Well, not just one, an entire bag of them, here is a picture I took of them:

It says on the packet, that they are biscuits, but they aren’t… They are like roll-shaped melba toasts… Traditionally made from leftover dough which the bakers left in the cooling kiln overnight.

One of my current hypnotherapy diploma students, moved to Bournemouth when she began her studies and found herself asking me for advice on the good areas to live as she had stumbled across a pub on the outskirts of town called The Dorset Knob.

It was a running joke between us and yesterday she awarded me this bag of them, as a fond memento and a lovely joke… Though it was all I could do to stop other students from eating them yesterday!

So no… It is not something I get called and neither it is my nickname… I knew you were going to ask.   ;-)

Well you can shove your Oscars… I got a bag of Dorset Knobs…

© Adam Eason Personal Development — visit Adam-Eason.com for great articles, interviews and more on hypnosis and personal development.

I find it fascinating. Food is an essential part of my success strategy today…. Or if I put it another way, if I was not consuming the right stuff for my brain, I’d be a mess (ahem, some might say ‘bigger’ mess).

I thought I’d share with you some of that stuff that I find essential to feeding your brain and have it functioning to its best, because hypnosis alone is not always going to have you being the finely honed brainy being that many of us like to think we are… Firstly, I’d order you to ensure you eat breakfast.

Children and students of all varying types that eat breakfast perform far, far better on academic tests. I know loads of people say they just don’t feel like eating first thing in the morning, but it is a habit I strongly advise you get into… Having a good breakfast advances your ability to concentrate, it makes you more alert and creative, and results in far more productive mornings than those who muddle their way through and finally declare themselves awake at lunchtime.

Anything does tend to be better than nothing, but more effort needs to go into it than having tea and toast as you run out the door. For maximal morning alertness and staying power, you need to include some protein, which can come in the form of yoghurt, eggs, milk or fresh fish, I often have protein powder in my morning smoothie… Athletes, marathon runners or those looking to reduce weight and build up muscle would be advised to eat protein at least first thing in the morning, last thing at night and after working out… Everyone else need consider including some in every meal.

Secondly, you want to look out for your coffee consumption. Our brains do actually seem to like coffee as much as we do: research shows that regular coffee consumption may protect against developing dementias such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Having a cup of coffee does improve your reaction time, can give you a burst of energy, and may help you concentrate more sharply. However, one cup too much can push you past optimal concentration and performance and into the jitters. Pay attention to how much coffee your body and mind prefer, before automatically pouring yourself another cup… The continuous drip feeding of the stuff may be to your detriment.

Thirdly, consider getting the right fats for your brain. I once heard an expert on psychiatric nutrition describe the relationship between fats and the brain. Our brains are more than 60% fat, and the nerve cells in our brain are constantly renewing their cell membranes. Unhealthy fats (i.e. saturated animal fats, or trans fats found in deep-fried foods) are made up of stiff poor quality fatty acids. When you eat these, they insert themselves into your nerve cell membranes. The result: your brain cells get stiffer than they should be and can’t function optimally.

If you feed your brain healthy fatty acids, such as the omega-3 fatty acids from salmon and other fatty fish, these make your cell membranes more flexible and fluid, boosting your brain power and even your mood. Omega-3 fatty acids are arguably the best miracle food for your brain. They enhance memory, and slow age-related cognitive decline. Lack of omega-3’s can cause depression and memory problems, and may worsen symptoms of ADD. Even a good quality supplement is consideration if you do not get enough.

Do look at what kinds of carbohydrates you eat. Glucose is pure brain food. Your brain’s only true fuel is the sugar glucose. When you eat carbohydrates, they get broken down into the simplest sugar (glucose) in the body, causing a rise in your blood sugar. This can provide a short-term boost to your memory and mental ability, but you don’t want to overdo it: too many high-glycemic carbs, such as a big plate of pasta or potatoes at lunch, can make you sleepy and harm performance. Your best bet is to eat healthy, wholegrain, high-fibre carbohydrate snacks throughout the day. Don’t wait too long between meals and snacks, as low blood sugar can dramatically affect memory and mental speed, and your ability to handle stress.

As you fly through your day, make it a habit to check in nutritionally with yourself every couple of hours. Choose foods that support your mind, and make it a great day!

My brain function is about to be tested heavily again… I am running my hypnotherapy training diploma this weekend… I’ll be back on Monday…

© Adam Eason Personal Development — visit Adam-Eason.com for great articles, interviews and more on hypnosis and personal development.

The physical, emotional and mental health benefits associated with being married are clear to anyone who’s experienced a successful bond. Indeed, a happy couple is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. If you’ve never been married or if you found yourself mismatched then, of course, you may not know. It would now seem that the notion of ‘happily ever after’ is alive and well…

CBS news interviewed a random sample of 868 subjects nationwide from January 29th to the 31st of 2010. The results are remarkable and maybe unexpected to some.

When asked: “Would you marry your spouse again?” a full 90% said they would. Only 9% said they would not. Going back to 1995, 93% said Yes and 6% said No.

Looking at the poll more closely, 95% of men said they would remarry their wives while 85% of wives said they would remarry their husbands.

There was also some variance based on finances. The poll was conducted int he US, so these figures are in dollars. Of couples making more than $50K, 95% would remarry their mate while only 83% of those making less than that would do the same. But even here, 83% is still a significant proportion.

In fact, when asked what was important to a relationship, neither money nor sex was listed as a major factor. Respect came in at 49% and Trust got a 37% rating. One in ten couples said that a Sense of Humour was most important to a successful relationship.

What about the idea of Love at First Sight? Roughly half the subjects felt it was indeed possible…with men slightly more inclined to believe in the legitimacy of spotting your life-mate across a crowded room on some enchanted evening.

Love is thriving… I am certainly delighted myself to enjoy the wonders of a happy marriage.

Ok, I am off now… Busy day rounded off with dinner with Sophie Nicholls, who is speaking at my hypnotherapist peer supervision group tonight… Can’t wait.

© Adam Eason Personal Development — visit Adam-Eason.com for great articles, interviews and more on hypnosis and personal development.

Over the past couple of years, I certainly think people are learning more and having a more correct understanding of the nature of hypnosis, what it can and can’t do and the efforts of so many in this field have really helped to make a difference in my view.

So it was with some dismay that I caught this article in the Guardian online entitled “Is it OK to be hypnotised to improve my work performance?” And demonstrates a huge amount of ignorance about hypnosis and hypnotherapy on the part of many responding to it…

Firstly, we need to get over the incessant need for a newspaper to use a picture of a guy swinging a pocket watch to illustrate hypnosis is being used… Despite the fact that virtually no hypnotherapists use them, it is imagery that seems to have stuck… This fortnightly section of the newspaper has questions (or rather ‘work dilemmas’) being posed, and here is what was asked in more detail:

My boss wants to pay for our team to have cognitive hypnotherapy treatment to see if it improves our sales performance. Some colleagues think it could be fun but I’m worried about something going wrong and I’m not entirely sure about the ethics of it. What do readers think? Should I back out, or go along with it?

What are your thoughts?

If you then proceed to read the comments by people who obviously have no understanding of hypnosis or hypnotherapy at all saying things like:

Would you be asking yourself this question if they had announced free caffeine pills all round, or any other performance-enhancing medication? You can’t drug your employees to get them to perform better, goes without saying. The same applies to personal therapy.

Your boss is so far across the line in even suggesting this.

Another comment said this:

The answer is quite obviously not-on-your-nelly, sir. What sort of meglomaniac are you working for anway?!

Another offered this:

Do you really want to work for an organisation that allows managers to treat their staff in this irresponsible and disrespectful way?

My advice is to get out now, otherwise they’ll have you walking barefoot over hot coals next time.

Yet another said this:

Your boss is inferring that you’re not good enough as you naturally are. Is that ok with you? Whatever next, offering you all free plastic surgery to rid his team of loathsome and unattractive facial features that might stand in the way of a deal?

Wow.

Do people really think like this? I mean going to the effort of writing on a national newspapers website in such an ill-informed and ignorant manner.

The benefits of using cognitive hypnotherapy to improve all manner of aspects are surely going to benefit the individuals, the company, and those that benefit from dealing with an improved workforce.

Maybe the messages are not making their way far enough out there and us guys in this field need to keep on… I write regularly about some of the most amazing empirical research findings supporting the efficacy of hypnosis in so many different ways… Those kinds of things don’t make it much further beyond those with a keen interest, which is a real shame.

I could go on for hours correcting the blobs of misinformation punctuating all these ignorant statements, but I have a days work to get on with… :-)

© Adam Eason Personal Development — visit Adam-Eason.com for great articles, interviews and more on hypnosis and personal development.

As you turn your attention from the reasons you have certain thoughts about certain friends, what do you think are the main thoughts they have about you? What is it that attracts people to you? What makes people want to work or conduct business with you? Why would people want to become a part of your inner circle or you to become a part of theirs? What makes you memorable and makes people excited to see you? I think it is important to know and understand what it is that is hypnotic about you, what stays in the minds of others when they consider you…. And if you stay in their minds at all.

You do not have to be in the professional hypnosis field to be hypnotic.

It is really rather simple. To attract, gain access or to be invited again into the business or social circles you are interested in, you have to discover and develop the character traits or qualities that other members will consider valuable to their group. It may seem calculating, but in certain areas of our lives the stakes require it. By understanding this concept and increasing your ‘hypnotic value’ you can increase your current worth to groups you already belong to and ones you are seeking to enter.

Your value can be applied in numerous ways. It could be:

Specialist Knowledge – Humour – Loyalty – Reliability – Creativity – Your Intelligent Input – Charm – Conversational Skills- Athletic Ability – Leadership Skills – Networking Ability – Public Speaking Ability – Writing Skills – Marketing Skills – Organisational Skills – or just your Positive Mindset.

Any of these characteristics could ensure you have a hypnotic persona and have you etched into the minds of others in a valuable and beneficial way. They can be natural talents that you further develop or non-talents that you cultivate. Either way, if used sincerely and when it counts, who you are should bring more values to others and your own life. Thereby increasing your options in many areas.

Think about how you can be hypnotic today…

© Adam Eason Personal Development — visit Adam-Eason.com for great articles, interviews and more on hypnosis and personal development.