Had a consult yesterday.... The girl has been struggling with two decisions in the past that didn't go well... Interestingly she talked about them both as paths: one going left and the other right. She had wanted a third path so bad but was forced to pick only from the two. She did in fact then go down those two paths in turn, to a point where she realised it wasn't working out and turned back. One path represented guilt and the other was where she blamed others for her current state.

At the time we were working, she felt she was at the fork of these two paths, again.... unable to see three steps ahead of her on a possible third path she was standing on.

Explored her metaphor: what was interesting is that at first she said all she could see to her left and right were the two paths... But from where her hand was indicating, I knew these paths were at a diagonal, so there would be so much more she could see if she turned to look.  She did and saw vast expanse of grassland to her left and right, and that she had in fact come a long way. There had been obstacles she had managed to side step and that the path was wider enough for her to maneuver.

She said that the end of the path ahead was like postcard, and very close; all she could take were two-three steps.

I got her to stand at the fork and did a quick induction for her to take good memories from each path, the positive intentions and the learning -- like picture postcards one collects of journeys taken.

Once she had done that, I told her to take one step forward, and then another, taking with her the picture postcards from her past 'trips'.

Looking ahead she couldn't see a destination but the road now opened up in front of her and was long and wide. Thanks to Richard's work journey of projects,  I began to talk about how one usually plans a trip: how one KNOWS where one wants to go, or at least picks a couple of choices, how one engages a travel agent to help plan, reads reviews, speaks to fellow travellers.... Told her that some paths are well trod and others we forge on our own. Reminded her to put rest points along the way to catch her breath and take stock. Asked if she was happy making it on foot or if she thought she needed to pick up pace.

As she took one small step after the other, she began to see milestone markings ahead. We pulled up each milestone, made the picture brighter and bigger, more colourful and clearer, telling her unconscious that she was drawing closer to each one with the resources she had.

When she sneaked a peek, she realised the two paths of guilt and blame were way behind her, finally leaving them in the past.

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Heena came to me with a high degree of work stress. The client cannot understand the limitations her team has and her manager doesn't seem to have enough bite to set client expectations right. She was saved by the bell recently as she had dialed the client to give her a piece of her mind, but her call went to voice mail. And that's when she called on us.

Explored her metaphor -- interestingly, she was in a room, open door on the left inviting her to get up from her desk and explore the land outside. The view was a bit de-focused at first, but then with a pair of imaginary binoculars, she was able to see trees and hills beyond. Behind her was the boss, standing between her and the client. Below her feet were vitrified tiles.

Got her to get up from her chair and take a step to the right. Immediately she felt so much lighter -- away from the computer that had been sitting in front of her. Got her to return to where she had started from and take a step to the left -- slowly moving towards the door. Three steps later, there was a voice inside her head on the right, cautioning her to have patience. This voice was soft, evenly paced and calming. There was another voice from the opposite side of her head, instigating her to fight for herself.

We played with the voices then -- exploring the submodalities of each. The louder, aggressive voice would cause her eye to twitch and the spin would find its way to her solar plexus and back up. Making the other voice on the right louder, but retaining the even pace calmed the spinning.

I expanded her metaphor using Andy's story about forts and how we build walls around ourselves thinking they'd protect, but like many armies that took refuge in forts were starved out by surrounding enemy forces, these walls we build can be detrimental. Then again, smarter warriors have bored tunnels to freedom. I began an induction and got her to grow up -- in strength, resources, confidence, faith in what she wanted .... and she was soon looking up and out of the room to vast landscapes.

We took all the learning and got her to picture herself in the near future, handling the client. She said she played with the voices ... causing the client's barking to bounce off her left side as she spoke calmly, much like the other voice in her head.

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