Can you have two feelings at once? What should I do?

Something silly I made in Canva (which outweighs in your life?)

Every Wednesday night, Roi and I hold a free group call where you can ask hypnosis-related questions and get some free hypnosis. (See below for details if you want to join the next one.)

Last Wednesday, someone came for encouragement regarding safety. After a little bit of work and hypnosis, she proclaimed feeling “waves of peace” flowing from her head to her legs. She was reading the signs her body had sent her from the past and seeing that there were parts of her protecting her. And have protected her all her life.

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE

I feel that last paragraph may already sound a little “woo woo.” And it is. AND it is also scientific.

Past events are coded into our bodies at the cellular level. Here’s my understanding so far.

First, there’s an event. (Here’s a key piece of advice: events in themselves are neither good nor bad, godly or evil. All events are neutral. It is our meaning that we attach to them that causes our bodies to react. This is the first step in A Course in Miracles. If you want to learn more, you can follow that path here.)

Second, our brain interprets the event. It predicts this using a combination of past events (already stored in our bodies) and current stimuli. It compares and judges.

Third, depending on how the brain interprets the event, it determines which hormones it begins to release. This is done through the Hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and pineal gland. Your brain is an amazing pharmacy!!!!

Fourth, those hormones trigger a cascade of hormones. One hormone signals another hormone. A chain of waterfalls. And now, different signals are activated in the body. Fight or flight or peace and calm.

Finally, those hormones affect every cell of our body. In particular, the mitochondria (the energy centers — our literal batteries). (Any Star Wars fans out there? Think midi-chlorians.)

I did my best to draw this idea (for my visual learning friends)

OUR PAST EVENTS INTERPRET CURRENT REALITY

A baby is hungry, it cries, and it gets fed. A child touches a hot stove and learns not to touch a stove again. This learning is recorded within us. In many ways, our subconscious uses our bodies to store its learning. It’s PROGRAMMING!

Here’s a key point: our subconscious is looking out for our own good. It is using experience as a reference in trying to protect us.

A lot of our programming comes from external sources: parents, global events, and even the distant past.

If something sounds like a tiger, we get scared. If something looks like past trauma, we react. Here comes the cortisol, baby!

In our modern society, our bodies are overwhelmed with perceived stressors. Many stressors go unnoticed to our attention/conscious minds, but our unconscious mind notices EVERYTHING.

It’s a repeating loop: the current event appears threatening, so the body treats it as such. And now, anything that looks like the current event in the future will also be seen by the unconscious as a threat.

Nearly all of our reality is judged by the past. And now our bodies are under stress nearly all of the time.

RECODING THE PAST

We know that our bodies/minds operate on feedback loops. So how do we change the loops? How do we reprogram ourselves?

Several ways. One way is CBT or psychotherapy. For those of you who have done that, you may have found it helpful for a bit, but have stalled out. Plateau. It is great for challenging current experiences, but is rarely effective at recording past events.

More effective ways include religious experience or something like Hoʻoponopono. Essentially, this is a ‘reborn’ experience, where the past is washed away or forgiven.

Here’s another key point: How do you feel if you were to honestly — really, honestly — answer these questions: 1) Can I fully forgive myself of the past? And 2) Can I fully, unconditionally, love myself?

And, of course, my favorite way to reprogram the past is hypnosis. It’s easy. It’s effective. Some common side effects include feeling more positive about the world, feeling lighter, experiencing more happiness, and feeling more grounded.

DIFFERENT SIGNALS

Back to our Wednesday call. After receiving some hypnosis, she felt those waves of peace. Later, she wrote me to say she was still feeling the peace, and now ALSO feeling the old anxious feelings (albeit not a full experience of past anxious feelings, just whispers).

Think of it like this. You have owned a car for years. Drive it in the muddiest of puddles and let that mud cake on. Dries in the sun. Sits in it year after year. Thick, caked-on mud. In every crevasse.

One car wash (we’ll call this one CBT) will chip away at the mud with a stick. It’ll take years to notice a significant difference. Sure, it’s getting the car clean and doing well.

One car wash (we’ll call this one First United Church of Car Washing) will blast it with a power washer. It works, though a lot of the paint stripped off. That fancy hood ornament is long gone.

Another wash (we’ll call this HynpoWash) using a gentle detergent that interacts directly with the mud to easily remove it, leaving the car’s original shine and beauty intact. Sometimes, you can still see the mud in the crevasses. Overall, the car looks beautiful.

Do you understand? This is you. Underneath, in your purest of forms, you are beautiful.

PLAY WITH THIS

Let’s say you are feeling two seemingly contrary emotions. Let’s play with it. Hold out your hands, palm facing toward the ceiling. In one palm, imagine (pretend, if you will) that one of those emotions is sitting in that palm. Let’s say it is what you call a negative emotion. Feel it. Feel the weight of it in that palm. How big is it? What color is it?

Whatever you answer is fine. Even if there is no answer.

Now, with your other palm, focus your attention there. Place in it what you call positive emotion. Feel how light it is. Both in weight and brightness. Be curious if you notice any colors, shapes, or anything else about this emotion in your hand.

Now play.

Turn your attention from one palm and its emotion to the other palm with its emotion. Move your head back and forth and notice how each one feels.

That’s it.

One more key point: you have a choice.

Notice as you shift your attention from one hand with its emotion to the other. Notice how your body feels as you shift attention from one to the other.

I’ll say this…I believe in listening to both emotions. All I want for you is to notice that you have a choice.

Here’s another quick and fun exercise. If you are bothered by an emotion, I suggest setting a timer. Let’s say for 5 minutes. And now, knowing that you have a choice, you can choose to listen to that emotion for 5 minutes. However, it makes itself manifest. Let it speak to you however it wants. And when the five minutes are up, tell them, “Thank you for what you are saying to me. I appreciate you looking out for me.” And then…choose the emotion you’d rather listen to.

For that exercise, I suggest starting with lesser energy emotions, like mild frustrations. You can build up to do this with stronger ones.

The main point is: you have a choice. This is your superpower.

(Thank you for reading. I’d love to hear your feedback. Also, if you would like to know more about the Wednesday free sessions or work with me, please email me at ryan@trancewell.help.