Cross Conscious Hypnosis

I am a hypnotist. Therefore, I am a motivational coach of hypnotism, as stated by the National Guild of Hypnotists. I am also the cross country coach at the high school where I teach. I love coaching both! 

The first time I got an accurate look at what hypnosis really is was when I was pursuing my undergrad in psychology. It was a very brief introduction. Still, it was enough for me to accept it as a valid modality, just as effective as everything else I was learning about at the time. 

It was not until I started covering the topics of hypnosis, hypnotism, and hypnotherapy more in depth that I started to connect so much of what I was learning with things about me or around me, even cross country. Several times, when I took a break from studying, I found myself comparing the training that is necessary to be a good cross country runner (or team) with the training or lifestyle that is necessary for any person to be the best version of their self.

Cross Country is arguably the most challenging sport there is when taking into account the mental and physical effort that one must sustain for the duration of practice and competition. A huge misperception people have is that cross country involves the same type of running they have seen while attending a track meet. A common assumption is that anyone who runs fast while playing baseball, football, and soccer, or racing in track, would make an excellent cross country runner. 

It's true cross county involves a lot of running, but there are so many variables that come into play with cross country that make it a whole different animal from track, or any other sport for that matter. In a cross county meet, every member of every team lines up in the starting boxes (starting line) as they await for the official to fire the starter pistol. At that point, every runner takes off and races as fast as they can for 3.1 miles (high school runners), following an all-terrain vehicle and marked course. 

Instead of running on a standardized track, a road, or flat field of grass (or artificial turf), cross country runners may run on a course that includes a variety of dirt, grass, gravel, mud, and road. There may be several little hills and turns to run up, down, and around, or there may be a one or a few large hills or turns. The point is, no two courses are alike and runners cross every type of terrain when they run. Hence, the sport's name,  "cross country". 

My first season coaching was by far the most challenging. I was learning the sport and learning the nature of coaching it on the go. Being the perfectionist I am, I could not handle being a subpar cross country coach with subpar runners. I spent a large amount of my time being a devototed student of the sport. I reached out to veteran and retired coaches from around the country. I turned myself into a cross country runner at 33 years old and experimented with test runs that made a lot of the workouts I did in high school seem easy.

In only a year, I took over a cross country program with five high school runners and grew it to 32 runners, which included a middle school program. I coached several runners who ended up being among the top runners in the area. After a couple of seasons, I took a break from coaching cross country to tend to health and personal issues I was experiencing. The issues were not due to running. Coaching and running cross country was a healthy outlet. However, the issues I was experiencing had been ongoing, and I needed time to go on a journey and discover what was going on in my life, so I could address it. 

I got back into coaching a few years ago, and the program is doing well. We have had two back to back conference championships, and the first district championship for girls in school history. I figured it out...the same approach and training that leads to success in cross country is analogous to the approach and training that leads to success across all areas of life. 

Whether it is a course that is wide with lots of hills, narrow and flat, or a combination of everything, you have to be ready. You ensure that readiness by designating enough time and training in which you practice running on and through any possible combination of variables. We run on ever type of terrain when it is cold, wet, hot, smooth, or rough. It is a challenge for every runner, physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, we do everything enough, and eventually every runner develops confidence no matter what they are running on and through. There are no surprises that trigger unnecessary and additional stress when we go to a meet and run on a new course. 

Just like cross country runners have to find acceptance, calmness, and peace with all the variables of the sport, individuals have to find acceptance, calmness, and peace with all aspects of their life. Whether it is their past, present, or future, they need a full and mutual understanding of themselves and all of their experiences, consciously and subconsciously...cross conscious. By imagining and rehearsing all aspects of life on a subconscious level, we become consciously ready for what once were not ready for in our past and we stay ready for it today and tomorrow. No one has the ability to go back in time and change past events. Everyone has the ability to revisit past events in their subconscious and make changes to the perception, emotions, and reactions they had and have surrounding those events.

My logo encapsulates all of this idea. Many are familiar with the classic symbol that represents cross country. Anyway, it is two letter "C"s with an arrow moving forward. It looks a little like this »—CC—› and is usually enclosed in a circle or oval. "XC" is used pretty frequently as well. Still, "CC" with the arrow, which stands for "Cross Country Running" is the original.

 "Wheelersburg" is the name of my town and school, as it honors Major Porter Wheeler, a pioneer and early settler to the area in the early 1800s. Our school mascot is a pirate. However, "The WHEEL" (the pirate ship's wheel) is a common depiction of our school that represents steering or "moving in the right direction". I redesigned our school's cross country logo a few years ago, by replacing the circle/oval with a WHEEL that includes the "running" arrow. I also replaced "XC" with the original "CC". It combines classic and tradition with modern and simplistic. I also find it cool that I can use it as shorthand for "Coach Conn".

For Cross Conscious Hypnosis, I took the Cross Country logo and replaced the inner "CC" with iceberg icon. The top portion of the iceberg represents the conscious mind and the lower portion represents the subconscious mind. The WHEEL and arrow illustrates the crossing, unison, and balance of the conscious and subconscious, that is achieved by training them to be in harmony and work together, while moving forward in life.

I am a high school teacher, varsity cross country coach, a consulting hypnotist, and a EFT master practitioner. I am also a Mountain Dew Connoisseur—all varieties and flavors! I received certifications from the International Hypnosis Association and the National Guild of Hypnotists in 2023. I plan to eventually work as a hypnotist full-time. I hold a Bachelor's in Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Education. I studied body language, statement analysis, personality disorders, and "psychopathy" extensively for several years. In addition to consulting hypnotism, I teach Emotional Freedom Technique to my clients and continue to pursue post-graduate training in psychology and mindbody techniques.  I enjoy running, working out, and helping people be the best version of themselves in sports and life in general.

Am I surprised by what I am doing? Not at all! I believe this is the path I was meant to pursue. Ever since I was a young child I have been fascinated by the unique set of behaviors that so many individuals seem to share in certain situations, even when they can behave so differently from one another in most settings. Early on, I was such an observer and analyzer of people and their mannerisms, that I could imitate a person after being around them for only a short amount of time. Friends and family got a kick out of my ability to replicate their facial expressions, body language, and not only match the sound of their voice, but even their oral vocabulary. It was like I could predict their behavior. People would joke (and not joke) that I was psychic, because I would tell them what people were going to do just before the did it. I could do this, because I was so in tune with their patterns of behaving and thinking. 

Psychology was my favorite class in high school. After I quit playing baseball in college, my plans of eventually getting paid to play baseball changed to eventually getting paid to help people in the mental health field. Again, I am not surprised by the path. Rather, I am surprised by the journey. It was definitely was not a straight line, and things did not fall into place like I thought they would.

I became interested in hypnosis while continuing my journey to heal from years of mindbody symptoms. After going to several doctors with little success, I went back to my roots as a psychology student and became my own self-advocate. I did my own research and eventually came across “TMS” (Tension Myositis Syndrome) and “MBS” (Mind Body Syndrome) and made the connection to what I had been battling. After reading several books and speaking with some of the authors and other sufferers, I found that the power for individuals to hurt and heal resides in their subconscious. 

My level of patience and ability to relate continues to serve me and others well in the field of hypnosis. My parents instilled the importance of having patience with other people to me during my upbringing, and many of my professional experiences have made an impact as well. In addition to these lessons and his education in psychology, I have coached multiple sports and serve as a high school teacher. Prior to being a teacher, I worked in a technology center while pursuing my Master’s Degree and was responsible for teaching senior citizens with zero technology skills or background how to use a computer independently. Some of my best moments in teaching, that were also lessons learned, came from tailoring to the needs and uniqueness of the clients…a hallmark to hypnosis.

I was driven to learn about hypnosis, hypnotherapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques, and other mindbody techniques, so I could effectively help people who have shared any similar experiences that I have. I spent years going to urologists, physical therapists, taking different medications, and nearly undergoing different surgeries to try and counter the pain and symptoms I was experiencing. I had to take a break from coaching because I was temporarily afraid to run and passing blood every time I went to the restroom. At some point, between the age of 4 to 39, I received a diagnosis with the following conditions or disease: Acid Reflux, Anxiety, Arthritis, Allergies/Asthma, Depression, Fibromyalgia, High Blood Pressure, Interstitial Cystitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sciatica, Small Fiber Neuropathy, Toxic Synovitis, Trigger Finger, Vasovagal Syncope. 

Now, I am able to manage my symptoms through a mindbody approach. I use self-hypnosis daily. I am still a perfectionist, but I have reined it in tremendously. I no longer battle anxiety the way he once did. I can manage it, understand it, recognize it, and can relate to it very well for anyone trying to make changes in how they think, feel, react, or perform in a specific context. I am proud to not take any prescription medications. With the exception of a yearly eye exam and going to the dentist, I do not see any doctors. I work out hard six days a week. I actively participate in cross country practice alongside the runners I coach.

I realize the time and commitment it took to obtain such a lifestyle. It was not until meeting certain people and reading several books that I realized what I was experiencing was real pain and symptoms, but with a basis related to stress and negative emotions that were trapped in my mind and body, rather than disease, physical injury, or structural abnormalities. I experienced a series of traumatic events that started impacting my life when I was only halfway through high school. It eventually put my body in a constant state of Fight/Flight, made me miss out on countless opportunities, and quality of life, for a very long time. 

Even in the midst of the downward spiral I took, college baseball coaches and college programs still had faith in me. Four people, who were notable and respected in my area for their knowledge and involvement in the game told me that I was "a five tool player" and "one of the best natural baseball players" they had ever seen. The said I "could play anywhere" and "get paid to play baseball". I truly believe they were right. I had the speed, strength, and physique of a college athlete when I was 16. As a freshman, I could dunk a basketball, run a sub five minute mile, and sprint faster than anyone in the school.

Ultimately, my ability and the practice I put in would not matter. My decline in my sports was noticed by everyone. Friends, family, and coaches started commenting. When worries did not have the best of me, I was the best athlete on the court or field. It kept getting harder though. There was no middle ground. It was either a basketball game in which I made nearly every shot I took and scored double digits, or I was scoreless and air-balled practically every shot. It was the same thing in baseball game. I would go 3 for 4 with a couple of 400 foot home runs and lights-out defense, or 0 for 4 with four strikeouts, and what felt like an inability to throw the baseball accurately. I started having headaches, frequent nausea, and eventually unexplained shoulder pain, which resulted in unnecessary shoulder surgeries. It is a story with a lot of sadness. However, I have chosen to make it a happy turnaround by continuing to overcome, improve myself, and help others.