The past few weeks (actually months) have been unusual for me. I had a lingering "cold" that just wouldn't go away. That rascal finally turned into pneumonia - and I am just now getting back to normal. During this time, my father had emergency surgery and my mom fell and broke her wrist while waiting for him to get through that surgery! Normally I would be able to take off work and go help out - but with pneumonia I would have just added to their problems. My little sister had to handle all this herself. And it was beautiful.
A few months ago my Mom became seriously ill. My sister had a really hard time. She is very close to Mom - and the baby of the family - so Mom is one of her best friends as well as her parent. That first illness shook my sister's view of the world to the core - and suddenly she saw Mom as fragile and very very vulnerable. None of us want to see our parents that way - and it is especially hard when you have never seen them as anything but competent, capable, self-sufficient people. My sister and I talked a LOT during this time. Although I could not use inductive hypnosis to help her directly, I found that I could guide and direct her to different ways of thinking about what was happening.
Long story short - my sister really learned and changed through her earlier and most recent experiences with my parents. She is much more fearless than before. She is much more likely to insist that people in authority (doctors, for example) treat her and those around her with respect. She is also much more confident. She knows that she can survive now. She didn't before. When we speak now, it is much more obvious that we are peers - and not older sis/younger sis. I like it a lot!
So - what does any of that have to do with painting, soothing the soul, or hypnosis? When I was first thinking about learning to paint, I was convinced I might not be able to do it at all - and that I would certainly never be any good at it. I struggled as much against that perception as I did with the tools and the medium. As I learned more about hypnosis, I began to understand that I was standing in my own way by having negative perceptions about my abilities - and even my FUTURE abilities as a painter. I learned to let go of those perceptions - and suddenly painting became a gift. At first it was just a gift to me - I enjoyed the act and even the struggles to learn. I know now that I will continue to get better at painting as long as I choose to do so. I am not trying to be a "grand" artist - I'm just trying to be a painter who enjoys painting. I don't worry about how "good" I am - or am going to be.
Later, painting became a gift to others. I love to teach and began holding classes. I later dropped those because of time constraints - but continue to teach friends. And a group of us have become "partners in crime" in painting for others. We recently painted cookies for the Ronald McDonald House. A year ago we worked with children at an inner-city school to paint a mural using their hand prints as flowers. We added stems and leaves and bugs - and the children love THEIR painting. All these things soothe my soul in ways I could never have imagined.
And I see the same thing happening with my sister - and with some clients. As they learn to let go of negative perceptions and limitations, beautiful things happen. It is an incredible joy and honor to participate in that process. We are truly blessed!