Archive for June, 2008

Last year, I got talking to and subsequently wrote about a couple of wily characters that were sat outside the front of a retirement home that they reside in, (there are lots of those here in Bournemouth!) they were enjoying the sunshine. As I walked past following my run, they said openly to me that they thought it was great to see me running past each day. They were both smiling and saying that it made them feel healthy. A conversation naturally ensued.

One thing they mentioned (among the many topics covered in our brief chat) and both got animated about was the rise in crime in the UK. They said they were never going to London again following the recent spate of much publicised murders among the young community of London. I do not read a daily paper or watch the news, the way I figure, the important stuff finds it way to you anyway. However, even I have spotted the coverage that these teenage murders and knife attacks have received.

I want to explain today, why I think fearing this kind of thing is so ridiculous…   (more…)

As a therapist, I spend much of my time observing individuals to gauge as much about their personality as I possibly can. The more we understand and observe about that person, the more effective the therapy is likely to be.

There are huge amounts of things that people are advised to notice these days and research done on sooo many observable indicators… Psychologists have researched a wide variety of areas to understand how much of our personalities we actually reveal in public: we can look at the clothes people wear, the arrangement of their offices, proximity to other people, all kinds of other things,  even including the design of our websites (I have people suggest things about me as a result of mywebsite, that’s for sure!).

What if all this exploration coud be taken a step further? What if we could actually tap into an individual’s thoughts? How much of their personality would be revealed? Well, I have been reading a fascinating piece of research that attempts to find that out…. (more…)

I used to work at St James’ Park in London and would travel in to Victoria station… Have you ever been to Victoria station?

Not only is it one of the UK’s largest train stations, it is also one of Londons biggest bus stations and an incredibly busy tube station… At 5pm, that place is heaving!

I found it interesting because I would very rarely bump into anyone, often people would bump into me and the same people would often bump into others too… Why is that?

They are in hypnosis. Simple as that.

Next time you are in a busy environment, just look at who is actually being poised, aware and focused on the outside world… And then notice the people who are in a trance, engaged in their own inner world, maybe thinking about their day at work, lost in deep thought, yearning to be home, wishing to somewhere else… Or any other thing.

That is the reason I am so very interested in a thought provoking article pointed out to me yesterday…. (more…)

Since my wedding and honeymoon, I have struggled to keep up to date with my favourite TV shows… However, the beauty of Sky Plus meant that I was able to catch up with Lost and Heroes.

I did lose my enthusiasm with the first half of this series of Heroes, but it came good again in recent weeks as Peter Petrelli got his memory of his powers back! Yay! Now the reason I mention this today is because the way he regained his strength and ability was by healing himself, as instructed by a fellow hero - Adam Arnold.

What I love about Heroes is that it often serves as a powerful metaphor for personal development… That is, we have tremendous abilities and powers within ourselves that often lay dormant until we learn how to use them. Hypnosis is a tool that can help with that and I want to give you an incredible illustration of that today…. (more…)

It is funny isn’t it? Just how much certain experiences in our younger years affect who we become. It never ceases to amaze and interest me… Of course we all know that we are affected by things that happen to us… Even though my Grandfather worked on a farm all his life, I grew up with a fear of cows and got terrified every time I went with him to fetch milk in the mornings… All thanks to them charging in a field once when we were walking past…

I worked with a butcher who - in the latter part of his career - developed a phobia of blood due to something that happened in his childhood, which was only really triggered later on in life… yet still affected him much later… after years of being a butcher!!

So I wanted to point out something interesting that I read today… (more…)