What is Really Important in Life?, End of Life Issues, Ceremonies & Rituals, NLP Fast Allergy Cure Variations, Viktor Frankl, Poems

Rubin Battino - Master Class Outline - No. 8

November 4, 2024   5 PM EST

A. What is Really Important in Life? 

1. Intro – How I got into this work. Background Material Follows:

2. Rabbi Hillel’s Questions Summing Up His Wisdom:

If I am not for myself, who will be?

If I am only for myself, what am I?

If not now, when?

I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.

3. Hopes and Dreams and Meaning (Minnie’s Story)

Lawrence LeShan has worked with terminal cancer patients for several decades.  He has indicated three reasons that a person typically gives for not wanting to die: (1) they fear the circumstances of death or dying, i.e., pain, the unknown, the helplessness; (2) they want to live for others, helping the others attain their goals; and (3) they want to live their own life, to be able to sing their own unique song.  Of these reasons LeShan states:

“For reasons I do not fully understand, the body will not mobilize its resources for either or both of the first two reasons.  Only for the third will the self-healing and self-recuperative abilities of the individual come strongly into play.  When individuals with cancer understand this and begin to search for and fight for their own special music in ways of being, relating, working, creating, they tend to begin to respond much more positively . . .”

Joseph Campbell - Help people to find their “bliss.”

Viktor E. Frankl - Help people find MEANING in life.

4. Institute of Noetic Science characteristics of survivors: (a) Being married; (b) Having a support network (UUs); ( c) Having a strong religious or spiritual faith; (d) Having a goal and meaning in life; (e) Being a “fighter” - active vs. passive.    

5. Ira Byock’s End-of-Life Statements:  (1) Please forgive me; (2) I forgive you; (3) I forgive myself (RB’s addition); (4) I love you; (5) Thank you; (6) Goodbye.

6. What I’ve learned from Charlie Brown Group: (A) Life is With People - RELATIONSHIPS. (B) Making contact with NATURE. © Listening and touching are important. People can hear and feel even when comatose.

7. Mottos: I always have hope.  I believe in miracles. You may have to believe the diagnosis, but you do not have to believe the prognosis.

8. Group Exercise: Write or think about answers to three questions.  (a) What is really important in your life?; (b) What is really really important in your life?; © What is really really really important in your life? [I learned this from Jean Houston, a wonderful presenter and writer - track down her books.] 

9. References: L. LeShan, “Cancer as a Turning Point,” 1989; G. Burns, “Nature Guided Therapy, 1998; G. Burns, “101 Healing Stories,” 2001.

Comments and Questions

B: End-of Life Issues

1. Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.

2. Power of Attorney for legal and financial matters.

3. Living Will and regular Will. A will outlines a person’s wishes for their assets and property that will be distributed after their death. In contrast, a living will outlines a person’s wishes for medical treatment and health care decisions if they’re unable to communicate their wishes. A living will guides loved ones and medical professionals on matters that include life-sustaining treatment, pain management, and organ donation.

4. Advanced Directives:  Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR - various kinds)

5. POLST: A “Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” is a specific type of advance directive that communicates your wishes for emergency medical treatment when you can’t speak for yourself.

6. Finalexitnetwork.org for information on ending your life when you are ready. (VSED is common, but suicide is largest number in U.S.)

7. Family: Always inform about your end-of-life wishes. 

Link to my 90 minute chem show is in my website (www.rubinbattino.com) under chemistry. In the YouTube window there is a link in the lower right-hand corner to check to see the show. Enjoy!

Slipped in an age regression that involves breathing in deeply through your nose while your mind drifts back to when you were younger in a kitchen. [Watching some people do this it was obvious that they were back there and enjoying it! Something you m

might use ...]

Mentioned James Esdaille’s operations using Mesmerism in India and “Ericksonian Approaches” where this is in the first chapter and was written as Ericksonian hypnosis. I still believe that there is no other book like this ...

C. Ceremonies and Rituals

The book on rituals and ceremonies is the one by  Hammerschlag and Silverman (1997)—it is well worth reading and studying for all of the information and examples in it. Rituals are routine activities such as habits in the sense that they are repetitive and part of everyday life. Rituals are ordinary activities. Ceremonies are special events and have a connection to the spiritual or sacred or religious. Ceremonies are designed to give meaning to special occasions. Ceremonies typically incorporate the following: a leader to facilitate the specific goal; selecting a significant or sacred object; a group of relevant selected people; a particular site; mutual respect; reverence; special timing; and the specific order of service or components.

Remen’s healing circle (Remen, R.N., 1996, pp. 151–153) is about a healing circle that is designed to prepare a person for surgery or radiation or chemotherapy or any major medical procedure. It can also be adapted for any serious change in a person’s life like divorce, death in a family, losing a job, changing a location, etc. The healing circle is usually consists of a few family members and close friends, and is convened solely for a particular purpose. The rules are explained, the central person does not speak, but hands the stone to a person seated next to him/her who tells a brief story about a difficult time in their life and what got them through that time like: love, inner strength, belief in God. They then say, “I put this in this stone for you.” before passing it on. The person being helped keeps the stone.

Ceremonies can be developed with a client to bring about their desired change. One possibility is putting into a stone or writing whatever it is they wish to get rid of and then bury it or burn it or whatever they choose. 

If you would like to participate, close your eyes or look softly off into the distance. Think about a major (or minor) change in your life or something you would like to remove from your life and imagine that you are in a healing circle of friends or family and that a small smooth stone is passed around with the people in it telling a brief story of what got them through a difficult time in their life and putting it in the stone for you. Imagine them giving you the stone which you can take away and keep. You are creating all parts of this healing circle. When it is over within your mind, open your eyes and return to wherever you are.

Comments and Questions

Mentioned a recent client who wrote on my intake form about what concerned her and she wanted help in the following, “To have more incentive to accomplish non-work related tasks.” I used guided imagery therapy (GIT) with her in a remarkably short session (43 minutes) and wondered how others might work with a client like this. (More Rubin propaganda!)

D. NLP Fast Allergy Cure (did not have time to cover this topic)

This typically takes 15-20 minutes. If we have the time and a volunteer, I will demonstrate this method. If you search on line for “NLP Fast Allergy Cure” you will find several sites with details for this procedure. The client needs two bits of information: (1) allergies are mistakes of the immune system; and (2) there is a psychological component to allergies. 

Assuming a volunteer, the first thing they are told is the story about a patient who walked into her doctor’s office and started sneezing when she saw roses on his desk. After he explained that they were artificial her reaction ceased. Set an anchor in the non-dominant hand for the reaction when the client imagines being in the presence of the allergen. Break this anchor once the client reacts. Set an anchor in the dominant hand (holding two fingers together) for the client to be in a recent time when s/he was feeling okay and in charge and doing well. Hold this until the end of the procedure. (Describe the procedure if there is no volunteer.) Note that this approach can likely be adapted to neurological or physiological difficulties.

Comments and Questions

E. Viktor Frankl Quotes: (Battino, 1999. A play about his life)

My wife Elly was with me for the audience with the Pope, and we were both deeply impressed. Pope Paul VI greeted us in German and continued in Italian, with a priest as interpreter. He acknowledged the significance of Logotherapy for the Catholic Church and for all humankind. He also commended my conduct in the concentration camps, but it was unclear to us what he had in mind. As he signaled the end of the audience, and as we were moving toward the door, he suddenly began to speak in German once again, calling after us—to me, the Jewish neurologist from Vienna—in exactly these words: “Please pray for me!” ... It was deeply stirring.

Human kindness can be found in all groups.  I remember how one day a foreman secretly gave me a piece of bread – he must have saved this from his breakfast ration. It was far more than the small piece of bread which moved me to tears at the time. It was the human “something” which this man also gave to me – the word and look which accompanied the gift.

Once again I communed with my wife. She was with me. I had the feeling that I was able to touch her. The feeling was very strong: she was there. Then, at that very moment, a bird flew down silently and perched just in front of me, on the heap of soil I had just dug, and looked steadily at me.

F. Some Additional Comments

1. Pause Power - Clients need time to process what is going on in the hypnosis portion of the session. Add many pauses so that they can do this internal work. In essence, they drift off when a particular suggestion is significant to them, and then return to hearing you. 

2. Special Words or Phrases - The “magic” word that I like to use when doing hypnosis is “somehow.” That is, somehow these changes will occur: the client then fills in how this happens! Other good word are “and,” “when,” and “then.” In 

3. Expectation and the Placebo Effect - My expectation, and thus that of my clients, is that we will be able to resolve what troubles them in one session. Also, note that the Placebo Effect is always in the background in ALL therapy sessions, i.e., both clients and we expect change!

4. Mary Goulding’s Opening Query is “What are you willing to change today?” Followed by “Just let that question rattle around the back of your mind during this session.” This is a wonderful way to start a session.                                      Another opening query is, “What do you need now? Let that rattle around in the back of your mind.”

5. Importance of being passionate about being a therapist, and giving your clients your complete attention.

6. Importance of smiling and occasional humor.

7. “If what you are doing is not working, then do something different.” Steve DeShazer.

8. “If what you are doing is not working, then do something different that is  unusual or unexpected or surprising.” Rubin Battino

9. RB website: www.rubinbattino.com   This contains lists of all of his publications in psychotherapy and chemistry and other areas. Of special interest may be RB’s 11 books on psychotherapy. “Ericksonian Approaches” is effectively a text book on Erickson’s approaches. In the chemistry section click on the place where you can see a 90 minute chemistry demonstration show.

G. Farewell - Last Master Class. Much thanks to Rob McNeilly for hosting this series of eight master classes mostly related to hypnosis. THANK YOU ROB. RB also appreciates the interesting comments and questions (some difficult!) That the attendees made.

H. Closing Healing Meditation