The Answer Lies Within: The Human Mind is a Metaphor Mind
By Eleanor Laser, PhD.
Metaphors help us use past experiences to make sense of things happening in the present. They allow us to see how things we already know can help us understand new situations and solve new problems. In fact, psychiatrist and master hypnotherapist, Dr. Milton Erickson, said we already have the skills, abilities, and know-how within us to solve any troubling new issues that arise.
I know this first hand from a real, live story that took place in the operating room at Harvard University’s Department of Interventional Radiology. I was the medical hypnotist assisting surgeon, Dr. Elvira Lang when Mindy came in. Mindy had developed an abscess in her abdomen and her belly was rock hard, like a boulder. She was in grave danger not to mention a lot of pain.
Mindy had undergone multiple prior surgeries involving the reinsertion of her bile ducts into her gut. Now, the outflow to her gut was completely blocked. In addition, because Mindy’s anatomy had been changed, that outflow didn’t follow the usual routes. Dr. Lang needed to probe with long wires in an effort to locate the blockage, find the right route, and restore continuity but the site of the problem was difficult to locate.
As I established rapport with Mindy, she was a talking machine, constantly telling me about baking and cooking with her grandchildren. After listening to this subject for ten minutes, I finally asked her one question. “What was your job in your earlier life before you were a grandmother?” She replied, “I was a surveyor of underground telephone wires and telephone poles.”
Yes! Here was the metaphor! At once, I hypnotized Mindy, asking her to go way down deep into her belly to locate the blockage. She remained silent for five minutes then said “center right.”
Immediately, I said, “Dr. Lang, the blockage is center right.” Dr. Lang persevered, finding the blocked area – the abscess – exactly where Mindy said it would be. Ultimately, Mindy had the answer within her, just as Dr. Erickson described. She just needed help from the right metaphor, a metaphor that drew from her past experience so Mindy could apply it to this new situation. Luckily, I was able to help her find the right metaphor by asking the right question. This allowed Mindy’s body and mind - and our team - to work together and achieve astonishing results.
Dr. Erickson, a genius, showed us the way. I asked the right question. Dr. Lang performed the incredible procedure, locating the elusive abscess, and Mindy applied the metaphor that saved her own life. We were successful because incredibly, the answer lies within.
ELEANOR LASER, PH D is a medical hypnotist who is also trained to practice Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP); Eye Movement Desentation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Hypnotherapy. To learn more about Elly's work, please see her articles on LinkedIn and www.laserhypnosis.com.
Eleanor D. Laser Ph D
Elly.Laser@me.com
Laserhypnosis.com
312-961-7727