Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Dream Analysis: Can Hypnosis Help?




We have all had dreams that seem significant, the imagery is so elusive though that we have difficulty in making sense of it.  I will be the first to admit that sometimes our dreams are the result of our brains just playing with us or perhaps eating bad clams.

When a dream seems significant and you are just not able to decipher its meaning, hypnosis may be a way to gain understanding into what it is trying to help you process. Sigmund Freud viewed dreams as “the royal road” to the unconscious and developed dream analysis, or dream interpretation, as a way of tapping into this unconscious material.  While I do not agree with many of his interpretations (sometimes a cigar is just a cigar), I do agree that using analysis through hypnosis is very useful because it allows a kind of experiential or Gestalt approach to figuring out what the dream is trying to tell you.

In my practice as a hypnotherapist I have helped with smoking cessation, weight loss, anxiety, stress, low self-esteem,  trichotillomania (pulling out of eyelashes), test anxiety, stuttering and Dream Interpretation.  Dream-work in Gestalt therapy is implemented somewhat differently than in psychoanalysis and Jungian analysis. Gestalt therapists believe that dreams are existential messages we send to ourselves. Through hypnosis these messages are actively explored to bring dream content into a person's actual life.  While in trance the client is taken into the dream to look at it from a third person point of view.  This sometimes illuminates significant symbology that then helps them to unlock the meaning.
(Image by  allisoncramer.com)

Hypnosis gives you the added benefit of greater self-awareness. You know yourself whether something is relevant, you can feel it and then process whatever it is relating to with better clarity.  It is important to note that dream symbology books are working from a very general place.  Your dream symbols are unique to you and your life.  If you would like help discovering the meanings of any dreams, particularly those that are recurring, I am happy to help and you may contact me at one of the means listed below.

"To sleep, perchance to dream"  Shakespeare


Blessings,
Sydney

You may contact me directly through email or one of my Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Sense-of-Peace-Inc/131165690233450 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Bridges-Certified-Grief-Counselor/1441897136078091?ref=bookmark
https://www.facebook.com/TarotreadingsbySydney?ref=bookmarks
sydneybridges1@gmail.com

Or one of my Websites:
http://www.asenseofpeaceinc.com/
http://sydneysministry.com/

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Death and Dying: Let's talk about it ...


In the years since the passing of my son, it has become more and more clear to me what the meaning of it might have been.  In the searching to find some peace, what I have discovered is a need in our society to accept death as a natural occurrence and part of life.

We are bombarded, day in and day out, with images of youth.  Even those who appear in ads about cancer facilities appear young and vibrant.  It is great to think that we are going to live to very advanced ages, the reality though is dependent on our lifestyles and genetics.  Our society does not prepare us to accept death.  Doctor's are reluctant to sign death certificates because it is accepting failure for them.  We have an entire industry that is focused on removing us from death.  When a person dies in a hospital, a call is made to the mortuary and the deceased is picked up and taken to a place where strangers prepare the body for burial or cremation.  Families may get a moment to say goodbye at the hospital or hospice and then they never see their loved one again.  Certainly in some cases this is necessary when there has been a devastating accident or contagious illness.  The point of this is that we have become conditioned to fear death and dying, and we should not.

Image by sites.psu.edu

I have become involved in a movement to bring death and dying back into our lives.  I am trained as a Death Midwife, this is someone who actually stays with a dying person to help make their transition easier and less fearful.  Just as a Birth Midwife helps people to make their entrance into the world, I help them to make their exit.  I belong to the National Home Funeral Association and help people who want to make the process of "returning to the earth" more natural by keeping their loved ones home until they are buried and cremated.  The family prepares the body and gets to say goodbye and the process is personal, kind and natural.

Another passion of mine is the facilitation of "Death Cafe's", this is a kind of salon where people get together to discuss the issues of death and dying that frighten them so that they can be addressed without fear.  It is also a chance to discuss the practical issues of dying such as directives, wills and other plans that should not be left until the last minute to be decided by those who are in immense emotional pain.  I have included a link to an article that discusses this kind of gathering,  if you would like to have me facilitate something like this for you I am happy to do so.  At the bottom of this post are several ways you may contact me.  http://www.phillyvoice.com/death-cafe-philadelphia-out-of-the-closet/ .

Blessings,
Sydney

You may contact me directly through one of my Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Sense-of-Peace-Inc/131165690233450 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Bridges-Certified-Grief-Counselor/1441897136078091?ref=bookmark
https://www.facebook.com/TarotreadingsbySydney?ref=bookmarks

Or one of my Websites:
http://www.asenseofpeaceinc.com/
http://sydneysministry.com/



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Goals: Becoming specific about what we want to do with our lives



I have been thinking lately that it must seem to others that I do not have specific goals or a plan for my life because my interests and skills are so varied.  This is not true of course, it got me thinking though that perhaps somewhere I should put in writing, not for the benefit of anyone but myself,  what those goals are.  If for no other reason than to put them into the law.  To say to the Universe "this is what I want to achieve".  So here it is.

I am trained as a massage practitioner, a hypnotherapist, a Reiki master, grief counselor and a death midwife / end of life facilitator.  At first glance, it may seem as if I could not make up my mind.  Not so.  I have always known that I wanted to be a healer.  All of the areas of expertise named above are methods that allow me to help facilitate healing;  from cradle to grave.

(image by www.butlerpartyof3.com)


My goal in life is to work with people, no matter what age, to help them master their experiences.  To assist their healing from injuries to their bodies, minds and spirits.  To help them start living again after something devastates their life.  Simple, a healer, that is my goal.  It is my desire that the Universe send me anyone who can benefit from my abilities.

So, I pose a question to you.  What is your goal in life?  Have you met that goal yet?  Are you close?  Please comment below as to where you are in the realization of what you desire to do with your life.  Start the chain of events. 

Blessings,
Sydney

You may contact me directly through one of my Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Sense-of-Peace-Inc/131165690233450 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Bridges-Certified-Grief-Counselor/1441897136078091?ref=bookmark
https://www.facebook.com/TarotreadingsbySydney?ref=bookmarks

Or one of my Websites:
http://www.asenseofpeaceinc.com/
http://sydneysministry.com/