Clinical hypnotherapy offers clients a more integrated form of therapy in relation to destructive unconscious patterns of thinking and reacting that can sabotage your life goals. Clinical hypnotherapy explores the past through regression work, building positive mindsets through affirmation and positive imagery and metaphor. Over the course of my work and training I developed the Still Lake Method to do this.

The Still Lake Visualisation is created to help you know yourself and work through your challenges – mentally, emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually. Metaphor is one of the most powerful methods of relating to ourselves and has the potential to overcome limitations of thinking as words often fail to communicate meaning. Images and symbols, nature and visualisation clearly transcend that.

The Still Lake Visualisation begins with the forest, a symbol of our physical reality, the world in which we live and have our being. Stepping through the forest between the ancient trees and fauna we utilise the five senses – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory and gustatory modalities. By confirming and validating a physical environment we confirm and validate our very existence and being; I exist and I know I exist because I experience this physical reality. In order to enter the inner world we ultimately need to confirm the outer world in order to move within and then let go of the external.

This exercise helps one enter the inner worlds because of the new symbols and meanings that are going to be introduced. In the centre of the forest is the Still Lake; still lake, still mind. The lake symbolises the mind. The stillness of the lake symbolises the essential nature of mind in order to perceive deeper awareness and more accurate awareness. When our minds are disturbed with negative thoughts, anxiety, anger, grief, hurt and pain, the waters of the mind are disturbed. When we are rest-less we disturb the waters of our mind and so we cannot think clearly. We cannot think straight. The still water of the lake is instrumental of instilling this stillness. In the stillness we experience peace and in that peace our thoughts are more calm, objective and even come to a point of stillness themselves as we venture further into the visualisation. In the centre of the lake an island appears topped with a mountain. Around the edges of the island are golden sands and between the sands and the mountain is luscious rainforest again.

The island symbolises the hidden nature of our deeper consciousness – the unconscious mind (forest) and the superconscious mind (mountain). The buried treasure is found on the island. Carl Jung, who identified the buried treasure within, is not referring to the shadowy regions of our unconscious (home of our human instincts and pleasure principle) but a deeper part of this unconscious – the superconscious (home of the meta-instincts or transcendent higher instincts for union and joy). It is on the island of the Still Lake that we can explore this inner landscape of mind or inner space and so unearth the deep roots of bad habits, attachments, negative thinking, maladaptive behaviours, narcissism and body-attached identification. It is in this inner world that we realise that there are deeper aspects to who we are, our purpose and meaning. It is here that we can detach from the lower self and unite with our higher self. This process becomes conscious and exploratory, working towards solving our problems, unearthing those delusions such as attachment to wealth, power, status and possessions, sex, control, manipulation and self-centred pleasure, overcoming obstacles and difficulties, and venturing into healthy new ways of being, knowing and living.

There are two versions of the Still Lake. The first one was created many years ago and the second one was only recently added in 2023. I recommend working with the first one to start with.

The first one develops an awareness of the thinking patterns and behaviours you wish to let go of. Then you can replace and reframe them with more positive helpful thinking patterns and behaviours. On your island you can find your garden paradise. Th first few times you visit it is going to be quite overgrown and fraught with weeds and thorns. These thorns and weeds symbolise unhealthy thinking and behaviours. You can pull them up and make a fire to burn them. But you need to replant healthy plants, flowers, trees and shrubs to make your garden beautiful with positive goals, needs, thinking patterns, behaviours, dreams and inspiration. You can’t take something out without putting something else in its place. This is a metaphorical narrative of therapy to help you make changes in your life. Sometimes when you plant new things you may not really know what you are replacing it with but that is ok. It is symbolic of new changes and transitions. The reality will manifest itself over the coming days, weeks, months and years. The symbolic initiation of change has to happen within first. You can return to the garden each day to do this work. You can consider new affirmations, beliefs and needs in order to build up an energy of change and transformation. I recommend doing this meditation once a day for two weeks to begin with.

The second recording takes you to the same place but you ascend the mountain to connect with what many refer to as the Higher Self, True Self or Ground of Your Being. Here you connect to the Presence of the Stillness within and connect to the wisdom, truth and guidance to help you overcome adversity and learning to help you grow in the world and all your activities. This recording was designed for many of my clients who wanted to connect more deeply with their Higher Self, God, the Christ Light, the Soul, their deeper levels of consciousness where they could find communion, union and deep meditation with the Real Self. There is an opportunity to work in the garden as well but the focus on the mountain is to simply sit with and perceive and immerse one’s being in the Presence.

© 2024 Martin Handy