Hummingbird Magic

Hummingbird Magic

This morning I heard a noise in the hallway. My cat, the calico, had caught a hummingbird! I picked it up in my hands, went outside onto the deck, and did a backward count from a hundred. I could feel its' little heart against my fingers.

At about count thirty, the other cat came and rubbed against my legs. The hummingbird shot out of my hands, turned and hovered about two feet in front of my face, then shot up into the locust tree. There were a few feathers on my pant leg so I picked one up, held it for the last count down to zero.

When I opened my eyes, the hummingbird was still in the tree, then just zipped off into the sky. It felt like such a blessing. To me, hummingbirds represent joy, and I had this feeling of holding joy in my hands, praying for joy, and seeing joy have a new life. Extremely potent hummingbird magic!

Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania

Have you heard of trichotillomania? It is the compulsion to pull out your eyelashes, eyebrows or hair. I had a 14-year-old client come in, who had been engaging in this habit for about a year. Her smart parents decided to try hypnosis instead of putting her on medication. She stopped completely after just five sessions!

Hypnotherapy helped give her the insight that she was dealing with the stress of her parent's divorce (one year ago, hmmm) and she felt she was being "picked on". We discussed nervous energy being just that, energy, and she decided she'd rather pick on a guitar than pick on herself. She discovered she could take the turmoil in her heart and put it into words and music, allowing her an amazing way to share and express her feelings.

This is why I love what I do - guiding folks to discover their own solutions, for truly all healing is self-healing, and all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

Pre-Surgery Hypnosis

Pre-Surgery Hypnosis

I worked with a client who had lost one of his eyes to cancer. He was going to have an intensive surgery procedure to seal the empty socket shut so that he could go back to surfing. He was going to be sedated for ten days and in the hospital for thirty days.

We did eight sessions of "acu-hyp" - hypnosis during an acupuncture session. He focused on letting go of his anger at the failure of his five past surgeries and the stress of his divorce, as well as affirming that he had always been a fast healer and that his body would respond to the new grafts.

Well, he was only sedated for one day and out of the hospital in ten days! You can imagine the enormous savings on the hospital bill. It is amazing to me that insurance will not pay for hypnosis when it is so effective in accelerating the healing process.

If you or someone you know is going into surgery, consider the benefits of hypnosis as a part of your process. Feel free to call or email with any questions!

Reclaiming Hypatia

I've been doing art projects that have been on my mind for years, including painting this statue from Philippa Bowers, which was part of a Goddess fountain when I had my cafe. About two-foot-tall, glazed in a matt green, cradling a large vibrant purple amethyst cluster, We named her Hypatia after the greek mathematician, who was killed by having her flesh flayed with oyster shells.

We would add a few drops of bleach each week to the fountain water, to keep down bacteria. After a dozen years, bleach deposit both built up and began to decay parts of her face and body, as well as loosening the crystals in her belly. After I closed Herland, Hypatia came to live in my garden, along with an assortment of other broken nosed and gently damaged goddesses. 

Being flayed was a feeling I related to, and during those dozen years, I got over a dozen tattoos. Much of this was a reclaiming of my body, my beliefs, and my standards of beauty. A way to be comfortable in my skin. Everyone has scars on the inside - mine are on the outside, and they are pretty, colorful, and make for good stories.

Now I'm experiencing a new body image issue, that of becoming the crone, the hag, the elder. What does it mean to age gracefully? What does it mean to express my authentic self? I am questioning dying my hair, working to accept my buddha belly (now I know why it's called "middle" age), while pondering the delight in creases, folds, and wrinkles. 

So I decided to paint Hypatia, to reclaim her as a symbol of my croning. Her hair is silver white, with a crown of pearls and roses. I will begin detailing more of her face and body next. I'm also painting a wooden stand to a marble table that she might sit on, and a ceramic cat from my daughter's garden. I like working like this, on a few projects at once, since as the paint is drying on one thing I can paint another one. 

Someday I'll invite you over to my kooky painted house. There are lots of murals, but also lots of furniture, lampshades, even the toilet is painted. Keep making beauty, keep making art!

Calling All Preschoolers! Toddler Hour at the Sanctuary Center!

Come enjoy weekly preschool adventures at the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center, with book readings, show-and-tell, singing songs, and crafts!

Wednesday Mornings, 10-11 am

FREE!

Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center

35 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

https://www.facebook.com/events/411161072915808/

What is the correlation between Meditation and Hypnosis?

Recently I received a comment on my YouTube video, A Simple Self Hypnosis Technique: What is the correlation between meditation and Hypnosis?

That's a good question! Both are relaxing; both help reduce stress, and both tend to lead the brainwaves to go down into theta - about 3-5 cycles a second.

There are many forms of meditation, although most are familiar with the concept of following one's breath to feel calm and centered, or allowing one's thoughts to just drift by, with simple awareness, but no attachment to the thoughts themselves. 

Hypnosis also takes many forms, but in essence is a relaxed, focused state of concentration known as going into trance (or the zone). In this state, the mind is open to suggestion, can review past traumas with emotional distance for healing purposes, and reinforce any positive habits or patterns that the client wants, whether the perfect golf swing or giving a public speech. 

In many ways, hypnosis is a guided meditation that has a specific intention. Some examples: age regressions or past life regressions; meet ancestors/guides; change a habit; hypnobirthing; experience emotional freedom; receive messages from the body; pain management; reduce insomnia, etc.

The correlation between them is they are both ways to experience more calmness and peacefulness, allowing the body to get out of "fight-or-flight" and back into the parasympathetic nervous system. They are both wonderful ways to create the mind-body connection as well as more mindfulness; manage emotions rather than having emotions manage you; and for many people, a spiritual practice offering comfort, guidance, and insight.