Last week was incredibly manic for me, culminating with a self-hypnosis seminar last Friday and then a late speaking event, so the blog was slightly more sparse than usual. Yesterdays video entry update mentioned that today I’d offer up a final motivational strategy before we change direction in coming weeks.
However, today then we are back on to our previous theme of enhanced motivation and enhancing our state when it comes to running.
It has been a while since I have quoted or used anything on any of my blogs from the field of NLP (neuro linguistic programming) but today I am going to be doing that by using the process referred to as the Circle of Excellence, where we ‘stack’ a number of anchors (will explain those later on) and then can access them all whenever we choose in life… And we are going to do it all with the aid of self-hypnosis too, as you’d expect from me and my hypnosis work!
This process is designed to put you into a chosen, wonderful state and by state I am talking about how you are in any given moment – physically, psychologically, emotionally; how you are in any moment is what I mean when I refer to your state. Your state is important when you think about getting out there and running and is also important when you are out running. This process is going to give you access to resources when you feel you need them, simply by using a trigger that we set up in your mind.
Within this process, as we run through it step-by-step, you are going to be asked to think of and imagine occasions when you have felt a certain way. What I want to get across now is very important. The specific occasion that you are choosing is not the most important part of this exercise. Let me explain what I mean.
I attended a meditation group for years that had a spiritual path inherent within it, the meditations often had a theme relating to the ethos of the approach. For example, we would often meditate on compassion, which was considered important. The mediation would start by you thinking of something that would help you feel compassion, such as people who are starving or under privileged children, but you did that to develop the sensation of compassion. The main part of the meditation was then focusing on and meditating on the feeling of compassion. That was it.
The idea was that by experiencing it more and feeling more compassion, you would be able to exercise it more often – by familiarizing yourself with compassion, you would naturally become more compassionate in your life.
So with this process here today, even though you are asked to recall a time when you felt laughter, or joy, or happiness (as examples) what is most important is using the feeling and not the memory you use to get the feeling. I hope that is easy enough to understand.
Steps To Alter Your Mood and Advance Your State Using Self-Hypnosis and the Circle of Excellence:
Before we begin, you are going to choose 4 really good states that you’d like to be able to use in this exercise. Some typically good ones to feel to lift you and get your feeling ready for running are excitement, laughter, joy, anticipation, motivation, happiness, inspiration or whatever else you deem appropriate for you and for heightening your own mood when you choose to go running or to be able to access when you are actually running.
Take some time out and think about 4 states that you think would combine well and give you the strength and resource to pick you up and help you with your running. Maybe these are states that help you to get out running, or to help you perform at a better level when yo are actually running. You choose based upon what you think your running requirements are.
Write them down and beside each of the 4, jot down an occasion when you felt that way. Get a good, vivid experience from your life that is going to help us in this exercise.
With that done, you can crack on:
Step One: Induce hypnosis. You can do so by any means you desire or know of. You can use the process in my self-hypnosis book, use the free audio at 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:
Using eye fixation for self-hypnosis.
The Betty Erickson Self-Hypnosis Method video clip.
Using Magnetic Hands for Self-Hypnosis.
Once you have induced hypnosis, move on to step two.
Step Two: Now deepen your experience of hypnosis. If you have a depth of hypnosis skills already, then choose whatever is going to help you go deeper. However, a great one to use in this particular process is actually the good old basic imagined staircase or escalator.
Get focused, absorbed and go deeper down the stairs into the basement of your mind, relax more, let yourself go.
Tell yourself that each step you take, you are going deeper inside your mind until you reach the place where you are deeply receptive, open and standing in front of a circle of light… Which is explained in the next step.
Step Three: Now imagine standing at a circle of light.
See in front of you, on the ground, a circle of light. Imagine this in whatever way is right for you. For some it might be lit up on the floor, for others it beams downwards from up high like a stage spotlight of some kind, or it may be a circle shaped object that is glowing and bright out there before you.
Create it in your own way. Make sure it is nice and bright. Notice if it has any kind of sound, however subtle and connect with the circle in your mind.
As you look at the circle, radiating brightly in its own way, anticipate what it is going to help you do, feel comfortable in its presence and when you have it clearly in front of you, move on to the next step.
Step Four: Recalling state: Whatever your first state was on your list, start to think of it and inside your mind recall the time when you experienced that.
Imagine actually being there, looking through your own eyes, seeing the sights, colours, textures and shades, hear the sounds there in detail, those that are close and those in the background, feel the sensations of that state; where in your body do you feel them?
As soon as you notice yourself feeling some of that great feeling and engaging with that state, then move on to the next step.
Step Five: Anchoring state: With that feeling stimulated, you now step into the circle of light.
Now step into that circle with that progressive and positive feeling, let the light pour down upon you, notice how it feels when you step into it, bask in the light, let it be powerful and bright and that feeling (your chosen state) begins to magnify, enhance and grow as the light shines down on you, all around you, that light flowing down through your body, illuminating your body, filling it with that wonderful state.
Let the sensation grow, let it become more real, enjoy it, spread from head to toe, toes to head, left to right and back again, fill your body with the light and let the light enhance and amplify the feeling.
When you feel the feeling growing, then imagine holding the feelings and imagine connecting with the light in your mind, your chest and your stomach.
Hold those feelings right there in those places, then step back out of the circle and relax. You have now secured that state that is going to help you with your running, and attached it to the light and your mind, chest and tummy.
Step Six: Run through steps 4 and 5 with your other states on your list.
Step Seven: Once you have anchored all the separate, individual running resources, you then want to bring them all together and integrate them so that you can now access all of that whenever you are out running or thinking of going out running.
Now step into the circle a final time for this session.
Connect with the light in your mind, chest and stomach and combine and integrate all of these aspects of you, all of these states, imagine that the light combines them all and imagine you can feel all the goodness integrating and developing.
Tell yourself that whenever you imagine stepping into the light or imagine connecting with that light in your mind, chest and stomach, you are able to and do access all those good feelings and each time you practice it, it works better and better each and every time.
Embellish it all for a few moments now, let the light get brighter, let it really flow all around you and really incorporate everything into that one idea of stepping into the light and connecting with it in the mind, chest and tummy.
Step Eight: Exit hypnosis. Wiggle your finger and toes, take a deep breath and open your eyes.
All you need to do now is practice relaxing, imagining stepping into the light, breathing deeply and connecting with it in the mind, chest and stomach, bask in the light to develop the feelings and then go about your day. If and when you need a lift or a motivation elevator for getting you out running, then this is it, go step in the light or imagine it all in your mind, chest and stomach.
Practice this process daily for a week and then simply recall the light and you’ll be firing off those good feelings when you want to go running and lifting your mood at will when out running.
Enjoy! We’ll be back on a new theme next week…
