Friday, October 26, 2007

Wake up!

Someone told me at a presentation I was doing Tuesday evening at SPC, that hypnosis was shown on a recent episode of The Office. Someone was hypnotized, in his own home and the hypnotist had a heart attack and was taken away. This left the person in trance. And on TV, they showed that he sat there for several days, in trance and didn’t respond to his alarm clock or anything around him. TV can be such a great educational tool, but they are usually way off base when they show hypnotism. For example, this episode of The Office shows that the myth about people getting stuck in hypnosis and not being able to awaken as a possibility. I have been taught that this is impossible and have been told that hypnosis will transition to natural sleep if the person is not awakened. As a hypnotist I have found this to be true. I have seen some clients fall asleep and many have told me they listen to recorded sessions and then fall asleep at night. Sleep is not the same as hypnosis. Sleeping people do not hear or respond to instructions. Some clients do start to fall asleep, but usually come back to the trance state, and may go in and out for awhile, but if they open their eyes I when I suggest that they return to the normal waking state and they do, I know they were not sleeping. But sleep is not dangerous and people will wake up if they need to use the bathroom, or feel hungry, or there is a loud noise. If you awaken every morning to the ring of an alarm clock, you have already programmed yourself to respond to this cue and it would be unlikely that you would ignore it even if in trance.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hypnosis on TV

I finally saw it! The Mythbusters episode about hypnosis! They try to explode 2 myths about hypnosis. It’s funny, I have met the hypnotist who did the first segment, Seth. The first segment was an effort to see if someone will do something against their will, ethics or morals. They decided to hypnotize one of their staff and see if he would damage some of his own beloved technological equipment. Seth gave him 2 post-hypnotic suggestions to follow the next day. Both of them failed. When the person heard or saw the cues, he did not follow the suggestion, but broke out laughing instead. He said he knew what they wanted him to do, but he didn’t feel compelled to do it, not even to jump up and down when someone yawned. But he definitely wasn’t going to deface his favorite robot. Just for good measure they tried it with another staff member who wanted to use hypnosis to stop chewing on the tops of her pens. Seth hypnotized her and they didn’t show the parts where she gave her instructions about keeping the pen away from her mouth, but they did show her attempt to give a posthypnotic suggestion. The person opened her eyes and said I didn’t agree to this! This is trickery! Of course she works for the Mythbusters, and may have been suspicious when they offered her a free hypnosis session as part of their research. This confirmed the “myth” that you can’t be forced to do something against your will.

The next segment explored the “myth” that hypnosis can enhance memory, possibly for the purpose of a criminal investigation. They hired 2 actors to come in and start an altercation with the 2 featured players on the show. The other 3 who were involved in the first segment… Why can’t I remember their names? Wait, let me do a little memory-enhancing hypnosis. OK, Grant, Tory, and Kari answered questions in writing about the incident after it happened and they were told it had been staged for this purpose. Then another hypnotist came in and hypnotized the 3 of them as a group and instructed them to remember the incident, visualize it in their minds, and imagine that they can rewind, fast forward, or use slow motion to retrieve the details. He asked them each question on the form and instructed them to write their answers. And when the form was completed he aroused them from trance. All 3 of them remembered more details. And what they remembered was accurate! One remembered a name, the other remembered a tattoo, and the other remembered the dialog, almost word for word. The first 2 details would definitely be helpful in a criminal investigation, so They concluded that hypnosis can enhance memory. I am very pleased they revealed this to the public, even though their explanation of hypnosis was cursory. And they confirmed the information I was given by a former policeman in New York City. He did forensic hypnosis for the police over 10 years ago and he found, in a 6-year study that the information given by victims and witnesses was 52% relevant (notice 2 out of 3 gave relevant information for Mythbusters), and 95% accurate. Ninety-five percent accurate!!! That’s in line with what the Mythbusters found, and absolutely amazing!!!

Monday, October 22, 2007

I got hypnotized!

We had a chapter meeting on October 15. It was really interesting. We did 3 hypnosis sessions. Two used dual inductions and one was a single Harry Arons induction. I like the dual inductions and I think they are wonderful for most clients. One of our guests experienced hypnosis three times!

A few of the members want to learn more about Automatic Writing, so we will probably attempt that at our next meeting!

The next meeting is November 19, at 7:30 pm. It will be held at The Blue Orchid Healing Center at 1004 Indiana Avenue in Palm Harbor. It's on the corner of Indiana and Alternate 19. Thank you Debbie Lane, for allowing us to use your office next time.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Happiness Hour

There is another Happiness Hour next Wednesday. I am sure to be there, since the last one was such a positive experience for me. I told my parents that I tried acupuncture, and they asked what for, arthritis? I said just to release any energy blockages along the meridians. They said, huh? I said it was like a tune-up. But what I love is not just the increased physical energy, but the increased mental clarity and especially the slight buzz I get. I mean acupuncture combined with hypnosis—that provides a healthy energizing kind of buzz and it only takes 15 minutes and has no unpleasant side effects.

This is a true "happiness" hour, not a happy hour where alcohol is served. No hangovers.

This will be at the Blue Orchid in Palm Harbor. See http://www.wisdomhypnosis.com/news.html for details.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Goddess of Heaven and Earth

The Goddess of Hypnosis is tonight at the You-nit Holistic Wellness Center on Alternate 19 in Palm Harbor (one block south of Klosterman Road)!

See www.enlightenedhypnosis.com or www.theyounit.com for more info.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Ancient holistic history

Have you been to the You-nit Holistic Wellness Center in Palm Harbor, yet? It is wonderful.

I'm going to speak about The Goddess of Hypnosis there On October 9! Tuesday, 7 - 8pm Take a Journey through time to the origins of hypnotic rituals. Did you know that the Ebers papyrus contains information about hypnotic healing methods from 1500 B.C.E.? The roots of hypnosis are truly ancient!
You can get something healthy to eat at the Jaw-Raw Cafe and then stay for the Workshop. The You-nit is a located at 7505-c Alternate 19, also known as Palm Harbor Boulevard, in the Coldwell Banker Plaza. Their website is www.theyounit.com.

See you Tuesday!

Monday, October 1, 2007

More Waiting

I hate to wait. I find many of my clients are impatient, also. When I work with someone, we have to set realistic goals. I sometimes have a problem with that word, realistic, since hypnosis is so powerful and affects so many things.

But basically, if you have 60 pounds to lose, it cannot be done in 6 weeks, so matter how many protein shakes you drink or herbs you take. The idea is to lose weight safely, and to lose only fat, not muscle or water. We want to stay healthy and even become more healthy and energetic as we readjust our size and adopt better eating habits.

This is why hypnosis is so effective for weight loss: keeping motivation high, changing cravings, reducing appetite, reducing stress, so increasing energy!!