The Mixtape

Progress, not perfection, the good ol' fashioned way

When I started to think about my hypnosis protocols or tracks, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to call them.

Because I am neurodivergent, I always forget something, I get distracted by another bright and shiny, or it doesn’t always come together as I visualize it in my mind. I used to get really upset about that. Always striving for perfection.

But over the last 5 years, I have gotten over it. I’ve embraced my authentic, sometimes messy, with a possible side quest style of not only expressing myself but actually getting things done/accomplished.

And now with the rise of inauthenticity on the socials and AI, I revel in my imperfection. So I wanted the title to reflect the mix of authenticity, imperfection, and the potential side quest or two. And what immediately came to mind was a mix tape.

For those of you too young to relish the joy of not only creating a mix tape, but actually recording songs off of the radio to have a personal sort of mix tape, let me take you on a journey….

Imagine that you do not have everything at your disposal with a simple click.

Imagine that you have to take a trip, sometimes to a more distant location, to obtain something you desire, like a song you recently heard on the radio. And then once you get to this place, you have to purchase it in order to actually obtain it, and once you do, the only way for you to share it with your friends is to invite them over to hear it, or let them borrow your copy, which means you don’t get to listen to it whenever you want.

But at the record store, you can buy a pack of six or eight blank cassettes for $10, and if you have a 2-cassette stereo at home, you can copy this song and any other songs you want to share with them onto one tape and give it to your friend.

As you are making this tape, you are doing it with so much intention, trying to mix the music to emulate a vibe, message, or feeling you are trying to evoke in the person receiving it. But you are doing this work manually, and you might have moments of silence, places where one song runs into the next, or even one that feels off of the vibe of the rest of the tape once you complete it, but the only way to erase it is to re-record the entire thing, and you just spent hours making this version.

So you decide to move forward, you draw some cute designs on your tape and your tape box, and name it something really cool. Then you put it in the front pocket of your backpack.

The next day, you connect with your recipient in the hallway and pass it to them in front of the lockers, as you excitedly explain all the reasons you love it and what you included, and why.

The energy of authenticity and connection that went into such a small plastic square is unparalleled, even in its subtle imperfections. It’s a one-of-a-kind gift, given from your heart to theirs.

That is the energy that is going into these “tracks.” As a witch, I believe intention is everything, even down to the name of it. The title you place on everything matters.

And so once I embraced the title, I let go of the need to perfect, or emulate any other hypnotist’s style or flow as I began to record my first mix tape. I wrote the protocol, I recorded it, and I just started using it.

Here we are on day 3 or 4? I’m not sure this week has kinda been a little blurry… but what I have already noticed has been pretty astounding.

I specifically programmed it to start sharing about my journey and about hypnosis. This is the third time I have spoken about this since the first time I listened to the track.

I put specific language in there to brighten and illuminate the best-case scenario, and suddenly, almost every single time I have had a situation or a thought that would normally induce anxiety or fear, a more positive inner-dialogue has replaced the former track. Not exactly the specific goal of the mix tape, but it’s data. That illuminates the connection between this tape and all the other tapes that normally run. Which is only going to make the next mixtape better.

Additionally, I have created multiple other arms of support around this goal without even thinking about it, reinforcing the purpose of the mix tape and strengthening the progress.

This process has felt like a ritual, assembling all the ingredients, writing the incantation, performing the rite, noting the observations, and planning the follow-through or how the magic continues forward beyond the spell.✨💋