In The Background

This mini podcast is about the automated routines that run in the background and bring our progress to a screeching halt.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

In The Background

When I used to travel 30+ weeks a year, I had lots of opportunities to meet new people on airplanes. Invariably the question would come up: “What do you do?”

If you want to turn heads on airplanes, either answer the question with “Hit man” or “Hypnotist.”

When people heard the term “Hypnotist” or “Hypnosis,” they would reach into their memory banks for any associations they had with either of those words, and the questions and comments would come non-stop.

“Don’t make me cluck like a chicken,” “Can you help me stop biting my nails?”, “Can anybody be hypnotized?”, “I’d be afraid to let anyone control my mind.”

After I answered their questions to the best of my ability, they would eventually ask: “How does it work?” or “What do you actually do?”

I would say that hypnosis is a form of accelerated learning. When the chatterbox part of your mind calms down, the part of your mind that does the learning is wide open and fertile for suggestions –ones that you're open to. Then the process of learning something new happens more quickly. So the job of the hypnotist is to guide you into that quieter frame of mind. We're like sherpas on Mt. Everest guiding you from one frame of mind to another.

When I explained what I actually did, it would make most people stop and think about how much of their behavior was automatic and predictable. I would say that my job was to get people to first, notice, and then outgrow behavior that ran in the background.

We 're almost completely unaware of the automatic behavior that runs us. That’s because it’s invisible and runs in the background. It’s like the software in a computer. A computer is only capable of running the same routines if we use the same software.

The visible part is the behavior, not the routine.

Most of psychology probes the “Why” of the behavior. That’s pretty interesting stuff, but it does very little in actually outgrowing the behavior. Rather than know the why and the wherefore, I find it much quicker to get people to notice the behavior while it’s running.

This method opens the curtain so you can see that the “Great Oz” is just an ordinary routine running in the background. You demystify it and notice it for what it is – a piece of outdated software.

Once you have that recognition, you begin to drop the notion of “I was meant to be this way,” or “I’ll never be able to change.” Those concepts melt and fade away when you notice that they have been running in the background.

If you begin to jump into the area of “It’s someone else’s fault that I am the way that I am,” you have brought your ability to learn new behaviors to a screeching halt. That’s backward focus. It’s not helpful in moving you forward.

Outgrowing behavior begins by noticing it while it’s running, not 15 minutes or a day later. When you notice a piece of undesirable behavior running, your job is to interrupt it. The process of interrupting behavior, while it is running, is the quickest path to learning something new.

With each interruption, you cause a gap in the outdated software. It’s in that gap that new behavior starts to form. The more often you interrupt behavior, while it’s running, the quicker you get to new behavior.

New learning loves a void. That’s why mind quieting is such a powerful, learning tool.

Begin to recognize your behaviors in action and you will bring them out of the background where you can interrupt them at will. By doing so, you'll bypass all the justifications you’ve been using for your behaviors, and begin the process of accelerated learning.

All the best,

John