AoE #28 - Creativity, Changework and Life with Bill O'Hanlon
Agents of Everything with James Tripp
The Living Legacy of Erickson in Modern Practice
This chapter explores the deep connection between Steve Gilligan and Milton Erickson, focusing on their similar approaches and styles. It highlights the transformative power of experiencing Gilligan's workshops firsthand, demonstrating that live interactions foster a deeper understanding of his work compared to reading about it.
🎙️Episode 28: Creativity, Changework and Life with Bill O'Hanlon 🎧
In this episode I am in conversation with the magnificent Bill O'Hanlon. Bill is amongst tother things a songwriter, a retired psychotherapist (of some note), author of over 40 books and expert analyst of the work of Milton H. Erickson. Together here we embark on a journey through themes of therapy, hypnosis, music composition, and the profound impact of embracing creativity and uncertainty in both ones professional and personal lives.
Our conversation spans various topics, ranging from the philosophical aspects of Ericksonian hypnosis to the importance of flexibility and improvisation in coaching, therapy and changework. Bill also shares his experiences as a professional songwriter…
…and emphasizes the spiritual and creative aspects of his work, comparing it to poetry and underlining the absence of formulas in his approach to changework. Beyond this we also explore the challenges of writing books and the discipline required to overcome procrastination and perfectionism… and so much more!
More about Bill at: https://www.billohanlon.org/🔍 Episode Contents:
Topic: Changework: Philosophy and Appraoch
- Danger of therapists assuming expertise and knowing what's deeply hidden to the client
- Value of humility and uncertainty in therapeutic approaches
- Comparison of strategic versus formulaic approaches to therapy
- Importance of dialogue and serendipity in therapy/changework
- Questioning ‘diagnostic labeling’
- Distinction between diagnostic and dialogic approaches
- Co-creation and responsiveness in dealing with complex systems
- Impact of Milton Erickson's approach to the unconscious mind
Topic: Creativity, Motivation and Changework
- Bill O'Hanlon's four energies concept - blissed, blessed, pissed, and dissed
- Driven to change the world due to dissatisfaction with the status quo
- Comparison of change work to poetry and the importance of creative engagement
- Importance of personalization and improvisation in therapy
- The role of creativity in change work
- The role of motivation in change work
Topic: Hypnosis
- Use of permissive language and passive voice in hypnosis
- Emphasis on permissive and non-controlling language in hypnosis
- Philosophical and experiential aspects of Ericksonian hypnosis
- Impact of immersion in the philosophy of Erickson on overall approach to life
- The healing value of permissive, inclusive hypnosis and permission giving
- Some thoughts on NLP
Topic: Creativity, Books, Music and Songwriting
- The creative and spiritual aspect of Bill O'Hanlon's songwriting
- Importance of putting creative work out into the world
- Overcoming procrastination and perfectionism in creative endeavors
- Balance between enjoying the creative process and strategically pursuing opportunities
- Challenges of writing books compared to other creative endeavors
- Devotion to writing influenced by passion for communication and positive change
- The challenging process of writing a book and overcoming procrastination
Topic: Personal Growth and Life Philosophy
- The significance of collaboration and co-creation in therapy and creative endeavors
- Importance of embracing both yin and yang in life
- Finding a balance between extremes in life
- Influence of past experiences on making positive changes in the world
- Steven Gilligan and embodiment of Ericksonian spirit
- Rossi and Erickson
Topic: Production of Creative Work
Sub-topics:
- Bill O'Hanlon's journey of getting his songs recorded and out into the world
- Balancing enjoying the creative process with strategic pursuit of opportunities
- Importance of overcoming procrastination and perfectionism in creative work
- Discipline and motivation to write and create music
- Overcoming perfectionism and procrastination in writing and creative work
- Impact of contracts with deadlines and payments on motivation to writeAs always, I hope you get much goodness from this episode of Agents of Everything - if you do and would like to deepen your engagement, please consider joining the Agents of Everything Nexus - a Live monthly open frame mentoring call plus ongoing license to ask me anything plus access to the nexus resource library (over 270 sessions on creating yourself as a creator of a life that you love).
All the very best
James Tripp
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamestripp.substack.com
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