Honest Hypnosis

Master Your Mind... for a Change

Overcoming Obstacles

Jim Carrey: Mind Mastery Mentor

by

Hey there my beloved Transformation Nation!

On this rainy March Monday as I began to imagine what the Daily Mind Mastery Moment would be about, I stumbled upon this incredible nugget of transformation GOLD…

Jim Carrey’s Commencement Address at the 2014 Maharishi University Graduation

This guy is a Modern Jedi Mind Master. Holy Guacamole!

It caused me to laugh and reflect and renew my commitment to supporting YOU in your journey of transformation with the tools, techniques and talents that I bring to the world… so that YOU can bring YOURS to the world as well.

Like a lot of Processes, it started with a short “taste” of what Jim Carrey said…
if you are pressed for time, watch this first…
Short version of Jim Carrey’s Commencement Address at the 2014 Maharishi University Graduation:

Everyone Is Talking About Jim Carrey’s Speech. In Just 1 Minute, He Absolutely NAILS Life.

Posted by Tyrone Hoskins on Friday, June 20, 2014

Then if you are ready to go deeper, check out the full speech. it totally and positively transformed my day (and my day was ALREADY AWESOME)….I hope it does the same for YOU. Enjoy!
Jim Carrey’s Full Commencement Address at the 2014 Maharishi University Graduation

– Mark

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 🙂

When Change Takes Too Long

by

When Change Takes “Too Long”…

Hey! I was just reflecting with a friend on the process of discovering the keys to consistent weight loss and the sustainable shift to a new way of eating and taking care of your body…

Part of what triggered it was that I hit another new weight loss/fitness milestone yesterday.

I weighed 207 pounds for the first time since… MY EARLY 20’S…

COWABUNGAH!

In the past whenever I wanted to slim down a bit, I would just increase the number of clients I took on for weight loss hypnosis… LOL…

Because ALL hypnosis is SELF hypnosis, the hypnotist often gets the benefit of the hypnosis sessions he or she does with clients as well.

But there came a moment about 5 years ago when the stress I was going through and the way I was eating were overpowering my “Personal Mind Mastery”…

So, like millions of other middle aged people, I signed up for a gym membership and a twice a week personal training session… I mean after all, I was eating “healthy”. So it had to be the exercise.

Right?

6 months later. Nope. same weight. Same size. Just a little stronger.

Screw that! :o)

Then one day my personal trainer guy just never showed up… The gym had no idea where he went.

So I went back to my own personal supervision…
I took response-ability for my results and started researching and shifting through all the weight loss and fitness BS to find out what actually, consistently worked for me.

One of the first things I did was get rid of all grains and white, starchy foods like potatoes.

No change weight wise but my mind got much clearer.
So I kept that change and only indulged in bread or white stuff one day a week on “cheat day”.

(BTW reduced calorie diets fail because after about 7 days or “eating less” your unconscious mind adjusts your metabolism down to burn less. You can “reset” your hormone levels back to “normal burn” by “feasting” once every 7 days.)

I increased my healthy fats.

No significant change except I stopped feeling hungry as often… and wasn’t as obsessed with my next meal…

Next I got rid of my chair and made a standing desk… starting doing “slow burn” resistance training for less than 10 minutes a day…

Made progress! Started seeing the fat go down, the weight go down, the muscle % go up

Next I got rid of fruit and any “hidden” forms of sugar except on “cheat day”

Made more progress! Who knew FRUIT was making me FAT? Isn’t it supposed to be healthy?

(to test it I added fruit back in, in moderation once per day… and guess what? I started gaining weight back. So nix the fruit except on “cheat day”/”feast day”.)

Next I got rid of BREAKFAST… actually you CAN’T get rid of breakfast EVER… because it literally means “Break Fast”… but I started started moving my breakfast back on hour or so each week until I was actually having “Brunch”…

so I was fasting pretty much 5-6 days a week from dinner to “lunch time”. It saved me a lot of time! And I basically stopped even feeling hungry until noonish.

And I made progress…

And the key thing for me, the thing that has helped me smash through the “plateaus” was one or two days a week, fasting for 24 hours. From dinner to dinner.

I recommend you check out a book by Brad Pilon called, “Eat. Stop. Eat.”

So I would have dinner around 7 pm, eat nothing else afterwards, go to bed pleasantly satisfied and then push breakfast back until dinner time the next day… Once a week to maintain, Twice a week to lose.

And I combined it with every Friday doing what I started calling a FEAST day. On that one day, I eat pretty much the way I have eaten all my life.

Breakfast first thing.
Then Lunch
Then an afternoon snack
then dinner and a snack after dinner…
as much fruit, chocolate, carbs and bread as I want…

And it is pretty obvious that eating that way every day was why I was getting fat.  I was eating way more than my body actually needed…

So after what seems like a MASSIVELY LONG TIME, Instead of frustration, I have started getting MASSIVE, STEADY, PREDICTABLE RESULTS…

And the positive feedback loop is keeping me motivated.
I am setting my sights on ACTUALLY SEEING MY ABS!

and what’s really cool is that all of this TOOK A HELL OF A LONG TIME. This process took about 5 years! However when I got super serious about it was October of 2014. I saw a picture of myself and I was shocked by the size of my belly…

Ever have one of those moments of truth? The key is to hold on to that intensity of MOTIVATION over a long period of time. Particularly when progress seems elusive.

This has been a process of experimentation and practice that has not been without frustration. But with the tools of self hypnosis I was able to keep myself in the game even when it looked like I was not getting anywhere.

The point of today’s Mind Mastery Message is this:
Sometimes the desired goal or result we long for in our lives just takes WAY LONGER than we think it SHOULD.

And that is NOT FAILURE! It is only FEEDBACK.

It’s a sign of some limiting beliefs and old programs that need to be addressed.

It’s a sign that you are simply not done yet with exploring different ways of thinking and taking action.

Ultimately physical fitness starts in your MIND. However, if it just stays in your Mind, and you don’t actually implement intelligent action that actually leads you towards the results you want, you ain’t gonna make much progress…

We HAVE to combine the Mind and the Body.
We HAVE to get support from the important people in our lives.
We HAVE to keep track of our progress in multiple ways so we can Measure our successes.

One key to success in any endeavor is to uncover and clear the “hypnosis” of false beliefs and expectations.

If you’re interested in going deeper with me in this area of your own life, you might want to check out my online weight loss program that I call, “It’s Not Just About The Food!”  (this is a $900 course that you can grab for only $99 bucks right now)

In it you will discover and implement the tools and techniques that quite literally will work for anything in any area of your life that you want to accomplish or change.

If we don’t care of our bodies, where will we live?

So your Mind Mastery Assignment today,
should you choose to accept it, is to look at your own physical level of health, fitness, strength, size, weight, whatever you most important challenge is, and see if you can notice the repeating pattern.

You might want to make a note of what worked in the past and where you habitually stopped doing what worked. Or Notice what Never worked in the past and see if you just kept doing it anyway.

And as always be GENTLE with yourself.

Today’s Transformation Tune
is one I’ve shared a few times recently. It bears repeated listens as it is quite literally a Weight Loss/Fitness hypnosis Session in the form of a song…

Song #330 “Eyes On The Horizon”

have an awesome day!

– Mark

p.s. I’m off to CT to do an African Drumming and Storytelling program for some awesome 7th Graders… Speaking of things that “Take Too Long” remind me to tell you the story sometime of how long it took me to actually get my first paying school gig after I decided to “go for it” and do assembly programs for kids…

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 🙂

Monday Morning Moments

by

Monday Morning Moments

Hey!

Are you having that “Monday Morning Moment”?

Struggling to get motivated to do the job that seemed so promising when you interviewed for it but that has turned out to be a MASSIVE test of your ability to ENDURE being miserable?

No? Cool..

Just checking…

Glad you can hardly wait for Mondays to gear up for your AMAZING week doing what you most love to do and making a MASSIVE positive difference in the world!

Way to go Tiger!

Here’s a song in your honor…

Song # 312 “Freedom”

But just in case you’re not totally ecstatic about your Monday Morning, and are open to a suggestion or two…

I’d like to ask you a few “What if?” questions…

  • “What if, whatever you are struggling with at the moment is somehow necessary?”
  • “What if, the challenges and frustrations that are coming up in your life are mission critical moments that are flawlessly, impeccably nudging you towards finally accepting your OWN greatness?”
  • What if, you are being Called Out by your highest good to discover and follow your “Path With Heart”?
    So today, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to pay attention to the possibility that you are perfectly on your path with heart and your mission is to either embrace exactly where you are and go DEEP with it in a transformational way or embrace exactly where you are and take action to transform where you are at this moment into something that serves you and suits you better…

You don’t have to do anything about it right now. Just pay attention and notice what comes up for you…

then play this song a few times and let it start to sink in…

Song # 312 “Freedom”

I’ll be here waiting for your emails. I want to know what’s going on with you so I can create programs that support your complete and total TRANSFORMATION.

Have a great day!

Love,

Mark

p.s. This week I’m adding another module to the Hypnosis For PTSD Course. So those of you who have taken immediate action to jump in to it will get even more value. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s the link:  Hypnosis For PTSD

This program is NOT yet available to the general public and I’m only allowing a small number of folks in at a ridiculously low pre-release price so if PTSD or old Traumatic stuff from your childhood is a challenge for you, check it out. It comes with a total satisfaction, money back guarantee.

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 Stories We Tell Ourselves

by

Spring?

It’s been warm all week here in the Albany NY area… Definitely SPRING like.

And yet today, on the official “first day of Spring”

It was 20 degrees F.  Chilly.

And that prompts me to reflect on the differences between our expectations and what actually IS.

The rest of creation from squirrels to redwing blackbirds basically take things as they are. No complaining. No whining. They just deal with the cards they’ve been dealt and go about the business of adapting and surviving.

You never hear a Redwing Blackbird complaining about how cold it is in March. You never hear them say, “Well It’s just MY luck! I migrated all this way from Florida to find a mate and start a family and it’s just too cold up here. This ALWAYS happens to me. Bah humbug!” NOPE! They just keep singing. [Here’s your daily Transformation Tune BTW]

We humans tend to INTERPRET the world and events and make things MEAN something.

In other words we immediately begin to tell stories about what is happening OUTSIDE ourselves to explain what is going on INSIDE.

I’ve found it helpful in my own life to ask myself, “Hey Mark, What are you MAKING THIS MEAN?”

In other words much of our pain and “suffering” comes from how we INTERPRET events.

In the process of interpreting, we necessarily have to DELETE, DISTORT and GENERALIZE what we perceive in order to make sense of it and make it fit our “BOX” or “Label” or “story” of “reality”.

And none of it is actually “true”… because we are the ones who are explaining things according to our level of perception.

For example: I used to have a difficult time performing because if someone got up and left in the middle of one of my songs, I would tell myself that, “They hated my music.” or “I must of said something that offended them” or this really, really self defeating one: “See? Nobody wants to hear MY music. They just want to hear songs they’ve heard on the radio.”

The truth is I had no idea why that person left. I could have told a different story or two…

Like, “They had to go to the bathroom…” or, “They just got a text from the baby sitter because she can’t figure out how to work the remote control of the TV…”, or “that person must be a doctor on call…”

So that’s the “mind read” thing we all do to some extent, where we delete the positive interpretations and instead focus only on the negative ones that make us feel bad.

And then we often generalize that “Nobody wants to….” or it “Always works out against me…” or “This ALWAYS happens to me…”  so whenever you hear yourself using Always, or Never, it’s time to challenge your generalizations.

So today. Your Assignment. Should you choose to accept it.

Tell yourself better stories.
Turn the “villains” or “bad luck” in your life into your “Beloved Teachers” who are playing a required role in the exciting adventure plot of the movie of your life.

And while we’re at it, let’s tell the story of the warm weather to come…

Let’s generalize that SPRING ALWAYS COMES!
Even though we mays still have some cold weather, IT ALWAYS TURNS WARMER!

I noticed the other day that the Redwing Black birds are back.

And things are DEFINITELY thawing (look at all this delightful MUD!)
and I even heard the Spring Peepers…

so Let’s tell stories of our OWN Spring. Our OWN renewal! Our Own times of growth and expansion! Remember, we get what we focus on. (and BTW I ain’t just reminding YOU! We AWL need to hear this. Even Moi.)

COW-A-BUNG-AH!

Here’s your Transformation Tune for the day to support your Daily Mind Mastery Message or play it up above with the handy player (and you can download it for free too):

Song #415 Blackbirds Are Back!

Peace out,

Mark

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 🙂

Embrace the Impossible

by

Today I’m sharing a Transformation Tune that I will actually be singing today at the New Thought church called Unity in Albany NY.

Because it’s a “gig” day, (a rehearsal, 2 services in the morning and a rehearsal and Kirtan service in the evening, AND it’s “Spring Forward”, I don’t have a ton of time to share a Mind Mastery Moment with you…

No Assignment.

Just this song. From my heart to yours.

Enjoy.

– Mark

p.s. it’s actually one of my most hypnotic songs. May it take you to a new level of awareness!

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

by

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 🙂