Hypnotherapy and Gladiator II. A strange combination.
Bear with me.
Gladiator II is a series of bloody battles, calls to rage, severed limbs, betrayal and cruelty.
Where is the calm in that?
And for someone who calls his business The Gentle Mind it’s hardly a ringing endorsement.
But here’s the link.
In Gladiator there appears a character played by Richard Harris called Marcus Aurelius. In Gladiator II he’s quoted.
Also in Gladiator II he appears as a guiding light and past force for good who’s words and deeds need to be reinstated.
I couldn’t agree more.
So who was Marcus Aurelius?
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor in the second century who was a Stoic philosopher who used Stoicism as a framework for living his life. He believed that virtue was the only good thing and that the things we typically focus on determine our happiness.
Stoicism.
This is the type of philosophy Marcus Aurelius practiced, and he describes it well as:
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”
He also describes it this way:
“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.”
All his advice is in his book, Meditations. It’s an insight into how he tried to live a Stoic life. Or to put it another way Meditations can be seen as a manual for developing your mental resilience skills.
Stoicism and the modern world
In his book ‘How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius’, author Donald Robertson shows that it is a small leap from the ancient world Stoicism to very modern idea Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
You can see that CBT is all about changing how we thin feel and act about outside influences and events and that if we so choose we don not have to be bothered by them. Things such as:
. The stresses of daily life, such as pain, illness, anxiety, and loss
. The lies people tell about us
. The people who cheat on us
. Being bullied
. Narcissists
. Catastrophisation
. The need to smoke
. The need to take drugs
. The need to over eat
. Our fears (phobias)
. Our self esteem
In effect, years before therapy came about the guiding light of Gladiator II was giving us advice on how to live a better life.
And where does hypnotherapy fit in?
Hypnotherapy is a state of calm - unlike most of Gladiator II. And it’s in this state of calm that it’s easier to make the changes for the better that CBT can help you with. That's where Hypnotherapy and Gladiator II come together.
I’m hardly a Roman Emperor or a gladiator. I’m a Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapist
I’m James Thomas. My company (there is only me) is called The Gentle Mind. And I believe that when we are calm we are far less likely to be bothered by life. It’s not that we don’t care. It’s that we don’t let events and people hurt us.
I’ve worked with seven year olds up to 87 year olds. Smokers. Vapers. Addicts. Over eaters. Board-level executives. If you’re out of sorts I can try to get you to see how to be kind to yourself.
Call me on 07787563099 or email me at jamesthomas@thegentlemind.co.uk I’m in Leeds, York, Lincoln and Louth.
