From Good Girl Programming to True Freedom. 

From Good Girl Programming to True Freedom.
With Natasha Braniff & Samia Bano

Want to break free of your "good girl" programming and #liveyourbestlife?

Listen now to this interview with Natasha Braniff, #Hypnotherapist & #MindsetCoach, to learn how Natasha guides her clients from invisible to Invincible, living with #truefreedom!

We dig into:
-- how grief, challenge, and even global events like COVID can awaken us to new ways of thinking and living.

-- practical ways to #releasefear, question old programming, and embrace a #limitlessmindset.

-- how #spiritualawareness helps us remember our divine essence instead of constantly striving to “fix” ourselves.

-- and so much more!

Connect with Natasha now at:

www.natashabraniff.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/natashabhypnotherapy

Plus, check out Natasha's Podcast, "Be Your Best You! With Tash and Becky" at:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2MAJ6xZzn2stEkqNB6mxIA?si=oVK6wG4DRZyw_FuVNci38w

To Book your Free HAPPINESS 101 EXPLORATION CALL with Samia, click: https://my.timetrade.com/book/JX9XJ

#MindsetShift #SubconsciousHealing #InnerTransformation #Hypnotherapy #FromSurvivingToThriving #InnerFreedom #MindBodySpirit #SelfLoveJourney #HealingFromWithin #SubconsciousMind #HypnosisForHealing #MindsetTransformation #InnerReprogramming #EmotionalFreedom

Here's the audio version of this episode:

Full Video Transcript

SAMIA: Hello. Salam, Shalom, namaste, aloha, hola, ciao, bajor, Buna, Priviet, Mabuhay and Jean Dobre. It's really, really good to be with you again. And I know you'll be so happy you've tried us, because we have a very cool guest with us, and it's Natasha Braniff, who is a hypnotherapist and mindset coach. I think that is so cool. Welcome, Natasha.

NATASHA: Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat with you today.

SAMIA: Yes, me too. And, Natasha, will you please tell us more about who you are and what you do?

NATASHA: Yes. Okay, so as you said, I'm a hypnotherapist. I kind of I'm an expert in all things subconscious mind so what I'm really doing is working with people's, specifically women, subconscious mind to help reprogram their limiting beliefs, we work with their childhood trauma, and we kind of just do the inner child healing with that, whilst at the same time reprogramming those beliefs towards more empowering ones. So basically, you get to choose how you're gonna live your life and the beliefs that you want to run your life, because the subconscious mind runs 90% of our thoughts and our actions, and we haven't been in control of them. We. We haven't chosen them. We've been programmed with them since birth by our caretakers, our parents, grandparents, society, schools, education, you know, all the things. And a lot of the beliefs that we have are disempowering. So, yeah, my job is to kind of get to the root of where these subconscious beliefs have come from, what they are, and then ask the people that I'm working with now what you want to believe, and let's reprogram that.

SAMIA: Yeah, you know that is such a really big problem that we face in our society, and it's such important work that you're doing. You just made me think of one of my aunts, and I'm thinking of her because she's one of the people I have the conversation that I have this conversation with. And, you know, she is like a really successful working professional person but she's also very much into following tradition and so forth. And, you know, it's creating so much stress in her life. I see, like a sense of disempowerment about her, despite her brilliance, despite her, you know, I mean, like she could do whatever she wanted in her life, but there's so many constraints that she feels bound by. And just the other day she was like, telling me how, oh, you know, you have to do this and you have to do that because this is what society expects and, you know, requires you to do, and it's what you have to do, and it's like, no.

NATASHA: Yeah, it's so true. We keep ourselves in this kind of prison, and our beliefs can either form a prison or they can be really super expansive and help us have a really, like happy, just amazing life which fulfills us. But yeah, like you said, unfortunately a lot of the time these beliefs do keep us in a prison. And honestly, I was that way as well. I was very much. My programming was very much kind of, you know, good girl programming. Follow the rules, life is a certain way you have to get an education, do well at school, achieve to get a good job, the money. Security, you know, and then and not really kind of kept me so small. And it wasn't, and I didn't question it, and then I kind of. I stepped into this world and I learned about this, and I realized how small I'd been keeping myself and how strong these beliefs that we hold are, but also how easy it is actually really to change them. And we can change them at any time to anything we want. And once you understand that and when you work with the subconscious mind for as long as I have, it's just so exciting. And there's no, you realize there's no limits either as well. So really the only limit is the limits that you put on yourself, which is why I'm always trying to stay open and just ask bigger and bigger questions, because I know there is no limit. So yes, it's really exciting.

SAMIA: It is exciting, and It exciting because, you know, the thing that I was also feeling a little bit frustrated about for my aunt's sake, is that on the one hand, you know, the version of what society tells you to do led her to, you know, become the successful working professional woman that she is. But she's in a profession that I don't know if it's really satisfying for her anymore, you know, it's like causing a lot of stress for her. I mean, it's just the nature of her job that it takes long working hours because, you know, I mean, it is stressful in the environment that she works in. And I mean, especially now that she's, like, growing older and so forth, I think she's just enjoying it less, but she still feels pressure to keep going. And part of it is like, oh, no! I have a family to support, we have a mortgage, you know, those kinds of, I have a daughter to marry off, etc. You know, like, all of these different things. And so it's like what, and like for her if, you know, she hears me or she hears you say, oh, you could choose, you know, you can choose your own thoughts, you can choose your own reality that doesn't seem real to her, that doesn't mean possible to her. And I'm wondering what your experience and perspective is in terms of how, like for somebody who's in that kind of a position, like how do you begin to shift them out of that and into that realization that no, we can choose our own thoughts, and we can choose our own reality.

NATASHA: Yeah. Oh, that's such a good question. And I think that there's probably not the answer a lot of people would want to hear, but I just, I don't think you can. I think it's very much with this kind of work, you have to get there in your own time and everybody's on their own journey. And I have so much compassion for people like your aunt because I was like her and I know, you know, like, I've done a complete 180 flip and I know how strongly I believed that, you know, the kind of the world was very much solid and this is what it is and there's. You can't play with that, you know, and I would get frustrated when people like us would tell me these kinds of things, and I wouldn't listen. I'd block it out, and it wasn't until certain things happened to me in my life, you know, certain parts of the journey that made me start questioning. But I realize now looking back, I was it that always had to happen for me to get where I am now. And actually they weren't particularly nice things that happened to me, you know, they were difficult. They were really hard things and, you know, the biggest one was the loss of my mum. When my mum died in 2020, I think, you know, especially with grief and loss of a loved one, it turns your whole world upside down. And I think it's these moments, these big moments where you actually start questioning your reality because there's such a big change, you do start asking those questions and it opens up a little gap for you to then let these kinds of thoughts in. But I just think until you're ready for it, you could, we could talk to people about it all day long and it will just. They won't hear it, and that's okay. You know, everyone has to be ready, and everyone will be on their own time, and they might not be, and that's okay. It's kind of like everyone's journey. But I do think that more and more, I'm definitely seeing more and more people are opening up to this belief now.

SAMIA: Yes, that is such a great point that you make that on the one hand, we have to respect where people are at, and we can't force a change in somebody that they're not ready for yet. And on the other hand, you know, a lot of more people are opening up because I think, you know, like I think the last time that I was having this conversation with my aunt. She was saying these things, but I think she had more of a recognition than I have heard in her before that whatever it is, you know, society expects her to do and believe and follow is something that is really not very much working for her. Like, there's so many problems with it. And, you know, she was unhappy about having to face those problems. And so, you know, it gives me some sense of hope that, like you were saying, like when we are faced with really tough challenges sometimes it creates that opening in our minds to question and maybe say to ourselves. Hey, is there a better way? Would there be a better way?

NATASHA: Yeah, that's so true. And I think that, you know, really one of the reasons why so many people are kind of coming round to this way of thinking now is because, you know, just the way I think Covid had a lot to do with it. People started realizing in Covid when everything got locked down and we couldn't go to work and we all got to just breathe for a second, so many people started thinking the hamster wheel just isn't working for us anymore. Like, you know, these jobs, it's not fulfilling me, it's not working, and then also everything in kind, of our societies at the moment seem to be breaking down a little bit, don't they? I just think people are seeing through it. They're just like not willing to put up with the rules, and that we all kind of blindly followed not that long ago. And so I think it's happened on a personal level, you know, with our own personal experiences. But actually on a collective level, I think it's also happening as well.

SAMIA: Yes, so tell me more about how to, like say so earlier when you first were talking about what you do, you said that, you know, we can change our thoughts, and it actually doesn't have to take a long time, and it can be easy. I mean, that is so fun. Tell me more about that because, you know, like for so many of us, the experience of just being kind of stuck with the thoughts that we have been used to, how can we see it change? Like, what are some of the steps that you take? What's the process that you love to follow?

NATASHA: Yeah, okay. So it's here lots of different parts here I think, like the first thing for me to say, kind of like how I like to explain the work that I do and how I see it. So I see us all that we've kind of come into this world and we are, you know, we're perfect. We're like this perfect light soul being this light. Okay, if you will. And then as life happens and we have experiences, it's like this light that is us just gets covered up by layers of the programming, of the beliefs, of the things that happen to us in childhood, the traumas. And then these layers just start covering up these light, and so what I see the work that I do, I don't see it as healing or as changing who you are or trying to be someone new. I see it as remembering who you already are, you're not trying to add anything, you're already there, you're already whole and just perfect. But we just have to pull off the layers. So that's how I like to see it, and that's how I like people to know what they're coming into when they start working with me. When, you know, you're all. It's already there, we've just got to kind of uncover it.

SAMIA: Oh, I love that perspective, you know, I talk a lot about healing that it's true. I mean, so much like when you really, you know, I think like what happened with me is like I went through a major trauma early in my life, and it made me feel like there was something broken with me, made me think all these thoughts of being broken, of there being something wrong with me and stuff. And so when people would talk about healing like repair. That was something that attracted me and made me want to strive for it. And so, you know, definitely that kind of concept of healing has been very important to me. And as I have continued on that journey more and more, you know, it's like what you're saying, you know, you come to this realization that, oh, you know, like really a lot of healing, even if you use that terminology is more about the remembering that you already are full and you are just fine. And I think it takes like for me it took me to come to like a more of a spiritual perspective to recognize and to take on this perspective of healing. And you just made me think about actually just last night I was watching an episode of the Mahabharata which is, you know, one of the great Indian apexes. Like not just like an epic, like a story, but it's like a moral, ethical kind of story or epic in the Hindu tradition. And, you know, this is actually one of the core lessons that was being taught in the context of the story is that no, you know, you are, we are souls, we are, we're spirits, we are, you know, sparks of the divine as it were. And so it's like real life partly, you know, life is a journey of remembering who we are in that way. And so when you remember your soul, your spirit, your spark of the divine, you're like, oh, actually nothing can harm you, you know, all of these, like when you think you've been hurt, etc. It's really more of a surface level experience, surface level in terms of this something your body is experiencing, but that's not your deepest truth in reality.

NATASHA: Yeah, exactly that not, and I totally agree with you. And I think, you know, the kind of I bring in the spiritual aspect into my work because I think you need to, because like you said, to really trust and buy into this idea that we are already whole and we are already part perfect in the sparks of the divine, we have to have that spiritual aspect really, we have to be open to having that belief. Because otherwise it's just a little bit more difficult to accept that. Because when you're very much in that kind of, you know, thought, like I said, like we were talking about your aunt and how I used to be before, when you just very much believe that, you know, we kind of life just happens to us and we've just been plonked down here and then we'll die. It's really hard to kind of see any other way. So yes, I absolutely bring in the kind of spiritual aspect into my work with that. And I also think that, you know, because healing, you know, sometimes I'll say healing like I'll say in a child healing, but I'm also very aware of the power of words, because that's something that I have to be aware of when you're working with the subconscious mind. And words have got they, so loaded and they've got such an emphasis on them and negative connotations all the time. And I think the word healing, you know, like we said, implies that you're broken in some way and you, I know, I don't believe any of us are, obviously we've just explained. But also I think the word healing can perpetuate. Once you get into this kind of, this arena of self development and personal growth work, I think healing can be a little bit toxic because then you're constantly thinking, I just need to do a little bit more. Where do I need to heal this? What do I need to look at now? And I can see that you could get stuck in this healing cycle for the rest of your life and that's no good either. So yeah, I think when you take it back to just kind of this remembrance that you are actually perfect and we're just peeling back layers, it can kind of take the pressure off because a lot of the work that I do as well is based around self love and self worth and, you know, self love like the biggest part of that is to be able to, you know, forgive yourself and to love yourself throughout your bad bits and your good bits for all of it, to accept all of it as you. That is you. And I think that, yeah, that when you can come at it from that kind of perspective as well, then you're not constantly trying to fix yourself, you're, you get to live and you get to experience and use your life as one big kind of learning experience and you can have fun in the journey. And that's not to say that it's going to be easy and you're just going to glide through. No, you're not. Because like we said before, you know, your toughest times actually can be your biggest teachers and you can come out the other side of them, you know, so much better, happier, you know, like more evolved. It's horrible when you're going through it, but when you look at it's all just a part, you know, part of your journey and it's all an experience and things are kind of neutral, then life just gets to be a bit easier. And really that's what I want to do for the people that I work with as well. I want them to be able to go through life being able to do that. I don't want them to stay with me. I want to equip them with the tools, teach them about their subconscious mind and do the initial reprogramming of their subconscious beliefs that aren't serving them. And then say now use this, use what you've learned and go do it for yourself while you're, while you're enjoying life.

SAMIA: Yes, oh, I love that. Yes, you know, you just made me think about more lessons like, you know, from the per job spiritual perspective. So on the one hand there's definitely this idea of, you know, a life journey about remembering who we are and so forth. And at the same time, there's this need for us to learn lessons because, you know, we have forgotten and we've forgotten so much of who we are. It takes a lot of peeling back the layers that have, you know, and the gunk or whatever is that blocked the light that we are, you know, and I mean it's just there's just so much of it's like incredible. So, okay, I know it. You know what? I will not let myself get too distracted. Okay, so you were describing some of the process. Let's get back.

NATASHA: Yeah, okay. So obviously my like kind of tool that I use is hypnotherapy, hypnosis to work with the subconscious mind, you know, there's loads of ways you can do it. My method is with hypnosis, and so, yeah, so what I'll do is I will kind of get to know the person. I'm quite intuitive, so I'm really good at reading people when I've realized that when people talk to me, I can almost kind of, I can say I see, but it's like I just get knowing. I can see where that’s, what beliefs they have. I can see where it's all kind of tied up and then I know where I need to take them. I know what beliefs we need to rewire, and then I can use hypnotherapy to do that. So basically I come from like a two pronged attack. So we'll work out exactly what limiting beliefs they have. And when I say limiting beliefs, you know, we all, I work with lots of different people. But the limiting beliefs always kind of stem at the root of, you know, I'm not enough, I'm not worthy of love, I don't love myself, you know, fear of judgment, fear of rejection, fear of abandonment. Life has to be hard, these kinds of things, these are core beliefs that unfortunately most of us humans hold. So my job is to work out which of these beliefs people have and then find out where these beliefs first originated from. So from the ages of naught to seven, we spend our entire lives in a state of hypnosis. So our kids are like little sponges. And basically what that really means is that it's like if you think about your subconscious mind as a computer program in a system, like just a computer, we're effectively from zero to seven when we're living in this state of hypnosis. We have the programming software open. So everything that's happening to us, everything that we experience, everything that people say gets programmed directly into the subconscious mind. And when we're children, our subconscious minds are very literal. We haven't developed that more advanced kind of critical thinking. So it's very, very literal. So if for instance, you know, your mum left you at your grandparents and to go out your child's mind could take that as I am not worthy of love, I'm not lovable, my mum left me, that means I'm not lovable. And it seems so kind of silly when you look at it from an adult's point of view. But that's the problem of living in hypnosis, right. So when you get to the age of seven, you kind of, your brainwave state changes and you go into the normal beta brainwave state that we all kind of live in. And then those beliefs become like a lens, like a pair of glasses that you put on. And so that is how we see the world. We see the world through those lenses. And then the problem is because our beliefs create our reality and we're seeing through that lens of those beliefs, reality is going to reflect that back to us. So it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. So all the stuff is around us, everything's happening around us, all the good stuff is around us, all the proof that you are worthy of love or you are good enough is there. But because you've got this lens on, you're only seeing that. And this is how then as you grow up and more experiences happen, that belief becomes stronger and stronger. And so in my process what I do is I go back to childhood and I figure out where exactly that belief was first learned. And that is the beauty of using hypnosis, because when you're in that state again, we can access the subconscious mind which holds all the memories. It knows exactly what you need to see as well. You have all the answers within you and I love it because I don't have to know anything. My client sat there and got all the answers, I'm a really good guide. I know how to get it out, but you're going to tell yourself. And the great thing is that when you experience it, you know, through your own mind, you go back there you get that perspective, you get to feel those feelings again, you get to understand it on a deeper level. And then we can do the healing work that, you know, so we can look after the inner child, we can look at it from an adult's perspective and say, I understand why that situation made you believe that about yourself, but here's why this isn't true. And now you get to see it a different way, and that's a really powerful part of the process.

SAMIA: Yeah, you just think of a question that I've been wanting to ask for a long time and I don't think I remember to ask it. Like, you know, the process you were describing in terms of like, we're sponges and we can have all these different experiences that make us believe different things. And I was just like thinking about how, so like if I, like in for example, in my own childhood, if I'm thinking of and speak from the eye, there I can remember actually one time when I was going through workshop learning self hypnosis, we learned some processes, like I had some experience of like having someone take me into some of my subconscious core memories and, you know, and I remembered one time when I had this incident in my life where our family was going through financial hardship. And, you know, my shoes were like, needing replacement. And my mom was very honest with me and she was like, no, we don't have the money right now to buy your new shoes. But you know, one when I will save up and when we have some money, I'll get you your new shoes as soon as we can. And so when I looked back on that memory, one of the core beliefs that formed for me in that moment was I don't have enough, right. And it's interesting. Like, so what I was thinking about is, you know, the conversation, the moment that I remembered. And even in general like when I think back to what my mother was trying to teach me, like she said, yes, okay, I don't have the money right now to buy you these shoes, but I will asap, and we will figure out how to do it. But the big message that I apparently took from that moment was we don't have enough. But I seem to have ignored some of the other lessons that my mom was trying to be like, inculcating in me in terms of like, you know what? It's not a big deal. We can't get it now, we'll get it later, we'll problem, solve around it. I mean, there were like so many messages that she was giving me and trying to make sure that I stayed in a positive mindset and that I didn't feel deprived of things like that. And there were other things that she taught me for sure like where she would, you know, talk about the power of prayer and, you know, like guide us to pray to God for help whenever we need something this and that. But it seems like we don't. It's like a little bit of a we take on some lessons, we don't take on other lessons, and it's like, is that just like a personality thing? I mean, what's going on there? That there're certain things that we, I mean, are just. Yeah, I mean, am I overthinking this in terms of like, how some of these limiting beliefs get formed? Because at the same time, you know, I think I was getting empowering messages as well, but it's like for me to have gotten stuck on this limiting belief, instead it's like such an interesting. But, you know, it's like even as adults, we seem to do that to ourselves where oftentimes we will just like, focus on what's negative, what's disempowering, what's limiting, rather than, you know, what's positive, what's empowering and so forth. So like there's something, hang on.

NATASHA: Yeah, no, I know exactly what you. No, you bring up a good point. And I think, and this is how I see it. Yes, because you said it is because of different personalities. Yes, absolutely. Because you can have two siblings that are going through the same exact event, and one will come out in a positive way and take the positive from it, and the other will come out in a negative way. So I absolutely do think that. Yes, it is a personality thing. It's based on the beliefs that you've already formed when you're taking on that new one. But I think in the case that you were talking about with yourself, I think that we always have to remember as well. So with my work, you know, I was saying I bring in the spiritual aspect too, obviously the mind. You know, we've got body, mind and soul. Obviously the mind for me with hypnotherapy stands to reason that's what I'm working with. But I very quickly realized that it's not just the mind. We are holistic spiritual beings, we have to have the spiritual aspect, we also have to have the body aspect. And that's where my work's a little bit different to a lot of hypnotherapists as well because I've incorporated all three because I think it's necessary. So with your experience, what we have to remember is that we are also a body. We're like animals, you know, like we have animal instincts, you know, from how we've evolved. And we still have that part of our mind, that very primal, animalistic part of our mind. So, you know, to answer your question, I think that when your mum was saying about the shoes, we also have to take into account how you were feeling in your body at the time she said that because it's not just about the words and the thoughts, but it's also about how your body feels. So if it sent you into a state of fight or flight and you became, you felt scared in that moment that we don't have enough, that's the belief that's gonna take the strongest because we are, our survival instinct kicks in. Like you said, you know, humans tend to always focus on the negative. Yes we do, because as animals we have to always look out for our survival. And you know, back in the prehistoric times we needed to be aware because there were things that were going to kill us all the time. So we needed to always be on alert for the saber toothed tiger, you know, for other tribes that were going to kill us. And we actually, though we have evolved in lots of ways, our body still hasn't. So now, you know, there's no saber toothed tigers or other tribes peoples. But we've got things like you can't have new shoes and oh my gosh! I can't have them and you know, I need them now. Now we can't afford them, well then that's now your saber toothed tiger that sends your body into fight or flight and that's what that's the kind of belief that your subconscious will hold onto because your subconscious is always trying to protect you. That's all it's trying to do, and that's why these beliefs are being formed. It's taken that on to try and protect you in the future. Unfortunately, these beliefs like we said aren't helpful. And this is why we end up wanting to change them because and the part of the work that I do, like I said, is when we go back to these childhood events, we're not just looking at the thoughts and where the belief came from, but we're bringing up the emotions, the feelings in the body and we're releasing them from the body as well. Because you don't realize, but you're holding on to them. So every time when people say, you know, like if something happened to you in terms of your finances and you it could trigger that exact feeling that you felt when your mum told you about the shoes. And you don't realize that's the same feeling, but your body remembers and that triggers this cycle that keeps going. So when we do the healing work, when we revisit back in hypnosis, we release that feeling, we complete the cycle, we change it, we change the memory to a memory that has a good feeling. So for you, I mean, you would change it yourself, but potentially we could, you know, your mum could say, oh, we haven't, we can't get any shoes right now. But look how beautiful these shoes are, we'll put them on now and then we'll get them, you know, in a couple of weeks time. And then all of a sudden you feel like, oh, okay, that's fun. I've got pretty shoes, your body feels comfortable, bam. You're not triggered anymore, you don't have that trauma loop. We've completed it so yeah, I think to answer that was a long winded way of answering your question. But there's so much more going on than just, you know, the mind. We have to take into account the body as well.

SAMIA: Yes, you're absolutely right because there was more to the situation and the memory than just the issue of the shoes. I mean the issue of the shoes actually came up because there was that, you know, like people commenting on the fact that my shoes were not of good quality and being like, hahaha you don't have good shoes, you know, like those kinds of things. And so you're so right that the emotions behind why they came up in the first place were once that, you know, there was a certain sense of insecurity and like feeling a scent of lack, and so forth. And so this idea of, okay, not just looking at the thoughts, but also understanding the feeling, that is so critical and crucial. And what you just described in terms of like, creating change around the feeling, that is so cool. Okay, so you basically like just to make sure I'm understanding you correctly. So you were basically saying that we in the context of the process that we're going through with you just kind of like to create new meaning and create like new in that car. And as you create new meaning you also create new feelings. And so it actually goes back to what we were saying that, you know, we get to choose our thoughts. So you just create a new meaning that is so beautiful.

NATASHA: Yes, and you know, we actually create a new memory because your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's not. That's why visualize, you know, future visualization.

SAMIA: Yeah.

NATASHA: Kind of manifesting that's why that couldn't work as well. But it also can work from the past, so when we recreate the memory to a memory that, like we were saying, feels good, it's got good feelings attached, then that is the memory that's gonna be played subconsciously as you go through life in the future. And then you're gonna be flooded with good memories instead of these scary memories. Because like you said with your shoes, that was clearly attached to fear of rejection, you know, that's where your scary feeling came from. That makes sense, you know, it wasn't about the shoes. It was about you're going to get rejected by the other children and that's one of our kind of primal fears as a human being. We want to stay in with the pack, we don't want to be different. And so for you as a child that's everything, isn't it? You know, school and the kids at school, it's such a big part of our world so that's really scary to you. So then when you're an adult and you're having these money issues, this is the thing everyone we're walking around and we think we've got money issues or, you know, relationship issues, but actually it's going back to when you're seven years old and you're worried that children at school are going to laugh at you for not having a pair of shoes. This is like the more I do this work, the more I see, like people think that it's gonna be these big traumas that happen to them that have caused these beliefs, but very rarely is it something seemingly small and insignificant that has sparked this belief. And then, as I said, they get perpetuated as you experience life and it gets proven.

SAMIA: Yes, and it's like amazing how, you know this point about most of the time, most of the people, they're not experiencing big traumas but it's, like amazing how these little seeming things that you experience that nonetheless end up having such a deep impact on you. They have stretched out, they create such a strong sense of constraint on, you know, they have such a deep impact on your life. And I think people don't appreciate enough how these quote small things can actually become huge. And I think it's really important to appreciate this point because like you said, most of the time, for most of us, we have not necessarily experienced what we would classify as a big drama. And so then you go around, you know, with that mindset of, oh, no, I'm fine, everything's fine. I haven't actually experienced any trauma or anything bad, so no reason to be feeling any kind of negative way or less than or this or that. And so then you think, you know, like you're just, you know, like being irrational or you try to like downplay your own feelings you downplay the seriousness of what you're experiencing and just how much of a hold it has on you because it's like you can't believe at one level that you could be facing such a problem because you're like, no what? Why would I be? I haven't experienced any trauma, everything's fine.

NATASHA: Yeah, exactly. You know, it's like when people come to me and, you know, I first talk to them and, you know, tell me what's going on with your life. And they've got all these huge, huge problems and it's affecting every single area of their life. And there's this and there's that, and it seems like there's so much to try and unpick, and you just think I don't even know where to start, they do. I don't. Because I always know that though it seems so huge, it's always going to come back to just a few small limiting beliefs, you know, these beliefs, they kind of pile on top of each other. And just like I said, we pull back the layers of this kind of lie. It's kind of how it works with the limiting beliefs as well. They all funneled down to this: I am not enough, I am not good enough, you know, and then you can pick away the other ones that form on top of it. But yeah, you know, I just see how these few small events start with, start forming these negative beliefs and then how it just blows up to this huge thing as an adult and you just think you're never going to be able to get to the bottom of it. But actually, you know, you see very quickly that when you break it down into these kinds of beliefs that you hold, it's just a very small thing and you only then have to work on those small beliefs and everything just falls away because everything's connected. And so I think like, you know, that's what I would love people to know, that you think you're kind of, your whole life's a mess and you don't even know where to start, but it's really not as confusing as you think it is.

SAMIA: Yeah, okay, you made me think about another question. So obviously, you know, different people have different professionals are trying to help people have different approaches, different theories that they're working off of in terms of what is needed to create positive change for people. And you know, traditionally in the context of like psychology, the field of psychology, which is sort of like, you know, where my, some of my background is, you know, you had the modality of therapy where in the classic form of therapy, you know, it's like, okay, you are also in some ways trying to go back into your past and remember things and then, you know, talk through what happened and then try to give that new meaning, etc. But how is what you're doing different? Just because I think for a lot of people that I might get confused. And you know, I think more and more now people are starting to realize and recognize that talk therapy of this traditional kind has shown itself to be not particularly effective for a lot of people. So what are you doing that's actually different from that? Yeah.

NATASHA: Thank you. Yeah, and so most people that I work with that come to me have already been through some kind of talk therapy. They've had some kind of counseling or cbt because at the moment hypnosis is still kind of like a last ditch attempt because people don't really understand. It's getting more and more kind of recognized. But you know, people are still having to almost buy into it a little bit because it's still got that kind of, you know, conception around it. And what everyone says to me is that, you know, I've had talk therapy, and yes, it helped because it's helped me have more of an awareness of why I am the way I am. But I keep talking about it, I understand why I'm like this, but it's not helping me actually change. And I always say, brilliant! You've come to the right place because I can help you change, so that's where I am different. I can actually help them make the changes that they know they want to make. So, you know, yes, you could say that there is kind of therapy involved with what I do, because I'm talking to them and I'm asking. On that first session that I do, I have a three and a half month program. So in the first session I do, ask them to tell me about their lives, what they don't want, what they don't like, what's not working, and then most importantly, what do they want? What do you want to be like, how do you want to be? And it's amazing how people can talk all day about what they don't want. As soon as you ask, what do you want? They're like, I don't know. So, I'm very much though I do go into the past for the most part, I'm very much focused on the future, on what they're aiming to kind of get to. So like I said before, it's kind of a two pronged approach, so the first prong goes back and kind of revisits these limiting beliefs and then the childhood trauma. But then what I'm also doing is I'm using hypnosis to reprogram their minds with these new beliefs, with the new behaviors that they want. And this is how they start getting changes along with the sessions where we go back in time. Because honestly, those sessions where we go back in time, they can be transformational. I mean, I'm thinking of a client that I had. I think I spoke to her yesterday, and she had a really huge fear of death. She had a very traumatic incident when she was 15. She saw her sister die in front of her. And then from that point on, she's just always wondered, when's it my turn? She was just waiting for it to happen, terrified of death. She also was brought up Catholic, so she had that kind of religious belief around, you know, you're a bad person and you have to repent and all the fear of hell and all the things that come with it, so she had A lot going on. And obviously as she went through her life, I mean, she's in her 50s now, and she spent her whole life terrified. And that led to so many things, you know, health anxiety. She couldn't go to the gym without worrying that she was going to have a heart attack going on planes, you know, she was terrified the plane was going to crash. She affected her relationships with her children because obviously she was trying to control them because she didn't want anything bad to happen to them. It was just ruling her life. and we did the session where we went back to her childhood,and this is what I'm talking about how these are seemingly insignificant situations. And you'd think that she would go back to the memory of her losing her sister, but it was never that It's always before. And she went back to being, I think she was like seven in bed, in the dark scared, and all the things and the feelings that came with that. We worked through that when I spoke to her yesterday. It's been two weeks since we did that session, and she is just a different person, she's going to Amsterdam today on a flight. She said, I'm absolutely fine, she's not worried about her children anymore, she's going to the gym, she's doing all, she's just got it. The fear of death is completely gone and that was from. She spent decades living like that. From one session when we went back and we went and obviously she was completely shocked that if she went back to that situation, she would have had no conscious idea. And the beauty of doing that is that she then has a tangible reason. It's in her conscious awareness now as to why she was so scared, why she had this fear. And when, you know, when you have a conscious understanding, you can tell yourself a different story. You can work with it, you can rationalize. Whereas before she had no idea where it was coming from and she had no control, now she does. So that's the power of those sessions; they can be transformational anyway. But then, sorry, going back to how I also help people make the change is that I'm using hypnosis to reprogram their subconscious mind, and the thing with the subconscious mind the most important thing, if you want to rewire your mind, you have to have repetition. Your subconscious mind learns by repetition and consistency. So what I do is I create hypnosis audio specifically for each client specifically for the beliefs, the things that they're trying to get to. So the positive things and then I ask them to listen to it every night as they're falling asleep. Because you're going into a natural state of hypnosis anyway, so you don't have to add any extra time it's not taking up anything. And there's so many other benefits of listening to the hypnosis audio anyway, but they are literally going to bed reprogramming their minds with all these incredible powerful beliefs, you know, we can work on money, beliefs, business, self worth, confidence, you name it, you know, to the great expansive ones like the universe is always working for you, you manifest, you know, the reality you like life gets to be easy. I mean, just having that one core belief, life gets to be easy and everything's always working out for you. If you can reprogram your subconscious mind to believe that, you're going to have a really good time here. And so that's how I then help them change what the talk therapy could change. Because within, you know, weeks they have completely rewired their minds and their behaviors have changed and things that they were talking about for months or even years in therapy have been changed within weeks by using hypnosis.

SAMIA: Yeah, I love that, I love making change fun and easy.

NATASHA: Yeah, yeah.

SAMIA: And this point that you just made about the need for repetition, I think also goes seriously underappreciated by so many folks who are trying to create change in their lives by creating change in the way they think, etc, is the importance of repetition. Because, you know, oftentimes the limiting beliefs that we have been living with, you know, we have been sort of living with them for sometimes decades, you know, to our life. Like in the example, the client that you were working when she was 50 years old at the time she met you. And so she had literally been living for like four plus decades with this particular fear that she had. And so to, you know, really create a new belief, a new feeling, a new paradigm that she's going to live her life with. I mean, how can we expect that kind of change to happen without repetition?

NATASHA: Exactly, you've been practicing it all of your life and you got really good at it. You can't expect to just change it by saying a couple of affirmations, you know, like I always say to my clients you don't expect to go to the gym, do a couple of sit ups and have a six pack, you know, you have to go to the gym and work those muscles It's exactly the same. And this is where people don't get the chance because they'll hear us talking about things like this and they'll read self help books and listen to podcasts and they'll start doing it for a couple of days, maybe even a couple of weeks if they're, you know, good. But then it, you know, it dies out, it stops. They don't get the chance and they say, no, that stuff never works. This stuff works and it's so simple. But just because it's simple doesn't mean that it's, you know, just going to be easy and come to you, you have to put in the effort. Anything in life you have to put a little bit of effort in, you know, the only thing that comes easy is allowing your subconscious mind to take control. That's the only thing that comes easy and so that's why it's so important to make sure that your subconscious beliefs are aligned with positive things, not negative things. But, you know, it's just so worth the repetition. This is why the hypnosis audios are so great, because you don't have to think I'm gonna have to, you know, say that affirmation again now, and I'm going to have to do that. You just literally go to bed and play it and it's working for you as you start sleep, and it can't get much easier that honestly.

SAMIA: Yes, and I mean the fact that, you know, you do this as you're falling to sleep, I mean again, you know, I think we don't appreciate or we don't realize because we're just so used to trying to control everything from a place of, you know, being conscious about it that, you know, you're like, you don't even realize actually how limiting that is, and how limited you are in your capacity to control things at a conscious level anyway, you know, it's like really fighting up a battle to try and change things for ourselves at the conscious mind level anyway. And so it's like. No, no, no, no.Okay, what you really want to do is reprogram the subconscious, which is really the major force controlling your life. Oh my gosh! Yeah, and you can totally be falling asleep and it's like your subconscious mind is hearing it. Like, you know, it's like you, even if you're falling asleep, but the sounds that are going on in the environment your brain is still processing them.

Yes, I always say this to my clients because, you know, some of them have never had hypnosis before. And I say, you know, I want you to listen to this, and you're going to notice changes. And some of them are a little bit like, really, if I'm falling asleep, how is that? I'm not even hearing it. And I always say to them, I give them this example. Who do you think wakes you up when you need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night? It's certainly not your conscious mind. Your subconscious mind is always on. It's beating your heart, it's making you blink, it's helping you breathe, you know, you're not conscious of that. It is always recording. It's always working for you. And it is listening, believe me. So, you know, that's why it's so important to go to sleep listening. If you a lot of people listen to audiobooks and things like that, don't they? And it always worries me, my sister was listening to kind of like, you know, really dark stories before she went to bed. And I said, please stop. Don't listen to them when you're going to sleep, it's so important. But, you know, it can be amazing. You can just know that when you go to sleep, if you're listening to something really empowering, things that are gonna rewire your subconscious mind don't waste a night. I don't, I'm always listening to my recordings every night. I make them for myself, I listen to them every night. And if I don't listen to it, it's a night wasted in my opinion. And, you know, sometimes when I haven't been able to listen to them, I notice a change, I definitely notice a difference. And my clients always say the same as well. And they listen to the hypnosis audios long after they've left me. Because if you just get so used to it, and you just think, why would you not?

SAMIA: Yeah, yes, you know, so just having. Sorry, I have to ask you this last question. And I'm being aware that I'm taking up more of your time than I promised.

NATASHA: No it's fine, no please.

SAMIA: So, because you just made me think about, so having just talked about the benefits of, you know, listening to something really positive, like the reprogramming beliefs that you want to take on as you're falling asleep because your subconscious is listening anyway and you're more relaxed, is there nonetheless still a value to maybe repeating some of these beliefs to yourself or thoughts or ideas when you're conscious, when you're awake and so forth? Or is it just enough to do it as you're falling asleep kind of thing.

NATASHA: Do it consciously as well. It's something that I tell my clients all the time, you know, don't take it for granted that we're working with the subconscious. Yes, you're going to get such great help with hypnosis, but you have to do it on a conscious level as well. And the more you do it on a conscious level the more you're going to solidify those beliefs that you're listening to at night time. Because like we said, repetition, the more you repeat it, the more you live it, the more it's going to happen. So absolutely, you know, I spend the whole of my day. The thing is once you can open up your awareness, once you realize how important it is to continue repeating the beliefs or the words, you know, the thoughts that you want to reprogram your mind with, it becomes a full time job. And that sounds hard but it's not. It doesn't have to be hard because the more you do it, it's just become part of who I am now. And constantly checking myself, if I say something negative to myself, I will immediately catch myself and say, do I want to program that into my mind? No, I'm going to say something that's more helpful, that's more positive. And, you know, I used to have to work really hard to do that, but now I probably don't even finish the sentence before I catch it. And, you know, say something positive as well. So but yes, honestly, to answer your question, affirmations are great as long as you're doing the subconscious work behind it as well. Say those affirmations, say the things to yourself, catch yourself when you're talking to other people, when you're writing text, when you're thinking in your mind, most importantly, because we do a lot of thoughts in our mind, don't we? And they're the most dangerous ones. Just always be aware of what you're speaking out loud, what you're thinking, what you're saying, because you're constantly programming it. So fill your mind, you know, fill your news feeds on social media with powerful, uplifting things. When you're scrolling, you're in hypnosis, so make sure that at least if you're scrolling, you're scrolling with empowering things that are going to be absorbed by your subconscious mind. Listen to podcasts like yours, you know, that are going to fill you with positive, empowering thoughts and beliefs. It's just Equal curates your life so that your subconscious mind is always taking in positive, empowering beliefs. Because you know you're in hypnosis an awful lot of the time, people think that hypnosis is this elusive state where magical things happen. And yes, magical things do happen in hypnosis, but it's certainly not elusive. We spend so much of our time in hypnosis, so use it wisely to your benefit.

SAMIA: Oh my gosh, Natasha, I could keep talking to you for hours and hours, and then force myself to stop now.

NATASHA: It's been so much fun, I could talk about it for hours and hours. So honestly, I don't need much encouragement.

SAMIA: Gosh, do you have any last thoughts you want to wrap up?

NATASHA: All I would say is just to kind of reiterate the point that I just said before, I wish everybody knew the power of their subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is so powerful, but it is within your control, so please know that any beliefs, any thoughts, anything that's happening to you right now, you're not a victim to them, you are absolutely in control. And the way you control that is by working on your subconscious thoughts and beliefs and feelings. And when you work on them, when you start getting to the root of them and taking the action as we've spoken about to reprogram them, you will literally get to change your entire life. And that is all within your control.

SAMIA: Thank you so much for that wonderfully empowering message. And my last reminder to our listeners will be simply to please make sure you check the show notes because you will be dropping the fascist links in there so you can connect with her, continue to learn with her, and get the help and support you need whenever you're ready for it. And I should mention, one of the very easy ways you can continue learning with Natasha is check out her podcast, and I believe it's called be your best you. So check that out again. The link will be in the show notes. And until we connect next time, I just wish you lots and lots of peace and joy… :)

NATASHA: Thanks, Samia. :)