I have just been to have a look at the photographs taken by the official race photographers at last weekends New Forest marathon. Those guys picked the worst spots to take pictures. When I saw the finish line, I bombed it hard and fast, putting on my best ‘glory pose’ and smiling and raced across the line. Then as soon as I leant over to stop my watch and get into exhaustion mode with a gurning expression on my face, puffing and blowing, the photographer at the finish took my picture. “Thanks mate, you couldn’t have taken that 10 seconds sooner?” He kept on snapping those finishing behind me.

Then there was another guy at the 23 mile mark. The 23 mile mark was at the top of a huge hill, a climb that lots of seasoned runners had to stop and walk! Since then, I have had what can only be described as a week of perceived contrasts. I am spotting contrast everywhere.

In the world of persuasion and influence, there is a much quoted law of contrast – for example, a clever Estate Agent may show a potential house buyer a run-down, overpriced home before taking them to the one that they have targeted for their client, with the aim of the targeted property then being seen as even more desirable in contrast to the shabby house.

I was once given a demonstration of the power of contrast at a seminar that illustrated the idea well. The seminar speaker brought 3 buckets of water on to the stage: One was filled with hot water, one with lukewarm water, one with very cold water. He asked a couple of volunteers from the audience to place one hand on the hot water and at the same time place the other in the cold water for about 30 seconds to get used to the temperature. Then, they were asked to place both hands in the lukewarm water and say what they felt.

Of course, one hand felt warm and the other cold, yet the water was the same temperature – the contrast to the previous bucket had altered how each hand responded to the lukewarm water.

So what contrasts have I spotted this week?

Well, being surrounded by all those positive runners and strong willed runners who train hard regularly and discipline themselves and share in the joy of common goals with their fellow runners. Then when you switch on the television there is individual upon individual complaining and moaning and  worrying and attempting to frighten one another.

The news yesterday evening showed people happily frolicking and enjoying the sunshine we are having at this late stage in the year. Our beaches are busy and the shorts are being worn again at the end of September. Yet on the news they insist on telling us that 5 days sunshine is causing desolation and destruction to many of our farmers. They offer up this kind of contrast.

The BBC economic correspondent Robert Peston spent a good few minutes talking yesterday about the Eurozone crisis in a language that I simply could not understand and I wonder how many of the British public actually understand a single thing he says? It was utter greek. I did understand though that part of the city thought the potential Eurozone taxation scheme was a good thing, contrasted to the other half who were outraged by it. Contrast.

I guess contrast can be seen by many as being an attempt at balance. Yet There are times when I’d like things to be a tad unbalanced – weighted down with a bit too much well-being and happiness is the kind of unbalance I frequently revel in.

Lots of the individual clients I have been working with are also embarking upon, or are already in the throws of detoxing in preparation for the Christmas feasts on the horizon and now that the kids are back at school. They are drinking lots of certain fluids, taking certain supplements and eating certain types of food, to stimulate their kidneys, livers and flush out their body following the excesses of the Summer or just to help kick off their new healthy regime.

I am not always convinced of the usefulness of these schemes and the evidence with regards to detoxing is not exactly stacked in favour of 5 days of vegetable juice only – the best detox system you can ever imagine owning you already have with your liver and kidneys… Though I know what it is like to want to eat a lot of green stuff when you ate and drank too well the night before.

Because my work has been so filled with this clean-living detox mentality, this is the reason I always laugh so heartily at the stark contrast of the big happy legions of people in the crowds at the darts tournaments you see on the telly.

Now, I have tended to pride myself on the fact that I have devoted myself to sports of different kinds throughout my life. I run marathons as well as lots of other races, I have played a high standard of football and make a great armchair pundit and can find myself quite excitable viewing all mainstream sports, events and occasions – live or on TV…

All I have to say with regards to the darts coverage I have seen – hilarious and brilliant. I guess most may think me passe or common… but have you ever seen such consistently happy groups of people having such a fabulously fun time at a sports event?

Maybe it is the amount of accompanying beer-swilling going on, but it seems like a real celebration of human spirit – Each player comes on to loud music, has a quality nickname, before each game everyone chants in unison “LETS PLAY DAAAAARTS” – it is hilarious. And when someone scores a 180, well, I have run out of words to describe the noisy joy that fills the rafters in these establishment! I have found myself watching it and laughing and also enjoying the sporting skills – ahem – of the players.

The reason that this is such a contrast to the healthy, detoxing band of people that I have encountered this year, is that if you gazed around the room filled with darts fans, they were all swigging beer, smoking cigarettes applenty… To say this in the most diplomatic way… There were very few ‘waif-like’ waistlines in the place… This seemingly care-free group of people made me laugh as I enjoyed the contrast between them and many other people that I have encountered in recent weeks.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not necessarily championing one over the other. I eat healthily, get plenty of exercise and fresh air on a regular basis, I know the virtues of doing so. I also firmly believe that beer swilling, high octane laughter and engaging entertainment is wonderfully therapeutic.

What I want to share with you today though is a process I use to encourage my body to recover following the marathons I run. It is not a million miles away from a ‘mental detox.’

Regardless of whether you believe in purity of the body or pleasures of the flesh, how about using your mind to encourage a good cleansing process and stimulate your system to work even more effectively?

Just follow these simple steps:

Step One: Get yourself into a comfortable position and one whereby you are going to be undisturbed for the duration of this exercise. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor and your hands are not touching each other.

Then in that position, Induce Hypnosis.
You can do so by any means you desire or know of. You can use the process in my Science of self-hypnosis book, use the free audio we give away on this website to practice or have a look at the following articles as and when you need them; they are basic processes to help you simply open the door of your mind:

Heavy Arm Self-Hypnosis Induction Method
Using Eye Fixation for Self-Hypnosis
The Chiasson Self-Hypnosis Method
Hand to Face Self-Hypnosis Induction
Using Magnetic Hands for Self-Hypnosis
The Coin Drop Self-Hypnosis Induction

However, with this process, an induction is potentially too much activity, so I teach my clients how to adopt a hypnotic mindset and simply have a mindset that is positive and expectant. Again, to really understand the cognitive set of the hypnotic mindset, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book where it is explained in simple but comprehensive terms.

Once you are hypnotised, move on to step two.

Step Two: Using your imagination, sense the top of your head, imagine at the very top of your head is a sensation, or a colour or a sound of some kind that represents healing, well-being and your ability to detox and cleanse. Maybe like some kind of force (if you are into sci-fi like I am)

You know that your body knows how to do a great deal more than you often realise. If you fell over and cut your knee, you would trust it to heal itself without you actually knowing what exactly your body is doing to heal, wouldn’t you? Now imagine that the sensation (or colour or sound) has that very same ‘know-how’ to cleanse you and your entire system in a really beneficial and healthy way.

When you have really got a sense of this, move on to the next step.

Step Three: So now give that sensation, that colour or that level of awareness some movement – guide it with your intention and focus, let that colour and sensation begin to slowly move down through your body.

Tune in to the sensation and feel it moving through your head and everything in your head, feel it move through your brain, into your eyes, ears, nose and throat. Notice how it revitalizes and restores everything that it encounters as you move it down and through yourself.

Some people say they feel a vibration or a slight change in temperature, just tune in to it and experience whatever you experience. As it travels, let it wash away anything unwanted and enhance the level of well-being within you. Notice how good those areas feel as the sensation moves to a new area to help regenerate, speed up healing and enhance the body’s natural ability detoxify.

Step Four: Let the colour and sensation move through your torso and into all the organs within it, creating balance and enhancing well being. Take all the time you need to let it spread all the way to the very tips of your toes.

Trust your body and mind know how to do everything that it needs to accelerate and enhance the healing and detox process win response to the signal you are sending it with your intention.

Step Five: Once you have spent a really good period of time doing this thoroughly, let the sensation, the colour, the sound, or whatever else you used, to just dissipate and spend some time basking in the glow of healthiness and enjoyment.

Step Six: Once you have spent enough time enjoying what you have done, you can wiggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes. Let that feeling stay with you.

I must say, my legs feel free of lactic acid now and I am certain it is a lot to do with using this process to enhance my natural abilities.

Have a great day, I’ll be back with some non-marathon related stuff soon…

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Have some of themes here resonated with you? Then have a read of these pages:

1. Do you need help or support in a particular area of your life?
Coaching with Adam Eason Or Hypnotherapy with Adam Eason
2. Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others? Are you a hypnotherapist looking for stimulating and career enhancing continued professional development and advanced studies?
Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.
3. Are you a hypnotherapist looking to fulfil your ambitions or advance your career?
Hypnotherapist Mentoring with Adam Eason.

Likewise, if you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here: The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar. Alternatively, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book.