It is one of those days! This morning began with an early morning rain – in August no less. Puget Sound Augusts are typically warm and sunny, but not this year. As I walked the mile from my Bainbridge Island office, where I park my truck, to the Washington State Ferry in the rain, I worked hard at appreciating how green everything looked and how beautiful the flowers looked. I did mutter about the gray sky and how wet I was getting – but I just kept looking at the flowers and the beauty of Eagle Harbor with all the boats and the fog that blanketed the trees.

I got to my usual table, and began eating my breakfast and reading the comics. I had a busy morning planned beginning with a weight loss consultation and was looking forward to meeting a prospective new client. Then the announcement came: “we are experiencing mechanical difficulties”. We waited. We waited some more.
 

We continued to wait. Finally, I realized that there was no way that I was going to make my 9:15 consultation and I could feel the tension in my body begin to rise. “What am I going to do?  What if I can’t get a hold of her”  “Why did I only get her home number and not her work or cell number as well?” “What if I can’t reach someone in the Medical Dental Building management office?” “What if I lose this person as a client because I stood her up?” What if ….”.   “Stop,” I thought. I took in a deep breath, and used a one minute self-hypnosis, pulled out my PDA and cell phone, called her home phone number and she answered. I explained that for the first time in ten years I was going to be late due to ferry mechanical problems. She was very understanding, agreed to reschedule and the crisis was over.

By then, the next ferry had arrived and we departed one hour late.  The ferry Captain gunned it and we sped across Elliot Bay arriving in Seattle in 25 minutes.  The sky was a lighter gray and the rain had stopped. Since I was in no rush, I enjoyed my walk to the Medical Dental Building. As I walked to my Seattle office, I thought about how many stressful situations had already occurred this morning – yet I felt surprisingly calm and relaxed. Today, I remembered that I have choice. I chose not to.

One of the great joys of being a Clinical Hypnotherapist is that I have lots of tools that I can use when life throws its stressors at me. I don’t always remember to use them right away, but at some point I remember that I can use hypnosis and other stress reduction techniques to deal with how I am responding. As much as I want to control life’s events, I do understand that the only thing I have control over is my response. In fact, I am the most stressed when I do try to control life.

If you have never experienced hypnosis, I urge you to find a qualified hypnotherapist who can teach you self-hypnosis and other stress reduction skills. Also, watch this web site as it grows. In the coming months there will be articles, pod casts, videos, webinars, teleconferences and other fun and informative ways for you to learn about hypnosis and your health.