The Stutz Tools from Jonah Hill’s New Documentary: Part Two

The Work 

As we covered in Part One, Phil Stutz explains to Jonah Hill during the documentary that before using the tools, one must come to accept three things:

• The reality 
• The life force
• Part X

Then, once you’ve come to grips with these key things, you can begin to understand: 

• The string of pearls 
• The shadow
• The snapshot
• The maze 

If you haven’t already read our Part One blog about these, now’s the time. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to get on to: The work. 

As Hill explains in his documentary, which is partly a look at his own experience with the tools, the process to recovery isn’t linear. It’s also never over, and the work will need to continue for the rest of your life. Don’t let that discourage you, for in the work, is where you’ll find peace, acceptance, and self-love. Far from the wishy-washy advice that you might be expecting (thanks, in large part, to Hollywood’s depiction of therapy in movies and TV), the work involves real, actionable steps to making change. The key, Stutz explains, is in actually taking steps, rather than just reflecting on things in a therapist-to-client talking scenario. Although talking is an important part of therapy, Jonah Hill explains how he always found it frustrating when therapists would simply ask ‘how does that make you feel’ without giving any real, actionable, advice for how to change things. That all changed when he met Phil Stutz. 

Active love: The work starts with active love – this is, imagining the whole universe filled with love. Actually close your eyes and visualize all of this love being absorbed into your physical body. Then, emit that love onto another person or a negative experience that you feel has wronged you. For many, this can be difficult. We want to hate the ones who’ve wronged us, not love them. But as Stutz says, do you want to be right, or do you want to create something new? Go ahead and try it yourself. Practice and progress over perfection, always. So don’t worry if you find it hard at first. 

Radical acceptance: Stutz tells Hill that radical acceptance is the opposite and the antidote to judgement: Of oneself and of others. Radical acceptance doesn’t mean approval, but rather, accepting yourself, the world, and others for what they are. Instead of being full of rage over who you are, what you are, or how someone else is, practice accepting things as they are. That includes yourself. 

The grateful flow: You can think about your unhappiness as a dark cloud that blocks out the sun. Letting the light through involves practicing gratitude. It helps us to break through the maze (more about that in Part One) and creating concentrated gratitude within yourself. It’s very difficult to be both negative and grateful at the same time. Fill your mind with gratitude and it’s very difficult for that dark cloud to remain.

Loss processing: If you’ve ever studied meditation or are familiar with some of the teachings of Buddhism, this might be a familiar concept to you. Loss processing is about practicing non-attachment. Many of us have trouble processing grief and loss, and that can make us fearful of pursuing the things we want. Stutz says we must fearlessly pursue the things we want, but accept and be totally unafraid to let them go. He says to imagine yourself hanging onto a branch. When you let go, you fall gently. Imagine your body falls to the surface of the sun, disappears, and is absorbed by the sun’s tremendous energy. At this point, imagine you’re transformed into light – you’re everywhere and can expand as quickly as you like. Instead of grasping onto something, all you can do is give, give, give light!

The tools and our approach 

You might be wondering, do I have to use the tools alone, or can I work with my counsellor on them? At Integrated Health Specialists, our approach aligns very well with Phil Stutz’s tools. In fact, his person-centered approach (the idea that you hold the key to your life and to changing it) and practical tools perfectly align with our results-focused approach to therapy. 

At Integrated Health Specialists, we believe in giving you real, actionable tools and strategies that can make an immediate impact on how you feel. With these tools, you’re equipped to take control over your life and tackle the things that you’ve been struggling with. We don’t believe in endlessly rehashing what’s wrong, focusing forever on the past. Rather, we help you get to the bottom of your struggles and then begin working on solutions and action steps to make real change. 

“Our aim is to guide, support, and empower you to identify practical solutions and implement the best strategies to assist you to overcome some of life’s challenges, and for you to experience significant changes quickly.” 

We utilise a range of therapies, understanding that each of our clients is different and will respond differently to different types of therapy. If Phil Stutz’s tools appeal to you, you’ll find that these work extremely well alongside our approach. We also specialise in Hypnotherapy, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Life Coaching, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) and more. So, no matter what you’re struggling with, we can explore tools that will help you to tackle these challenges and begin leading a life you love. 

For more information about how we can begin your journey to recovery, and how the tools from Phil Stutz align with our approach, book an appointment today. 

 

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