A Cup of Coffee - and about the state of hypnosis

Grab a cup of coffee and lets talk about what I do. And now - a short primer about the expectations of the hypnosis experience...

They come into the office, a little wide-eyed, unsuspecting of what they are truly about to encounter, all with a vague notion about the concept of hypnosis. Some come wanting to rethink or reframe, some come out of curiosity, some come looking for inner truths, and some come to prove that hypnosis is just a lark (which for them it will probably be a self-fulfilling prophecy and waste of money). They wonder if I will pull out a pocket watch and tell them they are getting sleepy. Some will not make eye contact with me at first.

So we sit for awhile, sometimes with a cup of coffee or tea, and we just chat. Maybe they go into long explanations of why they are here,maybe they don't. And though I always ask what they expect, many are often surprised by the reality. I patiently explain the misconceptions, but all in all I think it is hard for people to grasp that hypnosis has nothing to do with someone else, particularly a hypnotist, taking over the reins of the mind. What it involves is something a kin, if not actually, to various states of relaxation where redirecting the conscious mind in a way that quiets it a bit and allows the subconscious mind, the inner mind, the mind that controls concepts that you don't think about like breathing, the beating of your heart, to hear what it is that you want to accomplish - the suggestion worked through by you and your hypnotist.

And of course, being in a hypnotic state differs for everyone. Some times people remember everything, some feel like they are alert most of the time, some feel like they are day dreaming, some feel like you do when you drive from point A to point B and have no memory of the road between the two points. It's different for everyone. But never, Never, NEVER do they go through a zombie-like phase where I remote control them (though that might be a fun thing to do in a hypno show). Being in a state of hypnosis is most often like being a in a completely mellow state.

But now my coffee has grown cold and the first of the day's clients has arrived.