Is the Internet Destroying your Intelligence?

December 9, 2010 By

I can’t focus
I’ve been diagnosed with adult ADD
I can’t sleep at night
I just can’t concentrate anymore
My memory stinks…
These are just a few of the complaints that I hear from my clients daily. What is going on and why do so many people have such a hard time with their minds? We are literally a nation of broken minds.  ADD, depression/Anxiety and memory/focus issues are just the most visible problems.  The average person is functioning at a much lower level then man did in the past.

First we need to make sure that nutrition is up to par before looking elsewhere. But if someone takes vitamins and eats right and gets a decent amount of sleep, what is the story? Is it possible that we are training our brains to focus shallowly? To simply skim the surface? To never delve deeply into researching and reading since we can find any fact we want by using Google? What an amazing tool, but like any other increase in technology there is always a downside.

There are several studies that demonstrate exactly  that. The mind will become patterned by the way it is used.  If you consistently move from channel to channel on the TV or from web site to website on the internet you are training your mind to think shallowly.  You are not spending time thinking through a problem so much as finding someone else who has done it for you on-line.  Rarely does anyone need to spend time in school delving through major amounts of text to find an answer. Instead we jump from idea to idea, concept to concept and maintain a “novelty seeking” mentality to finding the answers we desire. This results in permanent changes in brain function and the size of various parts of the brain. Multi-tasking has been  proven to be bad for the brain.

When we engage in thrill seeking or novelty addicted behavior we grow the part of our mind that responds to pleasure. Soon that part of our mind becomes addicted to the brain chemicals being released and needs more and more to get the same feeling.  Think gambling addictions, sex addicts or substance abuse.  Through using technology in a specific way we are turning technology into an addictive substance that integrates easily into our lives. But the results can be as negative long term as having any other kind of addiction.  Shrinking the prefrontal cortex creates  behavior problems like ADD, depression and Anxiety.

One of the best ways to change this pattern is to increase the size of the prefrontal cortex which is done by increasing blood flow to that part of your brain.  The prefrontal cortex controls executive functions and when you use hypnosis to still the mind or relax the mind into the alpha/theta brainwaves you are supplying nutrition to this part of the brain. You are building mental muscle. Buddhist monks who meditate daily are shown to have a much larger prefrontal cortex than the average person.

So give it a try…take a day off from the Internet.  Watch one show at a time on TV.  Read a non-fiction book instead of just snapping up information on Google. Turn off your “smart phone” .  Stop making calls and texting while driving.  Better yet just take some time to simply “be”. You may actually start feeling smarter, more focused and calm then you can remember feeling in a really long time.

Filed Under: Academic performance, Hypnosis & Depression, Hypnosis FAQ Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Fear and Peak Performance

October 21, 2010 By

Fear will stop you from performing at your peak.  Fear will paralyze you.  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” FDR.   This is another incredibly powerful statement of the power that fear exerts over all of us.

So what is it about fear that makes it such a powerful emotion??  Its power lies in our instinct to survive.  That primal, basic part of the brain, the limbic system sounds the alarm and then a cascade of neurological activity follows.  The fear response is based upon our memories and experiences, our learned fears from the past.  However worries and anxieties are out in our future.  So obviously since it helps us to survive we need it, right?  Yes, we need fear as a call to action when something dangerous to our survival happens. However as FDR so succinctly stated, fear is something to be feared as well.  The problem lies in too much fear.  Unrelenting chronic fear that is based on the possibility of danger causes stress and is derogatory to our health and well-being. It creates high levels of stress hormones and that creates disease and other problems.  Also unrealistic fears or phobias are capable of taking control of our lives.

So what else can we learn about fear?  It is based on the past and we can trigger it by worrying about the future.  But right now there is no fear. If we stay in the present moment and we let go of old memories and fears from our past and stop focusing on the possibility of terrible things happening in our future the fear disappears.  In order to do this we need to change the way we think.  We need to take back some of the control because fear is an out of control emotion.

If you let circumstances control you when good things happen then you will also allow fear and negativity to rule your life when things are not going well. As reasonable people we need to be living in reality.  If things are really in a negative place in your life then thinking to yourself that your life is great is a delusion.  However when things are going well in life and we spend our free time worrying about what might happen to change our life for the negative, that is also deluded thinking.  People who tend to be on an “emotional rollercoaster” are an example of too much focus on momentary success and not enough on the process or the overall desired outcome.

When dealing with the concept of “peak performance” fear is the first thing that has to be addressed.  To perform the best you can entails getting you out of your way.  Whether it’s performing in sports, stage sales, academics or simply in life itself, fear stops clear focused action. Fear is the root cause of all negative emotions and behaviors.  Procrastination, limiting beliefs and self-sabotage are examples of mental thought processes  that are rooted in fear.   The two main fears are fear of failure and fear of success.  Most other fears like fear of public speaking, performance Anxiety or cold call reluctance can all be traced back to these two main performance fears.

I use hypnosis, and Neuro-linguistics(NLP) to take my clients past old fears and to create the ability to focus more on the present moment and the future that they desire.   When you get out of old fears and focus on the here and now you will be able to see the future more clearly.  This will move you to take action and the fear will truly be a thing of the past.

Filed Under: Academic performance, Hypnosis & Performance, Hypnosis FAQ, Sales & Hypnosis, Sports Performance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Improving Sales by Improving Yourself

August 19, 2010 By

Hi, my name is Inga Chamberlain and I am a salesperson.

Ever feel like you’re confessing to a terrible character flaw when you say what it is you do for a living?  Has anyone but me noticed that “sales” has become a dirty word?

I still remember in the 80′s when I worked as an executive recruiter. During sales cold phone calls,  I was routinely hung up on.  Obviously this is demoralizing to someone in sales.  I got really sick of feeling badly  and like I was bothering people by calling them.  I realized my self esteem was part of the problem and I had limiting beliefs about myself and salespeople in general.  This is how I found NLP.  I decided to change myself instead of changing careers and it worked! I not only continued in sales but started my own recruiting firm and for 10 years happily sold my service to a national market.

So how did NLP help me to change? First I worked on developing the self confidence that could stand up to those demoralizing phone calls.  During this time I also worked on increasing  my skill set to have better sales techniques . I used NLP to help me build rapport on the phone and close more effectively.  But the main changes came from changing me.  How I saw myself and my place in the world.  I also used NLP and hypnosis to overcome a strong fear of public speaking so that I could make presentations more effectively.  I then proceeded to change anything else that was holding me back and in the end also got rid of a fear of heights some general Anxiety and some left over trauma from childhood.

When I decided to leave the executive search industry to become a trainer , coach, speaker and hypnotherapist the transition was easy.  I had already done all the ground work necessary to be successful in any field I might choose because I had increased my emotional intelligence or EQ as Daniel Goleman calls it.  I had gotten rid of the things that hold most people back.

In my private practice in Atlanta , Georgia I work with many salespeople who want to improve their sales.  We always start by using NLP and hypnosis to remove negative conditioning, beliefs and behaviors.   Then we boost confidence levels and condition in new positive habits and behaviors.  One of the most common problems with low performing salespeople is that they don’t like being in sales(or their perception of sales).  By changing the way they see their career and themselves a salesperson can dramatically improve productivity and income.   But even more important, they will feel good about themselves and their choice of career.

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Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance, Hypnosis FAQ, Sales & Hypnosis Tagged With: , , , , ,

Stopping Test Anxiety

March 11, 2010 By

Test Anxiety just like any Anxiety is overcome using hypnosis.  Test anxiety causes the student to become highly stressed.  Often times the feeling is more like panic then simple anxiety.  When the body goes into hyper drive so does the mind. This creates the flight or fight response and drives blood flow away from the brain.  This then creates the “self fulfilling prophecy” so common with fear.  The fear does to the brain exactly what the student does not want. It takes away his ability to remember the answers, the ability to think clearly.

I use hypnosis to create a feeling of calm that is linked to the test taking experience on a subconscious level.  So the new feeling of calm now becomes automatic.  I also help the student be better prepared and more confident of their ability to absorb the information during study sessions and increase their recall and focus.

Recently, I worked with a financial planner who was scheduled to take an important exam. She was completely panicked since in the past she did not do well in test situations.  She was so anxious about the test which was 3 weeks away that she was having problems sleeping and studying effectively.  We worked together for 5 sessions and she felt calm and confident during the test and passed the exam with flying colors.

I work with children and adults to enhance their test taking ability and overcome fears. hypnosis serves as the bridge to the subconscious mind and gives much faster results then other types of interventions.

Filed Under: Academic performance, Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , , , ,

Happiness and Hypnosis

January 10, 2010 By

Happiness has been in the new’s recently.  People want to feel happier and why shouldn’t we all feel good? Books like “Stumbling on Happiness” and”The Happiness Project”are very popular now in part due to the negative news and economic downturn.  I am writing a book  titled “The Power of Choice”  and it includes my ideas and experiences in transforming my life and increasing my clients levels of happiness by increasing there ability to chose better.   I have used hypnosis and NLP to develop myself and yesterday I described my first experience with hypnosis.

It is pretty obvious why I wanted to change my state of mind.  I wanted to feel different.  Growing up in a fairly isolated place tends to make one introspective. All of that inward focus in childhood can be unhealthy.  My mother tended to give mixed messages.  On one hand she believed in positive thinking.  She read Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s book “The Power of Positive Thinking” and encouraged us to be positive.  On the other hand she was anxious and put her fears squarely onto the girls in our family with the message that “we could be killed” if we attempted to ride a bike or go sledding on a big hill or take a walk by ourselves.  I believe that I was mildly depressed in childhood and if I had been in elementary school now I would have been diagnosed with ADHD.  Instead I simply spent a large part of 1st grade in the corner with my desk.

When it comes right down to it, what I wanted was to feel happy.  That’s what everyone wants.  Right?? I read books and tried to be happy.  In college I tried some other avenues as many of my age did back in the 70′s but to no avail.  I always came back to me.  At some point it came to me that if I wanted to be happier I didn’t need to change my circumstances so much as I had to change myself.  The way I thought had to change.  What I focused on needed to become what I wanted to have and not all the things that weren’t working.

I explored meditation, and have practiced yoga consistently now for over 30 years.  These two things have helped tremendously.  But being a person with a strong drive to improve they just weren’t fast enough for me.  hypnosis is brief therapy and works relatively quickly.  If you know what you want hynosis can help you get there.

Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , ,

Paralyzed by Fear

May 24, 2009 By

Are you paralyzed by fear? Powerful words indeed. Or as FDR once stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.  Another incredibly powerful statement of the power that fear exerts over all of us. So what is it about fear that makes it such a powerful emotion?? Its power lies in our instinct to survive. That primal, basic part of the brain, the limbic system sounds the alarm and then a cascade of neurologic activity follows. The fear response is based upon our memories and experiences, our learned fears from the past. However worries and anxieties are out in our future. So obviously since it helps us to survive we need it, right? We need fear as a call to action when something dangerous to our survival happens. However as FDR so succinctly stated, fear is something to be feared as well. The problem lies in too much fear. Unrelenting chronic fear is based on the possibility of danger and is derogatory to our health and wellbeing. It creates high levels of stress hormones and that creates disease. Also unrealistic fears or phobias are capable of totally controlling our lives. So what else can we learn about fear? It is based on the past and we can trigger it by worrying about the future. But right now there is no fear. If we stay in the present moment. We let go of old memories and fears from our past and stop focusing on the possibility of terrible things happening in our future. Fear disappears. In order to do this we need to change the way we think. We need to take back some of the control. Fear is an out of control emotion. If you let circumstances control you when good things happen then you will also allow fear and negativity to rule your life when things are not going well. As reasonable people we need to be living in reality. If things are really in a negative place in your life then thinking to yourself that your life is great is a delusion. However when things are going well in life and we spend our free time worrying about what might happen to change our life for the negative, that is also deluded thinking. So many business people today whether in sales or as an entrepreneur are finding their production and effectiveness declining due to fear. Fear has always been a problem in sales and many others in business people have fear evidenced as procrastination and Anxiety. Overcoming fear is simple and yet as many simple things it can be fairly complex as well. Just change the way you think, right? Oftentimes that is easier said than done When things go in a less then positive direction in my life I get into training for success…. 1. Change self talk using: Gratitude meditation self-hypnosis 2. Take control of your body/exercise to get out of fear. 3. Role model /have a vicarious experience of success. 4. Take action feel the fear and do it anyway. 5. Visualize what you want and not what you fear. By utilizing these techniques you will gain a feeling of control and soon fear will be a thing of the past.

Filed Under: Hypnosis FAQ Tagged With: , ,

The Common Misconceptions about Hypnosis

April 9, 2009 By

Many of the common misconceptions about hypnosis have originated in the minds of Hollywood writers. hypnosis and NLP are typically portrayed in a fantastic and sensationalistic manner. The idea that you are under someone else’s control is one of the most common misconceptions. Murder mystery writers love this one since it gives them a new angle for a story. This myth has been disproved over and over again but still persists. A second misconception is that the person in hypnosis is going to be talking. This is something that would typically only happen in regression hypnosis. I may ask someone for a signal such as nod of the head or movement of a finger, but in a typical hypnosis session I am the only one talking. This fact is a huge relief to most of my clients. Many of my clients expect that they will not be aware of where they are and they won’t remember what is said in hypnosis. This is also not true. In hypnosis you are aware of what is happening around you and if you wanted to you could get up and walk out of the room. Hypnosis actually increases focus. You will simply feel relaxed and comfortable. Another common misconception is that hypnosis is somehow against religion. This could not be further from the truth. Why shouldn’t we use our minds to the best of our abilities? This one is promoted by the fearful and ignorant. Finally, the misconception that if you can be hypnotized it means you are not as intelligent as those who cannot. Again a misconception. Anyone who wants to be hypnotized and has at least an average level of intelligence can be hypnotized. In my practice, I find those who are the most intelligent, educated and have the ability to focus are the easiest to hypnotize. The truth about hypnosis is that it is an altered state of mind which we all visit from time to time. It is simply a state of focused concentration most easily accessible when one is completely relaxed. The mind learns quickly in this focused state and that is why changes to feelings, behaviors and habits can take place in much less time when using hypnosis. When someone is in hypnosis they feel relaxed and comfortable. When they come back to their conscious mind after a session they typically feel relaxed and more positive and confident then they have in some time. After the session they may also notice changes in a habit, new positive healthy self talk or simply an overall feeling of well being depending on the focus of the session. They will also sleep better than they can remember sleeping in a long time.

Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , ,

Sales Call Reluctance and Mental Toughness

March 16, 2009 By

The idea of making prospecting calls can turn the toughest person to mush. Fear of the unknown is a powerful fear.  This coupled with fear of rejection and fear of failure will stop some sales people in their tracks.    What has to change?   1. Become mentally tough with increased levels of confidence. 2. Get rid of fears and procrastination. 3. Get more mental flexibility. 4. Get more behavioral flexibility, in other words if you are not getting the results you want CHANGE something. 5. Clear out limiting beliefs.   Now for those analyzers out there this may all sound hard to quantify.  So I am listing below HOW I help my clients become mentally tough.  These processes take less than an hour each to become proficient.     1. Install resource anchors by creating the ability to instantly feel more confident and strong any time and any place.   2. Mental exercises/NLP which create behavior changes in under an hour. 3. Install new behaviors using NLP and alleviate fears. 4. Change limiting beliefs using NLP and hypnosis. 5. Integrate all changes into your subconscious so that they become the new way of functioning. So let’s see, that’s 5 hours to change a major part of your mental functioning.  That’s 5 hours to make MAJOR CHANGE in your subconscious mind which will create MAJOR CHANGE in your life.  These techniques will create the mental toughness needed to thrive in this economy.

Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , , ,

Psychology and the Stock Market

March 4, 2009 By

The stock market and its downward motion are at the top of the news today.   Market strategists know that when the market drops it creates a psychology of fear and results in the market dropping further and creating even more fear.    Since most Americans have their savings and retirement disappearing at record rates is it any wonder that fear runs rampant today?  The problem with all this is that at some point someone or something needs to create confidence in the markets ability to grow.  The downward momentum needs to be stopped and turned around.   The stock market is a great analogy for the human mind.  When we perceive a threat we go into the "fight or flight" response.   This response is no longer needed in the same way as it was thousands of years ago. Consistently triggering this response is not only physically unhealthy but also creates Anxiety, panic attacks and sometimes even phobic reactions.  This increase in fear, increases stress hormones.  This increase in stress hormones triggers more feelings of Anxiety and fear.  Not only that but excess cortisol actually shrinks the brain.   It becomes an unhealthy downward spiral. Most readers of this article will now be ruminating on the stock market and their brains destruction. But all is not lost.  We may not be able to control the stock markets, or the world at large.  But we can control our perception of reality.  Because it is that perception that creates our world.  Every person has a different perception of reality.  One person might see the market swings as opportunity for personal growth.  While another simply gets so freaked out that they make bad decisions and make their situation even worse. Some great ways to stop the mental spiral are:

  • Take a break from the news. Unless you are going to do something with the information watching things seem to worsen only makes you feel worse.
  • Change the way you think.  By shifting negative, fearful thoughts and consciously changing them to positive you can have a huge impact on your mind set.
  • Get perspective by feeling grateful for what you have.
  • Take some action.  Well considered action will give you heightened feelings of control.
  • Laugh more.  Take the time to read or watch something funny or inspirational. 
  • Get some exercise. It’s a great way to burn off extra cortisol and you might even lose some weight.

And remember, the only thing we can control is our perception of reality.  So choose a better way of seeing things, change your thinking and you change your life.

Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , , ,

Goals and the Subconscious Mind

February 16, 2009 By

The problem with goal setting is most people don’t know how to set them in order to actually get them. Every year it is common practice to set goals on New Years. This is a long standing ritual. But it doesn’t work. Most people have given up by early February and have put those goals on the back burner to their everyday life. But does it have to be this way? The answer is an emphatic no! If the person has the proper motivation their goals can become a reality. So the question is how do you get that motivation? It comes from setting goals utilizing the combined power of the conscious and subconscious minds. The subconscious mind is arguably more important. All major inventors, business owners, and creative geniuses spend much more time in their subconscious mind then the average person. That is where their creativity and strength lie. If goals are written only in the conscious or thinking mind they are truly flat and uninspiring. Let’s face it. It is hard enough to achieve a worthwhile goal so why would someone put in all the effort for an uninspiring goal? hypnosis is the technology for connecting to the subconscious mind.

Filed Under: Hypnosis & Performance Tagged With: , ,
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