Zoned out...and in the zone
Perhaps it’s watching a brand new Netflix series while sipping on a glass of wine, or maybe it’s some dark chocolate or a sneaky packet of your favourite flavour crisps; it might even be something far more sinister, such as watching the news! Whatever it in fact is, we all have, and deserve, our own ways of zoning out and gaining comfort even if the pleasure tends to be only momentary. But what happens when we start to tire of those repetitive series, or each new glass of wine starts to taste sourer and sourer? What do we turn to when even 100% cocoa no longer hits the spot?
What if the answer were nothing? Turn to nothing…do nothing…become still in body and mind…just be. Would we gain respite? As with anything in life, we won’t know unless we try. Letting go of old comfort habits that no longer serve us nor represent who we are now makes way for the new to come in, including learning to become fully comfortable with ourselves in every present moment without the need for constant external distractions to fill the void. What is the void, or how do we define it? As unique as each one of us, it is sometimes described as a sense of there being something missing in life, of incompleteness, or a subtle feeling of not being fully comfortable in one’s own skin; it might even be that dreadful moment when we realise no matter how much we’ve attained or achieved, it never seems to be (good) enough.
Regardless of how this dis-ease manifests itself, personal experience has taught me that it’s by facing, exploring, befriending and making peace with the void that we can actually start to recognise and return to our natural wholeness. This process of reconciliation begins from a place of quiet introspection and contemplation, where we find a way to take regular time out to be alone and undisturbed so that we can begin to find ourselves again. A funny thing tends to happen once we settle into meditative stillness more and more: the new habits that replace the old are more nourishing, more rewarding and provide a longer-lasting feel-good fix.
The good news is we can easily learn to embrace and enjoy the simplicity of stillness and just being once we’re willing to make the change. Sometimes an individual is ready to make that change but feels trapped by their outdated comfort habits, and Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help jump start the process by providing the mental reset needed to let go of those addictive old habits and welcome in the new. Unlike the quick-fix instant-gratification gimmicks to which we’ve become so accustomed, Hypnotherapy teaches us how to find that place of stillness inside a calm mind, and how to access it anytime and anywhere, providing us with a lifelong tool that brings lasting comfort and respite time after time.
Some may wonder why the practice of stillness of mind doesn’t eventually begin to sour just as the wine does, or become as repetitive as the latest ‘new’ series on Netflix. The reason is quite simple: unlike all those distractions that are outside of us, separate from us, and are therefore unable to keep up with our evolving emotional needs, our own stillness of mind is as alive and powerful as we are, fully in tune with where we’re at and how WE really see life, as opposed to how the series producers would like us to see it. When we use the ability that Solution Focused Hypnotherapy enables us with to fully tune into our own minds, then our emotional needs can be heard — and met — because the solutions to our life problems are already inside us just waiting to be seen if only we can stop looking for them out there instead. Put simply, we can learn to zone out in a way that actually gets us ‘in the zone’, a mind-space where we can tap into new inner resources that help make life’s challenges that bit easier to face.
Considering the fact that we naturally go into a trance once every seven minutes on average, be it riding a bike, playing a video game or watching television, then it might be beneficial to start being more deliberate about how we allow ourselves to be zoned out. Do our comfort habits expand our minds, thus allowing us to keep up with this increasingly fast and ever-changing world, or do they push the pause button on life and our senses, inevitably leaving us weaker and lagging behind? The next time we switch the screen on in order to switch off, let’s ask ourselves whether this form of Hypnosis really is keeping up with our current emotional needs; if it isn’t, it may be a trance worth breaking out of.
If you’d like to discuss how Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help you break free from old, outdated habits or addictions that are holding you back, get in touch using the link below, or book your FREE, no-obligation online initial consultation now.
