of course." Erickson carefully (that means hypnotically) explained that there was a building project on the next wing of the hospital and they needed a few good carpenters; and since everybody knew Jesus was a good carpenter, would he mind helping out on the project? (Laughter). So over the next months, Jesus left the ward every day, got involved in the work place, made some social connections, and began to develop some experiential identities beyond Jesus.
This is a classic example of the utilization principle. Inside of every reality, even the seemingly most bleak and desolate, are many resources and potential learnings. If you are trying to get rid of a pattern, you will get stuck in a negative relationship with it. If you can open up to it while also staying open beyond it, a lot of really interesting things can happen. Generative trance is a skillful way to do this, so you're in for some wonderful experiences.
To practice utilization, to find the solution within a problem, you need to learn how to sit with something in a curious, non-judgmental way. This is a major aspect of generative trance; you drop into a place where you don't need to judge or control or run from anything. You get the opportunity to open this great, safe energy field filled with resources, and then invite anything in that you want to work with. For Erickson, it was healing his body; for you it might be the intention of starting a new business, or healing an emotional relationship, or developing a new skill. Whatever it is, generative trance allows you stay deeply connected to yourself while you do this, so that you're always in a space deeper and wider than whatever you're working with. This gives you the freedom and confidence to explore many new ways of creating and expressing any pattern or energy.
Why can't we generally do this all the time? Because we tend to get caught in the limiting boxes of ordinary reality. In hypnosis, we call this identification with the conscious mind. The conscious mind is not a bad thing, as long as it's a servant rather than your master. It allows you to create maps and frames to make meanings and effectively navigate through your world of experience. It works well, except when it doesn't. (laughter). That is, the conscious mind can get you through ordinary challenges and experiences very competently, but can't generate new identities or patterns beyond its own box. It can be a great manager, but a lousy innovator or visionary or healer. So as long as you have a normal task, you don't need trance. But say something comes along which is outside of your past patterning. Maybe you get married, or divorced, or have a baby, or get a new job, or develop an illness. Maybe you find yourself at a new threshold on your journey, needing to create something you've never created before. At those points where you need a change at the level of identity, using
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