Hi All,

Sorry for being behind on these newsletters, I'll be more mindful going forward.

In this newsletter I want to talk about Patterns and Pattern Interrupts.

First of all, what is a "Pattern"? According to one of the definitions provided by Webster's Dictionary, a pattern is "...the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done." this is the definition we will refer to here.

If you think about all of the activities in your life (and I do mean ALL), you will see that the vast majority of them regularly follow a similar series of steps each and every time. These steps make up the pattern for each activity, and a pattern repeated often enough and long enough becomes a habit.

Now, the word "Habit" has a similar definition in Webster's, which states that a habit is "...a usual way of behaving : something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way." Notice the striking similarities to our definition of a pattern.

The word "Habit" is often viewed with a negative perspective, however, if you think about it, every unconscious pattern that we run is actually a habit. We have habitual patterns for most of our daily activities. We have a pattern for how we get dressed in the morning, for how we brush our teeth, even for how we choose a mate, or even a job. The way we walk, talk, and write are also habitual patterns.

Habit's in and of themselves are not inherently "good" or "bad", because most habits are formed because of some benefit (perceived or real) that we gain from them. So the real question when evaluating a habit, is "Does this behavior still serve me in a positive and effective way?" If the answer is "No!", then it's time to change, and that's where pattern interrupts come into play.

So what is a pattern interrupt? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory, a pattern interrupt is anything that interrupts whatever unconscious, habitual pattern we happen to be running at the moment. For example, have you ever gotten up to do something, only to have someone, or something, "distract" you, and then you forget what you started to do? Of course have, we all have. That person or thing "interrupted" your current pattern of behavior, and the reason you forgot is because "unconscious patterns that are interrupted, cannot complete, and must be restarted."

Why is this so? Well, remember our definition, a pattern is "...the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done." The operative word here is "regular" which implies a specific series of steps. If you try to interject something new (like the distraction mentioned above) then the pattern is not the same, it is now "irregular" and therefore cannot complete as normal. However is the distraction occurs in the same place, on a regular and consistent basis, then a "new" pattern is developed which now "replaces" the old habit.

This is an important thing to understand, because what we do as hypnotists, is help our clients "interrupt" their current "patterns" of behavior, in order to create new, persistent behaviors that will serve them in a more positive and effective way.

Think on that a bit, and I'll catch you next time with more food for thought.

Michael C. White, C.Ht.