Visualization for Career Success to Benefit Rising Stars

I had a fast paced winter and spring schedule with more than 40 performances of my Hypnotic Experience show.   

Highlights included entertaining at after prom and all night graduation parties at 14 high schools; presentations to psychology students at Georgetown University, Northern Virginia Community College and Montgomery College; and a keynote talk and hypnosis demonstration at the Women Empower Expo in Washington, DC. 

At the end of June I needed a breather and planned to take the summer off.  That is until I had an opportunity to support Rising Stars.  

Created in 2012 by business leader and entrepreneur Oliver Carr, Rising Stars raises money to support organizations that help at-risk children succeed in education and their community.  The organization believes every child deserves a quality education to become a thriving member of society.

Please join me on Thursday, August 3 at 3 PM in Chevy Chase, Maryland for a very special talk about how to use the practice of visualization for health, wellness and career success.  It’s a free event, although a $5 donation is encouraged.  The money raised at this event will go directly to help Rising Stars support students in the Washington, DC area.

You can RSVP to Melissa at melissa.manrique@carrworkplaces.com or by phone at (301) 968-2361.

I’ve included the promotional flyer below that has more information and how to RSVP.

Federer Sharpens His Mental Game

Confidence is a huge thing, says Roger Federer.  Photo Source: Pledgesports.org

Professional tennis is for the young.  The required athleticism and skill coupled with the physical grind of competing on the tour results in most players (male and female) concluding their career in their late 20s.

Roger Federer has proven to be the exception.  At the age of 35, he continues to perform at a high level and, as I write this blog, just advanced to the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

What is his secret?

First, it’s his decision to step away from the game for extended breaks to keep his body fresh.  Federer took six months off at the end of 2016 to heal and followed that up with a 10 week break this past spring. 

The second reason for Federer’s sustained success is 100 percent mental.

“I’m playing very well.  I’m rested.  I’m fresh,” Federer said during his press conference after his most recent Wimbledon victory.  “I’m confident, too.  Then great things do happen.  Confidence is a huge thing.”

A positive mind-set is the foundation for accomplishment.  It’s true in career, in academics and, in Federer’s case, on the courts at Wimbledon.

Another Great Read on the "Real-ness" of Hypnosis

I just came across this excellent article in New York Magazine from last November about current research into the validity of hypnosis.  Here is a link to the article and a few noteworthy quotes.

Has Hypnosis Finally Been Vindicated by Neuroscience?

By Melissa Dahl

Hypnotism has been shown to be an effective treatment for psychological problems, like phobias and eating disorders, but the practice also helps people with physical problems, including pain — both acute and chronic — and some gastrointestinal diseases.

With hypnosis, you capture people’s attention. … You get people to turn to a more passive state of attention and to stop judging everything. To just let it happen.  And when you do this, the amazing thing is that it’s as if you’re talking directly to the part of the brain that’s monitoring the reactions.

The increasing interest in mindfulness meditation suggests that mainstream acceptance of the mind-body connection is growing. Just last month, NPR reported that placebo pills work even when people know they’re taking a placebo. Those are real, biological changes underlying those differences in your symptoms. It’s all in your mind. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real. 

2 Photos @ Lake Braddock Secondary School's All Night Grad Party

Tight quarters!  A crowd gathers around my hallway set-up as I take volunteers through a hypnotic induction.

Sleep now!  A simple suggestion returns a volunteer to a deep, hypnotic trance.