Chat Wednesday 9 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time




Free Group Phone Counseling With Capt Tom Wednesday 10 PM - 11 PM Eastern Time


  • dial (712) 432-3900


  • when asked to enter the conference ID 9352101 followed by the # sign




==========




Sullenberger Speaks Out On The Future Of Air Safety

 

Last year alone, more than 6,000 commercial pilots were either furloughed or permanently laid off. Interviewed last week on CBS, Katie Couric asked, "What effect do you
think that is having on the industry itself and on the people's it's
attracting?"

 

Sullenberger said, "I don't know a single professional pilot who would recommend that their children follow in their footsteps," he said. There was a time when airline pilot was a coveted job - glamorous, respected, with plenty of benefits.



But now: "The airline employees have been hit by an economic tsunami. Pay cuts, loss of pensions, increased hours every day, days per week, days per month. It's a heavy burden. I know some of our pilots, who have been laid off, have chosen not to return. I can speak personally, for me and my family, that my decision to remain in this profession that I love has come at a cost to me and my family."



He continued saying that five years ago he and the rest of his fellow pilots at US Airways gave back almost $6.8 billion in pension, wages and other concessions, to keep the airline flying.



In 1992, roughly 90 percent of those hired by major carriers had flown for the military. By last year, fewer than 30 percent had.



Couric asked, "Are you concerned that that means if another situation like this one comes up in the future, you won't have as qualified a pilot flying the plane?"



"That just follows doesn't it?" Sullenberger said.



When contacted about Sullenberger's concerns, the Air Transport Association, which represents the principle U.S. carriers, had no comment.




More on the interview at this link.



 

==========

 

It's All In Your Mind's Eye


 


It is more than easy, when focused on a media report, to create something in your mind's eye which passes for reality but has little connection to it. 


 

Here's what one reader suggested. "I live in NY, and it was reported in our newspapers that it was the first time in 45 years of a reported 'double bird' hit that took out both engines, proving that nothing is 100% safe. But that means millions and millions of passengers flew safely without incident prior to the one yesterday, and that incident ended with everyone safe also. Staying in reality, not letting your imagination run wild, is key to . . .  confidence to continue to fly."

 


Remember the game of "telephone" in which one person whispers a message to a person who relays it to the next, etc. The message gets distorted. Media reports are similarly distorted when reporters, who were not there, gather impressions from people who were in the area, but not there. Based on impressions, guesses, and imagination, reporters come up with a story. Editors, having nothing else to offer, make the stories public.

 

You use the media report to produce something in your mind's eye. Obviously, since your mind's eye was not there at the event as an eye witness, what is created in your mind will be distorted. But since the distortion was produced while focusing on a media report of a event, it will - most likely - be recorded in your mind as fact. You will think, "that really happened", never recognizing the "that" was imagination - not reality. An accident happened, yes, but the "that" you produced, didn't happen.


 

This leads to how you traumatize yourself - not out in the world - but right there in your own home. You link the most awful experience you can produce via fantasy with a media account. For example,  after 9/11, I treated two people who were in the World Trade Center towers when they were hit. Both were traumatized, but neither was as traumatized as people I treated who merely watched on television. Those watching on television were traumatized through imagining what it was like for people in the WTC towers.

 

Amazingly, some people watching on television were able to put themselves through a more traumatizing experience via imagination than the WTC was able to put people through who were inside. Those inside the WTC dealt with reality. Some watching telelvision, produced a more traumatizing experience based on imagination.


 

Something similar happens with fear of flying. People imagine what it is like to be on a plane that crashes. And, when they do, they make up something as extreme as their imagination can produce. What they produce through their vivid imagination is more intense than what people experience when facing death.


 

For example, if you view the video at www.fearofflying.com/video_hs.shtml you will hear about the experience of a lawyer who, when facing at truly life-threatening experience found it only - on a scale of zero to ten - took him to a "two". But the day after, when he imagined what had happened, plus what might have happened, he went to a "ten".


 

In response to my newsletter last week on why anxious fliers should avoid imagination, I received an email asking if I thought such and such happened. I replied that conjecture is a form of imagination. 

 

When anxious, it is easy to search for some form of control. The search for control results in conjecture. Conjecture causes images of disaster to register in your mind. When conjecture continues, these images become memorized. Both because they are memorized - and because they are regarded as what may have happened - they form the basis for psychic equivalence in which what is in the mind and reality seem to be one and the same.


 

As a result, flying and terror become one and the same. No doubt people have told you, "It's all in your mind!" Well, yes. Of course. You saw it in your mind's eye. Seeing is believing. So how could it not end up in your mind, erroneous or not?


 

If it is in your mind, how do you get it out? The SOAR Program is designed to "get it out" by correcting the erroneous thinking built up over years about aviation by giving you the complete story on how flying works. Once we have that in place, we can teach you how to stop high anxiety and panic when you fly, and even "install the software" that permits you to fly without high anxiety and without panic.


 


==========

 

An Example Of The Difference After The SOAR Course.


 

Hi Tom,



Just wanted you to know, that having gone through the SOAR Course, this accident didn't bother me any more than hearing of a vehicle accident. . . . Things happen - it's part of life. My family is amazed. I am not. I am a different person when it comes to flying thanks to you and your fantastic course.  I only hope that others with flying fears can reach this point.  It is truly liberating.



Five years ago I was to fly with my husband for a conference and stay at a very expensive hotel. I backed out.
 

In November, we flew to San Juan for a thirty-fifth anniversary cruise. We cruised out of San Juan. In Dominica they have a 90 minute aerial tram through the rain forest canopy. I was excited to go on this shore excursion.  We even got off the tram 1/2 way through the journey and walked across a suspension bridge, 350 feet over the gorge. I never gave it a second thought. Even leaned over and looked down. It wasn't until after we got back to the ship my husband mentioned how in the past I would have never taken that excursion or gotten off the tram to cross the bridge had I actually taken the tram. That had never occurred to me.  It was then that I realized how much your course has influenced other areas of my life.  What a feeling!  I have missed out on so much in my life, but no more.  You only go around once!  My eternal thanks to you.

 



==========



SOAR Will Work For You




SOAR was established in 1982 because no programs existed that could help people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.




  • Call me at 877 332-7359 between 10 AM and 6 PM Eastern time or

  • Set up a time online at http://soar.genbook.com

  • No Charge. No Obligation. Just get the information you want.



Or Enroll Right Now And Get This Over With



You will feel better as soon as you make the decision.







  • The full length SOAR Video Course on 11 DVDs provides the maximum help possible.

  • More info.



Accelerated Courses

Flying tomorrow or the day after? Be ready to fly in 90 minutes with Rapid Relief.


Flying in three to ten days? Get comprehensive help with SOAR Complete Relief.



  • Accelerated courses give you the most help possible in the time you have available.

  • A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.

  • What you pay is 100% transferable to the SOAR Video Course 11 DVDs.


Start viewing on your computer screen in two minutes.




  • Get a compact version of the SOAR Course.

  • Load it on your laptop, iPod or other media player. More info.


==========

Unsure Which To Choose


If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.


We are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you have a question or a concern.


 

==========

 

Metacognition


 

Cognition means thinking. Metacognition is thinking about thinking. For example, examining your thinking for accuracy. One of the ways the SOAR Program helps is to increase your ability to use your metacognition. Since emotions get in the way of cognition, you need automatic control of emotion to think clearly and to critique your thinking.


 

Here is an article about the role metacognition played in Captain Sullenberger's superb performance.


 

==========



Patrick's Column

 

This week, it's how to build the perfect air terminal. Read it here.






==========




Discuss Or Schedule An Individual Session -- Call 877 332-7359



Call between 11 AM and 6 PM Eastern Time (same time zone as New York)



You'll reach me easily. The toll-free number rings my cell phone.



  • find out how I can help you with flying

  • discuss the possibility of a counseling session

  • set up a time that fits your schedule


Outside the U.S. and Canada call 203 258-4803



  • a twenty-minute session is $60.00 if not enrolled in a course.

  • one twenty-minute session is free if enrolled in any course.

  • additional twenty-minute sessions are $60.00.

  • two one-hour sessions are included in the SOAR Guaranteed Program


Schedule An Individual Session Online



Note: Times Listed Are Eastern Time (same as New York)