Mindfulness and Well Being

The current movement of “integrative medicine” encourages us to focus on maintaining a state of optimal mental and physical good health rather than simply attempting to alleviate symptoms as they pop up. According to psychologist Jon Kabat-Zinn (founding director of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Mindfulness in Medicine), the question we need to be asking ourselves every day is “what are we doing to keep from getting sick in the first place?” And when I refer to getting sick, I’m not just talking about a physical disease, but our mental well-being as well. Imagine a world where people are not suffering from chronic depression, fear or anxiety again.

“Mindfulness” is a form of thinking and acting in which you disengage yourself from old habits, behavior patterns, thoughts and actions. It also involves being truly present in the moment. Unfortunately, practicing mindfulness can be a bit tough. It’s easy to talk about but actually practicing mindfulness requires a tremendous amount of inner strength, courage and stamina.

We all would like to think that our rituals and routines are what give us comfort and peace. To a certain extent that may be true, but only because that is what we tell ourselves over and over again. In reality, study after study has shown that by practicing mindfulness and disengaging yourself from your rituals, routines, strong beliefs and emotions actually has a positive effect on brain function ultimately lowering stress responses and increasing feelings of relaxation and well-being.

It is important to remember when practicing mindfulness to use your entire being. Consciously being mindful is tremendously positive (and hard to keep up for extended periods of time), but when you can utilize your entire being by accessing your subconscious, you increase your chances of success tenfold. Hypnosis easily gives you the ability to truly practice and implement mindfulness in your daily life.

The University of California at Irvine conducted a study last year exploring the question of whether false beliefs last. Using hypnosis, they planted a false belief or memory regarding asparagus. I know, makes me chuckle when I read it as well, but they found that when the test subjects were brought back two weeks later to determine if the false beliefs persisted, they found that although it was somewhat weaker than when first implanted, it did still persist and was powerful enough to affect actual food choices. Think about that a moment.

This may seem like a somewhat silly test, but the point is this, you can change your thoughts and beliefs by using hypnosis which means you can practice and be successful in practicing mindfulness (or anything else you want) by adding hypnosis to your daily or weekly routine.

Have the courage to step outside the trance of narrowing fear, thoughts and actions by incorporating “Mindfulness” into your daily routine. Keeping it real and fresh is my approach to hypnotherapy, helping to bring you back to the world wakeful living is my goal.