by ExplosiveSpirit | Jan 1, 2019 | Explosive Living Daily, Hypnotherapy, Weekly Blog
I don’t particularly like the term ‘self-sabotage’.
While I have certainly felt it many times in my life and found myself saying it aloud, to myself and to other people – almost as an excuse – when I hear my hypnotherapy clients use it as their reason for seeking help, it truly highlights what negative self-talk this is.
Over the past two years, as I have been training in clinical hypnotherapy and Mind Coaching to complement my Reiki and corporate wellness practice, I find myself working predominantly with entrepreneurs. What is interesting to note is that most are serial entrepreneurs, usually whatever they are doing now is not their first venture or iteration, they have pivoted. ‘Pivot’ is a word that takes on special meaning within the startup world and can be seen in one of two ways (1) an end – often misinterpreted as failure, or (2) the beginning – after some necessary recalibration.
The perceived difference between these factually-identical states is resilience. And resilience, while innate for some, can be cultivated and strengthened. [Read also: Reiki for Building Resilience]
Even if you think you are new to hypnosis, let me start by explaining that hypnosis is all around us, from the news and political commentary we hear, to the marketing images and messages we absorb. In fact, how we speak to ourselves is a form of self-hypnosis and can often be an insidious inner dialogue that is not honest, nor objective, nor helpful. Successful people learn to minimise this negative self-talk as a conscious choice and ongoing effort, but it is a choice and effort that is worth making.
Hypnosis, or more specifically, Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for personal and professional goal achievement. It prepares your mind for the inevitable challenges ahead and uses these challenges for structured and repeatable learning. It also helps to identify the same issues that tend to appear over and over again in your life. These are the important ones. This is where the real learning is and, most often, these recurring issues hold the key to unlocking your successful future. Deep down, you already know this. Hypnotherapy simply allows your conscious mind to momentarily step aside so that you can access the innate wisdom and utter resourcefulness of the subconscious mind.
Our 2019 Choice Hypnotherapy Package is a three-session package designed to help busy people who might be feeling overwhelmed and focus them with CLARITY, through to CHOICE (clear decision-making) while building CONFIDENCE to be able to use this process as a tool/skill for all aspects of life.
Email Hello@ExplosiveSpirit.com to book sessions in Dublin or Wicklow.
by ExplosiveSpirit | Jun 27, 2018 | A Course in Miracles, Explosive Living Daily, Reiki
elephantjournal.com had a great article on the site earlier this week about the full moon which occurs on June 28th here in Ireland (or on the 27th in Iowa where my daughter is currently enjoying her summer!).
According to author Alex Myles, this will be the most transformational and healing full moon of the year. She explains that:
“The full moon will be in the sign of Capricorn, which is represented by the mountain goat that climbs upward at a steady pace and is the sign connected to manifesting, ambition, and goals. This moon will be emanating a strong lunar energy that delivers abrupt change, which will be noticeable a few days before and a few days after it reaches its fullest illumination”.
Falling midway through the year, the vibration of this moon creates energy shifts that activate deep inner healing and encourages personal transformation. For some people, this full moon will be the culmination of challenges felt since the January new moon and the releasing of any associated karma.
How this is likely to feel
This energy shift may result in feelings of wanting to be alone or distancing ourselves from the people around us in order to regain our focus and to achieve a deeper level of personal grounding. As such calmness is unusual during the energy of a full moon, this slowing down affords us the opportunity to look inwards and perhaps deal with/heal some of our innermost emotional wounds.
The author suggests that:
“When we are aware of where we hold tension, pain, or anger, we can lightly question the reasons for clinging to it. If the reasons are not apparent, we can gently trace our roaming thought patterns until we eventually reach the undesirable feelings—and then, hopefully, find the root cause. When we do this, we often discover that although we may think the emotional discomfort or pain we experience daily is recent, it usually exists due to being triggered by past (mostly forgotten) events.”
This is where hypnotherapy can help to identify triggers and unlock trapped pain that creates resistance and causes blockages that prevent us from attracting what we want. It is a cycle of self-sabotage that can be halted if and when you are ready to face up to past issues. This full moon is an ideal time to carry out such inner child work provided this can be done with becoming emotionally overwhelmed (which, according to the article, not only blocks healing, but also inflames old pain).
I always consider a full moon to be a good time to let go of old baggage and old struggles, somehow, there always seems to be more in need to release. My theory about this is that we are only exposed to what we can endure at that time. As we build resilience – which Reiki is great for – we deal with more and more baggage at increasingly deeper levels. This is the most effective form of pattern-breaking that I know of and the discipline of breaking toxic patterns or habits is second only to our self-awareness and willingness to acknowledge them.
Also, in much the same way at the start of a new year is a great time for deep energy cleansing with the blank slate offering potential for a new start, the mid-year new moon offers the same potential for transformation.
How to make the most of this full moon
- Hold the intention for healing
- Meditate on recurring challenges and search for deeper underlying connections
- Let go of recent struggles
- Be open to transformation
- Allow yourself to dream
I will leave you with this thought from the author:
“This full moon is the start of a new mission—and one that when we reach the Capricorn new moon on January 6th, 2019, we will be astounded at what we’ve gained and achieved. When we are determined and focused, the universe supports us by providing signs, synchronicities, and opportunities to make magic happen.”
For information on Reiki and Hypnotheraphy sessions in Ireland contact hello@ExplosiveSpirit.com
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by Kali | Apr 1, 2018 | Explosive Living Daily, Weekly Blog
~Originally published in Heartfulness Magazine (USA) and in the French edition here: Le pouvoir de la paix
CAROL TALLON speaks of epic journeys, spiritual awakenings, the dark night of the soul and the healing power of love.
People talk of epic journeys starting with a single step, but I’m not too sure about this. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the most epic of journeys is rarely planned. Rather, it evolves over weeks, months, years and decades. Perhaps even over the course of a lifetime. Apple founder Steve Jobs said it best when he described life as a ‘join the dots’ exercise. The journey and the course that it takes is obvious in retrospect, but when you are standing amidst the dotty chaos that is life, you must trust that as you jump, skip or struggle from dot to dot, they will indeed connect in a meaningful way at the end. It all comes down to trust.
But trust is a funny concept. We trust organizations more than the people within them; think banks and bankers. We trust brands more than the products that carry their mark; think Coca Cola and Coke. We trust advisers and counselors we appoint more than ourselves. Why do you think that is?
Trust in a higher power – God, Spirit, the Universe – is inevitably given too easily or not at all. This is probably true for the trust and faith we place in ourselves. We place it too easily or not at all. What would it be like to be able to fully trust ourselves, the world around us and our place within it? No self doubts or imposter syndrome. What would that even look like?
I have no insight greater than yours, but I believe that it would look like peace; personal peace. And if such trust caught on in this viral age, how far could this personal peace expand? To our families perhaps, to our communities, throughout our country or maybe even globally. Is this too simplistic? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I am reminded of the icon who is Malala, and I am reminded of the power of one.
Power. How comfortable are you reading that word? Power. What does it mean to you? What does the word trigger in your mind – corruption, wealth, evil or good? I have learnt to accept power as that internal spark that ignites from my spirit whenever I take the action I am guided to take. When this power kicks in, I can feel it as a palpable, chest-expanding explosion that makes my entire body tingle until my fingers feel like they are shaking. The physical feeling and energy is so strong that I feel sparks coming from my fingertips, like I could start a fire by touch alone.
Twice in my adult life I forgot my own power. I now understand and accept that it is easily done. I believe that we are all born shining, but the challenges of life wear us down and make us forget our innate, personal power. Life can dull our light, and when that happens it can be difficult to see clearly. We need the light. The world needs my light and it needs yours. Part of our role in this lifetime must surely be to nurture our inner light and to keep that internal spark from going out altogether.
The first time it happened, my life went into a state of triage with lots of people interfering, trying to help. Talking about me, never to me. Problems that were not urgent were ignored; urgent problems were attended to but nothing was healed. How could it have been? Frustratingly, nothing was learned. This crisis brought my life crashing down around me, but I resisted change and healing and help that was offered. By struggling to hold firm to my broken life, I denied myself the opportunity of a new, simpler, better life. Gone was all that beautiful potential for learning lessons and releasing destruction patterns. I got back up and limped through another few years. It was almost a decade before the opportunity came around again.
The second time, like before, did not feel like an opportunity. It felt like my world collapsing again, only this time I did not have enough strength left to even try to cling on. I was tired, my soul felt achy with tiredness. I felt broken. There are so many way to describe this time; it was more than a bad patch, this was rock bottom. I was living through my dark night of the soul.
“It reminded me that not
every awakening is gentle.
By surrendering to any help
or consolation on offer,
I experienced love.”
For the first time, I knew that there was simply no fight left in me. And that was to be my saving grace. The value of rock bottom is that there is nowhere left to fall. Therefore, there was no mask to be maintained, no denial, no running away from reality. Nowhere is more real than rock bottom and that very certainty, at a time of swirling uncertainty, became my savior. Adversity can be a powerful launch pad. Gone is the pride that refuses help, gone is the fear of failing, gone is the ego-protecting, face-saving nonsense of which I was particularly adept. It was all gone. And in its place, most unexpectedly, I found a kind of peace. But it was peace by explosion. It reminded me that not every awakening is gentle. By surrendering to any help or consolation on offer, I experienced love. I understood the importance of compassion, for myself and for others. Through these months came clarity, and that changed everything.
We may know that forgiveness, compassion, empathy and love are the way to release negative thoughts and feelings of blame, guilt or victimhood that hold us back. But sometimes that doesn’t come easily. It can be difficult to imagine or visualize sending waves of love to people when the feeling is not real. What I have learned on my journey so far is that it all begins with love.
With love, all healing can happen, as compassion is merely a by-product or symptom of that love. And with compassion, blame fades. Without blame, the need for forgiveness simply floats away. I wish I could pinpoint the moment I started to feel love on my journey. Within a day or two of it happening I had the strongest sensation of light-headedness, and explosive happiness, and peacefulness and something that I can only describe as a chest-expanding wave. None of these were familiar feelings in the six months prior, so I knew that change was in the offing.
While I was surprised, I should not have been. This is what I had asked for, what I had sought and what I had meditated for. Why are we surprised when we get what we ask for? So while I learn, if I can teach anything, let it be love. Love first yourself, and everyone else, then everything else will follow.
by ExplosiveSpirit | Feb 11, 2018 | Explosive Living Daily, Reiki, Weekly Blog
What exactly is resilience?
Resilience has become something of a buzzword in modern popular psychology and in the wellness conversation generally.
While there are many definitions, I believe it to be the ability – and willingness – to rally in the face of adversity. As I sat down to explore this, it occurred to me that resilience is that somewhat indefinable quality or habit that some people have of bouncing back; and this bouncing back is made easier by not recognising failure as fatal or the end result, but rather understanding that it is part of the journey.
Resilient people do not let adversity define them but make no mistake, they feel it. They feel it but do not allow themselves to be immobilised it.
While it is a habit or characteristic that we can all work on, and indeed one that we ought to work on improving throughout our lives, in my experience, true resilience is quite innate to some people. These are the people who can take the blows that life will inevitably level and recover. The speed and extent of the recovery is the only measure of resilience that I know of.
Certainly, there are some common traits that lend themselves inherently to a character we might consider to be resilient, for example, a positive attitude and optimistic nature, other skills can be learned, such as, the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions. One of the starting points is to cultivate resilience by being mindful of who you truly are, what you are truly capable of.
As a Reiki Master, writer and general wellness advocate – not to mention, eternal student – I have come to believe that ‘framing’ is one of the most powerful tools we have when it comes to cultivating resilience. Whether this is done by personal journaling, psychotherapy, hypnosis or other techniques aimed at introspection, the important thing is to look inwards. By re-examining your life story, it offers the opportunity to find the little moments of greatness that are often buried in the re-telling of a negative story over the course of our lives. By changing the narrative, we can instill positive self-esteem by virtue of overcoming an otherwise negative experience.
Of course, resilience can really only be known when it is tested. This test might take the shape of family or relationship issues, poor health, injury, financial or other stress-inducing event. And to be clear, this goes beyond a basic ability to cope; true resilience is a measure beyond surviving and goes to the heart of a person’s commitment and desire to thrive after a setback.
Here are a few simple reminders to keep you on track:
- Accept that you are perfectly imperfect, or as we like to say, ‘human’!
- Accept where you are now and resolve to make it better; denial delays
- Ask for help, be willing to accept the help that is offered but remember that your life is your responsibility, always
- Breaks big goals into small tasks, this way, it will be easier to see setback for exactly what they are, temporary
- Take time to process, resilience is about bouncing back but after you have had time to feel, reflect and learn from the experience
How can Reiki help?
In the midst of challenging times, our thinking can become less clear and our inner voice more critical – and constant, leaving many people feeling drained and more vulnerable to despair. Understanding the importance of personal healing, Reiki facilitates a gentle space for inward reflection, leading to greater clarity of thought.
by ExplosiveSpirit | Jan 29, 2018 | Explosive Living Daily, Reiki
Dis-ease
Metaphysical wisdom tells us that there is no such thing as an accident or a coincidence, particularly when it comes to our bodies. Every illness, injury or disease is your body‘s way of trying to communicate with you. The more serious the injury, the more urgent the message for you to hear. Our own supply of life-force energy or Ki has the ability to heal if we wish it.
Healing
The ritual of hands-on healing has been found in almost every religion, culture and society since time began.
The practice of Reiki involves drawing healing energy from Source, which then flows into the person receiving healing. Reiki works holistically to benefit not only the physical body but also the mind, emotions and spirit.
Mind
The flow of Reiki energy promotes positivity and serenity, helping people to let go of negative thought patterns. This reduces stress and leads to a state of deep relaxation.
Body
On the physical level,Reiki accelerates the body’s natural ability to heal itself while helping to alleviate pain and relieve other symptoms of illness.
Spirit
The energy of Reiki is love, when flowing through a person’s energy field it can help with self-love and self-acceptance, leading to a deeper sense of connectedness with self and with Source.
by ExplosiveSpirit | Jan 20, 2018 | Explosive Living Daily, Reiki, Weekly Blog
We all have a life flow energy that keeps us alive. When this life flow energy is low, we are more likely to have dis-ease in our body and feel stress. Reiki helps people to heal from within by treating the whole person, physical body, emotional body, the mind and the spirit. It seeks to reunite the trinity of mind, body and spirit in harmony. In fact, healing can occur without the practitioner identifying the cause or nature of the illness. This healing can be seen and felt in the body. Reiki does not attack the dis-ease but rather supports our well-being and strengthens our ability to heal by encouraging balance. The healing energy activates the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Energy goes where it is needed, to the source of pain/illness and blocked energies.
When in harmony, our life flow energy is high and we are more capable of being happy and healthy. It promotes positivity and clear thinking. In a complex world, it is refreshingly simple, yet powerful, healing with pure love. Please do remember that Reiki compliments all medical treatments and does not replace them.
