DrMichaelHarris Blog

A note to ALL DO-GOODERS and people who want to change the world by Michael Harris, PhD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Greetings fellow wizards,

Anyone who knows me or reads my stuff on the web, pretty much knows that I am incurable "do-gooder" and positive expectation freak. I'm only interested in making this planet a better place to live in and work tirelessly to that end.

This morning while I was opening my mail I came across a strange letter. This letter was from Mumbai, India so I knew it couldn't be from a client or ex-girlfriend.. I looked at it for a couple of minutes with a great deal of curiosity. The letter was from someone I friended on LinkedIn and the sent me a "thank you" letter, thanking me for "friending" them.

They went on to tell me that they had gone to my website, listened to my recordings, read my articles (on this blog), watched my youtube videos and pretty much "gushed" appreciation for all things that I do, which seemed kind of strange because this is what I do, daily.

It took a couple of minutes to realize that this is exactly what impact that I'm trying to make on this world we live in. All you have to do is watch the news for a couple of seconds to notice that we have problems out there. But we also have beautiful people doing wonderful things everyday; it's that, that type of information doesn't sell newspapers so it isn't reported.

I thought I'd jot down a couple of lines today to remind you that this a wonderful place to live and you need to LIVE YOUR DREAMS. It's obvious that people are out there searching for answers so if you're in the business of making dreams come true, making people laugh and forget about their troubles... KEEP DOING THAT... you never know who you will impact in what corner of the world. My faith in the dream has been revitalized and the person who sent the letter, (you know who you are)THANK YOU!

Sometimes it's a nice thing to know that you're having an impact. I'm reminded of Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Prize Winning Leader, who spend 27 years in house arrest, and ended Apartheid. This is paraphrased..."It isn't that we live too big, it's that we live too small".

Make this day the day you recommit to your dreams

talk soon
M

Your Life After Trauma and PTSD with Michele Rosenthal by Dr Michael Harris

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Listen to internet radio with Dr Michael Harris on Blog Talk Radio

Your Life After Trauma and PTSD with Michele Rosenthal

by Dr Michael Harris

About Michelle Rosenthal:
In 1981, Michele was 13 years old when she found herself struggling to survive Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome, a freak allergy to a medication that turned her into a full-body burn patient almost overnight. It didn’t take long for insomnia, intrusive thoughts, nightmares and flashbacks to set in. She was determined to go back to who she’d been before her illness and ran as fast as she could into the future.
Within 5 years she was a complete and total insomniac, anorexic, melt down mess. The therapists forced her to see and recognize her classic symptoms of PTSD.
Receiving the diagnosis was only the beginning of her healing journey. Literally, the journey took her from New York City to Palm Beach, Florida. In the end, it required 10 modalities and quite a few practitioners to get her to where she is today: 100% PTSD-free.
Michelle learned a lot during her PTSD recovery. She learned about the importance of hope and belief and we can harness its strength and apply it to PTSD recovery.
Read about my personal posttraumamatic stress disorder history and mission.
check out Michele's website - www.healmyptsd.com

DO COMPUTERS NEED THERAPY by Ray Zukowski

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:37:00 +0000

I came across this wonderful article and I just had to share it... Happy reading
talk to you soon
Michael

I wonder if our technology hasn't gone too far. I have been noticing more and more quirks on my computer lately. When I ask my printer to print it asks if I really want to print. Like "Are you talking to me!". Then it prompts me again before it really does it. Is it question my ability to choose to print or is it too busy in its own thoughts to do the job. Couldn't we just talk it out between us.

When I am looking for music, Itunes opens and it always tells me that it is not my main music program. Would I like it to be? Does this program feeling insecure about its place in the world. Does it need therapy for this insecurity about being number two? Maybe some confidence building is in order.

My Moviemaker software is always in some kind of conflict with Quicktime. Is this just sibling rivalry? Do I have to worry about anger management issues between these two programs.

Sometimes programs have there own inner conflicts. I worry. They may go haywire someday unexpectedly and who knows what it might do? My computer tells me that they have an issue that cannot be resolved. Would regression therapy to core cause help?

Even the equipment has issues. The other day my hard drive said "Main Memory is failing." Can computers have Alzheimer's? If i get its memory wiped will past life issues still remain?

It seems the very worst is when the computer is feeling really bad and it expresses the feelings with a full blue screen. How sad. A total melt down. Usually means a break in our relationship. How could I have prevented this kind of emotional problem.

Well, maybe there is a new profession coming. Therapy for computers and the programs in it or is it a wicked plot to take over our minds through kitchen appliances by aliens. No, that's another topic.

Just my thoughts today.
Ray Zukowski
Mentor Director
IMDHA Peer Network

Independance Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:01:00 +0000

I'd like to extend my wishes for your 4th of July holiday.
The fourth of July has always been special to me. In addition to being the anniversary of our country's birth,
it holds special meaning as the anniversary of my parents wedding day. Today would have been my parents 59th celebration of that event if my father were still alive.

So I'd like to give you a gift to celebrate this day. I'm giving you an audio to download and share if you like.

The Authority audio is my gift to you and it's own my favorites. I discovered the need for this audio while I was creating "Sleepnosis" hypnosis CDs and I discovered that many people just simply don't have permission from themselves to create and keep changes.

Personal changes, career changes, relationship changes all change begins with the decision to make a change that will be for the greater good. Once that decision is made rest is simple.

Here's your audio

Have a wonderful holiday and I will speak with you soon

best regards,
Michael

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Yes Virginia… there is a dark side to hypnosis by Michael Harris, PhD

Because of the people involved, I won’t be discussing any specifics of the case just some generalities so that you can get the scope of what has occurred and perhaps by reading this you may be able to avert any situations that could cause yourself or someone you know harm. HYPNOSIS WORKS.

I had an opportunity the other day to work with a client on a pretty scary subject and yes, I’m talking about HYPNOTIC MIND CONTROL. You hear about it on the news, you see what Hollywood wants to produce in movies but most people never get to see it. The appointment was right out of the same place where people like Charles Manson or Jeffery Dahmer live aka crazy land. Only this wasn’t on the news… it was in my office.

I also find it interesting in light of the recent media fervor over a stage hypnotist that recently had a problem after doing a hypnosis stage demonstration at a girl’s school. I’m not a fan of hypnosis used as an entertainment tool for this reason. The poor guy was doing what he normally does and things went wrong, very wrong.

The subject came in and at my request, brought a friend to sit in on the session.

The short version is that this person, a female subject had met a man who has a least a understanding of how hypnosis works. The subject who had a boyfriend was having some relationship issues and the man offered to “listen” to her issues.

One day, the man offered to do some “relaxation” techniques so that the subject’s headache would abate. From this point forward, the man regularly did hypnosis with the subject over a period of about 6 months. It might be also worth mentioning that in the 6 months period she broke up with her boyfriend and guess what? That’s correct. She began a relationship with the “friendly man” who was just trying to help her with her headache.

When the subject came into the office, she was very easy to induce into trance. I found it interesting that even though she was very frightened, she was still extremely suggestible. We methodically when through the last six months of her life and the subject discovered that she had been programmed (these are the exact instructions) to CRY, TO BE USED and TO BE ABUSED. We also discovered that the subject had been programmed to be in a heightened sexual state at any time that she was in the presence of, or thought about this man. Apparently, the goal was to condition this woman to be his sex slave and to be so broken that she could not leave him.

We were able to undo all of the programming and the subject is living FAR AWAY from the man. So the question you may be considering is… HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? The answer is very easily.

About 5% of the U.S. population is VERY SUGGESTIBLE and the rest of us are equally susceptible to a wide variety of hypnotic techniques like REPETITION, AUTHORITY FIGURES, TRUSTED RESOURCES and plain old-fashioned GULLIABLITY.

For most part, we as humans have a desire to believe others, to accept what they say is true and in general have a positive expectation that what people are telling you is the truth or what they believe is the truth. What happens when you meet someone who knows about that? You get situations like the one described above.

The dichotomy is this. How do you life your life with an expectation of a safety and simultaneously protect yourself from predators? My answer is with some difficulty and a degree of vigilance.

According to Martha Stout, author of “the Sociopath Next Door”, approximately 1 person out of every 25 has the capacity of being a sociopath. I find this ratio to be alarming and based on what I do for a living I also find it to be fairly accurate. So what do you do?

I like the “Ronald Regan method” TRUST BUT VERIFY. You cannot spend your whole life checking out everything that every person tells you but you do have INTUITION, NATURAL INTELLIGENCE and an innate ability to sense when people are “blowing smoke up your skirt. If what someone is saying sounds like B.S. you’re probably correct. The question is, is what the person is telling you going to affect your life? Your life decisions? Your health or career? If yes, it may be time to investigate a little further.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. HYPNOSIS WORKS! The subject, I had in my office, the other day is going to be an isolated incident and I may or may not ever see this type of client again, but they are out there. There are bad people who use hypnosis and other mechanisms to control others. The media and advertisers have been using these techniques for decades the only reason there isn’t a public outcry is NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Just remember, HYPNOSIS ISN’T A TOY OR AN ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE. Do not let people “practice” hypnosis on you. If you have a problem or an issue that you believe can be solved using hypnosis or you think someone is messing with your head, GET A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL to help you.

There are a great many organizations that produce high-quality hypnotists and NLP practitioners. If you need a name or a referral to an organization email me and I’ll be happy to send it to you. You also have my permission to forward and re-post this article to anyone you think will benefit from this article.

About the Author:

Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks.
He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. See his latest video on youtube and on BlogTalk radio To make an appointment call or just to ask a few questions call - 214-702-3774

Mindfulness can help cancer patients with anxiety and depression

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:45:00 +0000

Another great article on "Mindfulness" which is another way of addressing the Mind/Body Connection.To me there is no difference between meditation and what some folks call hypnosis or "trance".
I'd be interested in you opinion if you like to post it, hunt me down on facebook or email me

thanks for reading,
Michael

Mindfulness can help cancer patients with anxiety and depression

When being diagnosed with cancer, people will naturally worry about their future, their family and about dying. Actually, no less than 35-40% of cancer patients suffer from significant anxiety and depression symptoms. An interdisciplinary research project carried out between Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences and Aarhus University Hospital and the Danish Cancer Society now shows that mindfulness can help cancer those patients suffering from anxiety and depression.

During his PhD programme, Jacob Piet, psychologist and PhD student at Aarhus University, Business and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, has studied the effects of mindfulness-based psychological therapy. In collaboration with Bobby Zachariae, Professor at Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, and Hanne W-rtzen from the Danish Cancer Society, he has, in particular, studied the effect in cancer patients with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Mindfulness focuses on the present
Mindfulness-based psychological therapy is rooted in Buddhist meditation techniques and includes the programmes mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Training and exercises in mindfulness teach the cancer patients to be more conscious of life as it happens instead of worrying about the past and the future. This may be thoughts about their past behaviour having contributed to their disease and fear of what will happen to them in future, including worries about death.

Mindfulness is a special way of being attentive. Mindfulness teaches you not to judge and evaluate yourself, your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.

Mindfulness is believed to help by improving attention control and gaining greater acceptance. The resulting effect is less negative thoughts and worries and therefore reduced anxiety and depression, explains Jacob Piet.

Groundbreaking results
The research is based on a meta analysis of 22 studies of mindfulness-based therapy and involves more than 1,400 cancer patients. Jacob Piet and his colleagues' summary of the study findings shows that mindfulness has a documented effect as an effective and inexpensive therapy method for cancer patients with anxiety and depression symptoms. The positive effect was not only seen immediately after therapy, but was maintained for at least six months following the therapy.

The meta analysis is important as this is the kind of analysis doctors and health boards will typically study, says Jacob Piet.

The findings have been published in the most prestigious international journal within clinical psychology research, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Depression affects course of cancer

The prevalence of depression is significant in cancer patients. Actually, no less than 35-40% of cancer patients suffer serious anxiety and depression symptoms. In the first year after having been diagnosed with cancer, almost 50% of patients meet the criteria for severe depression. They suffer from very low mood and an aversion to activity, and, in addition to being the disorder associated with the greatest loss of quality of life, depression is also associated with a high risk of suicide.

It has also been documented that depression in cancer patients results in prolonged hospitalization and increased mortality. The depression simply predicts the progression of the course of cancer. This clearly demonstrates the great benefits associated with identifying methods - such as mindfulness-based psychological therapy - which help cancer patients suffering from anxiety and depression.
FACTS about mindfulness:

Mindfulness-based psychological therapy includes the programmes mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).
The therapy takes place in groups with eight weekly sessions.
As a key element of the programme, the participants are asked to practise the mindfulness techniques as their daily homework.
Mindfulness-based therapy has proved effective in handling stress, anxiety and depression symptoms as well as in preventing relapse in persons with recurrent depression. In recent years, a number of researchers have specifically studied the effect of the method on psychological problems among cancer patients.

Source: Aarhus University

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:13:00 +0000

A friend of mine forwarded this article to me give a read and tell me what you think.

I'll talk to you soon

Michael

'Mindfulness' Grows In Popularity _ And Profits

by The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio June 11, 2012, 03:06 am ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In what's become a daily ritual, Tim Ryan finds a quiet spot, closes his eyes, clears his mind and tries to tap into the eternal calm. In Ryan's world, it's a stretch for people to get this relaxed. He's a member of Congress.

Increasingly, people in settings beyond the serene yoga studio or contemplative nature path are engaging in the practice of mindfulness, a mental technique that dwells on breathing, attention to areas of the body and periods of silence to concentrate on the present rather than the worries of yesterday and tomorrow.
Marines are doing it. Office workers are doing it. Prisoners are doing it.

The technique is drawing tens of thousands to conferences and learning experiences across the nation and world, and studies have shown it to reduce the symptoms of certain diseases and conditions.
Ryan has written a book, "A Mindful Nation," pushing mindfulness as an elixir that can tone down political divisions in Washington, get American schoolchildren learning better, and return the country to an era of richer personal experience.

"You still forget your keys, you still call people by the wrong name, you still stub your toe, but you can train your mind to be more in the present moment," Ryan said.

Benefits in stress reduction and improved performance have prompted U.S. corporations including Google, Target, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Comcast, BASF, Bose and New Balance to offer mindfulness training and encourage its use at work.

The practice's critics, including some psychologists and religious scholars, say the approach is little more than Buddhist meditation repackaged and rebranded for a secular, and often paying, audience.

"The commercialization of Buddhism has been happening as long as Buddhism has existed," said Rachelle Scott, an associate professor of religion at the University of Tennessee and author of "Nirvana for Sale."
"It's problematic, because most Americans who are engaging in these activities don't know the cultural backdrop to that, so in order to gain access they have to go to one of these retreats, and they are expensive," she said.

Of the $34 billion Americans spent on alternative medicine in 2009, $4.2 billion — about 12 percent — was spent in sectors that included mindfulness concepts, such as meditation-related classes or relaxation techniques, according to federal data. Participation in meditation therapy by U.S. adults rose 6 percent a year on average from 2002 to 2007, according to a study by the research group SRI International.
Marine 1st Lt. Scott Williams, 32, of Lancaster, Calif., said skills he learned through Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training — known in the military as MMFT or "M-fit," — allow him to transition rapidly from one focus point to another, to rid his mind of negative thoughts, and to recover more quickly from emotional experiences.

"As an infantry officer in the Marines, the mental agility gained by conducting mindfulness exercises could potentially be the difference maker as I lead men through chaotic and uncertain environments in Afghanistan," he said.

The technique has also reached prisons, where it is being used to reduce stress, anxiety and violence.
Ryan, a Democrat from Youngstown, learned the technique at a retreat two days after the 2008 presidential election — the end of a stressful campaign period and the beginning of another.

"I was to the point where I was OK, but I thought, 'I'm going to be fried by the time I'm 40; I'm just going to be burnt out,'" said Ryan, who was 35 at the time of the election.

For Ryan, a former high school quarterback, the feeling he gets during mindfulness meditation reminds him of the utter concentration and single-mindedness athletes feel when they're "in the zone."

In fact, it was Phil Jackson, the legendary NBA coach, who was among the first to legitimize mind-body techniques in popular culture as he led the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to 11 titles from 1989 to 2010.

Jackson was nicknamed the "Zen Master" for a holistic approach to coaching that drew upon Eastern religious philosophy. Over the same period that Jackson was winning titles, brain science was beginning to validate what practitioners found evident: The brain can be trained to de-stress, and the body will perform better.

For many, it was a wacky, or at least unconventional, idea — departing from the wisdom of the day that the brain was more or less fully formed by the time a child hit kindergarten.

The growing body of research showing the brain has the capacity to change throughout life is bringing mental fitness onto the same plane as physical fitness, said Georgetown University associate professor Elizabeth Stanley.

Stanley, who runs MMFT and conducts research for the Army and Marines, said mindfulness meditation "isn't touchy-feely at all" in its new uses.

"There's something very empowering about learning how and why the body and mind respond under stress," she said.

Stanley said studies involving subjects engaged in repeated mindfulness have shown that it changes the way blood and oxygen flow through the brain, leading over time to structural changes. The practice can shrink the amygdala, which controls our fear response; enlarge the hippocampus, which controls memory; and make the insular cortex that regulates the body's internal environment more efficient, according to recent peer-reviewed studies by Stanley and others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are touting several recent studies that have found the technique can reduce the severity of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms in women and reduce stress and pain in chronic sufferers of fibromyalgia and depression.

Google spokeswoman Katelin Todhunter-Gerberg says the company's "Search Inside Yourself" mindfulness class is among its most popular. It enhances awareness and performance, which improves productivity and morale, she said.

One Google lawyer, she said, was able to use her training to stop taking things so personally, reduce the irritability sometimes evident in her emails, and elicit immediate kudos from customers.

Not everyone is sold. In her self-help website Mindful Construct, psychology master's student Melissa Karnaze worries that mindfulness runs the risk of encouraging participants to suppress valid emotions.

"To imply that typical forms of human judgment are somehow inferior to a particular type of attention referred to as mindfulness — with regard to mental health and well-being in general — is a broad sweep," she said in an email. "We rely on various types of judgment for survival, and context matters."

Ryan wants to see fellow politicians embrace mindfulness and abandon the aggressive, around-the-clock grind.

"Nobody enjoys it; nobody likes it. It's become a mess," Ryan said. "Look at the approval ratings from the American people, look at how the people who are inside these institutions feel about the gridlock and the inability to get things done, and the constant campaigning, and the amount of money that's involved. We're not going to solve the problem by doing more of it."

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:24:00 +0000

The Saving Seed: Growing a Financially Healthy Family Tree by Ashley Parks
Click here to go to the radio show
Monday June 4, 2012 @ 1 pm (CST) I have the pleasure of interviewing Certified Financial Planner, Ashley Parks CFP, author of "The Saving Seed". This book is a great way to teach your children (and yourself) the process, methodology and FUN of getting your finances and savings plan under your control and making saving a habit.

About the Author:
Ashley Bogard Parks, CFP® holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning from Southern Methodist University. She has been advising clients since 1999 in her hometown of Dallas, Texas where she resides with her family.
We all have a personal root system that has been developing throughout our lives. Ashley’s career has offered her amazing insight into the personal lives of individuals that she comes in contact with on a daily basis. That insight, along with her own personal journey, spurred her to put her passion on paper. The stories and personal experiences over her career motivated her to write a book geared towards helping families gain not only personal well-being, but financial well-being. The Saving Seed is Ashley’s gift to others. Her philosophy on life is one of becoming self and becoming greater than our temporal world suggests. “What can we do that will positively impact others and allow us to grow?”
“We must give to others and the world. It is not ours to own and we must leave a positive impression as we pass by on our journey.”
Unleash your "inner saver" and Be Transformed

About Michael Harris:

Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory/Learning Styles. He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. Checkout the website, See his latest video on youtube and on BlogTalk radio

click here to go to the radio show

Trust the pie...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 May 2012 16:28:00 +0000

I went to see the latest installment of the "Men in Black" movies this weekend.
I can say it's worth the price of admission which in Dallas, TX with popcorn
and goodies can be upward towards 50-60 bucks. So at those prices, I'm expecting
a life changing event...

There is a particular scene in the movie (no, I won't spoil the plot) in which there is a needed
beak in the action and the character played by Tommy Lee Jones states "his grandfather always recommended a slice of pie when a unresolvable problem presented itself" (paraphrased).

I totally agree that when you have worked your head (conscious mind) until you have exhausted all of your known responses to a challenge, problem or issue the best course of action is to do nothing.

Talk a walk, take a nap, color in a coloring book with your kids DO SOMETHING OTHER than thinking and something amazing with occur. The solution to the problem will present itself. The power of the unconscious mind to reach into other areas of expertise and to draw upon resources outside of your self is boundless, if you allow the process to work.. The funny thing is that you cannot be in your conscious mind and your unconscious mind at the same time, so for me, the answer is obvious. The conscious mind can keep track of 7 (plus or minus 2) things at any one time and the unconscious mind and keep track of a infinite number of things simultaneously; which one would you pick?

The next time you've got a "something" you need to figure out...TRUST THE PIE

here's the trailer

talk to you soon,
M

about the Author

Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks. He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. See his latest video on youtube and on BlogTalk radio

Inside and Outside the Bubble by Michael Harris, PhD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000

I had a request from a client, the other day via email, to talk more about Sensory Styles or Markova Stacks in terms of groups and organizations. And, "yes" before you ask, I'm planning to do another class very soon. I thought was a good idea to talk about the concept of groups, organization and even countries having a specific and secondary Sensory Style.

So what is a Sensory Style? The definition of a Sensory Style is how a person processes what they see, hear and feel in the world and in what order, that they process that sensory information. Each person will have a primary or most preferred style and usually at least one secondary style that they can easily move into if or when needed.

So what does that mean? It means we have different verbal and non-verbal cues that tell us whether or not to let someone into our “protective bubble”. That decision is usually automatic and unconscious, which is fine if you live in your cave on top of your mountain your entire life without every going anywhere.

However if you plan to move around on the planet with all these other humans you might want to know that there are six basic methods of Sensory Style processes.

KAV – body smart and visually sensitive
likes touch and to be touched
being seen for who they really are is the most private part of them

KVA – body smart and auditorally sensitive
likes touch and to be touched
being listened to and hearing their truths are the most private part of them

AKV – auditory smart and visually sensitive
Speaks with lots of feeling and rhythm
being seen for who they really are is the most private part of them

AVK – auditory smart and body sensitive
Has extensive vocabulary, Speaks logically about facts, ideas, concepts
knowing how they feel (emotionally) on the inside is the most private part of them

VAK – visually smart and body sensitive
Connect most easily with others through eye contact, face reveals feelings
knowing how they feel (emotionally) on the inside is the most private part of them

VKA – visually smart and auditory sensitive
Connect most easily with others through eye contact, face reveals feelings
being listened to and hearing their truths are the most private part of them

Yes, I can go on for hours talking about all of the individual nuances of each of these patterns, how wonderful each one is all of the ways that you can conversationally elicit that information. The most important thing(s) to know about these patterns is we do ALL of them in some context and they are variable by situation, experience and emotional intensity. Think of these patterns which are similar to what the Myers/Briggs was attempting to explain is how people do what they do and why they do that. But what if groups, organizations and countries use these patterns as well? They do.

Recently, I was at a Full Moon party the other day and I noticed that this particular party was full of people who knew each other very well and there were a few newcomers (I was one of them), not in the “click”. It was very obvious to me that the group of people who knew one-another had different rules of engagement for the group and for the ones not yet in the group. It was also NOT obvious to those newcomers and I noticed a few problems that could have escalated but luckily did not.

Small companies have their own Sensory Styles. I worked for a sales organization in my early twenties. This company was more like a family than a company. (except for we didn’t have any arguments at thanksgiving). The process was simple, people worked for their own individual and team sales production. If you were having a problem you could tell someone and the problem would get fixed. The management was interested in the whole company succeeding and no problem was too small to be addressed and acted on. The one thing that stood out to me as unusual was the focus of “this is work time” and this is “off time”. Vacations were not mandatory but we all were making so much money, why not go somewhere and spend it?

I hear Japanese corporations are similar to this or used to be. It probably explains why so many Japanese corporations have employee that one for ONE COMPANY their entire life and then retire with a pension.

American and European Corporations have a different more hands-off Sensory Style where everyone is in a cube there is no talking, touching and frequently even different departments have no idea what’s going on outside of their “little world”. The focus is on production, profit and in my opinion, this “dehumanization” is far more damaging to the people, community and the planet than anyone is taking about.

So what happens when you go to a different company, city, state or country? Each of these groups have their own individual rules of engagement that are so engrained in the culture that you’d never know about them until you violate one of the unspoken rules. If you do violate the rules it is possible that you can be removed or labeled rude, a troublemaker, etc. Here’s a couple of examples.

In China, it perfectly all right and socially acceptable to stare at someone without blinking for long periods of time, the person is “just looking at you”. This can be unnerving to Americans where our culture is organized primarily about “no-eye contact in public.

In Spain, the men are world renown for being “very attentive” and can make physical contact with someone they know or care about as many as 158 times per hour.(yes there was a study, lol) If you are into touch and being touched, go to Spain.

Conversely, England is the best know for being formal, distant and proper. If you really don’t like being touched all that much by strangers this could be the place for you. Each Country, each group has individual rules of engagement but there are clues.

Here’s Five Simple Steps for identifying Sensory Styles

1. Ask Questions before you go.

The best way to find out something before you do anything is ask. The internet is loaded with information on just about any topic, company, state and country. A few minutes (or hours) of research can cut your learning curve down significantly.

Going to Japan? I’ll be there’s at least 10 yahoo groups that can answer any question that you might have about Japan, it’s culture, it’s rules and how best to “BLEND”

2. Observe what other people are doing before you jump into the deep-end of the pool.
Look before you leap. A few minutes or hours of observation may be worth the time it takes to observe what’s really going on in a new situation. You may even need a couple of examples. Many times group dynamics may skew your first observation. I’ve been to a couple of places in Dallas and there is definite difference between the people who show up early and those who arrive late. Just knowing that one thing can be the difference between great time or boring one just by knowing what time to arrive.

3. Find a mentor, coach or friend.

Going to do something, you’ve never done before? Ask someone who has been to that place, state or country, what goes on there? Can they meet you there so you’ll have at least one person to talk to, introduce you to new people and guide you as you walk this “new terrain”?

4. Be Flexible about your behavior.

When I go to Mexico, I just shift into “vacation time” because I’m not going to be able to affect the entire country so I motor down to whatever rhythm that the general populace is operating at and it’s all good.

I have this skill I call “vacation time”. I live in Dallas, which isn’t New York, but it is a little more busy than Casper Wyoming. So the time scale of Dallas has it’s own rhythm and if you’re used to it it’s great and if you’re “new” here, it can drive your crazy. Everyone here is 15 minutes late, so if you have a “time thing” you need to adjust because the general populace of Dallas isn’t going to adapt. My Mom hates coming to Dallas because it’s too busy and everyone is in a hurry. She lives in a small town in East Texas where the lights blink “yellow” after 6 pm. As my friend, Robert Caruso says, “just roll with it”.

5. Give yourself a minimum of three examples
You may have heard try something twice before you decide whether or not you like it. I agree. The first time you do something you have no experience what-so-ever. So go try something to experience it. Have fun, be scared scream, laugh or whatever it is that’s supposed to happen. Next, try it again to see, hear, feel if you actually would consider doing it again.

My theory is do it three times. Once to experience, twice to like it and the third time to decide whether or not you’re going to include it into your life as a add-on, hobby or even as a career… because you never know, right?

Want a cheat sheet or Want to know your Personal Sensory Styles? Send me an email

The important thing to remember is just because you know how to do something doesn’t mean that is the only way to have it done. Humans have a remarkable about of flexibility about how, when and for what reason to do something and the ways they devise to make that happen never cease to amaze and astound me.

GO FORTH, BE AMAZED, and let a few people into that bubble of yours.

I’ll talk to you again soon

Michael

About the author
Michael Harris, PhD, internationally known hypnotist, transition coach, speaker and author is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks.
He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection, Hypnosis and Sensory/Learning Styles. See his latest video on youtube

Surviving Cancerland

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:05:00 +0000

Listen to internet radio with Dr Michael Harris on Blog Talk Radio

Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos is a two- time breast cancer survivor who penned SURVIVING CANCERLAND: The Psychic Aspects of Healing. She is represented by Scovil, Galen & Ghosh Literary Agency & Steve Allen Media. She’s a phone counselor for R.A. BLOCH Cancer Foundation, Q&A cancer columnist for CapeWomenOnlineMagazine, an inspirational speaker, mentor, cancer volunteer, and Cambridge Who’s Who Executive Professional of the Year 2009-2010. Follow her @ http://www.survivingcancerland.com/ http://twitter.com/PsychicHealing http://www.facebook.com/pages/SURVIVING-CANCERLAND-The-Psychic-Aspects-of-Healing/142803307934?ref=m http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_tab_pro

Kathy was born to a military family, raised in Europe, graduated from Munich American High School and Keene Teacher’s College, taught Special Education and Psychology at University of South Florida.

She’s been featured in newspaper,TV, http://www.acelebrationofwomen.ca/?p=6512, http://www.pepsiweinspire.com/archives/4170, radio, and contributes to C4Women, Colette Baron-Reid’s Intuition Now, Featured in Examiner.com National-TheGuidedPath, Examiner.com/Chicago-SelfAwareness-Examiner, Writer’s Digest Community, Scribblerati, guest contributor to author Carolyn Howard Johnson’s SHRING WITH WRITERS BLOG SPOT, NCCS cancerversaey.org, blogs, National Wellness Community Online Support blog and discussion groups, Cancer Advocacy Now blog site. International REIKI Association’s blog and website, ACOR (Association of Cancer Online Resources) blog & web chat, NBCC (National Breast Cancer Coalition) journal & blog, USA TODAY Community Blog, LinkedIn, OM TIMES MAGAZINE, linked to heal@healthcarewhisperer.com, volunteers for cancer organizations & online groups.

It's Fat Tuesday!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:05:00 +0000

okay let's start with a little history lesson... (thanks to american catholic.org)

Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That's why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of street sweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.

What is less known about Mardi Gras is its relation to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival. (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal "ordering" of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons. Carnival comes from the Latin words "carne vale", meaning "farewell to the flesh." Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.

The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings' Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.

Epiphany is also traditionally when celebrants serve King's Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.

There are well-known season-long Carnival celebrations in Europe and Latin America, including Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The best-known celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans and the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. He named the spot Point du Mardi Gras because he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.

Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations. The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827. The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.

Mardi Gras literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from "to shrive," or hear confessions), Pancake Tuesday and fetter Dienstag. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.

Now that we know all that... what does this mean? I think that the basic idea is we all need to reign ourselves in from time-to-time. Since humans are wired to eat and eat and consume until all the resources are gone in a particular area; then we move on to the next area and repeat the consumption process.

The problem may be that our nervous systems haven't evolved or it could be that we have populated every area on the planet so there isn't an new area to go inhabit. Either way I see the carnival/lent period of the year as a way to pull back a little on the "wretched excess", to STOP and do some inventory about our lives, our actions and the pile of stuff that we've accumulated throughout the year.

Do you have clothes that are "last season" or don't fit anymore? Is there someone who could use those clothes? Have you been meaning to start an exercise program or new eating routine? this would be the perfect time to that started. You know that most people (78%) who begin an exercise or eating program on Jan.1 have already "fallen off the wagon" NOW would be a great time to get back on the bus or to finally begin that new program.

Why am I talking about Lent as a starting point for new routines? BECAUSE IT'S ONLY 40 DAYS LONG!!! it's just a little longer than a month, which is plenty of time to notice what's working and not working in your "new routine". It give you a snapshot of what has to happen in order to make this new routine a regular habit AND it will be long enough to notice what other areas of your life are beginning strain form the increased attention that your putting to a single area.

I'm all about B-A-L-A-N-C-E. You have 8 major areas in your Wheel of Life and it is so common for us to throw ourselves into a new project with checking to see if the "new addition" to your schedule with work congruently with all your other commitments in the of the areas of your Life Wheel. If you are in a relationship/ married and/or have kids the process can get even more challenging.

So for today... party your buns off!

Tomorrow let's talk about setting some well-formed intentions about how you're going to get rolling on your new goal. I'll post some downloadable link for a well-formed intention with action-steps so you can started correctly and who knows maybe the next 40 days will begin the most focused you've been all year.

best regards,
Michael Harris, PhD

I will also be posting a special price ($20.00 for 20 minutes) phone consultation link for those of you who would like a little extra help getting your well-formed intention complete and ready to start immediately.

Book Review - Shaman, Healer, Sage by Alberto Villodo, PhD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:18:00 +0000

Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas

It seems like almost every book I read I love and that may be true. Yes, I'm a "bookhead" and I find the written word to be as seductive as any other physical pleasure that you might imagine; and I can imagine a lot... lol
Occasionally, I find a book that upon reading it, I must run to the top of the mountain and tell everyone to read. This would be one of those books.

Alberto Villodo has lived the life we all THINK we might want and the parts of the book that detail his progression from seeker to shaman are well-written and thoughtful. I'm interested in getting the rest of the his story and yes I've already ordered his two other books, so expect more mountain-top shouting in a couple weeks

We all have a path that we must walk, sometimes ride in a limo, sometimes crawl through 10 miles of burning glass to receive a tasty bite of a sh*t sandwich but who really knows what lies ahead? You still must walk the path. If you have a desire to help people I highly recommend that you add this book to your library of reference, you know, the books you keep at your finger tips for quick review. Yes! It's that good.

And please keep in mind this man has spent a lifetime digesting the teaching and learning from is mentors, so before you run out and hang a shingle announcing yourself to the world as the next "healer"; take a little time to get some training, which oh by-the-way Alberto offers on his website

enjoy this book and I'll see you soon,

Michael Harris, PhD

The Space Between the Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:20:00 +0000

headless spirit on Bourbon Street (taken Feb.11, 2012 by KJ)

This may come as "newsflash" but not everyone who helps people for a living takes their own advice. Over the weekend I just took my first "real" vacation in over seven years and I can tell you that it was long overdue. Perhaps we all should heed the advice that "It is the space between the notes that makes the music... - Wayne Dyer".

I had a great time! The weather was a little uncooperative during the driving portions of the trip and in the middle it was cold and the wind was blowing most of the time. When we finally got back to Texas it was snowing! You know what? It didn't matter.

In my other life, when I was using my hypnosis and NLP skills as peak performance and physical trainer, I used to take a 5-day break every 6 weeks. I'm not sure that going to be possible with my 5 year-old being school but surely we can get on the road a couple of times per year.The most important part is creating time. Time to enjoy yourself with friends or family, and even time with just you and you. For those of you who can't get away anytime soon here's the link to my 10-Minute Mental Vacation mp3

Now that I"m back, I'm rested and re-charged, I'm going to be adding a new component to my existing business. A friend of mine has asked me to be part of his paranormal investigation business and I said "yes".

I'm not really sure how this is going to work and I'm also sure we'll make some mistakes along the way. I seen way too many paranormal investigation shows on TV with the focus on "evil spirits", hauntings, etc. How come one ever ever investigates the people who are attracting that stuff in the first place?

After 20 years plus in the "help" industry, I know that people's thoughts, automatic language, habits and behavioral patterns attract lots of things; including spirits, both positive and negative. I've also had enough people in my office who needed some serious cleaning (exorcism) and then there are those who are conflicted by opposing thoughts that manifest physically in interesting ways enough to understand there is lots more for us to learn in this area. Perhaps this new endeavor is just what the Dr ordered...

The Mind/Body Connection does necessarily just mean ONLY YOUR MIND and ONLY YOUR BODY; we're all connected remember? And just because someone you're connected to doesn't currently have a body does that mean that the mind connection is severed? Inquiring minds really wish to know the answer to this one...I'll keep you posted on the developments as they continue.

about the Author:

Michael Harris, PhD is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks and Transition Coach and internationally known Hypnotist, Speaker and Author. He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the Mind/Body Connection and Hypnosis.

If you wish to book an appointment in person or via phone or internet (Skype) email Michael at this link

See his latest video on youtube

Help Jody Save Her Finger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

this message is forwarded by request...

A friend called and asked for help. Her pinky ring finger had been severed in a car door. The end of her little finger (the entire nail) on her right hand had fallen to the ground. She said she picked it up and put it back on her hand but it fell off again. She went into the gas station and doused it with Young Living Oil, Purification, and stuck it back on again. She said it was really burning.

This accident happened last Thursday and she was out of state. She returned late Monday night and called Tuesday morning. She was in extreme pain and I found her quite anxious. Dr, Ging cancelled his appointments so he could attend to her. Dr. Ging said she had infection but her quick action replacing the end of the finger helped her.

Monday night I woke up with this little song in my head: "One little, two little , three little Indians... Many of us learned to count to that song.

Her name is Jody and she is a massage therapist. If you are a therapist or have every had a massage you know it takes two hands. Presently she can't work and she has no insurance.

Jody needs our help now.

We have "Save The Whales" , "Save The Dolphins", we even save paper bags but how often do we get to help someone save their finger?

She is worried about paying her rent and this drains her energy she needs for healing.

So I am asking you to send her any amount to save the little Indian and say a prayer for her.. If for whatever reason you are unable to send her a few dollars please put her on your prayer list.

Please don't expect a thank you card as it is her dominant hand that is injured and she can't write. Thank you for understanding.

I just want us to rally around and let her know there is a abundance of good people in the universe that want to see her whole and well with all her digits.

Here is her information:

Jody O'Callaghan

3501 Beech St.

Rowlett, TX 75089.

Blessings to you and yours,

Rev. Michelle Taylor

PS: Look at your hands and thank them for serving you. They work tirelessly and endlessly for you. We are so blessed.

Dr. Ging, (www.vitalchi.com) graciously discounted her treatment and Dr. Michael Harris,(www.drmichaelharris.com) gifted her a hypnosis/NLP session to elevate the post stress. Thank you both.

Friday Story - November 18, 2011 by Michael Harris, PhD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:15:00 +0000

It's been a while since I posted I've been working on a few things that I'll say more about in future posts.

For today I thought I'd repeat a great story I heard my friend George tell me on our last Mastermind call.

*********************************************************************************
A traveling salesman was on his regular route to see his usual customers and decided to go visit a guy whom
he hadn't seen in quite sometime.The man lived in a dilapidated old house, down a dirt road but this customer was very friendly and had always paid cash.

As was usual, the old man was sitting on his porch and "whittling" on a scrap of wood when the salesman arrived. They talked about this and that and were enjoying the visit. Every now and then, the old dog laying on the porch would lift his head up and howl for a couple of seconds, lay back down and go back to sleep.

The conversation continued about the old man's children and grandchildren, how the crops were doing and what type of summer and winter the old man thought he was going to have. Once again the dog lifted his head up and howled for a few seconds and then layed his head back down.

This interaction between the two men and the dog continued for while until the salesman asked finally had to ask the old man "what was wrong with the dog?"

The old man looked at the dog for a couple of seconds and said, "he's laying on a nail and I'm pretty sure that it hurts, but it doesn't hurt enough for him to get up and move".

The next time you hear someone complaining about their life, their situations or challenges ask them this "if it hurts so much why don't you get off that nail"?

have a great weekend
Michael Harris, PhD

M.C. Hammer, world's greatest hypnotist!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:08:00 +0000

I don't know if anyone can really know how much fun my job really is. I was working with someone the other day and we were doing a pattern interrupt on a unresourceful emotional state (aka bad feeling).

Part of the process is that when the person is right at the beginning of the (bad) feeling you say "STOP".

and then you have them access a resourceful feeling. The process continues again and again until a new response is conditioned in place of the "old" less resourceful feeling.

The fun part was everytime I said "STOP", I kept hearing M.C. Hammer from the old 80's video. I was thinking what a great way to interrupt a automatic unresourceful state and turn it into a something much better.

Listen to this crazy video and the next time you feel yourself slipping into something other than a great feeling... JUST STOP AND HAMMER TIME. The people around you may be wondering what you're smiling at but they don't really need to know now do they?

About the Author:

Michael Harris, PhD is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks and Transition Coach and internationally known hypnotist, speaker and author.
He is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the nationwide pandemic of “Adult Children Moving Back Home (or never leave)”. This national issue affects 40 to 75 million people each year. Listen to Michael Harris, PhD live on his BlogTalk Radio Show.

Friday Story... Tribute to Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:50:00 +0000

(re-posted from insightoftheday.com and big thank you to Bob Proctor)

Steve Jobs gave this as his second story of his Commencement Address at Stanford University on June 12, 2005.
Love and Loss

I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started?

Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT.

I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple.It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.

Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Steve Jobs
1955-2011

my final thoughts on the life and times of Steve Jobs are that it doesn't matter who is on or off your side while you live your dream... what matters is the value that living your dream brings...

Michael Harris, PhD

Book Review - Monster and Magical Sticks by Steven Heller, PhD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:18:00 +0000

I read a great book this week called Monsters and Magical Sticks by Steven Heller, PhD
Here's a quick story (paraphrased) from the book...

A little boy, 3-4 years old, decided that overnight while the lights were off his baseball and football became monsters. He 'saw' them coming to life; they looked evil and were trying to get him.The parents decided, instead of spending lots of time, money and years of therapy trying to convince their son that:

A) there were no such thing as monsters
or
B) he needed to search the depth of his feeling about fears/anger/hostilities/insecurities

or
C) he would need years to learn how to "cope" with his fear of monsters

instead decided to create a positive solution for this 4 year-olds dilemma.

They made a magical stick from a dowel with purple velvet and covered and lined a wooden box.

They then told their son they have gone to a magic doctor and purchased this box with instructions of how to rid his room of monsters. With a solemn ceremony and great determination the boy took the stick, went around the room and in eat corner of the room said "the magic words".

That night there were no nightmares or sudden awakening. The second night the procedure was repeated and so on with the 3 night. After the 4th night the "magical stick" seems to end up in the corner with some other toys and there were no additional reports of bad dreams.

Two weeks later, the boy told the parents their could give the "magic box and stick" back to the magic doctor, because he "no longer needed it".

I cannot imagine a better way to explain the value or procedure known as "hypnosis".
It is the job of the hypnotist, coach or mental health professional to stay of the "content" or story of the subject and find a way to make the subject reality work, that's hypnosis!
Take the time, buy this book you will find so wonderful stories and methods of solving long-term issues in a way that might surprise you of how easy it was to FEEL GOOD.

click on the book picture if you like to read additional reviews or maybe BUY THE BOOK
but that's just a suggestion

Michael Harris, PhD is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks and Transition Coach. This new technology will allow you to know how you process information, in which sensory style, what your strengths and weaknesses are and how specifically to communicate to others in a way that is both beneficial and effective.

Biography - Michael Harris has been in and around the Dallas/Ft. worth area for the last 25 years. He has been published in the Dallas Morning News, Health and Fitness, Bally's Total Fitness, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog. He has been the subject on fitness coaching and personal performance in January of 91, on the local news. Michael is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the nationwide pandemic of “Adult Children Moving Back Home (or never leave)”. This national issue affects 40 to 75 million people each year. Listen to Michael Harris, PhD live on his BlogTalk Radio Show.

A Lesson About Power by Diane Armitage

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:12:00 +0000

I subscribe to lots of blogs and weekly emails. One of my Favorite's is Bob Proctor's Insight of the Day. I thought I'd share this incredible article with you and I highly recommend that you go to Diane Armitage's website or blog and say "hello". Her's links are at the bottom of this article.

talk to you soon,

Michael Harris, PhD

A Lesson About Power

For several months now, I've been running trails on a big hill here in Laguna Beach, and I've seen all sorts of wild life. I've even had a coyote run alongside me for nearly a quarter mile . just loping along, acting like some kind of pet. I've rustled up beautiful foxes, mule deer and reticent bobcats, too. While there are hikers and mountain bikers on the same hill, I can run a good mile or two without seeing anyone in sight. (This does not make my mother very happy, but I love the mind break I get from it.)

This Saturday, I was in for a bit of a surprise.

I had taken a cut-across path to a rarely used fire trail on a very steep hill. Fortunately, my running path takes me DOWN it as I initially tried to go UP it a few times and decided that "down" was a MUCH better plan.

On Saturday, I had trotted about a third of the way down the hill when I spotted an animal about 30 yards ahead of me, heading down the same fire trail. On first glimpse of its tawny body, I thought I'd come across a fox. "Wow, look at that fox. I'll run behind THAT!" I thought to myself as I continued to scamper down the hill. Another 10 yards and I pulled up short - A fox? Not so much. This was a full-grown mountain lion.

At first, I was struck with awe. I watched her trotting ahead, oblivious to me, and couldn't believe how majestic she looked. I have a love for big cats and, in fact, have "adopted" the two Bengal tigers Michael Jackson used to own before turning them over to a lovely big cat preserve - Shambala.org -just north of L.A. I visit "Sabu" and "Thriller," and hang out with their lion, panther and cheetah friends, too.

Those tigers and big cats at Shambala, though, . they're behind really tall, sturdy fences.

This was the SECOND thought I had as I stood there, plain as day, admiring this wild cat. It suddenly occurred to me that I was completely isolated on a very big hill with a path of little resistance between a mountain lion and myself.

I began to back up the hill, hoping I'd make progress without her noticing me. The hill was so steep, however, that it was terribly slow going. So, against everything I've learned about mountain lions/big cats, I turned with my back to her and started running (at a surprising Olympic sprinter's pace) straight up this terribly steep hill. I figured I needed to get as much distance between the two of us as possible.

About 20 yards higher, I turned to see what the mountain lion was doing. She had stopped and turned so that I could see her entire body profile and, with tail twitching lazily ("Just like the movies," my mindless mind chittered), she was watching me.

I put my hands high in the air to make myself look bigger, ha .she probably thought I was flagging her down . and turned around again to keep scrambling up the hill.

A second peek - she was still standing there, motionless except for that twitching tail. I finally reached the cut-across path that would set me on the fire trail back to the ranger station and tried another peek. This time, she was gone.

This gave me NO peace whatsoever.

Mountain lions can purportedly cover 40 feet in a single hop and NOW I was surrounded by high grass and shrubbery on the cut-across. I sent up a quick notice to my guardian angels and kept running.

Obviously, she and I didn't meet again, or I likely wouldn't be writing this to you from the comfort of my living room.

After reporting her . (The rangers kept asking, "Are you sure you know the wildlife here? Are you sure it wasn't a coyote? Maybe a bunny?") . I thought of the book I love, Ted Andrews' "Animal Speak."

As a Native American Indian, Andrews provides an encyclopedia of birds and animals, and the lore and message each carries for you when they suddenly cross your path. These might be animals or birds you see fairly regularly, but in certain circumstances, they're suddenly acting differently, drawing your attention to them.

Whenever my "pet Osprey" comes back to roost on my deck, or a hummingbird allows me to rescue it from entrapment in a skylight, or a coyote decides to just jump out of the bush to lope next to me, I figure Ted Andrews' book will provide some entertaining food for thought. In most cases, though, the "message" smacks me right between the eyes.

Per Andrews, a mountain lion sighting (or cougar to the Indians) means this "If a cougar has shown up in your life, it is time to learn about and test your power. When cougars show up, understand that much of your trial has been worked through. Now it is time to assert. Know your power, believe in your power, and take action."

"The cougar teaches decisiveness in the use of personal power. A cougar does not hesitate. The cougar teaches you how to bring out your power and fill your heart with it in a manner that will enable you to take charge of your life."

All right. Fine. Another smack between the eyes for me.

I don't need to fill you in on what I've been struggling with lately over the past few weeks, but I'll just say for the record that there's not another bird or animal in that book that could have carried a more fitting message my way.

Isn't it amazing, though, how we can so mindlessly relinquish the awesome power that imbues each of us? These days, so many people are screaming that the sky is falling, and so many media talking heads are repeating the same grim "facts" that it's very easy to get caught up in it. We simply forget ourselves; we forget that we are wonderfully made and fully alive with the ability to single-handedly change the course of our lives. As Rev. Michael Beckwith says, "We forget WHO we are and WHOSE we are."

Bob Proctor always teaches that, in times like these, the LAST thing you want to do is pull back or retract. Whatever you might be putting off doing or starting. . whatever you're procrastinating on or feeling uncomfortable about . take a moment to really look at all the reasons you're giving yourself for not taking that action.

Why are you hesitating?

When I think back to that mountain lion watching me, there was no hesitation in her stance. She wasn't letting ME know what she had decided, but she had already made her decision. This wasn't about her questioning whether or not she could bound up the same hill I was achingly scrabbling up -questioning her power wasn't even part of the equation.

If you stopped questioning your own power, where would YOU be?

Diane Armitage

About the Author:
Diane Armitage - www.Armitageinc.com - is a renowned marketing writer, Internet strategist and fixer of lame web sites. When she's not coming to clients' web site rescue, she can be found writing mounds of copy for her popular blog, www.LagunaBeachBest.com and traveling/writing for entities and causes around the world. Contact her at Diane@Armitageinc.com

"Moving the Whole Tractor" by Michael Harris, PhD & Jan Saeger, MNLP

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Great Wednesday to you all!

I was talking today to a friend of mine and NLP colleague, Jan Saeger (pronounced YON SAY-GER), about some new stuff he's working on with his "Global Contextual Shift" pattern (see video) I think he's really come up with some interesting new goodies. For those of you who attended my "Sensory Styles" Class this month; you'll really get this.

The Global Context Shift pattern in a nutshell, is a technique that allows people to breakthrough the barriers that exist between what is "real and possible for them" and what is "real and possible for others. As with many things in hypnosis and NLP, sometimes one person just hears about "X" makes a change and they HAVE IT for the rest of their lives and then cures some dread disease that has eluded mankind for millennium while someone else goes to a practitioner over and over for weeks, months or years. So what's the difference between the two people?

One of things that Jan has discovered is that with some people (generally highly creative people) they need a complete VAK (or VKA, AVK, AKV, KAV, KVA) pattern in order to make whatever shifts that they need to break through the barriers. The letters represent the conscious, subconscious and unconscious mental processes and how people organize that information in their minds dictates everything they do believe or are willing to believe.Jan's latest postulation is that this complete pattern (conscious, subconscious and unconscious) is what is keeping the person from making and keeping the changes that they have requested.

It's kind of like moving a tractor one piece at a time to a new location. For the person with this pattern as soon as you move the pieces to the new location; a replace part is already back on the tractor in the old location. So you could create and entire pseudo-tractor in the resource area that you're working on and it still will not be "real" to the person unless the whole pattern moves at the same time. This why sometimes people get a change for a time, but it doesn't "stick".

This might sound a little confusing; here's an example. I used to work with Junior Olympic Athletes for Enhanced Performance. If you have someone that has NEVER WON ANYTHING in their entire gymnastic career and it can be quite a trick to convince them that they can. The best method or solution is to access something they have won (could be anything a test at school, a raffle, etc.) and get the pattern from that win and MAP IT OVER TO THE NEW CONTEXT. If you do it just by sheer will power or by pretending it will not be real enough for the mind to accept it and the unconscious mind will reject the new pattern or programming, regardless of how congruently the person consciously wants it.

The only exception is for kids under the age of 7. Their minds (corpus callosum) are not completely developed and have difficulty differentiating between real and imagined states. This is the reason that hypnosis is so effective. It suspends "disbelief" for a short while and allows the person to proceed "as if" but there is always the possibility of rejection, etc.

Now with this new pattern that Jan is working on, we maybe able to skip right over to keeping the change part without having to redo the pattern over and over. I will post more about this later as we workout the conversational language patterns for this but for now this what we have.

If you have an interest in NLP modeling or experimental hypnosis and want to know more about this topic you can contact me Michael Harris or contact Jan Saeger

here's the link again for the Global Contextual Shift Pattern

talk to you soon

Michael Harris, PhD

About the Author:

Michael Harris, PhD is an expert in language of communication of Sensory Stacks and Transition Coach. This new technology will allow you to know how you process information, in which sensory style, what your strengths and weaknesses are and how specifically to communicate to others in a way that is both beneficial and effective.

Biography - Michael Harris has been in and around the Dallas/Ft. worth area for the last 25 years. He has been published in the Dallas Morning News, Health and Fitness, Bally's Total Fitness, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog. He has been the subject on fitness coaching and personal performance in January of 91, on the local news. Michael is active locally and nationally, including private and public speaking on the nationwide pandemic of “Adult Children Moving Back Home (or never leave)”. This national issue affects 40 to 75 million people each year. Listen to Michael Harris, PhD live on his BlogTalk Radio Show.

Last Chance for Sensory Styles Class...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:04:00 +0000

We had a request on Friday night by several people who couldn't attend the Saturday for me to offer another class.

*******************************************************

This Wednesday night from 630 to 9 (CST)
I will be offering the Advanced Sensory Styles Class:

You will learn:

What your primary and secondary Sensory Styles are

How to see and hear other people's Sensory Styles and what you can do with that information to improve communication, increase business, solve family and relationship conflicts and much more...

You can also use Sensory Styles to help yourself (or others) set more effective goals and intentions

this class is one night only and will not be repeated until February 2012
RSVP now only 10 seats left!
********************************************************

Advanced Sensory Styles Class - What they are... How to use them by Michael Harris, PhD

Just what the heck is a Sensory Style? That's a good question. Here's the answer.

All of us use all five senses (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Olfactory and Gustatory) to move our way around the planet, live our lives and talk to other people, etc. wouldn't be great if we knew what combination of senses we use? And what the STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES are inherent in each of the individual styles?

My main focus on Sensory Styles is about PERSONAL PERFORMANCE and RELATIONSHIP ISSUES and BUSINESS COMMUNICATION. Once you know how they work you can utilize them in any context of your life to improve motivation, solve problems in advance and get along with just about anyone..

If you want to attend this class click to RSVP on FaceBook or send me an email.

see you Wednesday night
Michael Harris, PhD

Good News from Zoe Routh!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:56:00 +0000

I've just heard that my friend and colleague Zoe Routh is offering a rare free community call on "Get Wealthy, Healthy, and Hot".

Zoe is sharing all her insider secrets that helped her transform her life. She overcame what she considers the Mount Everest of limiting beliefs:

* From poverty mindset to abundant money and a lifestyle to match
* From poor body image and cancer to radiant energy and vitality
* From self-doubt to magnetic confidence.

If you want to get some of that mojo, make sure you join her on this exclusive call on Wednesday August 10.

Sign up and reserve your spot on the call here:

Enjoy and 'see' you there!

Michel Harris, PhD

Keeping Your Cool

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:31:00 +0000

Have you ever noticed that it's easier it is to lose your temper when the temperature climbs? During summertime, fiery pitta dosha dominates, and if you are not careful to balance that heat, it could lead to all sorts of maladies, including indigestion, inflammation, skin irritation, mental aggravation, and even aggression. One of the best ways to get back into balance is by consuming pitta-harmonizing foods like raw fruits and vegetables.
In this issue of My Yoga Journal, learn what foods and spices are best for taming pitta. Then Ayurvedic practitioner Scott Blossom shares which asanas to perform in the heat, and how practicing loving kindness can also soothe aggravated pitta dosha. Also, enjoy cooler temps and reconnect with nature by taking your practice to the beach!
Do you enjoy Bikram or another heated yoga style (like my friends at SunStone Yoga? If so pay attention to these important pointers that can help you to avoid dehydration and cramps, exhaustion, and heatstroke that can sometimes result. Finally, nothing says summer like relaxing outdoors with a good book. If you'd like to expand your yoga knowledge this summer, check out these recommended selections.
(source: yogajournal.com)

Additional links:

Website Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:57:00 +0000

Well it's taken a while but I've almost got the old "new" website updated.
I still need to get the old articles up on the site and the new ones will go to this blog.

I'm very please to say I have a simple yet functional shopping cart up again.
This where all those new audios are going after their once week is up on the front page.
Remember every Friday I post a new hypnosis or meditation audio notification through the email.

If you aren't on the mailing list click here or send me an email to my super secret email list.

For those of you who've signed up for the class this Friday I'll see you between 6 and 630 pm (CST)
at the Rabbit Hole (here's the map) If you haven't RSVP'd there may still be some seats available. I know a couple of people had to re-schedule for February so get on it if you're going.

New Info!
I'm going to begin a Ascension Meditation on Monday nights at The Rabbit Hole. It will be the first three Mondays of the month. The first one is FREE and after that it will be $10 a month or if you wish to donate there will be a place you can do that. I'll post more about this next week. I'm pretty focused on the class Friday and Saturday

That's all for now if you have a question or a suggestion about the Friday hypnosis or meditation audio
as always, send me an email

peace
Michael Harris, PhD