A client who has just done the Lightning Process sent me this, written by Lao Tzu:
Watch your thoughts;
They become words.
Watch your words;
They become actions.
Watch your actions;
They become habits.
Watch your habits;
They become character.
Watch your character;
It becomes your destiny.
Sunday, 30 March 2014
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Horizon programme on placebos
A fascinating Horizon programme on placebos is now available on Youtube to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKG1lgI4zIk
It says: "Ultimately it is about the link between our minds and our bodies. Whether it is fear or hope, our thoughts and expectations can trigger chemical reactions that change our bodies."
One of the most fascinating bits for me was that even when people were told that they were getting a placebo pill, 62% of people still got adequate relief from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, while only 30% got adequate relief from no pill at all. And the symptoms came back when they finished the pills, even thought they knew they were placebo pills!
It also looks at the use of hypnosis to create responses in the body: pain relief in a wisdom tooth extraction. Horizon suggests that this shows it is possible to access the body's natural healing mechanisms through the words a practitioner chooses and how those words are used, as well as through placebo pills or operations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKG1lgI4zIk
It says: "Ultimately it is about the link between our minds and our bodies. Whether it is fear or hope, our thoughts and expectations can trigger chemical reactions that change our bodies."
One of the most fascinating bits for me was that even when people were told that they were getting a placebo pill, 62% of people still got adequate relief from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, while only 30% got adequate relief from no pill at all. And the symptoms came back when they finished the pills, even thought they knew they were placebo pills!
It also looks at the use of hypnosis to create responses in the body: pain relief in a wisdom tooth extraction. Horizon suggests that this shows it is possible to access the body's natural healing mechanisms through the words a practitioner chooses and how those words are used, as well as through placebo pills or operations.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
The Lightning Process is in Independent on Sunday
Laura Mvula is a singer songwriter who has been nominated for two Brit Awards this week: and yet she has suffered from crippling anxiety. She talks in some depth to the Independent on Sunday about this, and about her experience of doing the Lightning Process.
"....For many years now, Mvula has suffered with an asphyxiating anxiety. "It's been difficult," she says quietly. As with most sufferers, she did her best to ignore it, and plough on. But it was in becoming a pop star that she felt she must at last confront it. She came across something called the Lightning Process, a three-day training programme created by a British osteopath called Phil Parker. The process claims to help people retrain "negative brain patterns" by breaking the "adrenaline loop" that keeps the nervous system's stress responses unhealthily high. Though it is not without its critics, the treatment has been successfully used by sufferers of stress, depression and other auto-immune conditions. Esther Rantzen, whose daughter suffered with chronic fatigue, has publicly praised it, as have several athletes.
"Oh, it helped me enormously," Mvula says. "It encouraged me to access a part of my brain that had been very flustered for a long time. I got into the habit of filtering out all the good in my life, focusing on only the negative. I'm not sure why I did it, but it's a pretty depressing state."
Her anxiety led to a condition called monophobia, a fear of being alone. Solitude would only exacerbate her anxiety.
"To be honest with you, I've been pretty secretive about all this," she says hesitantly. "I don't know why. Perhaps I'm embarrassed? But then, no. I've been giving this a lot of thought recently, and I don't think being embarrassed helps. What I learnt with Phil Parker was that my anxiety was my body's way of trying to protect me, to look after me. So the impulse was coming from a good place, but overall it wasn't being helpful."
Until recently, she refused to watch herself on TV or read back any interviews, for fear, she says, "I might find something out about myself that could destroy me." But, mindful of her Lightning Process instruction, she is now challenging this. After singing on The Jonathan Ross Show recently, she forced herself to watch it. And her reaction? "Um, I was pleasantly surprised."
This gradual easing of her anxiety means that she is beginning to enjoy life as a pop star, and perhaps even embrace it. ..... eyes luminous, she says: "The opportunities that have been coming my way are just amazing." "
The full article was published in the Independent on Sunday on 16th February 2014.
"....For many years now, Mvula has suffered with an asphyxiating anxiety. "It's been difficult," she says quietly. As with most sufferers, she did her best to ignore it, and plough on. But it was in becoming a pop star that she felt she must at last confront it. She came across something called the Lightning Process, a three-day training programme created by a British osteopath called Phil Parker. The process claims to help people retrain "negative brain patterns" by breaking the "adrenaline loop" that keeps the nervous system's stress responses unhealthily high. Though it is not without its critics, the treatment has been successfully used by sufferers of stress, depression and other auto-immune conditions. Esther Rantzen, whose daughter suffered with chronic fatigue, has publicly praised it, as have several athletes.
"Oh, it helped me enormously," Mvula says. "It encouraged me to access a part of my brain that had been very flustered for a long time. I got into the habit of filtering out all the good in my life, focusing on only the negative. I'm not sure why I did it, but it's a pretty depressing state."
Her anxiety led to a condition called monophobia, a fear of being alone. Solitude would only exacerbate her anxiety.
"To be honest with you, I've been pretty secretive about all this," she says hesitantly. "I don't know why. Perhaps I'm embarrassed? But then, no. I've been giving this a lot of thought recently, and I don't think being embarrassed helps. What I learnt with Phil Parker was that my anxiety was my body's way of trying to protect me, to look after me. So the impulse was coming from a good place, but overall it wasn't being helpful."
Until recently, she refused to watch herself on TV or read back any interviews, for fear, she says, "I might find something out about myself that could destroy me." But, mindful of her Lightning Process instruction, she is now challenging this. After singing on The Jonathan Ross Show recently, she forced herself to watch it. And her reaction? "Um, I was pleasantly surprised."
This gradual easing of her anxiety means that she is beginning to enjoy life as a pop star, and perhaps even embrace it. ..... eyes luminous, she says: "The opportunities that have been coming my way are just amazing." "
The full article was published in the Independent on Sunday on 16th February 2014.
Monday, 9 April 2012
And another story ....
Before attending the Lightning Process course, I had been feeling unwell for about 2 years. I would experience extreme fatigue for no obvious reason, digestion problems leading to nausea and surges of adrenaline when I really didn't need them. I'd learnt to live with the symptoms but only by strictly limiting what I did. It was only when I heard someone else tell me that I wasn't fit enough to do something that I decided to go on the Lightning Process course. A family friend who had suffered from ME for 10 years had attended the course with Hilary, had immediately started to feel better and recommended the course to me.
Hilary was brilliant with me, clearly explaining the principles of the course whilst gently exploring issues that I needed to address. Putting into practice what I'd learnt, I immediately started to notice a difference in how I felt and now I have none of the symptoms that were a blight on my life beforehand.
Trevor Ranger
Hilary was brilliant with me, clearly explaining the principles of the course whilst gently exploring issues that I needed to address. Putting into practice what I'd learnt, I immediately started to notice a difference in how I felt and now I have none of the symptoms that were a blight on my life beforehand.
Trevor Ranger
Friday, 2 March 2012
A client's Lightning Process story
A client who did the Lighting Process 6 months ago has just sent me this description of the experience. She includes a section on her experience of doing the Lightning Process as a Christian at the end, in case it can help other Christians considering the Lightning Process.
"I recently did the Lightning Process course with Hilary after having had ME/CFS for 11 ½ years. I had heard about it over the years but was very sceptical and chose to make the best of my limited energy by pacing myself very carefully. Life was still very frustrating even though I paced myself and rested a lot. I had to reduce my working hours from 37 to 16 and was still frequently off sick for weeks at a time. I had to limit my activities extremely carefully and often spent hours in bed recovering.
I then heard about two people who were much more badly affected than me who had done the LP with extremely positive results, so I started to investigate a bit more. I contacted both people and heard their individual stories. It made a real difference to be able to talk to two genuine people whom I could trust and hear their experiences of doing the course and the effect on their lives.
I contacted Hilary who was very easy to talk to and who also understood my concerns having had ME herself before becoming a trainer. I then read the book which really helped me to understand the LP, and I began to think that perhaps it could be the right thing for me. I actually started to notice some positive changes in my energy levels after reading the book! Hilary took a lot of time to answer my questions and to make sure that I was ready to do the course.
It really has given me a new lease of life and I never have to think about my energy levels now. I can enjoy everyday things like going for a walk, having coffee with friends, going out in the evening (the list is endless), without feeling ill afterwards.
I was very apprehensive about spending three days away on the course. However, I am so pleased that I did and have since recommended Hilary to a number of friends with very positive results
I have very much appreciated Hilary’s professional, committed and caring approach before, during and after the course. I have been in contact a number of times since, and have benefitted from her advice on how to apply the LP in a number of different situations.
The LP and Christianity:
As a Christian I was keen to make sure that the LP was compatible with my faith, and I had prayer support before, during and after the course. I spoke to other Christians who had done it and also asked my church leaders to look into it, all with positive results. Having done the course I can see that in many ways it reflects biblical teaching, although there is actually no spiritual element to it, and I am thankful to God guiding me to do the course and for my renewed health and strength.
E Williams"
Friday, 2 December 2011
Changing pain using your brain
I have been up to London recently for the annual Lightning Process conference, where as practitioners we were comparing some of the exciting work that we have done to change people's experience of chronic pain.
This 5 minute video is used by pain consultants working with clients in the NHS and shows how much of an overlap there now is between the medical profession's understanding of chronic pain and what the Lightning Process does.
The video says that all pain is experienced in the brain, and that beyond 3 - 6 months it is no longer about tissue damage but more about the sensitivity of the nervous system. "To change it, you need to retrain the brain and the nervous system."
And retraining the brain and nervous system is exactly what the Lightning Process is so good at helping you to do, as this 2 minute video by Phil Parker about neuroplasticity shows very simply (neuroplasticity is the way in which the brain changes in response to what it experiences):
The pain consultant who gave us the video about understanding pain, Dr Rajesh Munglani, watched a Lightning Process course. For his comments about it go to this page;
If you want to read more detail about some of the research being done by the medical profession in this area, I would recomment this article from the Times:
"How you think about pain can have a major impact on how it feels. That's the intriguing conclusion neuroscientists are reaching as scanning technologies let them see how the brain processes pain."
Rewiring the Brain to Ease Pain
Rewiring the Brain to Ease Pain
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
The placebo effect
I am fascinated by the placebo effect. It could be seen as the most tested thing in the world, since every drug in medicine is tested against a placebo (a pill etc with none of the drug in it). This is done because the medical profession want to know if the drug has an effect over and above the positive effect of people believing that a pill will work. On average 20 - 40% of all medical effects can be achieved with a placebo.
This video clip gives more fascinating details about
The strange powers of the placebo effect
What the placebo effect shows us is that we can access our body's natural healing ability through the power of our expectations (of what we believe will happen). It also shows us that the medical profession knows this, otherwise there would be no need to test drugs in this way.
One way of describing the Lightning Process would be that it teaches you to use this influence between the brain and the body in order to access and harness your own natural healing ability.
This video clip gives more fascinating details about
The strange powers of the placebo effect
What the placebo effect shows us is that we can access our body's natural healing ability through the power of our expectations (of what we believe will happen). It also shows us that the medical profession knows this, otherwise there would be no need to test drugs in this way.
One way of describing the Lightning Process would be that it teaches you to use this influence between the brain and the body in order to access and harness your own natural healing ability.
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