FREE TOOLS

As a bonus for you who have visited my website, I am sharing with you some of the powerful processes for effective whole brain functioning, a kind of do-it-yourself manual for personal or group use. I have taught these core exercises to private counseling and coaching clients as well as mental health professionals across the country. I am available to train and coach these processes in more depth. See the COUNSELING WITH CAROLYN page for more details. In the meantime, enjoy your explorations!

Note: These processes are copyrighted and for personal use only. Otherwise please contact Carolyn Ball for permission to copy beyond individual use.

WHAT YOU WILL FIND ON THIS PAGE

1. The Tapping Process:  The groundwork for this process comes out of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which is supported by a large body of research regarding its effectiveness with a broad range of psychological concerns, including trauma-related issues. The Hemi-Tap Process is a safe, easy shortcut for “rewiring” the bring and changing thoughts and emotions.

2. The Reprogramming Process:  I call this CBT or Cognitive Therapy in a nutshell, a simple way to access unwanted subconscious beliefs that run our lives, and replace them with empowering and self-respecting new beliefs. This process gives us access and power over our unconscious limiting thoughts and transforms them. While you can do this process yourself, it is best to hone tis skill with the aid of your counselor.

3. Hemi-Sync® binaural beat exercises:   The easiest, most amazing way to make changes in your life is the binaural beat technology of Hemi-Sync, which offers the most options of any other binaural beat audio system. Here you can see a number of ways to apply Hemi-Sync.

1. The Tapping Process

(similar to EMDR)

The Hemi-Tap Process, based on my Reprogramming Process and EMDR, uses bilateral stimulation, by tapping left and right alternately as a way to create whole brain functioning. Simply tap at a rate of about two taps per second, either on your knees, arms, a table, or even tap with your feet. Tapping alternately left and right is essential, as this has a similar effect on the brain as the binaural beat of Hemi-Sync, without the advantage of targeting specific brain wave states, but it is available to you at all times and also has the benefit of being physically engaging. (This is not EFT.) Writing all the steps as you go is the most effective way to do this process, for it allows you to see in the end what changes you have gone through, giving you valuable information about how the process has worked for you and what transformation has occurred, although in a pinch, you can do it without writing it down.

1.    Re-experience an Event or Incident that was upsetting to you. Imagine you are there, in that moment, as a snapshot or the freeze-frame of a film. Or, focus on an issue, using a specific example.

2.     Fully experience the Emotions in your body. What are those feelings? List them. (hurt, sad, anxious, angry, frustrated, afraid, guilty, etc.)

2a.  On a Stress Scale from 0 to 10, how stressful are all those feelings together? (No stress is 1; maximum stress is 10.)

3.     What is your core Self-Criticism (mindtalk) or negative belief about yourself in this situation? (We usually have criticism of others, but in this case, we want to be in touch with a basic negative belief about ourselves that is stimulated by this situation. It’s the belief that hooks us emotionally in the situation. Examples: I’m not enough; I’m not lovable; I don’t deserve to receive; Something’s wrong with me; It’s my fault; etc.)

3a.  Preferred Belief: What would you rather believe about yourself?

3b. Apparent Truth Scale (ApTr): On a scale of 0-10, how true does the Preferred Belief seem when you are caught up in the feelings about this Event? (0 means the Preferred Belief is not believed at all; 10 means it feels completely true.)

4.     Tap on your arms or knees, alternating left and right  for about ten to fifteen seconds as you think about the event. (Just let your mind wander as it often does when we are troubled about something.)

5.     Pause and write (or say) One Sentence about where your thoughts have wandered about this issue. This is not a summary, it’s just what happens to be in your mind at this point of the process.

6.     Repeat Numbers 4 and 5, continuing to tap then write for about fifteen minutes to one hour–until you a) feel better and b) the last sentence gives a sense of resolution. This usually fills several pages. Longer time will generally bring more resolution.

7.   Installation:  When you fell better and a positive resolution or affirmation is reached, tap slowly on your arms while repeating aloud the new, preferred belief or thought three times.

8.   Review the progression of your thoughts. Again rate the two scales: 2a Stress, and 3b ApTr on a scale of 0-10 and note the changes. Be sure to do this step; the feedback about your shift is very important! (If stress is not year zero and ApTr is not near 10, then either you didn’t work the process long enough or there are more aspects of this issue to be worked later.)

2. The Reprogramming Process

Through this process we can dive deep into the recesses of our subconscious and weed out internal programming that can be harmful to us, replacing it with self-respecting and self-empowering new thoughts. But be aware: sometimes it’s hard to let go of those old victim perspectives, so get help with it if you need to. You can learn more about this powerful process in my book Claiming Your Self-Esteem, available through this website, which gives great information about how we run our lives based on habitual old thoughts and beliefs that are very engrained in our mental and brain functioning. Once you become good at this process, make reprogramming in your everyday thoughts a habit.

1.   Re-experience an Event that “pushed your buttons.” Imagine you are there, in the moment, as a snapshot or the freeze-frame of a film. The event is not the “story,” but the single image which keeps coming back.  Experience it as if it were happening now, in the present, and it can generally be stated in one sentence. (Eg: “I pick up the phone and hear, ‘Hi, this is Aunt Zelda; I’m in town!’”)

2.   Fully experience the Emotions in your body. Put your hand over the part of the body where you feel them the most. Magnify and allow them rather than resist them. Dive into the feelings and expand them as you list them. (Example: “Hurt, sad, angry, frustrated, confused, tightness in stomach.”) Being in touch with our feelings helps you to access the subconscious thoughts.

3.   Mindtalk (self-talk, internal dialogue): Listen to your thoughts, including your interpretation and beliefs about the event. Allow the subconscious to surface by just letting it run, spiraling down to the bottom of your deepest fears, without trying to edit or “be enlightened” about it. Just “dump” it out. Write each mindtalk statement at the left hand side of the page (after having drawn a line down the middle. Let each sentence start on the left side so it’s easier to see when you later reprogram.

4.   Deepen your mindtalk with one the following conjunctions:

• • • Because…
    • Therefore…
    • If that’s true then…
    • Or else (usually used after “should, have to”, etc.)

Use these words as connectors (conjunctions) so that in essence you have created a single, very long, run-on sentence, although you will write each sentence separately on the left side of the page. (Any time you get “up into your head,” go back to the event and the emotions to help you return to the process.) Continue writing your mindtalk until the very worst comes out. It may fill several pages.

5.   On the right hand side of your page, Reprogram each statement with a self-esteem-based, truthful, empowering statement. Do this without taking a break from the exercise so that you don’t leave the negative thoughts hanging out, but immediately change them to self-supportive ones. Sometimes our minds want to cling to old familiar beliefs that might “seem” true because we’ve believed them for so long, so be kind to yourself and firm with your mind.

HERE ARE SOME HINTS TO MAKE YOUR REPROGRAMMING MORE EFFECTIVE:

When writing your mindtalk:

1. Every sentence gets a deepening connector: “therefore, because, or else, if…then…” making a giant run-on sentence which allows access to the subconscious.

2. Use statements, not questions. (“Why do I always fail?” is written “I always fail.”)

3. Feeling words (“I’m hurt) get written under the emotions section in step #2, above, not in the mindtalk section, #3.

4. The word “feel” is commonly used instead of the more accurate “think”. (For example, when writing mind talk, “I feel that I’m weak…” is more accurately written as the thought “I’m weak.”

5. Avoid the word “want” as it may be true, and hence will not get reprogrammed.

When Reprogramming:

1. Reprogrammed statements are:

a. Self-esteem based, b. Truthful, c. Empowering

2. Change imperatives—“Have to, ought to, should,” etc. to: “choose to, want to, shall.”

3. Change absolutes—Absolutes are often central in arguments and self-criticism. For example

a.  “Never, always, constantly” are reprogrammed to “sometimes, occasionally, rarely, often”

b.  “Right” and “wrong” become “I agree/disagree, I like/dislike” etc.

c.  “Good” and “bad” are value judgements, and not the same for everyone. Reprogram them as “valuable” or “valued”, “choose to avoid.”

4. Avoid using a negative in the reprogrammed states for two reasons

a. It repeats the mindtalk—“I’m not ugly” still contains “I’m ugly”, reinforcing it.

b. Better to use an empowering statement: “I’m attractive”

5. Future statements are inherently false, as they have not yet occurred. Reprogram with “It’s possible/probable that…” or a statement about the present.