Can we really fix problems this easily? There are no guarantees in life, but sometimes we really can help people change very quickly.

But let’s rewind to the starting point. Imagine looking at someone who's visibly tied up in knots of discomfort, and emanating a dense, almost tangible cloud of anxiety. That was the scene when Mike Mandel first met with a client. 

A man who despite being a very good professional, had performance anxiety about his job. This intriguing case study is valuable for all students of hypnosis, because it teaches the importance of having flexibility when working with clients, and that sometimes, the issue you think you're dealing with is just the tip of the iceberg.

In this blog post and accompanying video, we'll follow Mike's steps and learn the effectiveness of Mindscaping in fostering a rich mindset of positive mental attitude.

Tackling Anxiety with Ego State Work

Mike met this client for an online session and decided to deal with the anxiety directly using ego state work. They quickly found the ego states that had the anxiety. In other words, they found the ego states that would become executive when the anxiety would surface. And Mike gave him different ways of releasing the anxiety by working with these ego states.

After making these changes, the client’s anxiety dropped significantly. But Mike had a sense that the job wasn’t over yet. It seemed that just getting rid of the anxiety wasn’t enough. So he booked another session with this client two weeks later.

After this two week period, the client still reported less anxiety. He was more confident in his abilities. But the anxiety wasn’t completely gone yet. Mike then decided he would use Mindscaping. Keep reading because it was this session that truly unlocked the real problem.

Introducing Mindscaping

Working with Mindscaping is like creating an internal map presented by the unconscious mind. Mindscaping operates on the principle that our internal worlds are vast landscapes, ripe for exploration and transformation. A trained “Mindscaper” guides you to visualize your mental landscape, identifying and transforming obstacles into pathways towards success and well-being.

The power of Mindscaping lies in how the client’s problem and solution are both depicted in this internal map. That way, the unconscious mind provides the metaphorical solution for whatever problem the client is facing.

And so, Mike and his client created the mindscape, and to Mike’s surprise, what they discovered was nothing like what he expected.

The Transformation Begins: Visualizing Change

In his mental landscape, the client saw a singular, imposing building. Before this building lay a small parkette, its centerpiece a statue in the center of a fountain, and the statue was holding an empty bowl. And Mike thought: “we’ve got something here…”

We’ll come back to that empty bowl later.

Mike asked the client to rise high in the air and look at the horizon. He did this because, in a Mindscaping session, what the client sees in the horizon has to be compelling to really pull them forward and outside of their problem.

But the horizon was not compelling at all. In fact, it was bleak. The entire view was nothing but piles of sand. A hot desert, dust-dry. “What do you need there?” asked Mike, and the client responded: “I need water.” “So let your unconscious put it there”, Mike said.

Manifesting a New Reality

The client looked surprised. There was now a beach where the desert used to be. “It’s beautiful”, the client said. There was even a boardwalk filled with happy people, and a pier. So Mike asked him, “How do you feel about that?” I feel great”, said the client.

At this point, Mike’s goal was to make sure the client could move from where he was standing to that imaginary horizon. While he had a clear aerial view of the mindscape, Mike asked him to look for a pathway that led to the beach, and there was. That pathway bifurcated and went around both sides of the building, and then reconnected again behind the building.

In the meantime, they made some other shifts. Mike brought the client back into the chair and helped him make more tweaks in that internal representation of his reality. First, the client wanted the building to be smaller and have a mirror-like structure. Because in a Mindscaping session, the client needs to be actively involved in making changes, Mike had him reach out with his physical hands and make these changes. Throughout this process, Mike was constantly calibrating his client, noticing every change that took place. “How do you feel about that?” he asked again. “I feel great,” again said the client.

Clearing the Path to Success

Now was the time to do something unexpected: Mike asked the man to spin around and look behind him. Mike didn’t explain this, but what he saw behind him represents his past. The client reported it was a dark and dense forest. This time, when asked how he felt about it, he didn’t feel good at all. A dark forest is the kind of place where you can become lost.

Mike was intrigued. He knew a forest, especially a dense and impenetrable forest, like the one in that client’s mindscape, is a symbol of the unconscious mind.

They both agreed that the forest should be pushed further away. When the client pushed with his hands, a grass field appeared in the space between him and the forest. He liked that, as it gave him some breathing room. He added twinkling lights that illuminated the field and the paths that he had put there as well. He felt great again.

Mike, who was always calibrating, could see a shift had already taken place. He told the client to check out the statue again and let him know what changed. He observed as the man looked surprised. “The bowl has changed”, he said. The statue was now holding a cornucopia, or a horn of plenty with flowers and fruits spilling out. Mike then asked the most important question of that whole session, “What does that mean to you?” “Abundance!” the client promptly responded with a big smile. Abundance was now pulling him forward, helping him to overcome his problems at work.

The Final Mindscaping Change to Build-in Ecological Changes

It was almost time to end the session. Mike asked the client what else he needed and he said he needed a car. After asking some questions about what kind of car, the client added a red sports car beside him. His spouse was in the car with him, and family members nearby. 

A shift had suddenly happened. His attitude towards the problem had changed. From this position, he would now be able to get in the car, go around the building and head towards the wonderful beach, experiencing the abundance he’d get from doing really well in his job.

After Mike brought him back to the surface leaving all those wonderful changes in place, they discussed how what the client thought was the issue may not have been the real issue all along. Had they been stuck with the idea that the issue was “anxiety at work”, it might not have been resolved.

The Mindscape offered a different way to clear space and speed up the process, so the client got what he really needed, instead of what it seemed that he needed. He had an empowering new goal represented by the beach instead of the dry, empty desert. As such, he had a clear target state, and everything had fallen into place.

Here’s the awesome news for you: This stuff is all really easy to learn in the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy. Obviously you need to properly learn the process and develop mastery, but we make it all possible by giving you the training and every opportunity to practice with other students.