the Free Hypnosis Social Network
Learning a life skill with hypnosis, a challenge. Stop, Look, and Listen!
Michael asked earlier: "Are positive suggestions, attitudes, and thinking more than the absence of negative suggestions, attitudes, and thinking?".
I think that the answer is yes but I don't know how to answer that question yet. However, negative thinking can get in the way of happiness, even lead to depression. Yapko and Seligman both make this point.
I'm sure many of us have been in the following situation. Something with ambiguous meaning happens, we make a negative judgment, we're robbed of our happiness as a consequence. Sometimes it's better to just admit that a situation is simply ambiguous and leave it at that. An example is when a good friend does not return several voice mail messages you've left.
Here's the challenge:
Create a concrete method, that uses hypnosis, that will teach someone to learn how to accept an adverse situation as being ambiguous when it is unclear what's really happening. One can learn how to do this consciously by carefully watching one's thoughts, then recording and evaluating their reactions. How can hypnosis help one learn to have this trait. Can we streamline the process to good effect?
Ambiguous. adverse reactions are dangerous. When I was a child were taught to Stop, Look and Listen when we approached dangerous railroad tracks. :0)
I think that the answer is yes but I don't know how to answer that question yet. However, negative thinking can get in the way of happiness, even lead to depression. Yapko and Seligman both make this point.
I'm sure many of us have been in the following situation. Something with ambiguous meaning happens, we make a negative judgment, we're robbed of our happiness as a consequence. Sometimes it's better to just admit that a situation is simply ambiguous and leave it at that. An example is when a good friend does not return several voice mail messages you've left.
Here's the challenge:
Create a concrete method, that uses hypnosis, that will teach someone to learn how to accept an adverse situation as being ambiguous when it is unclear what's really happening. One can learn how to do this consciously by carefully watching one's thoughts, then recording and evaluating their reactions. How can hypnosis help one learn to have this trait. Can we streamline the process to good effect?
Ambiguous. adverse reactions are dangerous. When I was a child were taught to Stop, Look and Listen when we approached dangerous railroad tracks. :0)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ed Lester on -
The mind doesn't like ambiguity.
Theories about Cognitive Dissonance suggest that the brain must resolve all ambiguity/ misunderstandings/ conflicts.
This is why people do things that don't make sense. (stay in damaging relationships/ return to crime/ give up on exercise)
The ultimate conflict has not been resolved so the mind returns to the way of thinking it knows best (habits)
The unconscious mind is concerned with positive outcomes for the client but often does this with very negative consequences. Understanding cause and effect and conflict resolution and being able to help a client with this (consciously and unconsciously) is one of the most powerful investments you could ever make in yourself as a therapist.
IMHO -
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Permalink Reply by Walt on -
Ed,
As I read this I think I'm hearing you say, can't be done.
However, I have learned to recognize ambiguity is some adverse situations and accepting that, feel positive.
Walt
Ed Lester said:The mind doesn't like ambiguity.
Theories about Cognitive Dissonance suggest that the brain must resolve all ambiguity/ misunderstandings/ conflicts.
This is why people do things that don't make sense. (stay in damaging relationships/ return to crime/ give up on exercise)
The ultimate conflict has not been resolved so the mind returns to the way of thinking it knows best (habits)
The unconscious mind is concerned with positive outcomes for the client but often does this with very negative consequences. Understanding cause and effect and conflict resolution and being able to help a client with this (consciously and unconsciously) is one of the most powerful investments you could ever make in yourself as a therapist.
IMHO -
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Permalink Reply by Walt on
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Ed, And as I read it again, I can't tell if you think folks can accept ambiguity. I may have misjudged what you said. Walt
Ed Lester said:The mind doesn't like ambiguity.
Theories about Cognitive Dissonance suggest that the brain must resolve all ambiguity/ misunderstandings/ conflicts.
This is why people do things that don't make sense. (stay in damaging relationships/ return to crime/ give up on exercise)
The ultimate conflict has not been resolved so the mind returns to the way of thinking it knows best (habits)
The unconscious mind is concerned with positive outcomes for the client but often does this with very negative consequences. Understanding cause and effect and conflict resolution and being able to help a client with this (consciously and unconsciously) is one of the most powerful investments you could ever make in yourself as a therapist.
IMHO -
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Permalink Reply by Ed Lester on
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I think my answer is ambiguous in itself. Apologies for that Walt.
People have different thresholds for ambiguity. Personally I'm happy with it so long as it doesn't leave any big open loops - For instance, not knowing the secrets of the universe, I can live with - not sure if I'll have any food next week wouldn't be so easy to accept.
All I'm saying is the mind doesn't generally like open loops so removing ambiguity is usually preferable. If that can't be done then, in general, I think we can learn to accept it. Reframing through metaphor would be a good way of achieving it and hypnosis is great tool for this.
For instance, lots of people are ambiguous about religion and have no definite ideas either way. Because
Walt Potter said:Ed, And as I read it again, I can't tell if you think folks can accept ambiguity. I may have misjudged what you said. Walt
Ed Lester said:The mind doesn't like ambiguity.
Theories about Cognitive Dissonance suggest that the brain must resolve all ambiguity/ misunderstandings/ conflicts.
This is why people do things that don't make sense. (stay in damaging relationships/ return to crime/ give up on exercise)
The ultimate conflict has not been resolved so the mind returns to the way of thinking it knows best (habits)
The unconscious mind is concerned with positive outcomes for the client but often does this with very negative consequences. Understanding cause and effect and conflict resolution and being able to help a client with this (consciously and unconsciously) is one of the most powerful investments you could ever make in yourself as a therapist.
IMHO -
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Permalink Reply by Pete & Lorraine on -
Hi Guys Happy New Year!
Positive suggestions,thinking and attitudes are more than an absence of the negative, as on balance they would be part of the equation, if you are of a positive mind it would be the major part, with the negative being the smaller part and vice versa. You need both to work out the pro's and con's, or the possible consequences of an action, and (depending on which attitude or which part of your belief system is the stronger), will determine your action or reaction, which would be based mostly on previous experience and expectation or habit. To improve a persons sense of self worth and expectation would, improve their sense of being content with their lives,being comfortable with your self is important as you are more likely to weather life's negatives and own your choices of behaviour and learning from your mistakes, re-evaluating as you go. Therefore changing more of the actions that don't make sense into actions that do.
Pete -
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Permalink Reply by Walt on
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Ed,
I think that accepting that a situation as ambiguous is a way of closing the loop. If we need to put each experience into a "meaning set" we can build one called ambiguous. That way the situation is not left dangling, we can move it later if more information comes to light.
Still, how can hypnosis regularize this process?
Since this thread started I find myself looking for the meaning in adverse situations rather than putting them into the closest basket.
Walt
Ed Lester said:I think my answer is ambiguous in itself. Apologies for that Walt.
People have different thresholds for ambiguity. Personally I'm happy with it so long as it doesn't leave any big open loops - For instance, not knowing the secrets of the universe, I can live with - not sure if I'll have any food next week wouldn't be so easy to accept.
All I'm saying is the mind doesn't generally like open loops so removing ambiguity is usually preferable. If that can't be done then, in general, I think we can learn to accept it. Reframing through metaphor would be a good way of achieving it and hypnosis is great tool for this.
For instance, lots of people are ambiguous about religion and have no definite ideas either way. Because
Walt Potter said:Ed, And as I read it again, I can't tell if you think folks can accept ambiguity. I may have misjudged what you said. Walt
Ed Lester said:The mind doesn't like ambiguity.
Theories about Cognitive Dissonance suggest that the brain must resolve all ambiguity/ misunderstandings/ conflicts.
This is why people do things that don't make sense. (stay in damaging relationships/ return to crime/ give up on exercise) The ultimate conflict has not been resolved so the mind returns to the way of thinking it knows best (habits)
The unconscious mind is concerned with positive outcomes for the client but often does this with very negative consequences. Understanding cause and effect and conflict resolution and being able to help a client with this (consciously and unconsciously) is one of the most powerful investments you could ever make in yourself as a therapist.
IMHO -
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Permalink Reply by Michael Haifleigh on -
Walt,
This audio interview came to mind, and I wonder if/how it might contribute to this discussion.
Listening Generously
Michael -
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Tom Virden on -
Indeed! in fact this the central point to my therapeutic orientation, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The idea here is that people become tangled up ("fused," in ACT terms) with their thoughts and feelings to the point that they spend much more time avoiding unpleasant thoughts and emotions than actually living their lives. ACT does not seek to avoid unpleasantness, because the act of avoidance "contains" that which is being avoided in the first place...often making the problem worse in the long run (notice the parallel with some hypnotists who refuse to phrase things in the negative in suggestions).
Among the things we try do to in ACT is to pracice "defusion." Allowing the thoughts and feelings to be present, but changing one's relationship with them somewhat so that the client need not be tangled up within them. There are a number of standard ACT exercises and visualizations that lend themselves beautifully to hypnosis. Among my favorites is the "leaves on a stream" exercise, which is simply a mindfulness exercise.
The initial reaction (most of the time) for my clientele to this is relaxation and a reduction of anxiety. That's nice, but I consider it a side-effect. The real motive here is to help the client notice the difference between becoming tangled up with a thought (fusion) and defused.
Here's a recording I put on my podcast of the Leaves on the Stream metaphor, just to illustrate (it was originally intended as a demonstration of the use of binaural beats):
http://www.creativepsychological.com/cppodcast/?p=episode&name=...
Tom
www.creativepsychological.com -
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Permalink Reply by Michael Haifleigh on
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Tom,
I appreciate this orientation. I’m only somewhat familiar with ACT via Steven Hayes book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life.
On diffusion and changing one's relationship with one’s thoughts and feelings: does ACT venture into the relationship one may have with the idea/concept of “self” or one’s own “personality”?
And I mean to be careful with this idea and not imply that it is an appropriate hypnotic exercise for a client.
Michael
Dr. Tom Virden said:Indeed! in fact this the central point to my therapeutic orientation, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The idea here is that people become tangled up ("fused," in ACT terms) with their thoughts and feelings to the point that they spend much more time avoiding unpleasant thoughts and emotions than actually living their lives. ACT does not seek to avoid unpleasantness, because the act of avoidance "contains" that which is being avoided in the first place...often making the problem worse in the long run (notice the parallel with some hypnotists who refuse to phrase things in the negative in suggestions).
Among the things we try do to in ACT is to pracice "defusion." Allowing the thoughts and feelings to be present, but changing one's relationship with them somewhat so that the client need not be tangled up within them. There are a number of standard ACT exercises and visualizations that lend themselves beautifully to hypnosis. Among my favorites is the "leaves on a stream" exercise, which is simply a mindfulness exercise.
The initial reaction (most of the time) for my clientele to this is relaxation and a reduction of anxiety. That's nice, but I consider it a side-effect. The real motive here is to help the client notice the difference between becoming tangled up with a thought (fusion) and defused.
Here's a recording I put on my podcast of the Leaves on the Stream metaphor, just to illustrate (it was originally intended as a demonstration of the use of binaural beats):
http://www.creativepsychological.com/cppodcast/?p=episode&name=...
Tom
www.creativepsychological.com -
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Tom Virden on
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Thanks, Michael!
The Hayes Get Out of Your Mind book is indeed the big ACT self-help book and is a great way to "get into" the model. Another great book for clinicians who'd like an intro as to how you might work with your clients is Russ Harris' ACT Made Simple.
Yes, sense of self is considered in ACT. Although many facets of self may be acknowledged, ACT focuses on three: The conceptualized self, the thinking self, and self-as-context (aka 'the observing self').
The conceptualized self is the self you think you are (or should be). Many people get in trouble here by "fusing" deeply with the conceptualized self. When situations or behavior runs inconsistent with this sense of self, the person begins to feel threatened, anxious, depressed, etc.
The thinking self is essentially the mind, which provides thought and feeling in a sort of verbal background. Fusing deeply here manifests as thought-as-reality as opposed to thought as merely words that your mind is throwing at you. Defusing allows you to see your thoughts as they are, rather than what they "say" they are.
Finally, the sense of self that I like best (and one I often use therapeutically) is self-as-context. I more frequently refer to it as the "observer self." It's best explained in terms of experience (you can easily pick out where hypnosis would come in handy here):
If you can sit back and imagine an experience you had when you were young. It can be one you consider positive or negative, whichever you choose. Just try to remember it in as much detail as you can. Remember how things looked, sounded, felt, or even smelled or tasted.
Now, try to imagine something that happened just a few years ago. Again, it can be any memory you choose. Remember it in as much detail as you can, just as you did before.
Now, try to recall something that happened yesterday, or maybe this morning. Can you bring up all the details you did before?
Many people have the experience of seeing themselves in that situation and also the sensation of watching themselves "from behind their eyes." It is at that point they get a glimpse of their observer self. This is the you that was you when you were a child, it was the you that was you a few years ago, the you that was you last week, this morning, or even right now. The thinking or conceptualized self changes from year to year, or even day to day, and the observer self remains unchanged throughout your life.
Tom
www.creativepsychological.com
Michael Haifleigh said:Tom,
I appreciate this orientation. I’m only somewhat familiar with ACT via Steven Hayes book, Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life.
On diffusion and changing one's relationship with one’s thoughts and feelings: does ACT venture into the relationship one may have with the idea/concept of “self” or one’s own “personality”?
And I mean to be careful with this idea and not imply that it is an appropriate hypnotic exercise for a client.
Michael
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