I have found these two meditation methods to be very calming and soothing for the mind and soul.

Once you find a comfortable  position for you, you can use spoken or silent mantra, or listen to soothing music or sound, or focus on a candle, burning incense or other small objects, or just simply breathe. Breathing should be natural and through the nose.  Head is tilted slightly downward and the body is completely relaxed. Recognize the thoughts you may have without judgment and bring back concentration to the original object of focus.

Remember that these meditation methods have no goals, there is no bad or good meditation, there is just simply meditating.

Lying Meditation
This is one of the meditation methods that is simple and can be done upon bedtime or prior to a nap, by simply lying down and focusing the attention on breath.  Breathing should be into and out of the lower abdomen.  Concentrate on inhaling and exhaling, or counting the breaths.  Focus on a spot on the ceiling or the sky if you’re outdoors.  Recognize your thoughts without judgment and then bring  your concentration back to breathing.

Sitting Meditation (Zazen)
These meditation technique involve finding a comfortable sitting position for you.  You can sit comfortably either in a chair with your feet flat on the ground or crossed legged on the floor (left leg over right) using a cushion under the buttocks for comfort and to prop up the hips higher than the knees.  In either case, the back should always be straight but without straining.  The palms of the hands are open and can be placed on the thighs, palms up or you can bring the hands together, left palm on top of the right palm, thumbs barely touching each other, resting comfortably against the lower abdomen.

Have you tried these two meditation methods? If so, love to hear your comments.

If not, give them a try, and come back and let me know how they worked for you.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist
http://mindvacationmeditation.com

PS…. If you are looking for some soothing music and guided words to help you with your meditations, please look at http://mindvacationmeditation.com an mp3 download that can help relax your body, mind and soul.

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Well, here is an email I received over the weekend, and I wanted to share with you.

Dear Trapper,

“Your endless creativity never ceases to amaze me. I love your most recent relaxation audio.

The sounds are incredibly unique – you know it’s like eating a fine dish. You can’t name the flavors but you know they are exquisitely blended to create the perfect effect. I found myself feeling so refreshed and alert after taking the time to listen to your hypnotic suggestions.

I look forward to discovering how the effects of the audio will remain with me and allow me the opportunity to enter a deep state of relaxation whenever I need it.

Thank you again for sharing your gift of relaxation with the world.”

With warmest regards,

Mary McManus
http://www.newworldgreetings.com

As with other emails and testimonials I have received, I guess they are working

Have you tried them out yet? If so, I would love to hear from you.

If not, please visit http://mindvacationmeditation.com and as you listen to our mp3 audio downloads, just pretend for a moment that you are away, and enjoying your perfect, or favorite vacation.

You might find yourself writing me a very similar email.

I’ll be looking forward to receiving it.

Sincerely,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist
http://mindvacationmeditation.com

PS… Imagine how these  SIX audio meditation tracks available on Mind Vacation Meditation can help completely relax and re-energize you. Enjoy

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Standing Meditation

This  meditation methods is a great exercise to practice proper breathing,  a simple way to concentrate and a great way to regain your proper breathing techniques similar to the way we used to breathe naturally as infants.

Stand comfortably with your spine straight and feet about shoulder distance apart, opening the left hand and placing the thumb on your belly button so the palm of the hand is against the lower abdomen, then place you right hand on top of left in the same manner. Breathe slowly and feel the lower part of your abdomen expand and naturally pushing away your hands outward your belly. Hold the breath for four seconds and then exhale slowly, feeling your lower abdomen contracting inward as the air is released.

Recognize the thoughts without judgment and bring back the concentration to your breath.

Walking Meditation

Here is another meditation methods that is a very effective way of exercising and meditating. Simply walk at a natural and comfortable pace, concentrate on the sole of your feet touching making contact with the earth. Focus on the spot in the center of your foot just at the forward part of the arch. With each step feel this spot making contact with the earth and extending into the earth, next foot after the other. Allow normal, relaxed breathing through the lower abdomen.

Recognize thoughts without judgment bringing back the concentration to the sole of the foot or your breath.

Please practice these two meditation methods, and share your thoughts with me.

Remember, bookmark this page, and keep an eye out for a couple more meditation methods I will share with you shortly.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist
http://mindvacationmeditation.com

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You know if you do, generally there are a significant amount of meditation techniques that one can choose from. Meditation doesn’t always mean without exception having to sit down in a crossed legged position and your eyes not open, it can be as uncomplicated as going for walks and standing upright.

Anytime that we completely focus on something other than our own thought processes, we are already meditating. We can meditate while we walk, move, lie down, stand, sit, or even while silent or speaking. Plus there no perfect position for meditation, whatever is most comfortable for a person that would allow him or her to meditate is all right.

There are two kinds of meditation, moving meditation and still meditation.

Moving meditation involves movements of the body such as Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, dancing, walking and jogging. In this case rhythmic series of movements and the mind concentrates or is centered on breath. Thoughts are recognized without judgment and then our focus goes back to breath. Focus can also be on the movement itself, the flowing internal energy from the body, the external environment, or even in the case of dancing, the connection to music.

In still meditation on the other hand, our bodies and minds are unmoving. Sitting, standing, or lying meditation focuses on anything; breath, counting, a mantra (sound), candles, incense, a rock, a spot on the ground or ceiling, the birds, the sky, anything your heart desires. Thoughts are recognized without judgment, then let go, and concentration is brought back to what you were originally focused on. Breathing is through the nose in a natural unforced manner.

That’s all the meditation news for today.

Please bookmark this blog and return often as I will be posting specific methods for meditating in the next few posts.

Sincerely,

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

http://mindvacationmeditation.com

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How essential is self-esteem in a child’s growth? Developing self-esteem during childhood is very important. This is because it may possibly affect the child in every stages of his or her development. How he looks at him or herself will definitely affect his or her future relationships, career development, confidence, prosperity and even happiness. Studies have shown that one of the traits happy people share is having a positive self-image of themselves.

How does a parent help and ensure that his or her child has a healthy self-image? There are several ways to do this. Below are just some of the things you can do to develop your child’s self-esteem.

Never compare your child with other children

The single most devastating thing a parent can do to ruin his or her child’s self-esteem is to compare him or her with other children. Unfortunately, comparisons are very much a part of our culture particularly our schooling system. One of the ways a child gets compared to other children is through peer pressure.

Every child knows that there is tremendous pressure from other children, particularly from the ones in school to conform to the ways of a certain group. That is why in school you can see several cliques and these groups can be identified with different labels. There are the jocks, the jerks, the nerd or geek, the addict, etc. These groups are inherently not bad but oftentimes group’s identity precedes the individual’s identity which could lead into a loss in identity and eventually low self-esteem.

To most adults these are just groups and labels but for a young innocent child the cliques are their world. Your child intentionally or not gets labeled and his or her tendency to is group with the ones with similar ideas and interests.

Always praise and encourage your children

When you talk to your child, always remember to use positive and encouraging words. If your child has done something praiseworthy then do not hold back on the kind and beautiful words. Doing so will do wonders for your kid’s self esteem. It does not matter whether the act is big or small. If he did something good then praise him for it. There is nothing more discouraging than the feeling of not being appreciated for the things that you have done.

Praising and encouraging children provides them with a positive self image of themselves. For them, it means that they are important enough for you to notice and recognize their achievements in life.

By constantly giving kind encouraging words to children, you can ensure that they will grow healthy psychologically.

Of course if they did something wrong, children should be reprimanded. But should do it in a way that it won’t hurt their ego and damage their esteem. Whenever they have done something that is less than desirable always make it clear to them that you are not in favor with the deed and not with them.

Remember, developing your child’s self-esteem is very important in his or her progress. Just follow the guidelines to make sure that your kid will grow up mature emotionally and mentally.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

PS…Start building your child’s confidence and self-esteem with our Confidence Audio’s, available as MP3 downloads. To learn more about how these “Hypnotic Affirmations” work, visit us at http://budurl.com/confidenceaudio

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Being too lax and giving them too much independence can lead to rebellion while being too demanding can destroy a child’s independent spirit and promote too much dependence.

Although self-esteem can be developed anytime in a person’s life, it is good to begin early on and train your child to trust in what they can do and to accept their personal talents.

Below are some exercises that you can do with your child that can help them improve their levels of self-esteem and confidence.

Self-affirming statements

Talking to yourself in front of the mirror and telling yourself what a great person you are can be a bit childish for a grown-up to do but not for a child.

And even if it seems childish, the practice is quite effective in boosting our self-esteem. And you don’t even have to stick to the mirror process. You can create your own as long as you stick to the basic, which is the saying of self-affirming statements.

Create a mantra that your child can easily remember. Every morning, tell your child the mantra and have your child tell hers to you. The statements need not even be something about the self but about each other such as saying I love you in the morning or telling each other how great the other is.

There is really no exact way to do this. You can create your own variations as long as the essence of affirming oneself is there.

The positive trait game

Another activity that you can do with your child that will not only boost her self-esteem but also help in building his or her vocabulary is the positive trait game. In this game, you will each tell each other the positive traits that one sees in the other. The catch is that the trait should start in a specific letter of the alphabet.

The positive trait game is a wonderful way to teach your kid to think positive thoughts and to acknowledge the traits and talents that make him or her unique. This is also a great way to make sure that he or she will grow up knowing where his or her strengths lie.

Do activities that they love

Encourage them to try out new things so that they will discover their talents and abilities. Enroll them in different summer classes and be open to all kinds of things. For instance, if he is good with drawing and crayons, it does not mean that he will not be good in music. So don’t discount music lessons as part of his summer curriculum.

Anyhow, if he does not like it, at least he has learned something new. Helping them discover the things that they love to do and the things that they are good at is a great way to boost their self esteem early on. After all, when children are enjoying what they are doing, they become very enthusiastic and they are open to developing their skills further.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

PS… Men, Women and Children, Want to be more confident?
Can you really improve your confidence or self-esteem in less than 20 minutes a day?

YES YOU CAN!

Please visit http://www.budurl.com/confidenceaudio and discover how!

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Today’s post is a last in a series I have been covering concerning  Hypnosis for children. Today I will cover some of the drawbacks, but yet still some of the positives.

Hypnosis for young people to resolve or tackle some concerns or difficulties regarding  behavior or health is  referred to as hypnotherapy.  In hypnotherapy,  young children use their daydreams to  transform their  behavior,  feelings and  additional symptoms.  Not necessarily    everybody under the sun can be a hypnotherapist.  A  qualified  health and psychiatric profession is required to put children, also adults, into hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy or  employing hypnosis for  treatment options used to be  unspeakable.  Most  individuals and patients alike,  have a tendency  to  believe  that hypnotherapists would require their patient to go walking around and cluck like chickens when hypnotized.  One significant  negative aspect of this procedure, is the  shortage of  assistance  it has endured as an different  treatment method.

But currently, things are starting to shape up for hypnotic treatment.  There are medical groups who are starting to recognize the potential of hypnotherapy in treating illnesses and dealing with disorders.

In 1958, the American Medical Association, already recognized hypnosis as a form of treatment.  The American Psychological Association has acknowledged hypnosis as treatment years ago.  The National Institute of Health expressed it support for hypnotherapy as a method of relieving pain for cancer patients in 1995.

But still regardless of the medical endorsements, there is still a prevailing outlook that hypnosis as a treatment is negative and images of funny people on hypnotic state conjures up to our mind.

Another disadvantage of hypnotherapy is that there are children or people who cannot be hypnotized at all.  Children who show psychotic symptoms are not compatible with hypnotic treatment.  While children or teen-agers using drugs or alcohol also prove to be poor hypnotic patients.

Hypnotherapy is best recommended for children ages 5 and above.  Children, unlike adults, are more in touch with their imaginative side.  This could be either beneficial or detrimental in the hypnosis process.  That is why different approaches should be used based on different age and characteristics.

Hypnotherapy can also be done by parents to their children.  Experts say that children with ages seven to eight are in the hypnotic state most of the time even when there is no hypnotist around.  On these ages, children take in suggestion very seriously.  Parents who tend not to be too sensitive with what they say to their children  may say some remarks which can be both hurtful and have some effect on their self-esteem.

This is why  children who are undergoing hypnotherapy tends to be sensitive to what is around them remember that hypnotherapy and its positive effects can be turned into rubble when negative energy surrounds the child.  Parents should be sensitive with what they say and suggest to their children.

Sometimes a hypnotherapist may forget to remove the suggestions of the hypnotic sessions.  If a child is undergoing therapy for pain management, this could pose a problem.  When under these kind of treatment, children may run into accidents or serious problem which may cause serious injury and not get any proper treatment.  It is important for parents to take note of these when sessions for hypnosis of children is done.

It is important to remember that these disadvantages of using hypnosis for children is more of a social prejudice.  There are some people who regard hypnosis as control or manipulation of one’s mind and body which is completely untrue.  Hypnotherapy when properly done could render positive and massive results.  Most of our fear about hypnotherapy is rooted on how it was viewed in the past, which is mostly myths.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

PS… Men, Women and Children, Want to be more confident?
Can you really improve your confidence or self-esteem in less than 20 minutes a day?

YES YOU CAN!

Please visit http://www.budurl.com/confidenceaudio and discover how!

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Some health benefits of hypnotherapy include procedures for nervousness, fears and phobias, reducing suffering and stress, self-confidence building, treating depressive disorders, addressing reduction of excess weight, putting the end to cigarette smoking and even to improve the overall performance  in athletics or academics.

Hypnosis makes use of the deep relaxation as its main element. Deep relaxation enables the mind to be more receptive of changes since the mind opens up during this time. This period of deep relaxation is not a sleeping nor an awake period of time. This is induced by a person skillful in therapy and hypnosis. The mind is awake during this time, unlike what myths say, that the mind during this period is completely unconscious.

Unlike what most people and doubters say that a hypnotized person is unable to control their own actions, children have the command on their own action. Receptivity is important. You cannot hypnotize a person who does not want to be hypnotized.

This is the same for hypnotism for children.  Even if the parents like to have the children undergo hypnotherapy, it is important to make sure that the children understand this process and able to get their full attention and cooperation.  Although the mind is open during the period of hypnosis, the subconscious would still not accept the suggestion if it conflicts with the person’s values and beliefs.

Since hypnotherapy invokes deep relaxation, it is said to reduce blood pressure, stress, anxiety, and pain.  It could even change habits like smoking, alcohol consumption and eating too much.

Hypnosis can even help in reducing predetermined nausea and vomiting brought by treatment for cancer or pregnancy. It is important to remember that children or people who have mental illnesses should not undergo hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy for children can resolve problems like bedwetting in children or teenagers.  It can also reduce nightmares  and night terrors.  It also addresses fear or phobia of animals or even school.  It also helps children who are having difficulties at school and with behavioral problems.

Results showed that children who took hypnotherapy are more confident, they have an increased self-esteem, reduced stress, tension and anxiety.  Children are also able to get rid any of their negative emotions which affect their school performance or social interaction.

Being a good parent does not only mean that we should provide the physical and material needs of our children.  Giving them emotional and mental support and be able to provide the best possible future to our children is our responsibility.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative medication.  And alternative medicine is being used by almost 40 percent of Americans nowadays.  Alternative medication can render very successful results, sometimes much better than taking prescribed drugs and medicines.

Hypnotherapy or hypnosis for children is an option which you can try to help your children face their problems.  There are people testifying on its phenomenal results, but also there are critics saying that there are not enough evidences showing significant results.  But surely, something drug-free, calming and enjoyable is something worthwhile to be used for the children.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood ; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

PS… Men, Women and Children, Want to be more confident?
Can you really improve your confidence or self-esteem in less than 20 minutes a day?

YES YOU CAN!

Please visit http://www.budurl.com/confidenceaudio and discover how!

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There are a lot  more young children who are experiencing the side effects of not getting enough sleep. As part of a 1997 study, it showed outcomes that there are 11 percent of young people within ages 5 to 12 who cannot sleep well at night, 7 percent would wake up at the middle of the night, 17 percent would have difficulties waking up the following day and another 17 percent would feel extremely exhausted.

Insomnia among children is attributed mainly to night time fears and anxious dreams.  These may be an effect of several factors like environmental aspects, consumption of alcohol or caffeine, or sometimes inadequate parental supervision.  Children who fall asleep late of course tend to wake up late.

Hypnosis for children is used to help children relax or calm down before bedtime.  In contrast to what is widely known, you do not have to be asleep to be affected by hypnosis.  You should be unconscious but into deep state of relaxation.  The subconscious would be more receptive to suggestion during this period.  There are programs where the hypnotherapists would give your suggestions which would eliminate stress and other negative energy preventing you to get a restful street.

After entering a deep relaxed state, it is important to address the reason behind restlessness at night.  Resolving insomnia with hypnosis also involves that you  look into your habits and change your nightly ritual which would help you quickly fall asleep soundly.

There are also visualization in which the mind can be trained to flush out all thoughts and feeling that brings anxiety and stress preventing you to be at peace and at ease when on your own bed. There are also hypnosis programs for insomnia which encourage patients to listen to a CD or watch a DVD.

About bedwetting, one out of three children wet the bed until the age of six.  While there are about 2 to 10 percent of teenagers who still wet the bed from time to time.  Unresolved, bedwetting can even lead to more severe problems as they grow older.

Hypnosis can also be used to resolve bed wetting problems.  There are several CDs where children can listen to stories especially designed for their situations.  Some parents discover that aside from removing bed wetting problems, children also started to:

- Appreciate themselves more
- Discover unique abilities
- Deal with sadness in a healthier manner
- Handle criticisms very well
- Achieve a feeling of well being and in control

Most of  the hypnosis methods for children are used is in gentler forms,  most of the hypnotherapists use the “blow away technique”.  They blow away emotions and fears which prevent them from sleeping or wetting the bed.

Of course there is something much better than hypnosis for children, prevention is still the top action that you can do.  Instead to giving them lectures and getting angry because of wetting the bed, focus more on the success they have done  previously for staying dry overnight.  Remind them to go or relive themselves in the bathroom before going to bed and also limiting the liquid intake two hours before going to bed.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist
http://mindvacationmeditation.com
http://sleepsecretaudio.com

PS… Men, Women and Children, can you really improve your confidence or self-esteem in less than 20 minutes a day? YES YOU CAN!
Please visit http://www.budurl.com/confidenceaudio and discover how!

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Realistically, hypnotism is not bad at all. Research has revealed hypnotism helping children and older people deal with chronic discomfort, insomnia, constant worry, unhappiness, weight gain and fears or phobia. Presently, hypnosis is being applied in pain relief.

Unlike the deep sleep that we know, people under  hypnotism or hypnotherapy are conscious on what they are doing and what they can hear and understand.  Hypnotism can be used to treat diseases and disorder, it is called hypnotherapy.  Hypnotherapy is used in pain management.

There are three strategies in using hypnosis in pain management:

Physical relaxation – focusing on relaxation while feeling the pain, reduces the pain to vibrate and escalate. When tension is mixed pain, this heightens the pain. Muscle tension tends to pull on the muscles where it is hurting.

Sensory alteration – this strategy changes how we perceive the pain. Focusing to a different feeling will eventually filter out the hurt that you are experiencing.

Distraction – focus is shifted to other things to remove any attention to the body part feeling the pain.

Actually there are studies showing how effective hypnosis is in pain reliving. Hypnosis when combined with other alternative forms of medication like acupuncture can relieve chronic pain patients.  This can also be used to help children who are in the hospital undergoing painful treatments. Self-hypnosis against pain can be learned and be performed by children.  There are studies showing children who can do self- hypnosis recorded less migraine occurrence than those children who are thinking medication.

Using hypnosis for children could show complications once the hypnosis is lifted or removed.  Some side-effects would include confusion, fainting, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and anxiety.  Most of the side-effects are short-termed but there are some patients who experience stupor, psychological problems, and some patients even display recurring episodes of the previous shock.  Based on these experiences, it is imperative to investigate on the background on profile of the patient and screen those who are susceptible to the mentioned side-effects.

A problem may also occur when the hypnotherapist forgets to lift the hypnosis.  The patient may sustain serious injury or any complication without the patient even knowing or feeling it at all.

Over the course of applying hypnotherapy to children, studies and practices  showed that children find it easier to face painful medical procedures like bone marrow aspiration, cancer patients, postoperative pain, chronic headache and remove anxiety in children who would undergo surgery.

Actually, if hypnosis history is traced, it would show that during early period, hypnosis is used to help patients who would be undergoing agonizing surgeries before anaesthetics were discovered.  When anaesthesia was discovered in the middle of 19th century, chemical induced  painless surgeries were favoured over tradition hypnosis.  When chemicals and anaesthesia is useless or not enough in relieving the pain, this is when self-hypnosis is used.

Studies have showed that hypnosis for children was able to help them remove any pain and help them undergo medical procedures or simply just live their life.  But more importantly, we must identify that it is really, well sometimes, just in the mind.

Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood; CMH
Certified Master Hypnotist

PS…Wanna Get Away??? Our MP3 audio; Mind Vacation Meditation can do just that. By taking eleven minutes out of your busy day, you can have a progressive relaxation experience which will bring you peace of mind, tranquility, and your mind recharged to handle any further tasks required of you for the rest of the day. To download your copy now, please visit: http://mindvacationmeditation.com

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