Sunday, October 27, 2013

Question x 2

How do you know what affects you? I mean what affects you deeply and permanently? Yes, most of us can remember a decision we made or something someone said once, and say, that deeply affected me. But I also know that most people don't consciously remember why they're afraid of heights, or allergic to cats (when no one else in their family is), or why they react almost violently to a certain tone of voice. I know because it comes up in client sessions all the time. Using hypnosis, we find whatever that is, and then shift it using NLP.

But what if that thing is cultural? A popular song perhaps? And if it's in no way traumatic, just something that you heard a million times.

Here's what I mean:

I remember the first time I heard the Moody Blues, the iconic rock band. I was 14, sitting on my friend, Mary's bed, on a log cabin quilt her mother had made, when she said, "You HAVE to hear this!' and played the first side of the album, "A Question of Balance". The album was titled for the song, "Question". I loved the album, and especially that song, so I bought it and played it about a million times. Yes, I knew the song's lyrics by heart. But I never thought about them much, or at least not very deeply. And as I got busier with my life, I stopped playing albums, and the technology changed, and I never bought the album on CD, or on iTunes. So I stopped hearing the song.

It turns out that my husband is a huge Moody Blues fan. So when he found out they were playing in San Rafael, he bought tickets. We went last week. They closed the show with "Question". Here are the lyrics that hit me like a ton of bricks the other night, because they are so deeply embedded in me:

It's not the way that you say it
When you do those things to me.
It's more the way that you mean it
When you tell me what will be.

And when you stop and think about it
You won't believe it's true.
That all the love you've been giving
Has all been meant for you.

How many times in the past few decades have I told people what will be?  Not that I tell them that, exactly. Instead, I tell them the probabilities of what is likely to happen and what they can do to affect the outcome in a positive way. And I mean it in a way that will help them, that will heal them -- and I know that my intention DOES help them create what they choose. (And I have client testimonials on LinkedIn to prove it.)

And yes, it is true: since we're all One, that love, the love that comes through when I'm working with a client, is meant for me.

SO: Did the Moody Blues shape my work, without any of us knowing it?  

And how do you know that hasn't happened to you?