We continue through March, hearing from our four guests whom we have asked to answer the question, “What Stops Our Growth and Evolution?”
This week our dear friend Ken Guzzo is up to bat. Ken is a Certified Prime Potential Facilitator, and the founder of the Bay Area Non Smoking Center, and the North American Academy of Hypnosis. Ken has helped thousands of people to walk away from years of smoking, and limiting behaviours into lives which are healthier, fuller and richer.
We think you’re really going to enjoy reading Ken’s insightful… and very humorous thoughts. Please… read on!
Q: What Stops our Growth and Evolution?
A: Fear.
Thank you for reading.
Ken Guzzo,
Certified Hypnotist
…Why is there Fear, you ask?
Oh, Fear is what happens when we forget who we are.
When we forget who we are, we become lost in our mind.
When we are lost in our mind, we are not living in the present moment.
When we are not present, we have no power to affect reality.
When we are not affecting our reality, our fears of the world affect us.
Let’s back up for a moment. Fear is the bright red flashing light of all emotion that contracts our physiology, creativity, and sometimes our reason.
Now, rational fear of danger is essential to life, and serves us well. It keeps me from placing my hand on a hot stove. It keeps me safely back from the edge of a cliff. It keeps me from dancing naked down YOUR street; a sight that would be difficult to un-see, so don’t picture that in your mind whatever you do. Why are you picturing me naked…on your street…dancing?? That’s just wrong on so many levels!
Ever wonder why people allow unpleasant or fearful pictures to dwell in their minds?? It almost seems as though we are addicted to it. It’s like our whole nervous system puts caution tape around the entire “Naked Ken” experience, and begins searching feverishly for ways to prevent that experience from happening in our reality. We replay it over and over… “But what if Ken popped out from behind a tree doing the Macarena?? What would I do then? What if I answered the door, and found Ken doing the Naked Chicken Dance?!? Arms flapping, music and all!!”…Good idea, but what if the police didn’t come?!?
The system can become consumed, and in some cases paralyzed, with the noble intention of keeping us safe from living-out the thoughts we fear. (By the way, I have no tan lines—NONE. It’s March so I’m WHITE all over.) “Perhaps,” the system says, “It would be best just to stay safely at home with the curtains drawn…and definitely don’t answer the door.” …while the mind-theatre shows the movie of our fears, over and over.
Worry is the misuse of imagination.
How much of your life has been cordoned off with caution tape? In what ways do you hold yourself back? How much of your brain power, time, and energy is allocated to preventing that which you fear? 10%? 20%? 50%? More??
We can only hold one thought in our minds at a time; only one emotion in our hearts. While our system is running fear, we forget the “amazingness” of who we are. When this happens, the natural, limitless power that emanates from us to create our reality vanishes…from our awareness.
The result feels like an implosion from within, causing the challenges and fears we face to seem more massive as they come crashing in on us—first in our imagination, and, left unchecked, into our reality. This can cause overwhelm, anxiety, apathy, and then actual crisis.
So, just stop it, and you’ll be fine.
…What’s that? Not that easy you say? (By the way, I have a tasteful little butterfly tattoo on my butt that reads, “I Love Lynn Sumida!” Some mornings your neighbors read it when I do my naked warm-up stretches. I can make the wings of that butter flap when I lunge) Don’t waste a moment of your existence imagining THAT vividly in your mind!! …Oops! So sorry. You’ll never get that moment back.
So what can we do?
We could construct elaborate ways to attempt to stop the things that stop us before they stop us. After a very long time of planning, and war gaming, some people will consciously gather themselves together, roll back the caution tape, and engage in techniques and strategies to overcome “that thing” that is holding them back. They can often succeed.
The problem is, this type of approach adds still another layer of complexity, and requires enormous amounts of conscious energy and commitment to overcome each issue, manually, one-by-one. And because the issues are seen as largely external, the underlying causes are not addressed, and the person soon finds the caution tape right back up again.
One cannot resolve a problem consciously that resides unconsciously. “Huh?” Exactly!
Tactics and strategies exist in the conscious mind. Fear, and all other emotions live in the unconscious mind, which, in my work I have come to believe, extends throughout our nervous systems. Think of them as two completely different minds: the latter, the world’s most massive super computer; the former, the free calculator your accountant gave you. Not a fair fight. This is why telling ourselves or others to “Just stop it!” rarely works.
How do we achieve real and lasting solutions?
What I LOVE about Prime Potential, Success Beyond Beliefs, and the unique work that I do with hypnosis, is that all three are able to bypass the conscious mind and affect change quickly and directly, eliminating the problems and fears where they exist; in the unconscious mind and nervous system.
The result? The issue is no longer there to be overcome. It’s gone! People experience a deep sense of peace and calm, and confidently project their true selves into their lives as the master “manifestor” they are. (Yes, I just manifested “another” word that never existed before. Webster’s Dictionary may be slow to catch up. That’s okay—Home stretch—Keep reading!)
As for that unsightly dancing weirdo on your street? It never happened, did it? That story was all in your imagination. How often do we experience stressful situations in our imagination, repeatedly, over and over, that never actually occur in reality? I solemnly promise, you will NEVER EVER be embarrassed to see me dancing naked on your street…in March.
How can we keep fearful or negative thoughts from our minds?
Two simple methods I use to keep the unwanted, limiting, or destructive thoughts from my mind are: “Cancel, cancel” and “Thank you, and…” The first immediately and abruptly nullifies the aforementioned thought or image. Even when I am the one who spoke the weakening words or conjured the limiting thought, a quick “cancel, cancel” out loud sends a clear message to my unconscious mind to disregard these and any similar messages, and not to allow them into my reality.
“Thank you, and…” is more gentle, and allows the unwanted idea to pass on through my mind under its own momentum while inviting the next thought in. I may repeat this mantra a number of times until a more uplifting thought arrives.
Let’s use one or both of those mantras now to transform that unfortunate previous image now into that of a loving person who is dear to your heart, wearing a beautifully colored outfit that makes you smile from ear to ear. Picture him or her smiling back at you while holding a bright sign that clearly reads, “YOU will always be more amazing than your mind is aware, so love yourself, and radiate your unstoppable life-force into the world we share!”
Finally, and most importantly we must remember that we are not our minds, and we are not our thoughts. We are the consciousness that is aware that we are aware of all of it.
It is wonderful that we have past memories to cherish, from which we learn and grow. It is wonderful that have the ability to imagine, and plan our future. Yet, we must discipline ourselves not to live extensively in these thoughts, for when we do, we abandon the present moment. This moment is where you and I actually exist and have power to create reality. Notice how much time you spend in thoughts reliving the past, planning for/worrying about the future, and how much time you are here, NOW.
I invite you to work with someone you trust to eliminate the caution tape and the distracting programming from your life so that you can BE powerfully in our world, in an unstoppable way, every day.
Thank you for reading, and sharing this time with me today.
Ken Guzzo,
Certified Hypnotist
PS. One thing about my crazy story was true. I really DO love Lynn Sumida!
…no butts about it. …Smile, and go BE.
Ken Guzzo is a member of the Board of Advisors to the International Hypnosis Federation, a certified hypnosis instructor, founder of the North American Academy of Hypnosis, and the recipient of the 2013 IHF Award of Excellence for his work in Health Care. He is married to his wonderful wife Susan, and father to his two delightful children Sarah and Zander.
Ken is passionate about helping people step into their power and their joy. He uses insight and humor to shine light on hidden truths, and to help eliminate constructed barriers that can obscure the paths of our evolution.
Founder of the Bay Area Non-Smoking Center, Ken has helped over 4,000 people become completely smoke-free in a one session treatment, combining advanced hypnosis techniques with a cutting edge neurological process. Once people free themselves from such limiting blocks or addictions, many are eager to address the rest of their lives, where Ken finds Prime Potential, developed by miruspoint Facilitators Inc., is a perfect fit.