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Dramatic events in my own life this week, and reflections of having spent just over a year in my forties, have made me wonder if people can truly and significantly change themselves and their personalities for the better.

Some years ago, I was sure personal growth or transformation were merely a matter of inspiration and determination; now older, and arguably - only marginally wiser - I see that change though seemingly simple, is not necessarily easy.

I’ve exalted the power of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), that fascinating art popularised by Paul McKenna, before and was pleased to meet a new therapist on the block – Erica Lewis – who combines NLP with something called Time Line Therapy (TLT). If you talk to Erica, you’ll get the impression that change is a cinch. Spend some time with her and it’s likely you’ll find out how to change “as quickly and easily as changing your mind about what to have for tea”.

She wasn’t always so confident however. ”Much of my life I felt as if there was a sort of invisible wall between other people and me. I was very shy, found it difficult to make friends and then hung on rather desperately to the relationships I did make, even inappropriate ones,” Erica confessed.

“A couple of years ago I heard about NLP from a friend who explained that it would show me how to build rapport with people in a wide range of contexts, enable me to communicate much better and take control of my feelings and behaviour.”

“I learnt just how much our unconscious minds determine how we behave, and then I learnt how to take controland change limiting beliefs easily and quickly – including getting rid of the belief that people wouldn’t like me!” she added.

Now armed with her newfound skills in NLP, TLT and hypnosis, Erica believes she can provide anyone who wants to change with the tools to overcome self-doubt and fear when it comes to doing, being and having what they dream of.

“In the past,” she explained, “when I considered having any sort of therapy, I was very put off by the thought of having to re-live past pain and the length of time it would take. TLT really blew me away. It’s a very specific way to ask your unconscious mind to go back to the root cause of unresolved negative emotions or limiting decisions, and, having learnt anything useful from the experience let the emotions and decisions go.”

Maybe change is easy after all, and, if Erica is to be believed, pretty painless too.

“You do not re-experience any of the original pain or trauma. I Suddenly found that old feelings and limiting decisions I had held onto for years just melted away and I also used TLT to set really specific, exciting goals for the future that I now know I will achieve,” claims this inspired practitioner.

“I’m not sure what was more exciting – finding myself lighter and happier than I had been in years, or learning how to support other people make the same changes and see the wonderful transformation in their faces, posture and behaviour. Because the unconscious mind runs our body, many people also make great improvements to physical health too using these techniques,” says Erica.

When made redundant earlier this year, Erica decided that what she really wanted to do was use her skill set to enable people to make the sort of transformational changes she has.

“I now have much better relationships of all sorts – I can chat to anyone now without curling up inside. I am clear about where I am going in life, I feel joy and happiness every day and, most importantly of all, I have the confidence to know that I am going to achieve my dreams,” she told me.

“I now offer supercharged Breakthrough sessions using these skills. If doubts, fears or lack of confidence hold you back, if you’d like to stop smoking, get rid of a phobia or lose weight and if you’d like to make positive changes that bring you joy and fulfilment, then this could be the answer for you.”

Interestingly, she says the process is so effective that she guarantees them to work for anyone who genuinely wants to make changes.

One of her clients, Gill, lacked confidence when it came to job interviews or dealing with anyone in authority, which meant that her career was stalling despite her very considerable skills and abilities. A breakthrough session identified the root cause of the fear and the hurt that held her back. Gill now says she feels lighter about life, happier and of course more effective. Shortly after her session she succeeded in getting an excellent new job, which she is really enjoying.

Another satisfied customer, Sandra, has given up smoking and overcome a life long phobia of insects. She comments that the only downside is feeling a bit of a fraud as it took so little effort.

“Supporting people to fulfil all their potential and dreams has to be the most satisfying work there is!” says Erica who can be contacted for appointments on 01626 777928

OK, it’s not an obviously health-related question, but if you bear with me, I’m sure you’ll end up agreeing that television does have a deep impact on our wellbeing.

It’s come up as an issue because I have just discovered that the average American home has more TVs than people. One of my great heroes of health, Dr Joseph Mercola reported on his website this week that “taking into account the epidemic of obesity along with the frightening exercise debt that’s harming America’s health, it’s no surprise to me, based on data reported by Nielsen Media Research, the typical home has 2.55 people and 2.73 TV sets.”

Now don’t get me wrong, I like watching TV, even though I don’t have one at the moment. (I’m like the telly-less kid who becomes an anti-social moron when at a friend’s house – instantly attracted to the hypnotic, moving pictures in the corner of the room). But this interesting statistic inspired me to take a deeper look.

In my research, I spoke to an American acquaintance, Kathy Westphal who created www.trashyourtv.com - a website that urges you to “Trash your TV for a happier, healthier life!” She told me that the average American watches over four and a half hours of TV a day. Now as Brits, we’re sure to be catching up and I sincerely hope we never reach the complementary statistic she shared that Yanks spend only 38 minutes in “meaningful conversation with children”.

It really looks like the ‘one-eyed childminder’ could do with some careful scrutiny. The aforementioned Nielsen Media Research report tells us that the 4 hours and 35 minutes per day, up three minutes from last year, add up to 31½ hours every week - almost a second job for most people.

That works out at 5½ days per month, more than two whole months every year and by age 70 we’ll have spent over 13 years watching television!
“Aren’t there more important things you would rather be doing with this time?” asks Kathy, who holds a view supported by the TV-Turnoff Network who back an international annual TV-Turnoff Week. They claim: “television cuts into family time, harms our children’s ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.”
“On average, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours),” they report, adding that “Forty percent of Americans frequently or always watch television during dinner.”
US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of TV-Turnoff Week 2001, “We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history…This week is about saving lives.”
Of course it’s your choice. But where America leads, we tend to follow. It’s undoubtedly a health issue – if not physical, then mental – subjected, as you are to tens of thousands of adverts a year, let alone mind-numbing actual programming. I say no one can face that lot uninfluenced.
If you want to take action try Kathy’s “TV Free System” – TV rehab if you like. More at: https://paydotcom.com/r/6301/carlmunson/371966/

To join the debate about TV try: http://holisticlocal.co.uk/forums/topics/view/313