Once upon a time, far away, there was a place called Watertown.
In Watertown all the people lived on water.
Everyone, including the most important people, needed water to survive during the day.
There was a special person named Elmira who was responsible for getting the water during the day so all the people would have enough to drink.
This would give them lots of energy during the day to carry out all their duties properly.
   At night-time all the water was stored in a big tank, which had pipes coming from it to let any extra water out.
If there was more water than was needed by the townspeople during the day, then Elmira could let the water out through the pipes, and it went into a special place.
  All of a sudden, one night while Elmira was sleeping, the valves on the pipes started to breakdown, and water began to leak out.
When Elmira woke up there was water all over the place and none in the tank! There was no water left for the townspeople, and they became very upset.
As much as Elmira tried to gather enough water during the day, sure enough almost every night the water would leak out of the tank, and there would be none left for the townspeople the next day.
Since Elmira took her job very seriously, she knew she had to get help quickly.
Now Elmira knew that the real expert in how the water got in and out of the tank was the Special Chief Master Engineer named Calico Cat.
Calico Cat lived deep in the woods on the other side of town -- so off she set to find her.
It was a long journey, because Calico Cat had retired, and even though she knew more about the waterworks than anyone else, she had long since decided to live in her house deep in the forest, and hardly spoke to anyone.
At long last Elmira found Calico Cat.
"What shall I do?" she said, "The water for the townspeople is leaking out at night, and there is no water left for them during the day.
" Calico Cat thought long and hard.
Then she took out an old dusty book and began pawing through it, until at last she let out a big "Meow!! I have found it!".
Calico Cat explained to Elmira that the valves needed fixing, and she told Elmira how to do it.
Elmira was so relieved.
She trekked back through the forest, and worked along and hard through this very night to repair the valves.
The next day she collected all the water she needed for the day to feed the townspeople, and put what was left over in the waterworks holding tank.
Then she went to sleep easily and peacefully, knowing that she had completed her task.
The next day she woke up and discovered that her plan had worked.
The water had stayed in the tank all night long, and she had not lost a single drop! So the very next day she did not have to work so hard to collect more water, and she could let the townspeople have the water they need during the day, by opening the valves whenever she wanted.
And best of all, she could go to sleep at night, knowing that she would not lose any water during the night.
Once or twice she thought to herself that perhaps the valves might not work for very long, but days, weeks, and eventually months went by, and still the water stayed in the tank, and the townspeople had all the water they needed during the day.
  They were so happy, there was much celebration in Watertown for many months to come.
She was so thankful that she sent special message to Calico Cat to thank her for showing her how to stop the water from leaking out of the tank at night.
Calico Cat purred with delight.
Stories have been told since humans began to talk.
Their purpose can be everything from simple and light to meaningful and profound.
Milton Erikson, probably the foremost medical hypnotherapist of our time, used metaphor or stories to access the unconscious mind in order to help people make changes in their behavior.
Indeed, metaphor itself can often do just that.
It seems to by-pass the conscious mind, even when the receiver is in a 'normal', non-hypnotized state.
As an integrative medical doctor I am always looking for ways to help patients that are more natural and non-toxic than some of the modern medical approaches.
These stories were written with that in mind.
The one above is for enuresis or bed wetting in children, but adults with incontinence have responded as well.
The unconscious mind has no age barriers! Read the story out loud to another person or to yourself.
When you see the bold parts, emphasize these in the way you say them.
Your unconscious will pick up the suggestion only if it is appropriate for you.
The sit back and wait for the results!