem; on his way into work he realised the side of his face felt funny. His eye lid was drooping and his lips felt loose as if he had been injected with pain killers at the dentist.
Clearly something was wrong...but he still went into work!
His work colleagues were aghast when they saw him, one side of his face had drooped alarmingly and they were afraid that he may have had a stroke. They offered to call an ambulance and he said NO to that. They sent him off to hospital though, after much examination the Doctor said "Bells palsy".
If you have not heard of it before, here is the description from Wikipedia.
Bell's palsy is a paralysis of cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) resulting in inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Several conditions can cause a facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease. However, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's palsy. Named after Scottish anatomist Charles Bell, who first described it, Bell's palsy is the most common acute mononeuropathy (disease involving only one nerve) and is the most common cause of acute facial nerve paralysis.
Now this man is being forced to take a three week holiday. Thankfully the symptoms are subsiding and he is almost back to normal. In his case the Doctor believed that stress possibly coupled with a viral infection probably caused the problem.
Sometimes we really should pay more attention to our own health and the level of stress we are under. This time it was a warning to take things a little easier, next time? Who knows.
You can help to de-stress yourself with the aid of my free MP3 relaxation recording. Go to www.gift4life.com and put your email and name in the on-screen form. You could be relaxing in just a few minutes time.
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Day 7 of the 'no news' experiment
Subversion!
I have recognised that part of me really wants to catch up on the news. So far, I have for the most part been able to resist the siren call of the Today program on Radio 4 or the purchase of a newspaper, but it is suprising just how strong a hold the instant news media has on my thoughts.
It's as if I feel I may be missing out on something. (Missing out on by upset with politics or world events, that does not seem to make much sense.)
Actually I think it may be more to do with our perception that if something is 'on the news' we are somehow involved with it, that we can be part of the grand debate.
But the reality of course is that very few of us are part of that debate. I may write to my MP but does anyone else in Parliament listen? Probably not. I can make a change with a vote every few years but what about the time in between?
So the logical conclusion I am begining to come to is that I (and perhaps many other people) am just a little bit delusional.
What?
Delusional in the sense that in the past I have seen the act of watching and listening to the news as being involved in 'the process'; as being engaged as a citizen. The truth is rather more humdrum, listening to the the news is not being engaged with the process. If this were the case our two cats would be politicians considering the amount of time they spend curled up near the TV.
So new choices become apparent, I could join a political party and get 'engaged in the process' that way. Not bloody likely; too many compromises to accomodate the mass of people in a party.
I could engage in more local politics but I have a feeling that this would rapidly be dragged into party factionalism.
Or (and this feels like the right approach) choose who and what I engage with and limit what I do to the places and things where I can make a measureable change.
If you or I complain about something (Politicians for example) we can only do so because we have a idea of how things could be done better. Complaining without being able to change anything is a recipe for frustration and feelings of impotence.
Since our complaints are for the most part ignored, we are destined to put ourselves continually into that bubbling pot of frustration, impotence and discontent.
It's sounds obvious but if you can't change things you still have choices:
Move away from what you don't like (emigrate, change location or situation)
Put up with what you don't like (shrug your shoulders and carry on)
Change your perception of what you don't like (Yes the situation is rubbish but it's not my rubbish)
Ultimately you can only change what's local to you. If you are a Prime Minister or a President, local may mean a whole nation, or it may just mean what you grow in your back garden. Trying to change anything else puts you back into that bubbling pot and that place does not allow us to grow, get stronger, develop or change.
Monday 15 June 2009
Day 5 of the 'no news' experiment
I am now starting to feel slightly disconnected from the mainstream news events.It's a little like when you go on holiday and only see the news through the medium of the occasional three day old newspaper flown into the resort.
Now the positive changes are becoming more apparent; I am getting stuck into some tasks that were continually being pushed to the back of the queue and have reclaimed at least an hour of time each day.
The results are positive enough that I plan to continue the experiment and report on what I find.
Saturday 13 June 2009
Day 3 of the 'no news' experiment
This is getting harder.
Last night I wanted to watch "Have I got news for you?" on the telly.
My wife said "But it's news, you said you wouldn't watch the news".
My response? "It's comedy, I'm watching!".
It is getting difficult to avoid mainstream news though. It just goes to show how pervasive the news media is and just how 'plugged in' I have become.
I have however successfully avoided the main TV news on any channel, the Today program and PM on Radio 4. Web sites are a challenge as there is almost always a news snippet on the from page of Yahoo and iGoogle. It is so easy to get sucked in to the agenda of the day.
Am I feeling any different? Not much change so far but it is still very early days.
Last night I wanted to watch "Have I got news for you?" on the telly.
My wife said "But it's news, you said you wouldn't watch the news".
My response? "It's comedy, I'm watching!".
It is getting difficult to avoid mainstream news though. It just goes to show how pervasive the news media is and just how 'plugged in' I have become.
I have however successfully avoided the main TV news on any channel, the Today program and PM on Radio 4. Web sites are a challenge as there is almost always a news snippet on the from page of Yahoo and iGoogle. It is so easy to get sucked in to the agenda of the day.
Am I feeling any different? Not much change so far but it is still very early days.
Friday 12 June 2009
Listening to Denis Waitley on CD
Yesterday I listened to a CD of a seminar that included a session by Denis Waitley. It was very inspiring stuff, totally different in style to Jim Rohn.
On this particular CD he talked about the current Global Trends (including the greying of the population) and the impact they have on all business. He bangs out the quotable lines like a machine gun, "I looked in the mirror and saw my problem; me".
Denis said "The mind always towards it dominate thought, if you're not setting a goal MTV will set one for you" he might also have said the news media in place of MTV.
I had not heard of Denis before but I will looking at his published works now.
On this particular CD he talked about the current Global Trends (including the greying of the population) and the impact they have on all business. He bangs out the quotable lines like a machine gun, "I looked in the mirror and saw my problem; me".
Denis said "The mind always towards it dominate thought, if you're not setting a goal MTV will set one for you" he might also have said the news media in place of MTV.
I had not heard of Denis before but I will looking at his published works now.
Day 2 of the 'no news' experiment
I set myself the challenge of releasing my inner News Junkie a couple days back. Yesterday was my first full day of avoiding the negative programming of the global news media.
What can I report?
Well I did get hit by one 90 second news update from the BBC, they sneak it in between programs. I also caught myself checking the headlines on the newspapers in the supermarket. Clearly the News Junkie is looking for a fix.
Apart from that no other changes to report in my outlook but then it is very early days.
What can I report?
Well I did get hit by one 90 second news update from the BBC, they sneak it in between programs. I also caught myself checking the headlines on the newspapers in the supermarket. Clearly the News Junkie is looking for a fix.
Apart from that no other changes to report in my outlook but then it is very early days.
Thursday 11 June 2009
Am I (or you) a news junkie?
I have come to realise that listening to the news may well be having a negative impact on my life.
What do I mean by that?
It has become clearer to me that 'the news' media seek to create the maximum amount of drama out of any given situation; a Government minister resigning is not just a man resigning it is a 'crisis for the Government'. Someone dying is not simply sad it is a 'tragedy' (it is for him and his family but is it for me?). News by its current definition is almost universally the imparting of bad rather than good news. My very unscientific view is that 90% of what we hear as news is profoundly negative in content and style of delivery.
So 90% of the time that I spend watching a TV news program I am being subjected to a stream of very negative programming about how awful the world is today. That much programming has to have a negative effect on my own thoughts processes and ability to think rationally about the world around me.
So for the next seven days I am going to try a 'no news experiment'. I will avoid watching all TV news programs (that should claim back a few hours of my time each week) and avoid the current affairs programs on the radio when I travel in the car.
I'm doing this because I feel as if I have become a bit of a news junkie. I routinely get up at 5am, at 5.30 I'll watch the financial news (that is never good), then I 'll catch 15 minutes of breakfast TV (rarely good) and if I'm travelling in the car I'll listen to a current affairs program on the radio (mostly bad but some good spots). If I don't get my 'fix' I think I may have missed something important, so I keep listening or watching; no wonder there are times when it get me down!
All this negative programming can really only raise fear and anxiety and there is already plenty of that to go around; So I'm boycotting bad news.
I'll let you know how I get on but I wonder if you are a bit of a news junkie too?
What do I mean by that?
It has become clearer to me that 'the news' media seek to create the maximum amount of drama out of any given situation; a Government minister resigning is not just a man resigning it is a 'crisis for the Government'. Someone dying is not simply sad it is a 'tragedy' (it is for him and his family but is it for me?). News by its current definition is almost universally the imparting of bad rather than good news. My very unscientific view is that 90% of what we hear as news is profoundly negative in content and style of delivery.
So 90% of the time that I spend watching a TV news program I am being subjected to a stream of very negative programming about how awful the world is today. That much programming has to have a negative effect on my own thoughts processes and ability to think rationally about the world around me.
So for the next seven days I am going to try a 'no news experiment'. I will avoid watching all TV news programs (that should claim back a few hours of my time each week) and avoid the current affairs programs on the radio when I travel in the car.
I'm doing this because I feel as if I have become a bit of a news junkie. I routinely get up at 5am, at 5.30 I'll watch the financial news (that is never good), then I 'll catch 15 minutes of breakfast TV (rarely good) and if I'm travelling in the car I'll listen to a current affairs program on the radio (mostly bad but some good spots). If I don't get my 'fix' I think I may have missed something important, so I keep listening or watching; no wonder there are times when it get me down!
All this negative programming can really only raise fear and anxiety and there is already plenty of that to go around; So I'm boycotting bad news.
I'll let you know how I get on but I wonder if you are a bit of a news junkie too?
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Listening to Jim Rohn
As I travelled in the car today, I was listening to a CD from a seminar that Jim Rohn gave in 2004. Jim has been on the motivational speaker circuit since the mid 1960s and is still active today even though he is almost 80 years old.
He talks about life and business as being like the seasons of the year and how every season has its time but you can always know what is coming next. I think it's fair to say that in the current times we are going through an economic winter period, a time to hunker down, stay warm and plan what to plant in the spring.
I like this approach to looking at the current economic difficulties because it reminds us that even after the worst of times, there are good things that can and do follow. Life is, as he says, "a drama" and without that drama there would be no striving to make things better.
Winter of course is followed by spring when we plant the seeds that will later blossom into fine sources of harvest in the autumn. The summer is a time to both nurture and protect the crops that will provide that harvest.
If all this sounds a bit 'down home' then remember that not that long ago a Chancellor called Gordon Brown proudly announced "the end of boom and bust". He was wrong and if he had listened to Jim Rohn I don't think he would have said those words that came back to haunt him with such ferocity.
He talks about life and business as being like the seasons of the year and how every season has its time but you can always know what is coming next. I think it's fair to say that in the current times we are going through an economic winter period, a time to hunker down, stay warm and plan what to plant in the spring.
I like this approach to looking at the current economic difficulties because it reminds us that even after the worst of times, there are good things that can and do follow. Life is, as he says, "a drama" and without that drama there would be no striving to make things better.
Winter of course is followed by spring when we plant the seeds that will later blossom into fine sources of harvest in the autumn. The summer is a time to both nurture and protect the crops that will provide that harvest.
If all this sounds a bit 'down home' then remember that not that long ago a Chancellor called Gordon Brown proudly announced "the end of boom and bust". He was wrong and if he had listened to Jim Rohn I don't think he would have said those words that came back to haunt him with such ferocity.
Saturday 6 June 2009
Communication skills
This blog often has entries that centre on the ability to communicate. But it's not just English to English communication that counts.
What happens when you have repair manuals for aircraft written in English and Spanish speaking mechanics doing the work? What happens when they can't even read English? How safe do you think those repairs are going to be?
(How on earth did the management think that this was a good idea?)
This story is quite enough to put me off flying to Texas. Click here for the full thing.
What happens when you have repair manuals for aircraft written in English and Spanish speaking mechanics doing the work? What happens when they can't even read English? How safe do you think those repairs are going to be?
(How on earth did the management think that this was a good idea?)
This story is quite enough to put me off flying to Texas. Click here for the full thing.
Thursday 4 June 2009
Wilting in the heat
Yesterday I had to travel to South Devon, the weather was glorious, the sun shone and the temperature rose to around 26 degrees C. In the car, behind the glass it was rather warmer than that.
The air conditioning in the car, struggled to control the heat and mostly blew hot air back into the cabin. I have a notion of what it might feel like to be stuck in a fan oven now.
So with windows wound down I continued my journey, the return leg of which was diverted off the main road. Hot, tired and parched I sought out somewhere to stop for a drink, not easy as there were few villages with a shop open on the roads I was travelling down.
Eventually I found an old style garage; only two fuel pumps but they did have a shop with cold drinks. Water appeared to be in short supply, Coke or Red Bull seemed to be the main choices (can of Red Bull £0.99 in this tiny shop, £1.69 in a motorway service area...someone is raking it in.)
Red Bull it was then, as I slaked my thirst I took a moment to read the ingredient list. Caffeine and glucose I know about but what the heck is this Taurine stuff?
Some people had even told me Taurine was dangerous, the devil's own brew.
So I checked it out; Taurine is a natural product that we get from meat or fish. It is a kind of amino acid (but not quite the same as others as it lacks a carboxyl group) and was first isolated from Ox bile hence the Taurine name.
So the big news is....Taurine is mostly harmless, can even be necessary and useful to increase the pumping action of the heart.
When combined with caffeine it can increase alertness and mood, which is pretty close to what Red Bull claim!
Cautions: Don't drink more than two cans in one session, it can lead to heart arrhythmia (palpitations) and in extreme cases the combination of dehydration following vigorous exercise and too much caffeine may trigger a latent heart condition.
Red Bull it seems, is about as safe as strong coffee and much better at cooling you off in a hot car than a cup of java!
The air conditioning in the car, struggled to control the heat and mostly blew hot air back into the cabin. I have a notion of what it might feel like to be stuck in a fan oven now.
So with windows wound down I continued my journey, the return leg of which was diverted off the main road. Hot, tired and parched I sought out somewhere to stop for a drink, not easy as there were few villages with a shop open on the roads I was travelling down.
Eventually I found an old style garage; only two fuel pumps but they did have a shop with cold drinks. Water appeared to be in short supply, Coke or Red Bull seemed to be the main choices (can of Red Bull £0.99 in this tiny shop, £1.69 in a motorway service area...someone is raking it in.)
Red Bull it was then, as I slaked my thirst I took a moment to read the ingredient list. Caffeine and glucose I know about but what the heck is this Taurine stuff?
Some people had even told me Taurine was dangerous, the devil's own brew.
So I checked it out; Taurine is a natural product that we get from meat or fish. It is a kind of amino acid (but not quite the same as others as it lacks a carboxyl group) and was first isolated from Ox bile hence the Taurine name.
So the big news is....Taurine is mostly harmless, can even be necessary and useful to increase the pumping action of the heart.
When combined with caffeine it can increase alertness and mood, which is pretty close to what Red Bull claim!
Cautions: Don't drink more than two cans in one session, it can lead to heart arrhythmia (palpitations) and in extreme cases the combination of dehydration following vigorous exercise and too much caffeine may trigger a latent heart condition.
Red Bull it seems, is about as safe as strong coffee and much better at cooling you off in a hot car than a cup of java!
Saturday 30 May 2009
Another picture of Lyme Regis
I decided to post this second picture as well of Lyme Regis. It was taken fron the same position as the first one posted but without the zoom. I love the blue of the sky.
Early Morning image of Lyme Regis, Dorset
I had to go out this morning bright and early. I stopped at Lyme Regis in Dorset just as the sun was rising over Lyme Bay. This picture was taken at around 5.30am, it looks towards the Cobb area from the Eastern end of the beach.
The colours were so wonderful I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures, this is the one I liked the best.
The colours were so wonderful I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures, this is the one I liked the best.
Thursday 28 May 2009
10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight
There was an interesting program called "10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight" on the BBC last night (Wednesday 27th May 2009) .
It looked beyond the old counting calories approach to weight loss and outlined ten different approaches to shedding the pounds. Some of the tips have been around for a long time and are very simple indeed; for example switching from a 12inch diameter plate to a 10 inch.
The program also vindicated the Atkins approach to weight loss but backed it up with science. It seems that a high protein meal tends to turn off the chemical messenger signal for hunger, longer than the same amount of calories eaten as fat or carbohydrates. In effect meat, fish, beans and eggs are a better hunger suppressant than bread, rice, potatoes or pasta.
Some ideas were surprising, the program split a team of soldiers into two teams. Each team was fed the same meal, the first team ate the meal as usual with a glass of water. The second team had the same meal but it was liquidized with a glass of water, in effect creating a soup.
The suprise was just how much longer the soup version of the meal stayed in the stomach than the regular meal. As a consequence hunger was staved off for much longer with the soup meal.
Dairy fat is often given a wide berth by dieters yet it seems that those who want to lose weight are missing a trick. It seems that eating low fat dairy products can actually increase the amount of fat that is excreted from the body. The calcium in the milk or yoghurt binds with the fat in the gut and then passes through the body rather than being absorbed.
The program had other tips but one thing that I am very familiar with is the way that people record what they eat. I have worked with many people to help them lose weight and the accurate recording of what they eat is a real challenge. An actress on the program was certain that she ate a healthy and moderate diet, she thought that a slow metabolism was to blame for her excess weight.
She was tested in a research lab and found that her metabolism was absolutely normal. So back to the food then. It turned out the lady was under recording her food intake on video camera by some 60% and even when she wrote a food diary she under recorded by over 40%. Her food intake was over 3000 calories per day instead of the 2000 required on average for a woman. No wonder she was overweight.
What this program did not cover was the emotional reasons why people tend to over eat but it is worth a watch using the BBC iPLAYER through the link above.
It looked beyond the old counting calories approach to weight loss and outlined ten different approaches to shedding the pounds. Some of the tips have been around for a long time and are very simple indeed; for example switching from a 12inch diameter plate to a 10 inch.
The program also vindicated the Atkins approach to weight loss but backed it up with science. It seems that a high protein meal tends to turn off the chemical messenger signal for hunger, longer than the same amount of calories eaten as fat or carbohydrates. In effect meat, fish, beans and eggs are a better hunger suppressant than bread, rice, potatoes or pasta.
Some ideas were surprising, the program split a team of soldiers into two teams. Each team was fed the same meal, the first team ate the meal as usual with a glass of water. The second team had the same meal but it was liquidized with a glass of water, in effect creating a soup.
The suprise was just how much longer the soup version of the meal stayed in the stomach than the regular meal. As a consequence hunger was staved off for much longer with the soup meal.
Dairy fat is often given a wide berth by dieters yet it seems that those who want to lose weight are missing a trick. It seems that eating low fat dairy products can actually increase the amount of fat that is excreted from the body. The calcium in the milk or yoghurt binds with the fat in the gut and then passes through the body rather than being absorbed.
The program had other tips but one thing that I am very familiar with is the way that people record what they eat. I have worked with many people to help them lose weight and the accurate recording of what they eat is a real challenge. An actress on the program was certain that she ate a healthy and moderate diet, she thought that a slow metabolism was to blame for her excess weight.
She was tested in a research lab and found that her metabolism was absolutely normal. So back to the food then. It turned out the lady was under recording her food intake on video camera by some 60% and even when she wrote a food diary she under recorded by over 40%. Her food intake was over 3000 calories per day instead of the 2000 required on average for a woman. No wonder she was overweight.
What this program did not cover was the emotional reasons why people tend to over eat but it is worth a watch using the BBC iPLAYER through the link above.
Wednesday 20 May 2009
Visualise anxiety to see how to let it go
I work with many clients who have anxiety related problems. Each person is unique but common themes often emerge during the sessions with the client.One technique that clients frequently find helpful is to picture what their anxiety might look like. I often start by asking the person what colour the anxiety is, then move on to finding out what shape the problem is and how big or small it seems.
Once the size, shape and colour are established we can set about destroying the unwanted object. The client will again provide the information, so whether they stamp on the 'thing', chop it up with a chainsaw (nice!) or set light to it the thing will be reduced to pieces or ash.
I'll then have the pieces that are left disposed of, again the client's own imagination provides the best method for them. Throwing the bits into a bin, throwing ashes into the wind or even blowing them up with explosives have all been used by my clients.
The last step is to replace the unwanted anxiety with a desired emotion; often this will be a feeling of confidence. The secret here is run the process in reverse; ie ask what colour the new emotion is, how big is it, what shape does it have?
Often the responses are interesting, sometimes even entertaining, at this point the therapist must use all their skills to utilise this new object in a way that the client can integrate into their life.
Sometimes this desired emotion will be seen as a light, sometimes as a comforting blanket but it could be anything that the imagination can conceive. The therapist's ability here is the key to making this process as successful as possible.
This technique is most often used in a therapy setting but you can also use it in a relaxed or self hypnotic state. It is not as easy as working with a therapist and may take more time but it can be a very useful addition to the tools you use to release anxiety.
You may also find it useful to check my Releasing Anxiety MP3 and CD recording at the web site www.gift4life.com. It provides a very effective non-hypnosis approach to releasing anxiety.
Tuesday 19 May 2009
YouTube is great!
Just in this week my wife has learned how to make Mozarella cheese by watching a YouTube video. (She hasn't done it yet but I'm certain it will happen.) I have been inspired by listening to Larry Adler talking about his life and his harmonica playing (You can see it here if it interests you) also on YouTube.So often we hear about the tragedies of modern life (and there are many) but the ability to spread positive information, tuition and knowledge has never been more accessible or affordable (often it's free).
The old saying is that it takes more muscles in your face to frown than to smile and now perhaps we have a digital analogy of that maxim. It easier now to spread good news about life than malicious gossip and rumour. It's easier because when you're spreading good news or knowledge there is no need to hide or be furtive; it takes less energy to be nice!
What will you do today?
Monday 18 May 2009
Unlearning: the key to learning new skills
Lifelong learning is a mantra adopted by Education Authorities in the UK. It is meant to represent the notion of continually updating one's skills throughout life so that they remain relevant to the current job market.
In this recessionary time, training tends be cut back by both companies and individuals as money becomes more difficult to obtain. However the flip side of this coin is rarely mentioned, the notion of unlearning old and outmoded skills.
The idea of unlearning has been around for some time and seems to make sense when you consider how fast society and jobs change. Some skills simply have little or no relevance to the modern work place. For example the skill needed to process camera film at home is fast becoming nothing more than an esoteric hobby. In contrast the ability to use a photo editor to remove red-eye in digital pictures is a new skill in the ascendancy.
There is nothing new in this idea. In the 19th century Blacksmiths turned their hand from crafting horse shoes to building or maintaining steam engines. In the early 20th century those steam engineers in turn moved from the power of coal and water to the new fangled petrol engine.
The idea of outmoded skills was brought home to me over the weekend as I talked with my son about his forthcoming math exams. He explained that there two math exams to sit, the calculator exam and the non-calculator test.
A calculator in an exam? They were banned (and relatively rare anyway) when I took my school exams thirty years ago. "We had to use log tables instead" I said.
My son looked at me blankly and said "I don't know what you're talking about Dad".
I found myself attempting to recall how to use Log tables to make multiplication easier. "Why don't you just use the calculator?" asked my son incredulous at my attempts to use the tables I found in an old engineering book.
I got there in the end and demonstrated how the log/anti-log tables worked.
What was clear from this exercise was that a calculator was a great deal easier to use and that this was probably the first time in thirty years that I had actually attempted the technique. I had almost completely successfully unlearned the technique.
As I thought about this afterwards I realised that it not so much that we unlearn skills but more that we no longer invest time or effort in keeping them fresh and ready for use. As we move through life and NEED to learn new things it is clear that we also need ways to actively manage those skills we already have.
Unlearning may simply be the active decision to no longer invest time or effort in a particular skill. The payback for this is that we then have the mental capacity to take on new and more relevant skills for our life today.
So perhaps now is the time to have a personal audit and decide what skills to continue investing in and which to unlearn.
In this recessionary time, training tends be cut back by both companies and individuals as money becomes more difficult to obtain. However the flip side of this coin is rarely mentioned, the notion of unlearning old and outmoded skills.
The idea of unlearning has been around for some time and seems to make sense when you consider how fast society and jobs change. Some skills simply have little or no relevance to the modern work place. For example the skill needed to process camera film at home is fast becoming nothing more than an esoteric hobby. In contrast the ability to use a photo editor to remove red-eye in digital pictures is a new skill in the ascendancy.
There is nothing new in this idea. In the 19th century Blacksmiths turned their hand from crafting horse shoes to building or maintaining steam engines. In the early 20th century those steam engineers in turn moved from the power of coal and water to the new fangled petrol engine.
The idea of outmoded skills was brought home to me over the weekend as I talked with my son about his forthcoming math exams. He explained that there two math exams to sit, the calculator exam and the non-calculator test.
A calculator in an exam? They were banned (and relatively rare anyway) when I took my school exams thirty years ago. "We had to use log tables instead" I said.
My son looked at me blankly and said "I don't know what you're talking about Dad".
I found myself attempting to recall how to use Log tables to make multiplication easier. "Why don't you just use the calculator?" asked my son incredulous at my attempts to use the tables I found in an old engineering book.
I got there in the end and demonstrated how the log/anti-log tables worked.
What was clear from this exercise was that a calculator was a great deal easier to use and that this was probably the first time in thirty years that I had actually attempted the technique. I had almost completely successfully unlearned the technique.
As I thought about this afterwards I realised that it not so much that we unlearn skills but more that we no longer invest time or effort in keeping them fresh and ready for use. As we move through life and NEED to learn new things it is clear that we also need ways to actively manage those skills we already have.
Unlearning may simply be the active decision to no longer invest time or effort in a particular skill. The payback for this is that we then have the mental capacity to take on new and more relevant skills for our life today.
So perhaps now is the time to have a personal audit and decide what skills to continue investing in and which to unlearn.
Friday 15 May 2009
Oh that's good...
One of my interests is FORTH programming. I'm not a programmer, I don't do much programming but I suppose it's a more interesting mental exercise for me than sudoku.
Leo Brodie wrote two books on FORTH programming (that I know of) and they are both lessons in how to effectively communicate what could be a very dry topic.
I was flicking through the a virtual version of his second book "Thinking Forth" and came across this quote. It's so cool I had to share it with you.
Everything takes longer than you think, including thinking.
Brilliant!
Leo Brodie wrote two books on FORTH programming (that I know of) and they are both lessons in how to effectively communicate what could be a very dry topic.
I was flicking through the a virtual version of his second book "Thinking Forth" and came across this quote. It's so cool I had to share it with you.
Everything takes longer than you think, including thinking.
Brilliant!
Wednesday 13 May 2009
Is ignoring intuition a good thing?
About three decades ago I began my training as an Electronics Engineer. I left school at 16 and set on the path of work and college based learning that led to technical exams five years later. Like most learning in the Western world it was logical and analytical in its approach and yielded consistent results.
I like many other people learned to structure what I did, in short I adopted what many people call left brain (or more accurately left hemisphere) thinking.
Theory about the way the brain operates suggest that we each have a preferred realm of thought; some prefer left brain some prefer right brain.
So for years I used mostly my left brain thinking and was successful in my work. But work changed, I moved from an Engineering role to a Sales role, now things seemed to be different. Working with people was different, it required far more of my right brain processes to understand how to be successful.
Gradually my thought patterns changed, I found myself more willing to trust my hunches or intuition and those hunches often paid off. It's not that the need for analytical thought went away just that it was balanced by more intuitive thoughts as well.
That change in my thought processes was amplified further when I began to study hypnosis and other development methods.
Trusting your hunch or intuition can feel like a very strange thing to do when all of your education is geared toward analytical thinking, but it can be a rewarding experience too.
In his book 'Blink', Malcolm Gladwell discusses the pro and cons of our ability to size up a situation in literally the blink of an eye. However I think intuition goes deeper than this, you may come to intuitively realise something but you can then test that with rational left brain thought patterns. Your subconscious may deliver an idea to you fully formed and ready to go but there'e no harm in testing the rope before jumping out the window!
Next time you have a slightly offbeat idea or notion, try going with it for a while and see where it leads you. It's just possible that it will be a rewarding and worthwhile experience. If it goes nowhere then at least you had an interesting detour down a new pathway. Ignoring your intuition is a way to ensure that you have fewer enlightening life experiences; surely you would be poorer if that were to happen.
I like many other people learned to structure what I did, in short I adopted what many people call left brain (or more accurately left hemisphere) thinking.
Theory about the way the brain operates suggest that we each have a preferred realm of thought; some prefer left brain some prefer right brain.
| Left Brain | Right Brain | |
| Logical Sequential Rational Analytical Objective Looks at parts | Random Intuitive Holistic Subjective Look at complete |
So for years I used mostly my left brain thinking and was successful in my work. But work changed, I moved from an Engineering role to a Sales role, now things seemed to be different. Working with people was different, it required far more of my right brain processes to understand how to be successful.
Gradually my thought patterns changed, I found myself more willing to trust my hunches or intuition and those hunches often paid off. It's not that the need for analytical thought went away just that it was balanced by more intuitive thoughts as well.
That change in my thought processes was amplified further when I began to study hypnosis and other development methods.
Trusting your hunch or intuition can feel like a very strange thing to do when all of your education is geared toward analytical thinking, but it can be a rewarding experience too.
In his book 'Blink', Malcolm Gladwell discusses the pro and cons of our ability to size up a situation in literally the blink of an eye. However I think intuition goes deeper than this, you may come to intuitively realise something but you can then test that with rational left brain thought patterns. Your subconscious may deliver an idea to you fully formed and ready to go but there'e no harm in testing the rope before jumping out the window!
Next time you have a slightly offbeat idea or notion, try going with it for a while and see where it leads you. It's just possible that it will be a rewarding and worthwhile experience. If it goes nowhere then at least you had an interesting detour down a new pathway. Ignoring your intuition is a way to ensure that you have fewer enlightening life experiences; surely you would be poorer if that were to happen.
Tuesday 12 May 2009
A straw poll
A trip back from the local garage this morning resulted in me being in a car with three other gents of "a certain age".
What was the topic of conversation? Swine flu? No. Local elections? No. You guessed it MPs and their expense claims.
In this admittedly small survey, 100% of the people polled thought that MPs had behaved disgracefully. (That wasn't the word used but we'll keep things polite.)
All of those polled thought that the Government had effectively lost control of the situation and did not have an ounce of moral fibre left in them.
Then we went to work; because in the end we all look after ourself and our family first. Hopefully we do that without taking from others what is not ours to take.
That of course is just what the MPs have done, looked after themselves first. They just forgot that it is the great mass of the population that pays their wages and somehow came to believe that they were worth far more than the £65,000 salary they get paid each year.
MPs salary = £65,000 Moral Compass = Priceless
What was the topic of conversation? Swine flu? No. Local elections? No. You guessed it MPs and their expense claims.
In this admittedly small survey, 100% of the people polled thought that MPs had behaved disgracefully. (That wasn't the word used but we'll keep things polite.)
All of those polled thought that the Government had effectively lost control of the situation and did not have an ounce of moral fibre left in them.
Then we went to work; because in the end we all look after ourself and our family first. Hopefully we do that without taking from others what is not ours to take.
That of course is just what the MPs have done, looked after themselves first. They just forgot that it is the great mass of the population that pays their wages and somehow came to believe that they were worth far more than the £65,000 salary they get paid each year.
MPs salary = £65,000 Moral Compass = Priceless
Saturday 9 May 2009
How is your moral compass?
In the week that has seen the exposure of the vast and very questionable expense claims made by MPs of all parties, I have been left wondering, where they each left their moral compass?What I mean by moral compass is that innate sense of what is right and proper for oneself. The rules that you run your life by because you feel that that is the right thing to do, not because someone is watching over your shoulder.
That moral compass in the case of MPs has been shown this week to be badly out of alignment with the majority of the UK poulation; or has it?
It appears that the MP expense system (designed by MPs, run by MPs with rules set by MPs) was constructed in such a way as to encourage the topping up of the pay packet by claiming expenses that no other employer would allow.
As a consequence, many of the people who spend their time telling us what we should be doing, framing new laws that define what is acceptable, have themselves been broken the trust that they were once invested with.
But what would you do? When faced with a system that positively encourages you to go and buy a new TV and charge it to the Tax Payer, would your compass stay true?
Are each of us capable of staying withing our moral code without some notion of external scrutininy or the threat of it?
The answer seems clear, even if the majority of people have a clear sense of what is right and wrong, exposure to the light of day helps to ensure that we remain true to commonly agreed ideals.
Does that mean we can't have a secret part of our lives? No of course not; we are all entitled to have a secret if we want to...but please don't ask someone else to fund it!
Wednesday 6 May 2009
Oh dear I don't think he wanted that to happen
I have a great belief in personal liberty and freedom. I think that without these values none of us can thrive and prosper in greatest sense of the word.
No one can thrive if they are constrained by limiting beliefs and outmoded ideas. Because of my personal views I am fundamentally opposed to the notion of Identity Cards.
It's as if someone else (in this case a collection of structures known as the Government) will only allow you to be a person with their say-so.
As you can imagine this fills me with a sense of horror. It seems remarkable therefore that yesterday the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, decided that a photo opportunity was an ideal way to bolster his ratings in the polls. The same day that Manchester was announced as being the first city in the UK where you could 'volunteer' for an idea card.
So what did that photo opportunity look like?
Oh dear, Gordon Brown in front of a Nazi Swastika. How appropriate for a Government that seems to have lost all the ideals that it came into power with in 1997.
What would the original leaders of the Labour Movement have said about the way things are run today?
You have a perfect right to exist, grow and prosper without someone else defining what your personal limits and freedoms may be. Of course there must be laws, rape, theft and murder are wrong. But the right of free expression, freedom of speech and association are yours (and mine) naturally and are not to be constrained by an unelected, unrepresentative so called 'Prime Minister'.
No one can thrive if they are constrained by limiting beliefs and outmoded ideas. Because of my personal views I am fundamentally opposed to the notion of Identity Cards.
It's as if someone else (in this case a collection of structures known as the Government) will only allow you to be a person with their say-so.
As you can imagine this fills me with a sense of horror. It seems remarkable therefore that yesterday the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, decided that a photo opportunity was an ideal way to bolster his ratings in the polls. The same day that Manchester was announced as being the first city in the UK where you could 'volunteer' for an idea card.
So what did that photo opportunity look like?
Oh dear, Gordon Brown in front of a Nazi Swastika. How appropriate for a Government that seems to have lost all the ideals that it came into power with in 1997.
What would the original leaders of the Labour Movement have said about the way things are run today?
You have a perfect right to exist, grow and prosper without someone else defining what your personal limits and freedoms may be. Of course there must be laws, rape, theft and murder are wrong. But the right of free expression, freedom of speech and association are yours (and mine) naturally and are not to be constrained by an unelected, unrepresentative so called 'Prime Minister'.
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