Hey Friend!

I don’t know about you, but I have mixed feelings about social media. As a business owner, sure, it’s a great way for people who don’t know me to learn more about me and my work. And, personally, I love finding cool artists, yoga instructors, activists, vegan chefs and other wellness practitioners through social media.

But there is also a real shallowness to social media and when I consume too much of it, I begin to feel insecure (compare and despair) and guilty for wasting so much time. It’s for those reasons that I purposely limit my time on the platforms.

Jeff Orlowski’s Netflix documentary,The Social Dilemma, exposed the horrifying reality that WE ARE THE PRODUCT the SM companies are selling; our attention, privacy and activity is being tracked, targeted and sold at profit margins never before seen in the history of commerce.

And now, there is a new trend by tech and social media companies to throw around terms like “ethical persuasion.” It’s like a PR campaign designed to mitigate their role in using people’s precious time for profit. In her book, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, artist, writer and educator at Stanford University, Jenny Odell, explains that companies are now working on ways to “make persuasion more ethical…using ‘harmonious designs that continuously empower us instead of distracting and frustrating us.’” She goes on to argue, “I can’t help but ask: Empower me to do what? Good for me according to whom? And According to what standards? The idea that I’ve already lost the battle of attention doesn’t sit right with me, [I’m more] interested in gaining control of my attention rather than simply having it directed in ways that are deemed better for me.”

The more we give away our attention, the more we are pulled away from the people in our communities, from our own independent thoughts, and from our own intrinsic interests. Technology ethicist James Williams warns that the attention economy, “undermines our capacities for reflection and self-regulation, making it harder, in the words of Harry Frankfurt, to ‘want what we want to want.’ Thus there are deep ethical implications lurking here for freedom, wellbeing, and even the integrity of the self.”

In 1997, theoretical physicist [Micheal Goldhaber](https://econreview.berkeley.edu/paying-attention-the-attention-economy/e) asserted that information is not scarce, attention is. At the end of her book, Odell says, “Sometimes boycotting the attention economy by withholding attention is the only action we can take. Other times, we can actively look for ways to impact things like the addictive design of technology, but also environmental politics, labor rights, women’s rights, indigenous rights, anti-racism initiatives, measures for parks and open spaces, and habitat restoration–understanding that pain comes not from one part of the body but from systemic imbalance.” Odell reminds us that limiting our screen time also allows us to make a bigger impact in the world and especially on the people in our community.

As an advocate for and lover of hypnosis, I use my daily hypnosis practice to bring me back to the present moment, where I can control my actions and behaviors. My practice allows me to listen to my breath, feel aware of my emotions, and connect back to this time and this place. From there, it’s easier to resist the temptation of reaching for my phone out of habit.

Here are 5 additional tips I’m trying to refocus my attention and start cultivating greater attention and presence:

1. Stop using my phone in bed. My phone charger is on my bedside table, so it’s convenient for me to lie in bed reading articles, checking SM and perusing the internet. But, I’ve decided to move the charger into the kitchen, starting today!

2. Allow myself to DO NOTHING. I get anxious sometimes, thinking that I have to constantly be working or producing to be successful, but I’m working on that limiting belief…and instead reinforcing the new belief that I am inherently worthy.

3. Go out into nature EVERY DAY and pay attention to what I see, feel and experience. I sometimes walk my dog outside, while staring at my phone! Now, I will practice taking deep breaths, observing the plants and animals around me, and smiling or greeting anyone who walks past me.

4. Set and enforce a new rule: no phones at the dinner table!

5. Make art and play. I’m going to carve out time in my day to play. Today, I will paint and tomorrow, I will practice playing Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan” on the piano.

6. Post and engage intentionally on SM. Because I know that scrolling through social media can put me in a hypnotic trance, I’m very careful to stay mindful of how I feel and what catches my attention. If it feels icky, I sign off and take a break. Likewise, I only post things that I think will inspire or benefit people’s lives.

7. Turn off notification badges on all social media and set screen time limits through my Screen Time app.

I hope this information was useful and worthy of your attention. I feel like most of us are dealing with negative habits and addictions around our phones and, in particular, social media. I don’t know how practical it is to outright quit all social media. I’m not going that far (yet); I think we all have to decide what balances and benefits our lives.

Happy editing,
Robin

You may have sought out hypnotherapy as a last resort to help you quit smoking, conquer your fear of flying, lose the baby weight or cure your insomnia, but you probably stuck with hypnosis because of the little known side benefit of a daily hypnosis practice: you’ve never looked or felt better in your life!

According to the Mayo Clinic, “When you’re under hypnosis, you usually feel calm and relaxed, and are more open to suggestions…hypnosis can be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors.” A consistent hypnosis practice, in any form, be it daily self-hypnosis, hypnosis recordings or one-on-one sessions with a hypnotherapist, alleviates stress in the body by prompting the relaxation response, and it changes thoughts, habits and beliefs in the subconscious mind through a process known as neuroplasticity.

The Ugly Truth About Stress

Stress, especially chronic stress, wreaks havoc on our bodies and our lives. In a Finnish study published in 2013, researchers found that men find the faces of women, who have higher levels of cortisol to be less attractive than women with lower levels. In Caroline Beaton’s Vice article, “Anxiety and Stress Are Messing With Your Good Looks,” she elaborates on the results of the Finnish study, stating that, “High cortisol levels make individuals appear less fertile, thereby reducing their attractiveness. Stress inhibits sex hormones, and sex hormones influence physical attractiveness.” But, it’s not only sex hormones that play a role in making one appear less attractive. Beaton goes on to say, “Perhaps most alarmingly, stress may impede digestion, thereby inhibiting absorption of vitamins that are essential for healthy teeth, skin, and hair. Stress can even trigger premature aging on a cellular level.”

Furthermore, In the article for NewBeauty magazine, “The Shocking Ways Stress Directly Affects Our Appearance — And How to Beat It,” by Tatiana Bido, New York dermatologist Julie Russak, MD, stated, “At times of stress, valuable vitamins and minerals are prioritized for our body’s vital metabolic processes and the production of stress hormones.” Most alarming in Russak’s statement is the conclusion that the radiance of our skin is not a priority in a body that is riddled with stress. Russak goes on to state that, “Consistently elevated levels of cortisol…[means] we are breaking down and failing to repair tissues, which leads to decreased collagen and elastin production.” Overtime, a stress-filled body reduces collagen and elastin production, which ultimately leads to dull, wrinkled and sagging skin. Stress ages us, messes with our ability to attract a partner and diminishes our beauty.

Lastly, Bido’s NewBeauty article also reveals holistic nutritionist Jennifer Hanway’s take on the negative effects of stress on one’s health. She states, “We are more likely to overeat at times of stress, reaching for foods high in carbohydrates and sugars that release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes us feel good.” It’s no surprise that while under stress, we are more prone to crave comfort food as a way to numb negative emotions, but Hanway warns against this coping mechanism, stating, “studies show that women with high cortisol levels tend to store more visceral fat, the ‘deep’ fat stored further underneath the skin and around the organs linked to metabolic diseases and increased inflammation.” Aside from not looking and feeling your best, finding effective ways to alleviate stress in the body really can be a matter of life and death.

Why Hypnosis is the Tool to Looking AND Feeling Your Best

Unlike many other stress reducing tools and modalities, Hypnosis can access the subconscious mind and over time positively change thoughts and behavior patterns. A consistent hypnosis practice optimizes healthy lifestyle changes by creating new neural pathways in the malleable human brain.

Affirmations and helpful visualizations repeated while in a hypnotic state, which is just a theta brainwave state, can motivate you to stick to a healthy eating plan, move your body everyday or feel more confident about your body. By carving out time every day to practice hypnosis, especially when you encounter situations that would typically evoke a stress response and subsequent negative thoughts and behaviors, you combat bad patterning that no longer serves you and you take back control of your life. With this new awareness of thoughts and behavior patterns, a hypnosis practice allows you to make the changes you want, thinking the thoughts that make you feel good and acting in ways that support your goals for your life.

A daily hypnosis practice can shift your attitude and shape how you show up in the world. Che Garmen, creator of the blog, Affirm Your Life, writes, “The greatest beauty secret of all time is simply this — our attitude towards life is reflected in our face for all to see. Our attitudes are reflections of our beliefs. And our beliefs are created by the thoughts we have repeated throughout our lives. We begin to look exactly how we think and feel.” Incorporating a hypnosis practice into your daily routine will help to create more beneficial thoughts and over time to increase your confidence and self-love — and your inner peace and contentment will shine on the outside for all to admire.

So, it turns out that beauty is actually in the mind of the beholder. When searching for the best beauty tool to combat the stressors of our fast-paced world, look no farther than between your ears. Accessing your subconscious mind through hypnosis is an incredibly effective, easy and painless way to access and upgrade your thoughts and behaviors. It’s really as simple as committing to a daily practice (for just a few minutes a day), and before you know it, you’ll look as great as you feel.

As a hypnotherapist and founder of Mind Edit Hypnosis, I love teaching people how to implement a daily hypnosis practice in their lives. The Mind Edit Hypnosis YouTube channel has 3 and 10 minute guided self-hypnosis videos for you to listen to daily (see videos below). Just grab some headphones and close your eyes.

Happy editing,
Robin