Honest Hypnosis

Master Your Mind... for a Change

Empowerment Songs

Give Yourself Permission

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Give Yourself Permission To Be Human AND To Remember You Are Not The Only One Working on Challenging “Stuff” in Your Life.

Just in case you may be wondering, I have full permission from my client Shawna to share what I shared in yesterday’s blog post.

If you missed it you can find it here: Hypnosis For PTSD

For years I’ve been frustrated with doing great work with clients and watching TRANSFORMATIONAL MIRACLES happen in front of my eyes but due to obvious confidentiality issues I couldn’t really share their stories. And MOST change takes place in PRIVATE.

And sometimes, most of the time actually, it’s not even a big deal. The shift happens and suddenly your world opens up before you in a way that previously was impossible but very quickly becomes the NEW NORMAL… and eventually we move beyond each level when we are ready…

Today’s transformational song  just happens to be about that and you might want to play it softly in the background for the rest of the day… (seriously. See what happens if you do).

So I want to express how deeply grateful I am to Shawna for being willing to co-create with me a series of hypnosis/Energy sessions that are designed not only to help HER, but to help YOU and ME as well.

One of the reasons why I am also fully willing to share MY stories and my own healing process is that THERE IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF!

Just like climbing a mountain can be a shared activity where we can help each other up the steepest parts,

  • We are ALL in this TOGETHER.

  • We are ALL struggling to figure out what the heck we’re doing here in these little bodies on this little planet!

  • We are ALL working on understanding that the “real rules” for joy and THRIVING here in this lifetime are NOT the same rules that our parents and schools and culture has been teaching us!

Ultimately it really is not about “the person who dies with the most toys wins”.

It’s about experiencing the full health, empowerment, strength, joy, abundance and love that we can possibly experience here and now while we are alive!

But those ecstatic states do not just “happen” while we are sitting on the couch numbing ourselves out with TV, food, Alcohol, or sitting in a cubicle hating our job or striving always to please OTHER people even though it’s making you miserable…whatever.

So. If you are interested in your own transformation and “leveling up” in what I lovingly call “The Game”, stick around. It’s happening right here and you can join in the fun by simply reading these posts, signing up for my Daily Mind Mastery newsletter and daring to get a few songs “stuck in your head” while putting the daily “Master Your Mind For A Change” assignment into action.

Speaking of transformation! I want to thank the 5 Transformation Nation members who IMMEDIATELY took action and emailed me back requesting their special Pre-Release LIFETIME ACCESS to “PTSD Hypnosis Session”.  The program itself should be available to the general public as soon as Web Marketing Wonder and Technical Genuis, Michael Guerin gets it all set up.

Then watch the emails and blog posts for you opportunity to jump in as well.

Okay, Now. Your Transformation Tune for the day.
I’m thinking the Victory Song might be a good way to kick off this beautiful Friday in March.

(the player is at the top of this post)

This is a song written specifically with hypnotic language patterns in it PRESUPPOSING victory in all things.

The “Why” questions trigger your Unconscious Mind to accept the presuppositions in the questions and begin to build “evidence procedures” to make the questions TRUE.

It also appeals to all five of your senses so that no matter what your favorite or “default” communication preference is, the message can get deep into your unconscious mind…

In other words, your assignment today (should you choose to accept it) is to listen to this song all day at low volume and pay attention to how things shift in your life. And BTW you can download the song free by clicking the “download” link in the song player. (You can always pay more if you feel so moved :o)

“Give yourself permission to be abundant and at ease….”

And with that song stuck in your head, get out there and have yourself one HELL OF AN AWESOME DAY!

COWABUNGAH BAY-BEE!

– Mark

p.s. When the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Hypnosis and Energy Session is fully available for you I will definitely let you know. In the meantime, if you haven’t yet checked out my audio and video programs designed to put the power of transformation your life in YOUR hands.

The really important thing is just to be fully aware that you can realize the change you’re looking for…

And here’s how

Click the link below to:

Or just leave a comment below 🙂

The Point of No Return

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There is a moment on every journey when you’ve gone too far to turn back. It’s been called ,

“The point of no return”.

It’s that moment of deepest commitment when you realize that the only way out is THROUGH. Since the journey back is going to be just as challenging if not more so, than the journey forward, you might as well go forward.

And interestingly enough many, many people seeking the help of a hypnotherapist or any holistic or medical practitioner for that matter, often voice the sentiment,

“I just want my old life back”.

Sorry. Not only can’t you have your old life back, the truth is you really don’t want it.

You want a better life. A more abundant life, A healthier life, a more awakened, conscious life.

But we are hardwired to cling to our habits and routines, our comfort zone… We fear the unknown. We fear change even though most of us bitch and moan about “the way things are” now.

Don Juan Matus, the Yaqui indian who taught Carlos Castaneda the ideas and practices of the ancient Toltecs of Mexico, talked about the “trickery of the Spirit”.

A sane, sensible person has to be “tricked” into following the “warriors path” and transforming their lives.

Which brings me to the idea of “purpose problem”.

Our “purpose problem” is the thing that bothers us so much that we actually can’t stand to tolerate the status quo any longer. It’s the “burr under the saddle” that just triggers the hell out of us and causes us to take massive action to alleviate the suffering, the pain, the irritation, the misery, the drama, the “whatever is driving you crazy” thing that you MUST change.

No ifs, ands or buts. It MUST change.

When you finally get fed up with being fed up. That’s when you are ready for spectacular growth.

Unfortunately it doesn’t usually feel very “nice”…

In my time last month with Dr. Donnie Epstein he addressed this stage in his 12 Stages of Extraordinary Experiencing.

It’s the first Stage: Suffering.

Of course I wrote a transformational song about it!

Please note that this song is MY interpretation of Donnie’s concept. It also includes a few threads of hopefulness that come in a bit later in his system.

At the moment it is only available in this video. I’ll share the finished song in hi fidelity grooviness at a later time…

Lyrics:

I Will Light A Lamp

Inspired by “Suffering” Stage # 1 of 12 Stages of Extraordinary Experiencing by Donnie Epstein.
Song # 515 | 2/17/16 | Tuning: DADGAD

Disconnected and in despair…
Everything seems beyond repair…
Helpless, hopeless and afraid…
Nothing works and it won’t go away

But I am more than this dis-ease…
I am more than this field of pain
When I accept that there is no release…
That’s when everything begins to change

Refrain:
Suffering is where we all begin.
Breathe the Love in to the wounded place within

Overwhelmed and tangled up in pain
I must stop attempting to explain
Why “what is,” is not what I wish for it to be
When I accept it as a gift…I set myself free

Refrain:

But we are more than…what we think is real
We can’t heal… what we can not feel…
The Love I feel for you caught me unprepared
Because I love myself more than I have ever dared

Refrain:

Bridge: How does the rage of open wounds
Pull us through the night?
How does the Source of countless tunes
Always bring the light?

I will light a lamp for you…. and I will leave it on…

copyright 2016 by Mark Shepard. All Rights Reserved.

as always, I love hearing from you so if any of this touches a chord in you just let me know.

Peace, grooviness, Namaste

– Mark
p.s. your assignment today (should you choose to accept it) is to play with the idea that whatever is causing you frustration, annoyance, discomfort, pain, suffering etc. is actually an invitation to go deep, deep, deep into your transformational healing process. See if you can find the gift, the opportunity, the blessing in this challenging time. Keep in mind that sometimes we are just not quite ready to fully commit to “forward”… and that’s perfect too.

The really important thing is just to be fully aware that you can realize the change you’re looking for…

And here’s how

Click the link below to:

Or just leave a comment below 🙂

FRUSTRATION

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How To Use FRUSTRATION To Move Forward

Depending on your own level of frustration, you might want to play the transformation tune first today and then read the post… or maybe the other way around… :o)

I don’t know about you but I have a fairly low threshold for tolerating frustration.

Think of frustration

as an energy block.

It’s not something someone is doing to you. You and I no longer have the luxury of playing the “victim role” in the adventure story of our lives…

But the “thing” that is causing frustration won’t just go away because you wish it to. It is something that needs to be dealt with… consciously and lovingly.

Frustration in our own lives with jobs and co-workers, loved ones and situations that seem “unchangeable” can either drive us crazy or inspire and motivate us to take action.

Frustration calls for reflection, “getting the lesson” and then intelligent sustainable action.

The first thing we have to remember (and I am writing this for ME as well as YOU :o), is that the obstacles, blocks, “dead-ends” and annoying “stuck-ness” feelings are PERFECT.

We are being CHALLENGED to up our game.

The question is How Deep are you willing to Go in working on it?

  • Gandhi’s frustration led him to invent a whole new way of creating change in South African and India Non-Violent Protest. His frustration eventually led to MASSIVE action and a change of ideas that is still rocking this world and influencing leaders such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mendala.
  • Benjamin Franklin’s frustration with the postal system caused him to develop the first dependable postal service between the original 13 colonies, and it was his connections and travels between the colonies that helped him do his part in uniting them. His frustration with other aspects of colonial living caused him to organize the first volunteer fire department, lighted streets, lending libraries, and something we today call “the master mind” principle. Thank god for old Benjy’s frustration!

Frustration is the mother of all invention.

There have been some things that have frustrated me for 40 years. Forty damn years!

I started writing songs in 1976. They were so good that people would be stunned and astonished that this 16 year old kid was writing stuff that seemed way beyond his years. Whatever.

My songwriting came out of my own personal frustration at not being able to say out loud in words to other people what I was really feeling and thinking. I turned all the stuff inward and somehow I was able to turn all the crap I was feeling into lyrics and music that metaphorically expressed the inexpressible…

And then year after year I couldn’t for the life of me perform that damn things or “get them out in the world where they could do some good”….

FRUSTRATION!

Because I couldn’t perform them, I began to attempt to find ways to just record and preserve them. Which cost money. So I began to learn how to make money. And in that arena I crashed and burned more times than I care to admit. At one point I bought 4 houses for nothing down at the top of the 1980’s real estate bubble. That bubble BURST and I lost everything (and not for the last time!).

Eventually I surrendered to a higher power… and started working on my own “stuff” as if my life depended upon it (which is kind of did when you think about the alternative to actually doing the work).

Remember “stuff?”

We all have “stuff”. The “stuff” that gets triggered unconsciously and leaves us feeling shame, anger, fear, guilt, sadness without any logical or reasonable reason. The “Stuff” that drives us crazy and makes us MISERABLE.

“STUFF” = A technical term.

But I contend with all my heart and all my soul that our “stuff” is the greatest gift we have. Without it’s uncomfortable nudging, (or SHOVING) we would stay complacently satisfied with whatever small little box we have managed to build for ourselves.

AND IT’S TIME TO BREAK DOWN THE WALLS OF THE BOX.

It’s freedom time people.

It’s action time. More on this soon.

Now about the “Transformation Tune of the Day”,  Song #58 Visions of You (I Wreck My Soul)

I wrote it while I was at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1982… I was 22 How old were you?
Make sure you listen to the end for the “shift” moment. :o)

Instead of wishing you “peace” today, I lovingly wish you “FRUSTRATION” of the best kind.

May you be motivated to know

  1. You are not alone.
  2. Your frustration is a gift and a challenge
  3. You can do this.
  4. Together We CAN Change The World
  5. Changing the world starts INSIDE.

And I will see YOU on the INSIDE!
– Mark

p.s. along the way my frustration caused me to be motivated to learn how to change my own mind and body to support my big dream of making a positive difference in the world through my word and music. The result is a growing body of personal transformation tools and programs that people all over the world are finding helpful in their own transformational journeys.

The really important thing is just to be fully aware that you can realize the change you’re looking for…

And here’s how

Click the link below to:

Or just leave a comment below 🙂

Hypnosis IS Transformational Communication

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Here’s is a FRESH new video I made for you about transformational communication. Please understand that this is actually a 10 minute conversational hypnosis session that is designed to communicate directly to your unconscious mind. It will work best for  you if you are willing to take 10 minutes for yourself right now, and practice whatever breath awareness you do… open your mind… relax and then notice how your day improves as a result. :o)

(Plus for no extra charge one of my best “Transformation Tunes” below it)…

Song # 104 Minstrel Fires: (Check out more of my Transformation Tunes)

Got questions? Contact Me here!

Gratitude is Self Hypnosis

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A Jolt of “G” for You Today!

Today’s Mind Mastery “technique” is ancient and ridiculously simple.

I call it a Jolt of “G”.

“G” of course refers to “GRATITUDE” my beloved Dudes and Dudettes!

Gratitude is actually an extremely accessible form of self hypnosis. You can do it any time, any place.

For your listening support, I offer you this “wide awake” hypnosis session in song:  

As my musical mentor Roger Mock pointed on in one of his talks at Unity, Gratitude and a positive attitude in the face of events that appear on the surface to be “Not positive”, IS “Pollyanna”.

Pollyanna has gotten a bad rap.

He reminded us that Pollyanna was not a sickly sweet, pie in the sky, idiot wandering around blathering inane positivities. She was an orphan dealing with some intense loss and hardship and she managed to keep her “sh#t” together by relentlessly focusing on what she was grateful for and what was good in her life.

People laughed at her and eventually she couldn’t sustain her gratitude in the face of the overwhelming obstacles she was confronted with in her life.

So the people that didn’t quite believe in the idea, came to her aid and supported her with THEIR positive thoughts and gratefulness. And THEY found it useful and empowering and transformative…

The bottom line is that Gratitude is useful.

Not because it’s “NICE” but because it quite literally changes the bio-chemistry of the body for the better. It triggers resourcefulness and personal empowerment.

When you are in an attitude of gratitude you are focusing your mind on what is right, what is good, what is positive, as well as how blessed, prosperous and loved you are.

The other choice is to focus on lack, deprivation, hard luck, and how lonely you might be.

Personally I prefer to feel good. The more I focus on how blessed I am the more blessed I seem to be… funny how that works huh?

So your assignment today (should you choose to accept it) is to take a moment and make a list of 10 things you are grateful for in your life right now (overachievers can do more if you want).

I’ll go first:

  1. I’m grateful for the internet so I can share my music and ideas with people all over the world like YOU.
  2. I’m grateful for my family
  3. I’m grateful for my friends
  4. I’m grateful for Leila the Labrador Retriever I’m taking care of while my friend Mike is away.
  5. I’m grateful for the ability to walk and move my body
  6. I’m grateful for my clients
  7. I’m grateful for YOU my beloved readers and members at large of the growing “Transformation Nation”
  8. I’m grateful for my songwriting compulsion
  9. I’m grateful for the food I had for breakfast
  10. I’m grateful for simply being able to be alive and filled with wonder about being alive to being alive!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH…. So simple. Yet so powerful. Please do this little exercise. You can continue it throughout the day… You might want to see if you can get up to 100 by the end of your day… and guess what? you can repeat things you are grateful for. It’s impossible to cheat at this. :o)

For your listening support, I offer you this “wide awake” hypnosis session in song: Song #458 I’m Grateful

That’s it for today. Rock on my friend! I am DEEPLY grateful for YOU! Thanks for checking in and participating in the Transformation of this planet!

– Mark

p.s. I’m also grateful for

  • having a roof over my head,
  • hot and cold running water,
  • the wood pile and wood stove that keep me warm,
  • my fingers that allow me to type almost as fast as I can think,
  • my guitars,
  • the new smaller sized pants I’m wearing,
  • the incredibly rich organic coffee I just drank…
  • the air I just breathed in…
  • my eyes that see so well and
  • the eyelids that blink without me working too hard to blink them :o),
  • I’m grateful for my car and
  • the mail carrier and UPS and FedEx and Amazon.com.
  • I’m grateful that SOMEONE other than me wants to run for president cuz I certainly prefer not to.
  • I’m grateful that there are people everywhere pursuing their passion and making a positive difference in the world…

to be honest, once you get going with this gratitude stuff it’s kind of hard to stop… but why would you even want to? Just keep going.

Have an awesome gratitude filled day!

Chunking UP and The Ecology of Congruence

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Chunking UP and The Ecology of Congruence

Yo! Transformation Nation!

Today we are exploring the NLP concept of Chunking up and making sure your decisions for your work and relationships are CONGRUENT.

This has been an issue for me as well as many, many of my friends and clients.

How do you discover the “one thing” that truly satisfies your soul? When you love to do a bunch of things… (that all seem unrelated).

What is the “one thing” that just makes everything make sense and brings all of YOU under the laser beam focus that empowers you to make rapid progress, consistently AND sustainably?

19703982_mIn my NLP trainings we cover a subject that actually gives us this power. It’s called “Chunking”.

If you “chunk up” you are going more big picture. If you “chunk down” you get deeper into the details.

Now if you’re like me, you have a bunch of areas of interest in your life, you may have a ton of different talents and abilities that you love to explore and expand. And that’s great!

The challenge comes when we attempt to find a way to make a living that honors many aspects of ourselves and talents at the same time that it delivers real, actual VALUE to SOMEONE who will pay you money for the RESULT you provide for THEM.

(BTW I’m working on a course about MONEY and RIGHT LIVELIHOOD that goes deep with this).

Those of you on my lists who have been reading my emails for awhile have literally seen in action my own process for “chunking up”.

Back in July I started asking,
“How can I combine and integrate all the areas of expertise I’ve developed in my private NLP/Hypnosis practice over the years into ONE congruent, ecological website?

The result is HonestHypnosis.com 

Instead of a website for each and every course (which was driving me crazy), I have one site where ALL my  courses can be accessed in one handy place…with one handy user name and password. scroll up to the top menu and check out “Programs”

BOOM! Shift! (and a lot of work for my wordpress guru Michael Guerin LOL)

Lately I’ve been asking THESE questions:

“How can I integrate my music, my storytelling, my visual art, my insatiable curiosity for personal development and peak performance into my love of Hypnosis, NLP, EFT, Timeline Therapy, Energy Healing and  “NON-Religious Spirituality?”

also:

“How can I do one single email and blog post each day that gracefully honors my gifts and talents and personal transformation journey in a way that supports, encourages and inspires YOURS?”

HOWEVER!

In the process of asking these questions it was clear to me that I can no longer separate out my music from my transformation work.

So today we have a mind mastery tip and challenge about “chunking” AND a song that supports the concept and acts as an instant, “Wide Awake” hypnosis session.

So here’s the NLP “Mind Mastery” idea:
To chunk up to a bigger picture that includes all the stuff you love and desire in your “one thing” you simply ask

“What is this an example of?”

To illustrate simply – Think about a car. Now ask, “What is this an example of?” And you might get, “vehicle”…

then ask “What is a vehicle an example of?” and you might get “Transportation”

Then ask, “What is transportation an example of?” And you might get “movement”.

Of Course there’s a point where you’ve chunked up enough… and that’s where you are chunked high enough so that everything you love doing is an example of a single, focused, higher level of thinking…

So I asked myself, “what is my music an example of?”
And “what are all these cool mind mastery techniques examples of?”

I got HYPNOSIS… what is hypnosis an example of? and I got, Transformational Communication…

What this is all about, what I am all about is communicating to myself and others in a way that positively transforms our challenges and struggles into an empowered experience of being fully alive.

Boom! Shazaam! Oya moochka hannah hee knee!

COW-A-BUN-GAH!

Now I can work on whatever moves me every day and STILL be on target, on track on focus.

Does that make sense? Do you see it clearly? How does that feel? Does that ring a bell?

For years I struggled with “Do I do MUSIC?” or “Do I Do NLP/Hypnosis?” But suddenly it is brilliantly clear.

IT IS ALL THE SAME THING! Transformational Communication!

And all of a sudden…. Ahhhhh. Congruence. Everything is in alignment. It is suddenly ECOLOGICAL for me to connect with you daily and share a song AND and idea…. through the written word, the spoken word, the SUNG word…. and what are “words” examples of? Communication!

And if the words and ideas are about transforming your life, then we have my dear friend, TRANSFORMATIONAL COMMUNICATION.

The hound that chases two rabbits catches none! Focus is important, but if you chunk high enough your “focus” can include multiple “rabbits” – YOUR multiple talents, abilities and interests.

So your assignment today (should you choose to accept it) is to “Chunk up” in your life and see what you get.

As always I am happy to answer your questions so feel free to Contact Me

And the soundtrack for that transformational process today is Rise Up And Dance


This “wide awake hypnosis session in song” was written at a pivotal moment at the very beginning of my transformation adventure. And no matter where YOU are on your journey there is a powerful message in the song that can ignite and confirm your passionate power to create change, healing and transformation in your own life.

Enjoy!

Cowabungah!

I will see YOU on the inside!

– Mark

p.s. I’m heading down to the recording studio today to record some more of the new tunes that are DELUGING me. I still have a ton of new videos to share with you, and a bunch of new courses in progress so YOU will hear about those soon…