Heart to Heart Relationship Recovery Institute Announces New Show!!

Welcome to Heart to Heart with Leif and Kristen Burkhardt – Hanson talking with guests about the diversity they face in their relationships. Listeners worldwide will hear courageous and inspiring stories from … couples about how they personally battled circumstances such as: alcoholism, addiction, domestic violence, Infidelity, long term illness, previous divorces and so much more!

By overcoming their own unique set of circumstances, Leif and Kristen know first-hand how these issues can either destroy a marriage or make it stronger. They believe that by going out into the community and sharing honest and intimate heart to heart conversations enlightens’ people to the possibility of healing their own problems. They will also discuss how the effect of life coaching, clinical hypnotherapy, building and relying upon a spiritual foundation was the difference between success and separation for their marriage!            

The subject matter that will be covered is what happens when one of the individuals in the relationship has any of the following circumstances either before the relationship started or it developed during:

• Alcoholism
• Addiction )drugs, sex, love, etc.)
• Abuse
• Chronic/Long Term Illness
• Infidelity
• Domestic Violence
• Unable to Set Boundaries/Unable to Speak your Truth
• Had Had a Divorce, or a Few Divorces
• Is part of a Step Family
• Has Low Self Esteem/Self Worth

Have you or anyone in the immediate family come down with a long term sickness/sudden health change?

• Cancer
• Heart Attack
• Autoimmune
• Alzheimer’s
• Parkinson’s
• Stroke
• Etc..

One or both partners have a history of:

• Sexual abuse
• Childhood abuse
• Sexual assault
• Domestic violence
• Anger issues
• Lying/Narcissistic tendencies

Additional thoughts:

• How did faith play a role?
• What happens when these issues come up and have you handled it?
• Did anyone receive counseling?
• Are they still ongoing?
• What is the residual damage?

Other topics that may be intertwined:

• Have you been divorced and is this a second, third, or more marriage?
• Blending families where one of the new members has any of the above issues?
• Is there ongoing problems with the ex-spouse, the children?
• Is there/ has there been domestic violence in the home?

Show Agenda:

Each show will have different guests with a different topic.

There will be the opportunity for listeners World Wide to call in and participate and share their stories or learn how to make changes within themselves. This will involve intimate conversations between Leif, Kristen and the couple regarding the situation:

• What was it?
• Who was involved?
• What was happening during this time?
• What were your thoughts, fears, actions?
• What made you decide to get help, what course did you take, how did you feel about that?
• How are you now, what has changed, what are you still working on?
• What is your outlook, what words of wisdom do you have for others in a similar situation?
• Plus much more!

Join Heart to Heart with the Hansons weekly at 7 pm Sunday Evenings, click on the link right below us:

http://radio.hearttoheartrri.com

If you’re interested in being a GUEST on the show please click on the link below to go to the Heart to Heart website for the show application!

Heart to Heart Relationship Recovery Institute

http://www.hearttoheartrri.com

 

 

 

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The Power of Hypnosis

Being a Hypnotherapist I am fortunate to be a part of a client’s spiritual awakening or personal discovery. I love that aspect of being a part of their process and how they allow me to be there, facilitating this incredible journey! What a blessing I have! Well, yesterday I went to go see my teacher, Linda Bennett at South West Institute of Healing Arts. I was ready to experience Hypnosis on a higher level. I have been having some residual issues in my life and I wanted them gone. I was able to process out most of my problems through schooling but a few little things are still hanging on. We are never truly “done” healing in life. Linda is our mentor, teacher, and person who painted the picture of the power of Hypnosis. She has been studying and doing Hypnotherapy for about 25 years I believe. She is truly a magical, Spiritual Be-Ing.

Now, when I met Linda I was a bit intimidated. I was so new to all this kind of spiritual work I felt like a fish way out of water. I began my Hypnosis classes scratching my head thinking “I just don’t get this”. Linda would kindly say “Don’t worry, you will”. I kept waiting for that day even into Hypno III. I couldn’t grasp my mind around how the Subconscious worked right away and how we have the ability to access the information stored there from this life time and the previous ones. To become a Clinical Hypnotherapist you need to have 300 hours of classes in various techniques and styles. You also have to attain the knowledge of what to do during sessions if something goes wrong. Not that it goes “wrong” per say but people can have abreactions, or things that happen to them during a session. They may cry, they may call out, they may get up, they may do all kinds of things. We just don’t know ahead of time so we have to be prepared to handle these situations. There are a lot of classes we have to take in preparation for our certification:

• Past Life Regression
• Fears, Phobias, Addictions
• Subconscious Intervention
• Spirit Release
• Pain Management
• Weight Management
• Smoking Cessation
• Script Writing
• Dreams and Metaphors
• Hypnosis Clinic

In these classes we all get to practice on each other and while it’s beneficial it isn’t the same as getting a professional session. I had great moments of self discovery and healing, I still lacked that A-HA moment. When I originally booked my appointment with Linda I decided to work on some business blocks I had. At the last minute I decided to work these other things. In true Hypnosis fashion we don’t talk about the story just the symptom and how it is currently showing up in my life. What is happening when these feelings are occurring and what reactions do they bring up for me? That’s it, nothing more, and a few minutes later I’m stretched out on the chair in a light trance. She took me through Past Life Regression where I went through 3 lifetimes (that is some crazy stuff right there) and how these feeling’s effected me in those lifetimes. She was regressing me back and back in time to find out where the Original Sensitizing Event (OSE) occurred, the moment that my Subconscious mind became aware of these feelings. What caused it? When did first have those feelings? We couldn’t find it in those lifetimes, but we found the same reactions I was having.

Linda regressed me back to the beginning of THIS lifetime, and I saw myself, other spirits and she had me ask them what was my purpose here this time? What lessons did I plan on learning? I saw myself in spirit form it is incredibly crazy to see yourself and others like that. It was so amazing and breathtaking to see what the Other Side looks like!! I have seen glimpses, I have seen spirits, and I have had my Guides speak to me bit NOTHING compared to this, I still can’t believe what I saw…and how we communicated! That is for a different day.

After a series of events and questions it came down to the fact of me wanting to experience Love, I wanted to know what Love was. So I designed events that would cause me to learn that no matter what Love, is all that matters. If you don’t understand what that means read the book The Little Soul by Neale Donald Walsh, it explains everything in detail.

My life has been filled with so much pain, my heart broken again and again and I always wondered what kind of mess did I get myself into in this lifetime? The experiences I had that caused my heart to break caused me to experience unpleasant  feelings about a lot of things. I was beginning to question myself, question Spirit, question this whole existence. I was a strong, intelligent women with these silly issues hanging around. I discovered I am at the height of my Spiritual awakening and now is when everything will make sense. It is my understanding that before we come down here (earth or this realm) we sit with our Creator, the Angels, and our Spirit Guides to discuss and plan our Spiritual Purpose. We all have a purpose, no one has been born in vain, We may have gotten side tracked, we may have been led off our path but Spirit ALWAYS finds a way to bring us back. That nagging feeling about things, that sudden shift in thought, that brilliant new idea, that waking up in the morning deciding to do something different feeling is all Spirit getting your attention!! I thought I was lost forever. For years I felt like my life was a mistake, I felt like a joke and I felt like there was no way in the world I could ever be happy. I felt like I was being punished for something I didn’t know about. For al the work I have done in the past year and a half I still felt insecure and part of me was feeling undeserving. Why? Why couldn’t I shake those remaining feelings? What I found out during that session was I am exactly where I need to be…

That is the power of Hypnosis. In a 60 minute session we went into 3 lifetimes, up to the Heavens 2 times and had a little chit chat with my Guides and other helpful spirits,and back down to earth for the final wrap up. I wasn’t ready before yesterday, I wasn’t in the right place to hear those words that were told to me. To see Spirit on the other side; so pure, so clean and so full of love was just the medicine my little heart needed. Not only do I know why I have had these residual feelings, but I also know my life purpose and WHY I have had the life I do. I essentially planned it that way. When I saw myself on the Other Side in spirit form I was an amazingly excited spirit to come down here. We were all hooping and hollering and getting ready for the journey. My Guides reminded me of my decisions before coming here, and it warmed my heart and I was moved to tears. It gave me the courage I needed to keep going and doing the work of helping others discovering these amazing possibilities. Thank you Linda……

What a blessing! I am charged up and ready to go! I just wanted to share what a recent hypnosis session can be like. They aren’t all the same, but they can certainly bring something to the table we did not know before. It can be an intimidating or perplexing thought to go inside our Subconscious and root around for answers and ideas.Having the ability to be open minded, having a facilitator you can trust, and have the willingness to ACCEPT what you learn can be the key to turning your life around in ways that nothing else can. I invite you to be daring, to be excited, and to be willing to see what has been missing from your life!!

In light

Kristen

 

Trust

How trusting are you in your life? Do you feel insecure and have low self esteem? Do you get jealous easily? Do you feel like you can’t believe what people tell you? Have you been cheated on and lied to? What led you to not having trust in your life? Would you be interested in learning how to get it back, even if it meant some hard work?

I have had problems with trust for as long as I can remember. I think it comes from my childhood and living in such an unstable environment. My father was an alcoholic and he literally drank every day of my life until I was 18 years old. I never felt stable, or secure, I always felt uneasy and not knowing what was going to happen next. Those memories haunt me until today. I say haunts because my memories feel like ghosts just hanging out that I can’t send back to the light.

Growing up a I had a few boyfriends but one guy became the love of my life as a teenager. I never really had anyone to love or say “I love you’ to me like that. I felt like love was something I would never experience so when he told me that he loved me I believed him. We were together for a few years. We were two peas in a pod and totally inseparable. Then he cheated on me, not once but several times. He even cheated on me with my best friend and probably more people than I care to know. I forgave him, and I forgave him again. My friends and family thought I was crazy but I thought if I loved him enough he wouldn’t cheat on me. I felt like it was all my fault. I did everything I could; I always dressed nice, I kept myself thin, I was athletic, I was very sexual and adventurous, and I always thought of him first. None of it mattered. He was a cheater and I found out that 30 years later he is still is….. and he has a 3rd wife.

I had a string of just less than good relationships that I am not even going to go into. But the final straw was when I dated another guy who was also an alcoholic he also slept with ANOTHER friend of mine. The hits just kept coming. I felt like the biggest LOSER God ever created so I packed up my stuff and moved to California. That’s when I really got into trouble, that’s when I really started with the drugs. I did not want to feel anything or anyone I just wanted to be as stoned, as stoned could be. No lie, I just packed it up and shipped it out. I had enough of Detroit and I was moving on.

I was lonely and desperate using drugs at an early age because I needed comfort. I needed a safe place to fall. I also looked to men for that comfort and while I was fun for them to play around with, they fell short on the commitment side. I truly was looking for love in all the wrong places. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong with these men!  What I learned later was the choices in men that I made, not what I did wrong. I was so far down emotionally I wasn’t in the right mindset to place value on myself. I didn’t know I was really a good person and deserved to be treated nicely and with respect. I thought I deserved all of the mistreatment I had received.

I kicked the drugs and came back to Michigan, and I met my first husband. Out of the frying pan and RIGHT into the fire. I thought he was my knight in shining armor, he was an older guy, good looking, had plenty of money and loved to party. I married him and while he was always faithful and never cheated on me, his verbal abuse killed off any self esteem and security I had left. After a few years into the relationship I felt so bad about myself I didn’t believe anyone would want me. I dove deeper and deeper into alcohol desperately trying to kill any nerve ending that was exposed so I would not have to feel any more pain. I would drink myself to sleep every night until I passed out, I couldn’t stand to be awake. There were times I still prayed for death because death would have been so much better.

After the divorce I had NO trust or faith in men or women. I didn’t have any hope in myself or even in my outlook. I was truly hope-less. I worked a job every day, struggled to feed my kids, and just still prayed for death because that would be the relief I so desperately needed from this life. Then things began to change. I met a man, who is now my husband, who had equally the same amount of damage but in different ways. We had a long distance relationship so we spent HOURS talking on the phone about our lives, our marriages, and our situations. Gradually, through sharing stores and developing a relationship we began to heal big chunks of ourselves.

Fast forward today and I am much stronger and healthier than what I was…except for one little thing. Trust. I still can not seem to let myself trust on a level that would allow me to live a much more meaningful life. I worry, I get in my own way, and I wish it would stop. I wish I could just wake up and ENJOY the day and not have these worries and thoughts. I wish I could feel more confident.

I have found great strength much improvement through Hypnotherapy, in particular Subconscious Intervention. By way of hypnotic trance I was actually able to go back and have a conversation with my father and ask him questions about why he was the way he was. I found our he was doing the best he could based on the information he had at the time. He had his own problems in childhood and he truly was acting out of what he knew. Just like I did, I was drunk almost every single day of my kids lives until they were 16, so I understood. I also learned that the men in my life who hurt me did so because I allowed it. I had co-dependency issues, love addiction, alcoholism, and I was a mess! I hug out with people who were in the same boat as me.

Thee are so many healing possibilities with Hypnotherapy! If you are ready to take a step forward in your life and begin to look at these ghosts you have hanging around, Hypnotherapy offers so many different ways of achieving that. Please visit my website at http://sacredcircleministry.com and look into the Hypnotherapy area. You can learn ways to release those feelings and gain incredible insight into your life. No matter how far down you are, and I was down, you can get back up again, you can have a beautiful life!!

The damage did not get there over night and it will not leave over night. I know there are many of you with stories similar and much worse than mine. I believe by sharing my stories I will show that there are ways to get better, ways you may not have ever thought about. If you or someone you know is having problems moving forward in life, please send them to my website! Thank you!

In light,

Kristen

 

Sex Addiction

I know a woman whose husband has a sex addiction. Being all too familiar with addiction as it is, I was moved to ask some questions. Since addiction is my specialty I wanted to further interview her and understand the reality behind it, from both of their perspectives. I know that was a big buzz word in the 80’s suddenly everyone who seemingly couldn’t control their impulses cried out they have this addiction. It became a national phenomenon to be a sex addict and that was an instant “get out of jail free” card. Evangelists on television, politicians, actresses and actor’s began to appear on Good Morning America and even the Tonight Show bearing their souls to the world that the reason they got caught having an affair was because they were a sex addict. We were wooed into forgiving them…..really? How convenient, I thought, as I began to question my self and the nature of my own sexuality as compared to my other addictions. I thought, how can someone be addicted to sex; was it the act, the thrill of the chase, the fear of being caught, what was so addictive? Sure I love sex and with the right person it can be off the hook but an addict? What exactly makes one a sex addict?

Over all, addiction occurs when a void is not being fulfilled. There is something that the DOC (drug of choice) fills for the person that they don’t normally get elsewhere. It causes euphoria, stimuli, excitement, a rush, some kind of feeling that is unique to that individual. Most of us have something we really like a lot and wish we could do it all the time but have the means to control ourselves. But people with addictive behaviors and tendencies have a different chemical make up, and often outside influences occur such as opportunity, surroundings, and their own self esteem. Scientifically it begins in the Limbic System of the brain. The Limbic System contains the brain’s reward circuit – it links together a number of brain structures that control and regulate our ability to feel pleasure. Feeling pleasure motivates us to repeat behaviors such as eating – actions that are critical to our existence. The limbic system is activated when we perform these activities – and also by drugs of abuse. In addition, the limbic system is responsible for our perception of other emotions, both positive and negative, which explains the mood-altering properties of many drugs. It is a genetic predisposition to a certain feeling that triggers brain cells to respond favorably to that stimuli (1).

There are 2 kinds of addiction: physical and psychological. For instance for people using opiates and heroin it quickly becomes a physical addiction because the pain receptors in the brain become filled with the opiate and it feels so good. Then the brain begins it craves it and that causes severe physical responses such as withdrawals until the body receives the drug. Opiate addiction progresses at a startling rate regardless of whether or not the person wants the drug. Alcohol and other drugs such as benzodiazepine (benzos or xanax) can cause the same type of symptoms. Drugs like marijuana are more psychological; it causes psychological cravings and causes it’s user to think they need it. There really isn’t a physical dependency to it per say.

So then, what causes a person to be addicted to sex? My friend has been married for quite a while and they are in a 12 Step Program for it. She attends the “support” part of it like Alanon or Naranon,and she said the place was packed. Many there had partners that “fell off the wagon” during the holiday season. The pressure of the holidays, expectations, and money causes the sex addict to act just like an other ordinary addict to act. They go to their DOC to fill that void of what ever it is missing for them! Just like I used to do. I happen to volunteer time on a world wide website coaching individuals with any kind of addiction you can think of. They hooked me up with another website with a few members who had this particular issue. Right at the start they were very forthright! Most said it was the rush, the orgasm, that feeling of release, or relief. Sex triggered something in them that causes them to repeat that sensation over and over again, sometimes up to a dozen times a day with multiple partners. I was impressed; 12 times a day?

There was as many men as women; some as young as 18 others in their 60’s. I’d say about 20 percent didn’t have a sexual preference, it was just about the act and nothing more. Some of the women I spoke with were molested as children or sexually assaulted early in life. Some of the men said they didn’t receive any attention as children, they were abused or neglected and sex made them feel special, attractive, and wanted. That was another running undercurrent; the need to feel wanted and loved.

They know I am writing this article and every single one said that it is the most misunderstood of all the addictions and brings the most shame. They are racked with guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, very low self esteem and self worth. Most are single and multiple times divorced. They often have other addictions and disorders to coincide such as bulimia, anorexia, and cutting themselves. They have been casted out of their homes, family has abandoned them. One woman I spoke to said it is very hard to make friends and many doctors don’t buy it, she felt suicidal many times. I admit I was skeptical too but not anymore.

Having and developing normal healthy attitudes about sex are good, and when under the right circumstances it can be an amazing experience. But for some, it turns into a nightmare. If you or anyone you know has these symptoms (this is the general list) there is help available: Sex Addicts Anonymous https://saa-recovery.org/ is a 12 Step Program.

Signs and Symptoms of Sex Addiction:

• Sex dominates a person’s life
• Being pre-occupied with sexual thoughts and fantasy
• Excessive self-satisfaction
• Multiple partners, buying prostitutes, exchanging favors for sex
• Random, unprotected sex
• Anonymous partners
• Lack of intimacy
• The need to leave right after sex
• Can be narcissistic
• Multiple cell phones, computer user accounts, and bank accounts
• Phone sex, dating websites, cyber sex
• Not all, but some sex addicts can progress to becoming violent, demanding, and turn to criminal activities such as sexual harassment at work, rape, exposing themselves.

There were literally thousands on this site from all over the world: all nationalities, religions, and income levels. Just like with every other addiction no one is more special than the next. In my times of using/drinking I would have to say guilt and shame were my biggest obstacles, I would wake up in the morning just reeling with guilt for being so drunk the night before. I was so ashamed of myself for being a mom and me kids seeing me like that sometimes. For years I suffered with that. I would be so worried about what I said, what I did, was I in inappropriate? I had incredibly dangerous actions, drunk driving being the least, if you can imagine. We really aren’t any different then our fellow addict; be it booze, gambling, or sex. It’s a compulsion we can’t control and need help to get it under control.

There is so much in this world that we don’t know, thank God to those who open up and be honest so we do know!

Thank you, you know who you are!!

In Light,

~Kristen

1.http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain

 

What are We Praying for, Exactly, When We Pray?

I was just on Facebook and a friend was asking for prayers for his wife’s mother. She is being prepared for surgery again after still having some complications from a fall. In situations like this and others what do you pray for? I always prayed that they would live and everything would be perfect again. I prayed for the best to happen. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do, expect Miracles? That’s what I thought and that’s what I always did. But, I learned something in school and that is “What is the Best Intention for the Person?” I know what my best intentions are; that that this person hurries up and heals and no one has to suffer the experience of anyone dying or being permanently disabled in some way. But what about the person in question, what is best for them?

To me that sounded kind of crazy originally because I was thinking why wouldn’t this person want to heal and get better? Did they want to die? That had nothing to do with it, this goes back to Soul Contracts and our time here on Earth as a human. On my website I discuss Soul Contracts and in brief review, it is how long you planned to be here on earth as a human with all the things that you wanted to experience in order to progress in Heaven to your final resting place. It also leaves some space for things to occur naturally in the world, as things do. We planned to be here, complete with all the misery and all the good. Every broken heart, every fall, every disaster, and all the pain that went with it. It’s hard to imagine that we would do this to ourselves but trust me, we did. We also planned the good things, and good friends and while things do happen that are our of our control, what we call Acts of God, for the most part you called it. Now here is a big pill to swallow, you even chose your parents….. I know, I know many of you are shaking your head saying you wouldn’t abuse yourself that way but here is a comforting thought…..Your children chose you!

Anyway, when we are faced with tragedy such as a horrible car accident or an illness we automatically tend to pray that they heal and live forever. But those prayers are for us so we don’t have to suffer and grieve. They aren’t for the person hurt. We don’t know where they are in their Soul Contract and this may be deterring the inevitable. Case in point, and I have many but we will go with this one, my husbands’ friend recently died in a motorcycle accident. It was horrific; the bike was smashed to pieces, torn apart, and he left behind a beautiful wife and 2 little boys. It was an awful thing to have happen so young in life to loose your life and leave behind a young little family. Here is the kicker – he got in a motorcycle accident less that 9 months beforehand and the doctors and surgeons worked like mad to patch him back together so he would live. Guess what, it was meant to be and this time the accident was bad enough that it would happen. When God calls us back, He calls us back.

This is when people ask “But where is God, he allowed this terrible thing to happen!” “I’m never going to church again, I’m giving up on God because he doesn’t do anything for me!” I have said those words and more because I had no belief in anything. What I did  learn is that God is there to help the injured or sick person through transition and welcome them on the other side at the end of “their” journey. Great celebration takes place on the other side. Family and friends who have passed, including pets, are coming to welcome them home. It is a joyous event, everyone is talking, high fiving, milling around, catching up on what’s new….They look back at us smiling because they know in not too long you will be there too. They know you’re sad but once it is your time and you transition you will remember and they will come for you!!

This is where God comes in for us. He is there to help us, the ones left behind, deal with the loss. He is there to ease the pain and get us back on our feet. We may not feel or see Him, but He is there. That is the true Miracle; that we go on with our lives as we had designed with Him. It is more important that we finish what we came here to do, than taking too long to grieve. We may be cursing Him yet He forgives us because we can’t remember. He is literally working a Miracle of healing in your heart trying to bring us understanding and acceptance. That is why all of a sudden you feel better one day and are able to move on. It took me a very long time to understand this but I finally got it.

Now when I pray I pray for the best possible outcome as prescribed by God and the person in question. I pray that whatever is meant to be will be. It is the hardest thing I have had to but then I remember incidents like my husbands’ friends’ motorcycle accident and others I knew like him. I am reminded that nothing in this world is about me and what I think should be, it is all about Spirit and our Greater Purpose. Next time you pray for someone try truly praying for them and see how you feel afterwards. God is everywhere, truly working Miracles in every way, every day! To All that Is….

Blessings,

Kristen