public, and children. Whilst I was working with Steven, I really perfected my knowledge of exactly what the method and system were all about. This is what I now teach.
You now have a picture of how I became involved and you can also learn this system. It's easy – just make sure you incorporate the techniques explained in this book. To help you, you could choose to listen to my audio tape A Peaceful Place No. 2 (Guided Imagery), or you could make your own tape. All of you, everyone without exception, can actually relax and release stress within 20 to 30 seconds. There are many additional benefits that lead on from mastering relaxation and these you can achieve as well. More of that later, for now just remember “doing it does it”.
Comfort Zones
Usually we all operate from within our Comfort Zone - a self imposed boundary outside of which we feel uncomfortable. Let's say that the circle in the diagram shown is the boundary of “where we feel comfortable”. Outside
uncomfortable, inside comfortable. An example may be public speaking. The image of ourselves could be as a poor public speaker and therefore our comfort zone is inside the circle. Outside the circle represents public speaking, an area of challenge which is new to us. The boundary of the circle is the wall of fear or block or doubt about our own abilities.
Is it OK to make mistakes? Sure it is, that's how we learn. Other situations could involve a new job, meeting new people, or driving your car in a new suburb. Once you've gone outside your Comfort Zone a few times you feel more comfortable and so you have extended your comfort zone.
I am going to be able to show you a wonderful non stressful way of increasing your Comfort Zone, staying in your Comfort Zone yet easily extending your learning and feeling good about yourself. In fact that's my responsibility with this book: “To take you into new areas of learning”.
The Role of the Subconscious
Why is change challenging? It is challenging because the role of the subconscious mind is to keep you where you are now - hence all your personality, habits, self image and memory will drive you when you “float” along, ie. no change will take place until you have consciously directed your subconscious mind to form a new habit.
The conscious mind directs the subconscious mind; it does that best when you are totally relaxed (in Alpha) thinking of one thing at a time. Remember the Comfort Zone expands when you consciously dare to risk – you may make mistakes and yet you will learn more. Using your subconscious mind to achieve means stress-free learning.
Exercise
What I would like you, the reader, to do now, is to take a pencil and write down, in the space provided below, five good things about yourself. Write them down and repeat them to yourself. Enough space has been left for you to come back and read the book again in a month, six months or whatever and add to the list. Note where you were at then and where you are at now.
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Ongoing Support
I have a system of support in place which includes:
•Books and CDs (listed in the back of this book)
•Talks/Discussion/Follow up Meetings
•Seminars for children and adults in the public, educational and corporate areas, conducted by myself and my accredited trainers
•Regular E-Reports to all those who register for it on my website www.calm.com.au.
•I am always available to answer questions and I encourage you to write to me at PO Box 36, Mt Kuring-gai, NSW 2080 (Sydney, Australia) or e-mail me [email protected]
Many of the books and CDs available are also very useful for companies. In fact companies using accelerated learning methods train twice as many people more effectively, with the same budget.
To obtain maximum benefit from this book I urge you to follow all the exercises throughout the book.
Representational Styles
We all learn with all our senses, but often one of our senses dominates. From the science of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) we find that we learn and communicate with all our senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. These representational styles are: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Most of us favour one over the others – especially when we are stressed.
For example some people are good listeners and can readily and easily absorb information from listening. Others are more visual and learn best from being able to see something demonstrated. Some are kinesthetic, which means they learn best from actually doing, or experiencing, in much the same way as you are doing now, by reading this book and doing the exercises yourself. If you love to learn by getting involved,
then perhaps you would find greater benefit in actually attending discussion groups or seminars. I am a particularly good auditory person – I quite readily absorb information through my ears. However, when I was at university, I didn't learn from listening. The lecturer was busy writing on the blackboard as well as talking. I concentrated on copying down the notes (and daydreaming as well). I'd look at those notes a day or a week later
