Working4Me

Insomnia Drug May Reverse Vegeative State

This article from the BBC explains the findings of doctors who have administered the insomnia drug Zolpidem to patients in a persistent vegetative state.

According to the article, the drug seems to awaken dormant areas of the brain which then act as a sort of failover circuit to function in place of the damaged areas of the patient's brain, allowing them to have conversations and even in one case catch a basketball.

Caution: the article quotes another doctor who questions whether they were truly in a PVS, but acknowledges that if they really were, then this finding is very interesting indeed. Perhaps some of those who awakened under this drug were actually afflicted by some other condition.

Either way, what an awesome reminder of our capacity to recover and to route around damage.

Hypnosis and Catholic Christianity

Jimmy Akin, a well-known Catholic apologist who holds the 2005 award for Best Apologetics Blog, today wrote a pretty good overview of the morality and safety of undergoing hypnosis from a Catholic point of view. Well, it's on a Catholic apologetics blog (an excellent one, at that), but really this can apply to any form of Christianity.

While he has reservations over whether altered states of consciousness even exist (he's actually pretty accurate in mentioning that hypnosis isn't too different from any other relaxed, focused state), he addresses the common fear of demonic exposure when he lays it out about as straightforward as I've ever heard it said:

On it's face, there's nothing supernatural about any of this, and that would make me wary of claims that one is opening oneself to the demonic.

I tend to take whether someone is open or closed to the demonic at face value: You're not inviting demons to influence you unless you're inviting demons to influence you. Since there is nothing overtly demonic about hypnosis (e.g., each hypnotic session does not begin with a prayer to a demon) there is no overt invitation to demons to influence you through it.

I'll add my two cents by addressing the new age hypnotists. Anyone who's been reading this blog knows that I'm advocating a highly ethical hypnosis practice that takes great care to keep clear of any religious or new age philosophy. No sane person would willfully invoke evil when doing hypnosis, but well-meaning new age folk will oftentimes slip in content that will convey their worldview to the client. They may not even realize they are doing it, but recall how powerful presuppositions can be!

Or on the flip side, a hypnotist from one of the more well-known religions might presuppose something that's so contrary to the worldview of the client, that the client won't even go into trance.

If you're confused by what I'm saying, go and review Richard Bandler and especially John Grinder when they write about the ins and outs of content-free hypnosis. Off the top of my head, I believe John Grinder's Whispering in the Wind goes into some depth on this matter of getting out of the clients way as much as possible.

Back to the Jimmy Akin topic- yes, classical hypnosis can be quite safe when practiced ethically, but do choose your hypnotist carefully. Certifications and medical degrees are not necessarily an assurance at this point; the best approach is to get a feel for the kind of person they are by checking references and discussing any concerns you have up front. And of course, you can affirm to your self, perhaps by using a self-hypnosis technique on your own, that your unconscious knows best what suggestions are ecological for you and which to discard as irrelevant.

Update: Jimmy has a follow-up post about the moral implications of hypnosis for Catholics here.

Life Extension Foundation is Having a Clearance Sale

I'm not an affiliate sales site for Life Extension, but I value their products and, if you've been reading this blog, you know I support their mission :-)

For those of you that are members, or are thinking of becoming members, Life Extension is having a clearance sale of many of their popular supplements in order to make room for new formulations and fresh inventory. The cool thing about Life Extension is that they do the research, and they actually update their products in accord with the most current knowledge in nutritional supplements.

Discounts in the clearance sale range from 60-80% and the sale includes such items as Super Alpha Lipoic Acid with Biotin, Coenzyme Q10, Silybinin Plus, Cognitex, Resveratrol, Super CLA Blend with Guarana and Sesame Lignans, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, and of course several variants of Life Extension Mix.

Head on over to www.lifeextension.com/clearance to take a gander at their offer, and to join up hit www.lef.org

Technorati Tags: life extension, longevity, supplements, nutrition

New Book on Milton Erickson

I just learned of a new book about Milton Erickson and his unique approach to psychotherapy and hypnosis. Titled Milton H. Erickson, M.D.: An American Healer, it's edited by Bradford Keeney and Betty Alice Erickson.

I'm quite looking forward to getting this, as it not only profiles Erickson and his work, but it even includes a DVD containing previously unseen footage of him working.

As of this writing, it's available at Amazon for a pretty deep discount. Buy now, you probably would jump at the chance to learn more about Milton Erickson.

Technorati Tags: hypnosis, erickson, hypnotherapy, nlp

Finding the Sweet Spot of Your Work

I've recently come across Pamela Slim's blog, Escape from Cubicle Nation. After reading for a few days, she's now a permanent part of my feed collection. Pam speaks to those who wish to leave the confinement of their cubicle for the independence of entrepreneurship and a healthy work-life balance. What a mission!

Going back through her archives I found this gem of a post about how she's just about hitting her sweet spot between her blog and her new venture. She explains that:

"at this moment I am getting closer to what I once heard Jim Collins refer to as the sweet spot.  This is the intersection of three interlocking circles: the first is "what people will pay you to do" - marketable skills and abilities that you have developed over your working life.  The second is "that which you have great passion for" - areas of interest, hobbies, ideas or causes that make your heart race.  And the third, and most elusive, is "that which you are genetically encoded to do" - the things that you were brought on this earth to accomplish that no one else on the planet can do as well as you."

Marketable skills can be built up over a career path or through education, and the other two are areas that we can certainly use our skills in hypnosis and NLP to develop and discover. This is a classic application of personal resources: the resource of experience (personal history), and the resource of tools (like hypnosis and motivational techniques). Apply your knowledge in personal enhancement to tweak each variable until the triad becomes that self-feeding loop, sustaining your satisfaction with your life. If something seems to fall out of whack, look at things in light of these three aspects to help re-discover your sweet spot.

It may be that you are hitting the sweet spot right where you are. I know I'm not going to be leaping into entrepreneurship just yet; my current "day job" is quite stimulating and I certainly bring personal uniqueness and interest to my work. When the doldrums of routine set in, it's always possible to wake myself up and create stimulating activity... seeking the sweet spot in your current position should not be overlooked.

Technorati Tags: business, motivation, career