On a personal level, I became a father twice this year! I ran two marathons, though not as well as I would have liked, I still ran and trained for two. I spent a LOT of time at our beach hut during a scorching hot Summer. I spent time with close friends and family and can't wait to have Christmas with them and my young family.

This year often seemed static, because so much was happening and in a small period of time, I often felt as though we were making little progress or headway.... and this year has also had a number of very tough, challenging times, but when we get to reflect this way - it has been one hell of a year that will stand out in my life history for sure. We planned for most of it, we worked hard for all of it and it is definitely time for me to spend some time smelling the roses now that it is the festive season. So a big, warm thank you to all those of you who continue to read this ezine each week and who continue to follow and join in all that we do here.

Next year, we have great plans for our school and business, we have projects in the planning currently and I am really excited... On a personal level, I have a full year of Fatherhood joys to discover, I have marathons to run in London, Edinburgh, Berlin and Bournemouth again, I have courses filled with new people to meet and friends to share much high jinx with!... All that makes me feel warm inside, but for now I am switching off, not thinking about what is to come, and while I nurse my hangover from last night's Christmas party, I am tidying up affairs here and will start spending my time with my wife and children, engaging in the moment and enjoying things as much as possible, forging memories and enjoying life as it is....

I think my message this year is just that - enjoy your festivities as much as you can because as the oft-quoted John Lennon said "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" and I think this year more than ever, that rings true for me.  
That focus and enjoyment is going to include some eating; I do love eating.... The Christmas advertisements are dominating the television, shop fronts are covered in sparkly adornments and of course, we start reaching for those bigger trousers as our waist lines start to increase due to the scoffing that goes on at this time of year.

You should see the winter time mugs of hot chocolate that my wife makes when we go to the Beach Hut at this time of year when the sun shines. All wrapped up watching the sea, the beach quiet and a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Summer... Then she fills the mugs with hot chocolate, topped with cream and brimming over with marshmallows...  Then comes all the rest...

Mince pies. Mulled wine. Turkey feasts with roast potatoes and those delicious pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon). There is chocolate of every denomination. Huge hams. Slabs of smoked salmon.  It is the only time of year I eat dates and sugared almonds! There are snacks and nibbles that accompany every get together... And there is the booze... We have boozy snowballs which is cava with advocaat, not to mention that we get a barrel of real ale in and more wines and spirits that could get an army inebriated!

It wears me out just thinking about it.

As I have written about before, a problem is created when we eat to excess. The more we eat, the more our mind and body wants to eat. When we eat to excess, especially loads of simple carbs and refined sugars, and then when we sleep less during party season and drink too much, general fatigue sets in which also contributes to us eating more.

Then we start craving stuff. We crave and are only satiated when we are stuffed full and snoozing again.  The cycle continues and takes all our might with our new years resolutions to get us on the straight and narrow again.

I get asked repeatedly about how to deal with cravings. The unwanted response is all about eating and drinking in such a way to ensure they do not occur in the first place. People don't want to hear that stuff.  They always tell me that they know they should have eaten a particular way in the first place... So today I am not going to be writing about that stuff.

So the next best thing, is to have a process aimed at dealing with cravings as they occur.

The process that I am illustrating here today originated as a means of dealing with cravings for cigarettes for using with hypnotherapy clients; the Red Balloon technique of Walch (1976) and has been used extensively and championed in the (1978) work of Stanton. There are many version of this out this type of process that you can find and although I am showing you how to use self-hypnosis with this sort of process for dealing with food cravings, it is often used for emotional disorders that require to be let go of.

This process needs to be practiced formally a few times persistently before it can be used in real-life scenarios, so run through this process in detail, step by step and then at the end I'll write about how to do this process without the formalised hypnosis session.

Step Three:

As you walk, notice that you are carrying a backpack of some kind. As you walk along the pathway, notice that it is heavy and getting heavier. Notice that it actually is weighing upon you.

Imagine that the pack carries around with it all your cravings that you have accrued over recent times. Maybe it is those actual foods and drinks that are in this increasingly large pack on your back.

You notice that the pathway starts to move upwards slightly and as you walk uphill and as more cravings and foods are piled into the bag, it is becoming harder and harder to move smoothly and enjoyably.
 
Let yourself get to the top of this slope, feeling weighed down with those cravings and then move on to the next step.

Step Four:

At the top of the hill, you notice that there is a large colourful hot air balloon with a basket sitting underneath it, tied to the ground you are stood on.

Now start to take one item at a time out of the pack on your back and place it into the basket. Notice what it is that comes out of the pack, become aware of what you were craving and notice that as you let go of them, you feel lighter and easier and more comfortable.

Let yourself start to free yourself of those cravings, place them all one at a time into the basket and notice that you feel lighter and more at ease with each and every item you place in there. Keep doing this, taking all the time necessary to completely empty the pack. Notice all the feelings attached to those foods, all the old desires and associations are leaving and being put into the basket. Watch it all sitting there in that basket.

Feel cleansed and free and in control of yourself. In fact spend some time to just feel a lighter sensation in your chest, in your stomach and your limbs. Really experience a genuine sense of lightness and easiness in your shoulders now that you have shed these heavy burdensome cravings.

Once you have spent enough time really noticing how much lighter you feel, then move on to the next step.

Step Six:

Once you have enjoyed the lightness for a while and you are sure that the balloon is long gone and the cravings are no more, then you open your eyes, wiggle your fingers and toes, take a couple of deeper breaths and go about your day.

Practice this process 4-6 times with real focus and concentration. Then, when you are out at a party or festive drinks, or if you are at home and it is not time for your proper meals, and you are presented with choices for more and more naughty stuff, then breathe deeply, close your eyes for a moment and imagine placing that craving or that urge into the basket and letting it fly away.

Let it pass without resisting it or fighting the feeling, breathe deeply and then go and take some other action, engage in a conversation and congratulate yourself for taking control.

There you go, enjoy this process, it is going to save you a lot of effort when you arrive at new year, I promise.

There have already been 10 different deals on offer and today is no exception.  Go and hear me (Keith) explain our latest offering.  Then visit the same page as often as you can to make sure you don't miss any of our specials. 

For those of you who just love hypnosis and students of hypnosis and therapists I have a really top, top offering this coming weekend.  Be sure to visit the December Offers page to find out what we have lined up for you then

A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.

'Not a chance,' says the husband, 'it is 3:00 in the morning!'
He slams the door and returns to bed.

... 'Who was that?' asked his wife.

'Just some drunk guy asking for a push,' he answers.

'Did you help him?' she asks.

'No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring with rain out there!'

'Well, you have a short memory,' says his wife.
'Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of
yourself!'

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain..
He calls out into the dark, 'Hello, are you still there?'

'Yes,' comes back the answer.

'Do you still need a push?' calls out the husband (soaking wet)
'Yes, please!' comes the reply from the dark.

'Where are you?' asks the husband.

'Over here on the swing!' replied the drunk.

Hahahaha... Very funny indeed. My thanks to everyone who sends in the jokes each week and those of you who continued to do so all year - I love you guys.

If you are on Twitter, I publish some absolute gold material if you are interested in the fields of hypnosis, hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis, do come and follow me: http://twitter.com/adameason 

Please remember to tell friends, family, colleagues and anyone else you know how they can receive Adam Up each week by registering at my homepage.

I'll be back in next week, enjoy taming any cravings this festive season ... I thank you for reading... Have a truly fabulous festive season... Goodbye for now.

Bulooo!

Adam