Rapid Transformation Therapist® & Coach Karen Ross

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:14] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this morning. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Karen Ross Now, the lady herself, Ms Karen Ross. How are you?

Karen Ross: [00:00:33] I’m well, thank you very much, Stone, for welcoming me. Appreciate it.

Stone Payton: [00:00:38] Well, we are delighted to have you on the show. I’ve really been looking forward to this conversation and I’m thinking maybe a great place to start would be if you could share with me and our listeners mission, purpose. What are what are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Karen Ross: [00:00:56] Well, what I’m doing and I. I steer away from the word try because I hope to succeed each time. I know that we don’t always. But to bring people some freedom, whether it’s emotional freedom, mental freedom, and sometimes freedom from physical pain. And the method that we use is hypnosis and coaching, which some would consider similar to therapy, but I see it as a little bit different. But the real basis is hypnosis and tapping into accessing the subconscious mind, which is so much more powerful than most people. Give it credit.

Stone Payton: [00:01:45] Well, I got to tell you, my experience base with hypnosis is almost nonexistent. I in junior college, I feel like maybe we saw an entertainer come and do some kind of hypnotic thing on stage. And of course, I see it in some storylines. When Holly and I settled down to watch Netflix or Prime Video. But tell me a little bit more about how that integrates with the with the coaching, if you would.

Karen Ross: [00:02:12] Okay. Well, I love that question because I often ask and I would have asked you that next if you hadn’t anticipated first what you knew about hypnosis. And most people say that only what they’ve seen in movies or they tell of an experience like you just shared, they were in some kind of a setting where there was a stage hypnotist. And that’s exactly what that kind of hypnosis is referred is called is stage hypnosis. And it’s very different from from what I do.

[00:02:46] There’s nothing wrong with it. I mean, it’s entertaining. I happen not to like it when they make people look silly and, you know, do things that they just normally would not do. I’m not crazy about that approach, but nevertheless, there’s a place for that. But what I’m talking about is very serious hypnosis that, as I mentioned, accesses the subconscious mind and can bring about healing and freedom. But I think it might be best if to fully understand hypnosis. And what I might do in a coaching setting is if everybody listening would want to take just a couple of minutes and I’ll give you a taste of what hypnosis might feel like. That okay with you? Stone Oh, I think it’s fantastic. I’m in. Okay, let’s do it. Let’s do it. So all I would ask you to do is to close your eyes, to be very, very comfortable. Just relax. Just take a deep breath.

Karen Ross: [00:03:47] You take another deep breath. Just feel your whole body giving way. Just totally relaxing from head to toe. And if there’s an area that feels a little tight, tighten it up even more and then let it go. And it’s a wonderful feeling of release. When we can do that with a part of our body. So in that state, I want you just to picture standing at your kitchen counter. And on the counter is a large, plump, bright yellow lemon. Sitting next to it is a cutting board and a very, very sharp knife. Now pick up the lemon with your non-dominant hand and place it on the cutting board. When you pick up the lemon and you squeeze it ever so slightly, you notice that it has some give and that tells you it is full of juice. To lay that lemon on the cutting board. And with that very sharp knife, cut the lemon in half. And as you cut juice from the lemon just oozes out onto the cutting bowl. Now pick up one half of the lemon. Hold it up to your nose and breathe in the fresh, pure scent of lemon. Now, most, if not all of us will notice saliva starting to form in the back of our mouth. Even if you don’t particularly like the smell of lemon that is happening. So now just set the lemon down on the cutting board. Step back. Swallow. You probably feel like you want to swallow. Take a deep breath and. And open your eyes. Now, we all know there was no lemon, no cutting board, no knife. And yet. My guess is that most everyone noticed saliva forming in your mouth. And if I’m with a group of people, I ask that question and I’m going to say usually 100% of the audience raises their hand that they definitely felt saliva forming in the back of their mouth. Well, that is the power of the subconscious mind. So what did you think of that? Stone Well.

Stone Payton: [00:06:15] First of all, I would have raised my hand because I definitely did. And the other thing is, even before we got there, when you said if there’s an area that’s tight, you know, tighten it even more and let it go. That’s what I did with my lower right leg. And you’re right, you feel the the pleasure of that release. And I thought, wow, this is a great way to relax. You just I should just get on the phone every morning with Karen just to start my day.

Karen Ross: [00:06:39] Sounds like a plan. Sounds like a plan. Well, let me just explain a little bit of what happens. I think most people, they we may not give it a lot of attention, but most people acknowledge that we have a conscious mind and we have a subconscious mind, and our conscious mind can accept, reject or ignore any of the information that it receives. And we’ve got information coming into the conscious mind all the time. But it’s our thinking mind, it’s practical, it’s analytical, and oh my God, is it noisy? I mean, it never stops talking to us and usually it’s judging us, or it might be judging others and sometimes it can be pretty mean. But I’ve heard that voice sometimes, and I don’t like the way it sounds. But here’s the thing. Our subconscious mind, on the other hand, can only accept. So this is where our beliefs live. And they’re based on information that at some time was received through the conscious mind. But our subconscious mind takes things very literally. It doesn’t think, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t think between the lines and it doesn’t make judgments. So most of us want to do things differently. That’s typically why people come to me.

Karen Ross: [00:08:04] They they want to experience a change in their life or they’re doing some things that they know don’t serve them. And we often find that that creates a feeling of anxiety, overwhelming, and sometimes reaches a point of just actually feeling kind of scared. So what I do is I help people What we did with that lemon, we bypassed the conscious mind. We set the conscious mind aside. We didn’t allow it to say, there’s no lemon there. You don’t see any lemon juice. But we access the subconscious mind and proved just how powerful it is so the subconscious mind can reveal information to us. As I mentioned, that’s where our beliefs live. And they may have been formed when we were a child or or maybe two years ago. We formed a new belief and they rest in the subconscious mind. Well, if it’s a belief that’s not serving us very well, we can find that belief and get rid of it fairly quickly with hypnosis. And sometimes some additional coaching is helpful if it’s a long standing belief that’s been there since childhood, it may take a little bit of extra effort and I’m here to help people do that.

Stone Payton: [00:09:27] Well, I got to know the backstory. How in the world did you find yourself in this line of work?

Karen Ross: [00:09:34] Oh, boy, That’s a pretty convoluted answer and I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible. But I’ll throw in there that my father was a psychologist, and first he was a pastor. So I grew up as what’s called a PK, a preacher’s kid. And but he was always, as I recall him, he was always more aggressive. And he was an out-of-the-box thinker. He was always exploring and he was always into understanding the mind and how the mind worked. And so he went on to get his doctorate degree in psychology and in his practice, he often used hypnosis. Well, fast forward many, many years, but I was always fascinated by the things that he was doing and the people he spent time with. And my life went in a completely different direction. And I was in business for many years. Um, had a radio show in Chicago for about ten years. So I love doing this. And what I remember most though, is being in your position asking the questions. But I do love being in this in this atmosphere again. But about ten years ago, my radio career came to an end. And as you may know, that’s a very fickle industry. You can be on the air one day and off the next because of the whims of radio station owners. And I was at a real crossroads. So I hired a personal coach to help me figure out what do I do next. And that’s where my coaching career began. And then about five years into coaching, I learned about some programs that were based on hypnosis and felt like that was a missing link for me, that that was what I needed to add to what I was doing. So I proceeded to get various trainings in hypnosis based programs and have now found that it’s just a wonderful combination. And and there aren’t that many people you’re going to find hypnotherapists and you’re going to find coaches. Um, but there there don’t seem to be that many people who have combined the two. And I find it a wonderful joint joint venture, if you will, of the two.

Stone Payton: [00:12:03] So at this point, what are you finding the most rewarding about the work? What are you enjoying the most?

Karen Ross: [00:12:11] I enjoy the seeing the light bulb go on. I do all of my work online, which some people find surprising, and one of the things they say is you can hypnotize somebody online. And that would bring me to explaining very quickly that hypnosis is not some of the things people are afraid of. We talked about the stage hypnosis. They’re afraid that they they might be put in a position to act silly or do something they wouldn’t normally do. When one is in hypnosis, they are merely deeply, deeply relaxed. They’re very focused and they are always, always in total control. And I see a lot of people just take a deep breath of relief when they hear that, because that’s what they seem to be concerned about, that they’re going to be out of control and someone else is taking control of their mind. That is not the case at all. So when what gives me joy is seeing someone’s face light up when they fought, when we finally make a connection with a belief, with something that happened in their life that explains what they’re going through, whether it’s an emotional issue, I mentioned physical pain. It’s amazing. People who have had some physical pain for many, many years and have tried everything from conventional medicine to alternative therapies. And we find an underlying belief that caused them to believe they needed to suffer. And when they. See that understanding and realize the connection. It’s just. Very joyful to see that shift in people and for them to know that there is an answer and that they can move forward. A different approach to life.

Stone Payton: [00:14:20] So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a practitioner like you, a business like yours? Do you have to market differently than than other coaches and consultants? What is that like for you?

Karen Ross: [00:14:35] I don’t know that we have to do it differently, but. Guess we have to do it. And I have to say, it’s my least favorite part of the whole thing. You know, I want to be doing the work. I want to be working with people and helping them heal and helping them move forward. So when I have to, I feel like sales and marketing is very, very different than that. And maybe that’s my problem, that maybe I need to see the sales and marketing from a different perspective. And, and I, I, I work at that, frankly. Um, but yeah, it’s just being out there and, and I have to say that, um, that certainly the, the coaching industry has just grown phenomenally. Um, it, it’s still a un um, oh, what’s the word? I’m missing the word. Um, you don’t have to be licensed to be a coach and somebody can take a, a weekend course and call themselves a coach and some people may be very good at that and then others may not. Um, I spent over a year in a very, very in depth coaching training that was rated very high in the industry. And so it depends on on how you do that. Now, hypnotherapy is a different subject. I think you really want to know. People have been trained in some very accredited programs. Um. But I guess the point I was making is that the coaching industry itself has become very, very competitive, very competitive. And putting the two together and with hypnosis is. Challenging from the standpoint of just reaching the right people who are going to say, that’s what I need.

Stone Payton: [00:16:34] Well, I’ll tell you what, it sounds like a marvelous combination to me. And you’ve alleviated one of my preconceived notions or where my mind would be initially if I were entertaining the idea of engaging a coach that employed hypnosis as part of their practice. Because I too, have always operated under the impression that I would run the risk of losing control. And man, I do not want to lose control.

Karen Ross: [00:17:01] I don’t either. And I’ll tell you the truth. People who have the biggest issue with that losing control and it would be high performing people like you or top level executives and high level successful entrepreneurs. Um, I teach them self hypnosis. You know, they they don’t have to have me. So that also gives you a, um, an assurance that nobody else is taking control of your mind. And you can actually learn to put yourself into a deep state of relaxation and focus and gain some of the same benefits that we might that you would have in our doing a session together.

Stone Payton: [00:17:48] Yeah. All right. I’m going to shift gears on you for a moment and talk to you a little bit or ask about passions outside the scope of your typical work. Is there anything else you have a tendency to nerd out about and dive into that really is completely outside of out of this hypnosis and coaching work?

Karen Ross: [00:18:09] I know that I nerd into. I know what what I thoroughly enjoy is. Uh, which sounds kind of superficial when you make the comparison, but I love being entertained. I live in Chicago. We have a fantastic theater world here. I love attending stage shows. I love going to movies. I was so glad when, um, when the pandemic was over to the point that theaters were open again. Yeah, I know I can watch stuff on my TV here, but there’s something about sitting in the theater having the lights go off and you know that big screen. I just love the experience and I love dining out. And, you know, it might be Portillo’s Hot Dogs here in Chicago or it may be, you know, a top rated upscale restaurant. I’d be happy if I ate out almost every night, so.

Stone Payton: [00:19:04] Well, you’re in the perfect place, Chicago. The greater Chicago area is such a vibrant community. For a brief time, Holly and I lived in a suburb, Naperville. You know, the little river running through there. And we just thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I’m kind of a weather sissy, and it was a little chilly for me part of the year. But other than that, what a marvelous place to live. If you enjoy theater and movies and live entertainment. Well, I’m glad I asked. All right. Before we wrap, I wonder if you could share with us a couple of use cases or maybe an example. And you don’t have to name any names, but of someone you had an opportunity to work with and you helped them make some real progress in this regard. And maybe along with, I don’t know, a pro tip or two for those of us that are open minded to this, if nothing else, at least to try a little bit of self hypnosis, just to get the get the ball rolling.

Karen Ross: [00:20:01] Sure, sure. Well, I you know, I could share any number of cases where the the issue was more on the emotional mental situation. But I’m going to give an example of a physical situation because I think it’s pretty amazing. And this is one where a a woman had been through chemotherapy for breast cancer. He came through that whole process beautifully. She was cancer free in so many ways. She was just doing so well. And she was in a state of deep gratitude and and so on. But she was left with neuropathy in her hands and feet. And I didn’t know until having this experience with her that that is somewhat common with a certain type of chemotherapy. But I also understand that diabetics deal with neuropathy and it can be caused by any number of things. But she was telling me that the doctors said she would probably have that condition the rest of her life. Well, she had a brand new grandbaby and she said, I don’t feel comfortable carrying him around, especially up and down stairs. So I’m never quite sure where my feet are going to land. And so you can imagine what a terrible situation that would be for someone who just wants to cuddle and take care of their grandchild. And I said, Well, how do you feel about the doctor saying you’re going to have that the rest of your life? Well, obviously, she she believed them as as most of us tend to do when our doctors tell us something. And I said, well, I can’t make any guarantees, but are you willing to try something? And so we went.

Karen Ross: [00:21:55] She and yes, she was eager to try something else. Now, here was a case where we didn’t have to go back and find a belief that caused the neuropathy. We we knew exactly where it came from. But based on that and my getting an understanding of exactly what she was experiencing, I put together a hypnosis recording for her and this is another part of the process, is that I develop and create a personalized recording for the individual that I ask them to listen to faithfully every day. Most people listen as they go to bed at night or as they go to sleep because the the subconscious is really, really focused at that time. But anyway, she followed my direction. She listened to the recording very faithfully, and I think she continued to listen beyond 21 days or whatever I suggested, and she was neuropathy free. So that to me is miraculous. I mean, it sounds miraculous and I think it is. Needless to say, she was thrilled and that kind of thing can happen. I mentioned or I may have mentioned, a woman who had suffered physical pain throughout her body for almost all of her adult life. And that was the case where we did find. A circumstance, an event that took place when she was a child and she formed the belief that she should have done something and she should have prevented the event from happening and therefore she deserved to suffer.

Karen Ross: [00:23:32] That is the way a child’s mind might work. But it can form a belief that becomes so deep seated it follows one into adulthood. So those are a couple of examples. You asked what can we do on on our own? And, you know, without going into a full scale situation, that I would obviously do with a client, But I can suggest that people really get to understand the the impact of deep, deep relaxation. And you can learn to put yourself in that state. And as you mentioned, if you had some tension in a part of your body and your leg, you know, some of us hold tremendous tension in our shoulders, our neck. Yeah. You know, we we all have our own place. And if we can learn to focus on that area and just let it go, just release it and you can run down your body and just totally relax your entire body and. And then you can have a conversation with your subconscious and tell your subconscious things that you want to change. And, you know, you can even say, if I have some hidden or if I’m unaware of some belief I formed helped me release that and help me to see this in a new perspective. And our subconscious is there to, as I mentioned, reveal to us information that’s helpful, but it’s also there to serve us. And when we learn to access it and use it, it’s can be a real game changer.

Stone Payton: [00:25:16] Well, I’ll tell you, it seems like there are so many practical applications for your work and a lot of them reside right here in the entrepreneurial professional services community. There’s so many of us that would benefit greatly with what sounds like a very modest investment of time, energy and resources in comparison to the to the the ROI. I’ll just say it ROI, the return on that investment, the work you’re doing is marvelous. And I am so glad we’ve had an opportunity to visit a little bit about it. If someone would like to reach out and have a more substantive conversation with you or begin to tap into your work in some way, what is the best way for them to to connect and do that?

Karen Ross: [00:26:02] Oh, thank you for asking that. And and before I give that information, let me just mention briefly that I love working with businesspeople and entrepreneurs, executives. And sometimes people can be very high functioning peak performance people, but they just have this sense that their mental edge is slipping a little bit. I can help them get that back. One of the certifications I got was in a program called Attitude of a Champion. Well, I can help people get their champion attitude back if they feel like it’s slipping a little bit. So I’d love talking to people who are in business and that’s where they’re experiencing something they’d like to change. And they can just go to my website, which is very simple. Karen Ross now.com and or they can email me at info at Karen rosner.com and would just love to have of course a complimentary initial conversation with somebody to determine if we’re a good fit.

Stone Payton: [00:27:11] Well, Karen, it has been an absolute delight having you on the show this morning. Thank you for investing the time and energy to share your perspective and your experience base and keep up the good work. The work you’re doing is important and and know that. We sure appreciate you.

Karen Ross: [00:27:28] Well, thank you. I appreciate your invitation to be here. I’ve appreciated the and enjoyed the experience. So thank you, Stone.

Stone Payton: [00:27:37] Absolutely. My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Karen Ross and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.