Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Life in Iconograpghy

Before I read the New York Times article earlier today, I had a notion to write about positive thoughts. So, indulge me if you will, as I find yet another way to actively procrastinate from task I really need to accomplish. LOL.

There are a couple of reasons why positive thoughts bubbled into my consciousness upon waking: one being the obvious negativity on certain forums and the second being the negativity people seem to elate in while reviewing others. I will not preach to the choir (cause I know, I just know you who read this are more positive minded), but I often wonder why there is such glee in putting down others. The character Anton Ego, the food critic in Rattialloue addresses this most eloquently. I wish I had the quote, it is so perfect. Basically he says that critics enjoy writing bad reviews because people love reading bad reviews.

Then I wonder....is this really true? For me, I would say not. When I read someone's words who are predominantly negative, I stop reading. What about you?

And back to the subject from yesterday and the day before on paintball - yes I wrote a rave review. Most of my reviews tend to be that way. Now if I do have a truly negative experience I might share that, but in general, I try to go into most things with a positive mind. If I do not like it and it is of no real consequence to mention it, I probably will not. In the case of the paintball review, there were a few sites that were too slow, too confusing and unfriendly for the novice. I chose instead to focus on the positive experience.

So, I have decided to try something a bit fun and whimsical. I am going to track my attitudes by rating my day. Thanks to I Rate My Day, this seems to be an easy enough task. Yes, perhaps the icons are a little cartoonish, but hey, I still relish a good animated film. Just think of them as iconographic. You will notice on the right column of this blog, I have it available for those who may be interested. It might be a good forewarning about the tones of my post. LOL. It looks like this:

Click here to read my rating!

And yes, like cartoons and other such fancies, I also have a love of cool toys to include on the blog. I like this one because it is a chance to spread some positive energy out into cyberspace, or perhaps to receive it if your day is not going so well. If you click on the widget, it gives you a chance to comment. So you could in fact, make someone's day.

I notice they are also running a contest to win a Microsoft Zune media player. To participate you must do the following:
  • have an account on IRateMyDay (it's free)
  • enter by completing this registration form before July 31th;(hurry, hurry, hurry)
  • if you have a blog: invite four friends and install the IRateMyDay widget on your site (like the one above and we can rate our days together).
OR
  • if you don't have a blog: invite 10 friends;
  • have evaluated your day at least 30 days throughout the contest.
Once you register, the contest ends on August 31, 2007.

Sweet!



Click here for Ellie's Disclosure Policy.

Just a quiet morning with the New York Times

Normally, upon waking I grab my coffee or tea and slide into my chair, read email and begin my musing to you. Realizing the joy in occasionally shaking things up a bit, I read the New York Times this morning. There is an interesting article in the health section today entitled Who is Minding the Mind by Benedict Carey. You might want peruse it yourself, so just click on the article title and it should take you there.

Mr. Carey's article discusses some interesting findings from various studies. One study focused on participants perceptions about a hypothetical person. Before this, the participants were "Bumped into" by a stranger and asked to hold a cup of hot coffee or tea or an iced beverage of the same nature. Those holding the iced cup often found the hypothetical person to be "cold". Interesting.

Findings also found that much of humanities subconscious decisions happen in the ventral pallidum within the brain, the part that used to be considered the "reptilian" part and this is before it transmits to the prefrontal cortex.

Anyway, I will not rewrite or synopsize the whole article (two pages) so you can read it and enjoy it. I am always game for a good discussion.

Monday, July 30, 2007

The Weekend Themes

Since there was little response to yesterday's question of the week (but there is still plenty of time), I am presenting the same question as our poll topic, to which I hope you will respond. It is even more anonymous than posting your words on the comment section of the blog. And yes, I am aware that it is a touchy subject or seems to be when brought up in any group situations.

But I shall leave it to you and take another sip of my ginger peach tea. Very soothing to the throat, you know. There that's better.

My partner has teased me mercilessly (well once) about my Saturday posting on paintball. He says that the fact that I know so little about it hardly gives me the right to expound so enthusiastically about a specific company. I understand this, but if you dear readers recall, I was challenged to learn more about paintball. I went to many sources (thank you wikipedia.com) and found the one mentioned to be one of the most helpful because of their online chat person, who patiently explained the pros and cons or various accessories (I compared this information to reviews I had read and most of it seemed to jive). And I did not want to go into the various types of paintball warfare out there. That would be like my partner telling me what techniques to use for my self-hypnosis section of the workshop. But I am hoping he will choose a more woodsball to speedball type of game.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Is Sunday a good day to think about licencing garbage?

Dr. Eimer's article that I posted last Friday has been tickling my brain a bit. He was very kind in accepting my edit to his article (about finding a licenced health care person). Perhaps you have a feel of where I am going with this Sunday question. Are you thinking, oh no, Ellie, don't go there?

Yep, I am going there.

Here is the question:

What are your thoughts on making hypnosis a licenced industry, rather than one that emphasizes certification, but does not require it?

I am probably speaking more toward those in the United States, but would love to hear about how the U.K. and other countries view this idea as well. I also believe there may be some states that require hypnosis to be practiced by licenced professional, so thoughts from those of you dealing with this would be welcomed as well.

I have heard many arguments for and against it. Am I correct in thinking that the states that require licencing in the U.S., required that one have a medical or counseling background? I admit there are times when I think it might be good to follow in the massage therapist licencing, where one could be a hypnotist and be licenced just for that.

One argument in which I have enjoyed listening is why one would want to go to a hypnotist as opposed to a psychologist who uses hypnosis in therapy. The argument for the hypnotist is that we are so focused into consciousness study and methods, we are not spread out with other therapy concerns. We have more focus.

So, your turn.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Team Building and Paintball

My partner and I have been discussing the concept of presenting team building workshops. My role would be to facilitate a self-hypnosis section and be available for assisting with the rest. His role is to incorporate paintball warfare. Well, needless to say, my girlishness got a bit piqued at this. Frankly I would have thought I would prefer a civil discussion over a cup of tea (or a pint). But then after a brief pout, I listened again. He spoke those motivational words of female empowerment, games of strategy, and showing the strength of mind in action. He definitely had my attention. Maybe there is something to this.

“Well, what about the pain element?” I asked. I have always heard being hit with paint pellets hurts. He suggested hypnosis. Clever, thought I.

But what about safety? He got me over this hurdle by suggesting that we invest in safety gear, such as a protective chest vests, knee pads, neck protectors, eye shields or goggles and gloves.

So, it has been my job this afternoon to learn more about this potential sport and research pricing. Indeed my partner is right, there is quite an assort of gear involved and available. My paintball research took me to the Ultimate Paintball site. I had no idea that there were so many varieties of guns and accessories involved. They carry the popular Tippmann A-5, Tippmann 98 Custom, Smart Parts Ion, Spyder Pilot ACS guns and systems (yes, systems) as well as others. They also carry products from Dye and Draxxus paintball gear plus many more brands. In comparing their prices to other companies, they seem to offer decent discounts on good quality items (or at least items that have many good reviews from users from various other sources). Plus, they offer free shipping for purchases over $200, which means you have a greater selection then what you might find locally for a lot less than retail. I suggest reviewing their paintball guns and their other resources if you are interested in running similar workshops or just want to pursue this as a hobby.

And for the wuss in me, or as I like to call it the "safety consciousness" me, they do offer a choice of safety products. This is great because in potentially offering paintball in a workshop, safety has to be our first concern.

The other good thing about this site is that it has live chat help and assistance, which coming into this with little knowledge and a whole lot of questions, is perfect. Their employees all play paintball and seem very knowledgeable. This too adds to a feeling of security.

But before I totally committee to agreeing to help with a paintball team building workshop, I have to give it a go. I will let you know how it all plays out. And hey, anyone out there - please consider making a paintball wardrobe for women. I like camo, but it would be nice to have something more form fitting to a female body. I may get splattered, but that is no excuse not to look good. LOL.

View Ellie's Disclosure Policy.

Are you an esoteric evil hypnotist?

Here is my shout out to Michael Lank for sharing this link on uncommonforum.com (a really fabulous and well moderated forum) and proving great material for this Saturday's post.

It is quite fun. Enjoy!



Here is the link to the youtube.com site where it is located.

Friday, July 27, 2007

What a Pain

My old faithful English Breakfast tea! How soothing it is on the throat when one seems to be inevitably destine for a summer cold. I suppose I should be thinking healing thoughts, but I am a bit torn between that and fighting it or just letting it happen and going with the flow. Even with this New Age enlightenment stuff, I guess we still have many choices.

In my current research with birthing techniques and such, I came across Dr. Bruce Eimer's article on pain management. Though this article does not so much speak to child birthing, it does relate. There are some interesting similarities to Dr. Peterson's premises (see yesterday's posts). His again deals with some emotional aspects. Here is his article:

Hypnosis and Pain Management

Living with Chronic Persistent Pain can be a terrible energy drain and distraction. In addition to the "physical hurt" of the pain, there usually is a component of "emotional suffering". This emotional component, or "emotional overlay" to the physical pain can make the pain hurt more, and it can also interfere with pain treatment. Emotional suffering makes physical pain worse.

Hypnosis ... may help you obtain relief from the "Sensory" component" of your persistent pain, as well as from the "Emotional Overlay".

Relief from the pain's "Sensory” component" can be obtained through the induction of Hypnosis and the utilization of appropriate, individualized Hypnotic Analgesia, Relaxation, and Imagery techniques. In addition, you may benefit by learning SELF-HYPNOSIS so that you can self-induce the Hypnotic State and benefit regularly from the Escape from Pain that it can provide.

Relief from the pain's "Emotional Overlay” component" can be obtained by changing your self-defeating, negative thinking patterns through the use of both “Waking State Reframing” and Hypnosis. This can enable you to cope better.

Pain is a total experience that is at once a "Physical Sensation", an "Emotion" (e.g., depression, fear, anxiety, anger), an accompanying thought (e.g., Ouch!! This really hurts! When is this going to end?”) and a "Behavior” (e.g., laying down, ceasing activities that hurt, etc.). Pure pain" WITHOUT the “Emotional” and “Thinking” components does not hurt as much and is more tolerable.

Fear, Anger, Anxiety, and Depression all make pain worse. Negative ideas should be removed from one’s Conscious and expecially one’s Unconscious (i.e., “Subconscious”) Minds. This is best accomplished through the appropriate use of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Reframing, and Hypnosis.

No one need suffer continuously or endlessly. PAIN MAY BE MANDATORY BUT SUFFERING IS OPTIONAL. Most people can be helped to better cope with their pain.

To learn more about Dr. Eimer's practice, go to www.hypnosishelpcenter.net.

*You will note the ellipsis at the second paragraph. Sorry Dr. Eimer, I did make an edit here. What I clipped out is "administered by the right licensed health professional." Seems a bit small of me, I know, but I wanted to use it to make a point. In the United States, in most states, one does not even really have to be certified to be a hypnotist, much less licensed. I understand Dr. Eimer's point of view on licensing, though. He is a clinical psychologist who uses hypnosis in his practice. However, there are some very wonderful hypnotists out there who are certified and should not be dismissed. If you are looking for a hypnotist, my suggestion would be to make sure that they are certified by a real association and do find out about their background.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

A Correction

Another pot of coffee later...

If you have already read today's post and article by Gayle Peterson, you may want to look at it again. I have made a correction to the article that may clarify Dr. Peterson's approach. I had originally cut it out, but it does make more sense with it in. So, my apologies to Dr. Peterson.

She emailed me to clarify all this and I thought I would quote the email because it is beautiful put:

It would be wonderful if people could finally understand that my body-centered hypnosis is developed through my research, applying concepts of indirect hypnosis (Ericksonian) to a woman's unique life history. I have termed my approach "body-centered hypnosis" as it applies to the woman's relationship to the cues of her body and psychological landscape......

Body-Centered Hypnosis

Good morning, fellow coffee and tea drinkers (and anyone else for that matter).

As I mentioned in my last post, I contacted Dr. Gayle Peterson about her body-centered hypnosis for child-birth and she was kind enough to respond with a lot of helpful resources.

Basically, if I have understood her correctly, her method is a bit different from the traditional child-birthing hypnosis concept that involves disassociating the pain of labor. Since labor pains fluctuate in many ways, the dissociative method may not be the best solution for helping women with their pregnancy. (And sorry about this gentlemen, but as a female, if I were to have children, I would do so using natural child-birthing methods - midwife and all, and it seems like this body-centered approach would be perfect, perhaps heightening the experience as opposed to repressing it).

But rather then trying to explain this in my words, here are Dr. Peterson's:

Hypnobirthing is a method, like LaMaze, that is based on Grantley Dick Read’s premise that fear of labor pain, alone, causes tension in childbirth. This approach has flaws, both scientific and practical. The body-centered hypnosis that I developed since 1973 is based on research that shows that hypnosis that is associative, rather than dissociative can greatly assist women in their adaptation and coping with labor, specifically targeting a woman's unique needs. Women should not be slotted into “one size fits all” methods.

Dick Read’s approach was not a scientific one and represents an overly simplistic application of neurophysiology. Tension is not only related to the fear of pain in childbirth, but to many other factors which may impinge upon women at the time of her transition into motherhood.
Body-centered hypnosis aimed at addressing a woman’s unique concerns about her labor and transition to motherhood, statistically decreases the need for medication, even in those few cases in which interventions, such as pitocin, are necessary.

I use body-centered hypnosis to decrease tension about labor and birth and to resolve fears about the upcoming psychological transition to motherhood. This hypnosis is unique to each woman and is not a mass produced method. I support the individual woman in her process. It is not my goal that childbirth should be a certain way, natural or not, painful or not. Instead, my hope is to support the woman where she is in the context of her family history and culture. The result of this kind of support can be empowerment.

An authentic approach to childbirth must forgo ideas about how women should birth, and embrace, instead, a woman’s own desires. No method should dictate a woman’s experience or pressure her to believe based on another’s perspective. Instead it should be flexible enough to meet her individual needs and support her growth.

Lastly, we should keep in mind that any method is only as good as its failures. Exploring the failures of “hypnobirthing” will yield valuable insight into what is missing for women, rather than interpret their failures as not living up to the model requiring one right way to “succeed” at childbirth.

Gayle Peterson, PhD


Many thanks to Dr. Peterson for responding to my request. If you would like to learn more about the process and her methods, visit her website at www.makinghealthyfamilies.com .

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

More About Child-birth and Hypnosis

This seems like a great topic to explore for awhile and for those of you who used hypnosis during your pregnancy (or your partner's) or for those who facilitate hypnosis in such situations, please respond to this. I am fairly inexperienced in parts of this subject, so please do not hesitate to add your comments and such.

My experience is working with fears and phobias related to pregnancy, not the actual birthing process. With conception, there seems to be a certain amount of anxiety or self-esteem issues - will I be a good mother/father, I come from an abusive childhood and do not want that for my child, what if I am not healthy enough, how will I deal with the pain, and many more along this line. I have found that release techniques are great for this.

I looked up the subject of hypnosis and pregnancy and came across an interesting form of hypnosis that is a body-centered approach, as practiced by Dr. Gayle Peterson. I have written to her about explaining her approach for us as it sounds wonderful. Hopefully, I will hear from her soon.

She wrote an interesting snippet for iVillage about this. The premise is that using dissociative hypnosis (often used in pain management hypnosis) is not that helpful during labor because labor ebbs and flows, ever changing. Peterson's model seeks to accept the pain,"diving" into it interestingly enough, rather than avoiding it.

Do any of you have any experience with this?

Monday, July 23, 2007

Pregnancy Concepts

Using hypnosis for various pregnancy issues is a hot topic. There is hypno-birthing (utilizing hypnosis for pain control during actual labor), Lamaze self-hypnosis techniques, stress reduction for better conception practices, stress reduction for the pregnancy duration, stress relief for partners, self-confidence for the entire process and probably many more things (feel free to add to this list if you would like).

As a hypnotist occasionally working with this topic, I often run across people who have little or no health insurance. This can be a real problem if you are considering pregnancy, having trouble becoming pregnant, or actually having the baby. Many people come to me hoping that I will be an alternative to health insurance, of which I am NOT! In the pregnancy scenario for sure, I am complimentary to traditional medicine.

So, in trying to help these clients, I have done some research into maternity health care concepts and thought this might be of interest to others in similar situations. One particular web site seems to be fairly helpful (for those of you with clients without internet availability, suggest that they utilize their neighborhood library) is Maternity Health Insurance, known as Reproductive Access Solutions. RAS helps many women find solutions for their individual needs, especially with "Moms in the Middle" - women who do not have great maternity benefits from their employers or do not qualify for maternity health insurance.

The RAS web site is easily navigated, not cluttered, and concise. They ask for those interested to fill out a form, which includes a telephone number and email so that the person needing benefits can be called and helped individually. To quote their web site, they help with:

Identifying reproductive health resources for women who are seeking financial help.
RAS not only helps with just financial concepts, but is a network of information and advice.

So please do pass this on to those who may need this service. If I come across them in my business, surely many of you do as well.

Click here for Ellie's Disclosure Policy.

The Many Uses for Hypnosis

After spending a few days in foreign places and being introduced to a variety of people, the inevitable questions about hypnosis traveled with me. I am not complaining. I am always thrilled to have an opportunity to discuss my favorite subject. That is one of the fun aspects of telling people about what I do - there seems to always be a fascination. Do brain surgeons get this or do people just smile and say "that's interesting" and go about their day? Or do they get, "How fascinating. I've always wanted an up-close-and-personal view of the raw brain. Tell me, is brain matter more grey or pink?"

After listening to these questions (about hypnosis, not brain surgery) it made me think about some of the comments you have posted, emailed me, or that I have seen on various forum discussions. There seems to be a huge variety of opinions of how hypnosis is best used. It runs a large gamut from esoteric study to healing arts, not to mention the entertainment value. And many of us indulge in all of it. The poll is located on the upper right side of the blog.

So that led me to today's poll topic of hypno uses. Please vote for your favorite options and if you put "other," please consider posting what that "other" is on this posting's comments.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Nothing Esoteric about this Saturday

Sorry all. I am headed out for the weekend and must away with not so much as a "how do you do" or a decent hypno reference.

See you on Monday.

Friday, July 20, 2007

An Explanation

It is definitely a coffee morning, and perhaps a blueberry muffin one at that.

Well, I think I owe you an explanation. If you have been reading this blog a bit, you will notice that every so often, I mention other sites, give links (good old shout outs), and make recommendations for specific deals and such. You may have also noted that some post have my disclosure policy (it is also under my links section) included in them. All in all, it is part of the transparent movement. Yep. Radical Transparency again.

When I started this blog a few months ago, I had many options for what to include on it in terms of advertising. I could have gone with the familiar Google Ad Sense program, where they would embed related advertisements into my blog that I would profit from when someone clicked on those sites (from mine). I chose not to do this because there might be sites that would come up that I would not want to endorse, and there are a few of those out there.

Then one day while looking for marketing ideas, I discovered a very cool advertising blog network called PayPerPost.com. After looking into the company, I really liked what I was seeing. First ,they are a big believer in being transparent (hence the disclosure policy). Second, they really relate to Free Will - either you write about a product or service or you do not. It is your choice.

Once a blog is accepted into the network (after the blog has been in existence for 90 days with a certain number of post upon it), you are given a choice of services and products to review. You are given certain parameters and if you agree with those, then you write a blog post about it. Each of these has a certain dollar amount that you will receive if your post is accepted. Once you have done that, your post is either accepted or rejected (and often with rejection, you have an opportunity to fix the post for resubmission).

This is the perfect form of advertising because you chose what you want to write about, get to express it in your own words, and the experience becomes more personal for everyone. The other nifty thing about this is that you as the reader who are subjected to my advertising fancies get to comment on it, so you even have a say in the matter. You can share your experience with the service or product as well.

Though I have not been at part of the network for long, there seems to be an opportunity to make new friends. If you utilize their widget, each day ten blogs are listed on it so you get to know other participants.

As ever, this is another learning experience for the transparent hypnotist. What I have discovered is that there are forms of marketing and advertising that fit my personality. It is very much like word of mouth, of which I am a big advocate. It gives me a chance to vent my thoughts, make some extra cash, and help out other companies. It's all good.

And what will I do with this extra cash? Why, I will buy more gourmet coffee and teas so I can sit here communing with you.



Thursday, July 19, 2007

Doing that group thing

As you may have figured out, the subject of group hypnosis has been on my mind lately. There is a part of me that feels like it is a good thing because a lot of hypnotist do well with groups. I am just not sure I am one of them. Do you ever feel like there is something out there that you should be doing because it seems to be the thing to do? Or is this peer pressure (probably imagined peer pressure).

During an evaluation several years ago, while working in a group situation, I received some interesting feedback from the team leader. She said that I had hurt the group by not giving more of myself to the group overall. It was obvious I had much to offer, but chose instead to do so on an individual basis rather than the playing the group dynamic.

I have thought about this over the years, trying to see the wisdom of it, but what I always, ALWAYS come back to is that some people are group oriented and some are not. I fall into the latter category apparently, but I do not think this is a bad thing. My strength seems to be in connecting individually. After meetings, I am always pulled aside by various people who want the personal attention.

Hypnosis wise I think this idea of individual attention plays large with me. I did a group session once where we worked on creating a "safe space within our mind," and rather than leading the group to a beach or a stream in the forest, we worked on finding that wonderful place individually. Halfway through, I noticed one of the participants sobbing. It was not tears streaming down, but loud, heart-wrenching sobs. Not knowing what she was experiencing, I gave suggestions for the group to either stay in their constructed space or go to a place within their memory that was happy or peaceful. The sobbing grew worse. Restlessness set in for the other participants. I then gave suggestions to either allow the sounds in the background to take them deeper into relaxation or if they chose they could bring themselves back to normal consciousness by counting from one to five in their minds and opening their eyes when they were ready. Sadly, my crier did not open her eyes, but sobbed even more. So, I had the group count down in their minds from 25 down to one, allowing each number to help them stabilize any emotions, letting go of any anxiety, releasing all sadness. This worked and we continued. Upon finishing, many pulled me aside afterward and asked if everything was alright and I explained how the release process can cause great emotion and that seemed to ebb the curiosity. I ended up spending more time with the crier afterwards. As it turned out, she had a large break through and had understood something within, mourning childhood and such. Sadly though, she has not returned to hypnosis because she had come for stress relief and found herself more stressed in the process. Even though she said a great weight had been lifted, hypnosis was not for her.

For me, I was exhausted. It felt like doing mental gymnastics (and I am no gymnast) to keep the session balanced. I know this is all part of hypnosis and that I probably grew a lot from it, but it strengthened my concept that I much prefer the one on one.

Gosh, sounds as if I am justifying something here. Hmmm.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Inspiration

Looking at the calender this morning, there is a note in my schedule to think about sending a thank you gift to a doctor who sends me a huge number of referrals. I know this is a touchy subject, as I do not want to be accused of bribing this source of monetary support. But it has been a year as of today that we have been doing business together and and I want to hallmark this occasion by showing how appreciative I am of the referrals.

Well, thanks to keepcash.com and their online shopping coupons, inspiration has occurred. I know, I know - Ellie and her sweet (as one teenage client says) deals, but what can I say, I enjoy Internet shopping and researching prices and such. There is nothing wrong with being an informed consumer and it always feels good to know that you have saved money. Okay, so what inspired me this morning? To be exact, my inspiration is an MP3 player. Through the keepcash.com site, I found one that is incredibly affordable (plus someone gave me one at Christmas last year and I have had great luck with it). With CompUSA's great deals, I can give a token gift that is usable and personal. I will load several of my hypnosis for relaxation audios on to it. What doctor cannot use a stress break every so often? The other benefit of this is that it provides a personal touch and reinforces the idea of what I do, so perhaps it will inspire more referrals.

The great thing about keepcash.com is that the site is updated daily with new deals and coupons. And if you have a favorite merchant, there is a huge chance that they will have some sort of special of which you can take advantage. The site is easy to use and is can be browsed quickly. If you do any sort of Internet shopping, it only takes a few moments to find what you are looking for and the payoffs can be large.

Anyway, just thought I would share both my good fortune (finding a great deal) and my inspiration with you. Perhaps, you too, will be inspired by them.

Also, if you give similar gifts, please feel free to share your ideas as well.



Click here to see Ellie's Disclosure Policy.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Group Hypnosis - Connections

So, were you with me? Did we connect?

After awaking, throwing on my Yoga pants and a t-shirt, sitting in the dampness of the new morning, I spent the first thoughts of the day in meditation, working on firing the grid. The morning was so quiet,except for the crickets and some deer in the field beyond the house. The solitude was as ever, very nice, just me and the morning...and maybe thousands of other people. I began to wonder who else was sitting in contemplation of healing the earth at the same moment. Such thoughts often filtered through and for a moment, I actually felt the connectedness, not just to the wood on the porch under me, but to all those who were doing the same thing. There was a slight sensation of euphoria with this thought, a lifting of the burdens, a breath of hope in what feels like an inevitable course of time.

And so, this turned into the theme of today's post - the invisible processes of the group dynamic. Not really knowing what I would write about, the cup of tea and me have made it to this point.

The idea of groups intrigues me and I wonder about its potential. If you are a "Universal Consciousness" believer, it seems like group hypnosis could be very powerful with under currents running the gamut from intuitive support to helping with feelings canceling out loneliness. I wonder about the whole vibration or frequency concept with groups. I know little about the psychics involved with vibration or frequency, but it seems like they could be elevated by a group of simpatico souls (Yes, I have also just read The Tenth Insight and yes, I read the whole thing but did not enjoy it nearly as much as The Celestine Prophecy).

Before this morning, I might not have actually been aware of the potential of group hypnosis, perhaps did not understand it at all. I know it is not a new concept, it is just something that has been enigma to me. I think I will let this rest for now and come back to it tomorrow.

Hope your day is peaceful.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Firing the Grid

This morning, indulging in the absolute laziest of ways, I have microwaved yesterday's leftover coffee and am enjoying its cloying, thickness at the moment. Some how it fits this groggy Monday.

I have just checked my email and discovered a few emails about "Fire the Grid." Have you heard about this? Though it is not directly related to hypnosis, it is related to positive thinking and meditation. It is the idea of a world-wide healing through positive thought (meditation) and an invitation to anyone who wants to participate. It begins tomorrow at 11:11 GMT.

I think I am going to do this. I hope you will as well.

I am quoting one email for the rest of this so that you can better understand:


This is Shelly Yates' amazing story about her near-death experience of drowning with her son, and both of them being revived in order to facilitate this important global opportunity. They died for over 30 minutes and yet, miraculously came back to life. She is now on assignment from Heaven to orchestrate a Universal healing for Mother Earth on July 17 at 11:11 GMT.

In the words of Shelley Yates "Whatever method you choose to use, or who you choose to sit with: the ultimate defining moment for each of us during this window of opportunity is, "Are we holding love and optimism in our hearts as this cosmic event facilitates our vibrational uplifting?"

Each human is to participate in his or her own way with acceptance for where each of us lives in our consciousness (spiritual) journey. Use the method, prayer, meditation, thought, intention, or whatever best brings you peace and joy, and give thanks and gratitude for life and for this experience, keeping your heart light and filled with joy and/or gratitude and love, for this significant hour. Two or more gathering together will amplify the intention and connection. "It is the gratitude that will fire the grid and you will consciously place your vote among millions for the direction we wish our world to move towards..........open the heart and allow the spiraling filaments of golden, "liquid light" that live in the aura around human beings...to fill you."

* * * If you are unable to participate during this hour, Shelley recommends the following: "Simply write a note to your inner being, no matter what name you give that inner being, it could be soul or God-force or merely my inner self. Write your inner being a letter giving that inner piece of yourself permission to connect with the grid of spiritual light on your behalf on July 17 at 4:11 PDT. On this earthly plane we continue to have free will and therefore we must give our inner being permission to connect on our behalf. THEN, simply state the things that bring you joy and bliss ~ and give thanks for those moments. Clearly state your intention to manifest the world we desire then sign your note to leave your personal energy with your intention. Then go to bed or work or what ever task you must do and be assured that your soul will register your vote by firing your inner system and uniting it with the many, many people who will be joining us on that day with the intention to create a peaceful and loving world.......allowing the natural harmony and grace of life to flourish."

For more information, go to www.firethegrid.com.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

What is the most import element in helping others with smoking cessation?

After a slight discussion about smoking cessation this past week, it seems like this is a good topic for the Sunday question.

What is the most import element in helping others with smoking cessation?

There are several answers, I suspect. But smoking cessation is one of those things that I truly do not totally understand, as I have never been a smoker. Michael mentioned in a post from last week that he feels that it is good to ingrain the idea of "gain" rather than "loss." So perhaps this is a key ingredient.

I would love to hear from both hypnotists and those who have given up smoking.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

The Esoteric Hpnotiq


Well, it is Saturday (yet again) and it seems like a reason to celebrate. In positive thinking, celebrations of life in general seem important.

So, should I put the disclaimer here: Do not try this unless you are of the legal drinking age for your particular state of being? Or the Transparent Hypnotist does not endorse the idea of continual, over indulgence of alcoholic beverages? Moderation, moderation, moderation (sounds like a good motto or mantra).

Good grief, I am merely a human.

So, anyway, I have noticed HQ Hpnotiq Liqueur here and there. It comes in a lovely blue bottle or perhaps the content is blue? I truly cannot say as I have not tried this beverage, but I am intrigued and think (rather hope) it may be the next best thing to Moet White Star for celebrating. Vodka, Cognac, and tropical fruit juices. Sounds delightful.

Check out their web site at www.hpnotiq.com. Its fun, though I now have the song from it playing on a loop in my mind.

Care to join me for a drink?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Thoughts on Mass Hypnosis

The other day I mentioned working with a client on smoking cessation. I hope you read Michael's comment on it. It was very helpful.

In listening to my client, she mentioned that someone had suggested she try a mass hypnosis session for her goal of being free from cigarettes. These sessions are done by a traveling hypnotist who comes to town once a year and does a mass hypnosis session with several hundred people at once, relatively cheaply. Interestingly enough, this particular client choose to do individual sessions because she wanted the one on one experience and thought it would be more beneficial.

But guess what, I am not going to rally against the hypnotists who do this sort of work. I know there has been some news in the past about frauds, etc. and I am sure there may be some. Rather, I will say that my favorite "confusion" induction comes from Robert Otto, a hypnotist who engages in mass hypnosis and seems to have great success. Indeed, I am a bit envious of his talents, and use this to motivate myself to continue learning.

Many clients ask me about these mass sessions and if they "work." I admit to a little delight (and a sigh of relief) when I hear that they thought about going to such a session, but opted for me instead, simply because it means that they are making an effort. They have put some thought into their process of change. It is not that they chose me over another hypnotist, but that they weighed the options and made a choice. It shows initiative to some degree and this is always positive.

Now the people who attend the mass hypnosis sessions, do I think little of them. I certainly do not. I do not begrudge anyone in their efforts to help themselves. I hope that they have educated themselves in the process and made the correct choice that will work for them. There are just as many success stories with mass hypnosis, as not.

The client who brought all this to mind mentioned mass hypnosis because the person who told her about the mass session idea wanted to know why she chose to quit smoking in several sessions, when perhaps she could have done it in one. It was her choice to ween herself off rather than just diving in, and she had under lying reasons for this as well. It was not just smoking she wanted to work on, but wanted greater insight into herself (regression, etc.). With a mass session, the attention is focused to a group, and my client wanted the individual attention.

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

More talk of books

It is time for another book discussion since I just finished reading Edith Fiore’s The Unquiet Dead: A Psychologist Treats Spiritual Possession. Are you grimacing again with Ellie’s interest with the uncanny? Hopefully not.

A fellow hypnotist told me she was reading this and it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a go. The premise is that a lot of our problems are caused by spirit possession. This sort of possession is not like demonic possession, apparently. Most people do not know that they are possessed and according to Fiore, feel much better after a simple hypnotic process. I have personally never worked with anything like this, nor have I been asked to do so, and I am not sure how I really feel about the idea. The positive thing is that the author does not hammer in a necessary belief in spirit co-habitation to be successful.

Anyway I really enjoyed it. Have any of you read it?

And by the by, what you currently reading?

Oh, also I suspect you may be a fan of Alibris Booksellers (Over 60 million used, new, and out-of-print books!). I am pretty addicted to them as my book source, so if you have not tried them for your reading needs (and perhaps Edith Fiore’s book), you should! I have had great luck finding hard to find books there and even out of print publications. Here’s a fun trick, though. If you go to couponchief.com, they offer promo codes for various discounts and savings, including Alibris.com coupons. Click here for the deals at Alibris. For instance, at the moment, they have a $3 off $30 deal (before July 22). Pretty nice. And every hypnotist I know is a book junky, so enjoy. And the same site has other decent deals for many online stores, so check those out as well.

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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Mourning the Cigarette

Recently, I have been working with a client on smoking cessation, which has focused me on the process. We have had a few sessions and it seems to be going well, slowly cutting back on the cigarette consumption. I find for many smokers it seems like this is a really good solution, going slowly and gently into cessation. The process reminds me a bit of facing a terminal illness (negative I know, but stay with me). Giving up cigarettes can be a similar mourning process, so it seems. It has all the traits. Denial. Bargaining. Anger. Grief. And finally acceptance.

It also seems to be a love/hate relationship for many. It has becomes a comfort blanket, a friend. However, I think many who are on the page of giving it up, either find the comfort blanket becoming embarrassing (try standing out in the rain in midwinter just to get a few puffs) or the friend a bit backstabbing. But like an unhealthy co-dependency, the attachment is perverse. So, I am wondering if approaching smoking cessation as a mourning process would be an interesting way of looking at the change work that is necessary for success?

Any thoughts?

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

HotelReservations.com

Are you going to the NGH (National Guild of hypnotist) conference coming up in August? Or are you just like me and have not been able to commit to going (I know, sad, sad, sad). I am just getting to the point where I am really considering it, but know that reservations probably will not happen at the conference hotel. So, I have decided to enlist the help of the internet and thought I would share.

In researching the cost and details of this trip (Marlboro, Mass.), I narrowed the playing field down by going to Hotel Discounts, known as HotelReservations.com. Everything you need to make travel arrangements seems to be centrally located on the main page. It is all there. Flights. Hotels. Rental cars. These are the standards, but this site also includes options for condo rentals, vacation rentals, and more. Though there is a lot of information on the main page, if you just take a deep breath and pay attention, this is a great way to arrange travel, plus it is very competitive price-wise with its competition.

It seems to be right in line with the other sites; sometimes the same, sometimes a little more, but often lower. I was especially please that it offered discount rates to various bed and breakfast (my personal preference).

For those who are not native to English speaking countries and prefer to make their hotel reservations, flights, rental decisions in their native language, this site actually offers corresponding web pages for a variety of other countries. In other words, you are not forced to stumble through the English language and can research travel in your preferred language.

And if you are like me and may need to change or cancel your reservations, there is no charge from this site to do so. A few years ago, during a family emergency, I ended up changing holiday plans at the last minute and was charged a few extra hundred dollars by another discount hotel site, so this is a nice to see.

I thought sharing this information might be helpful to those of you considering going to the NGH conference in August or for any of your travel needs.

And do let me know if you are going.



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Monday, July 9, 2007

Your relationship status with hypnosis

I think I like this poll concept. Hopefully you do as well?

This week, I want to know more about you, my readers and your relationship status to hypnosis. By this, I want to know are you a hypnotist (basically do you do this professionally) or are you someone who uses hypnosis? If I have clicked all the buttons correctly, you should be able to give all the answers that apply.

Also, if you answer "other," if you would, please elaborate by commenting on this post. And if any of you want to elaborate on any answer, again, please comment on this post.

I am going to keep a running tally of poll results on this posting: The Poll Results

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Friends and Family

As a hypnotist, how do you handle working with friends and family?

Do you refer them to someone else? Do you charge them (more/less or not at all)? Do you find them receptive to you as a hypnotist? Any thoughts?

It has often been said that friends and family are the hardest people to hypnotize. However, I have worked with both. As it turned out, my father, who was very protective of me, turned out to be one of the most hypnotically receptive people I have ever known. Had I not "practiced" on him, I would have thought it would have been the opposite, but it turned out to be a wonderful thing for us. I learned a lot more about my father (all positive) and it brought us closer. Plus, it is very empowering to have helped someone who had spent his lifetime "helping" me.

But on the other hand, one of my first paying clients was a friend. It was so frustrating I almost threw in the towel with being a hypnotist. He giggled through the first session, and was totally resistant afterwards. However that which does not kill you, makes you stronger (I hate that cliche, but find it most appropriate to struggles). I learned an awful lot from all that, such as dealing with giggles and nerves of clients, continued (as I still do) to develop better "pre-talk," tried different techniques, and that sometimes it seems to pay when you play hard-to-get. After three sessions, I refused to work with him anymore, telling him he did not take me or hypnosis seriously. He was wasting both of our time. Suddenly, he became very serious about it and for weeks begged me to work with him. However, I sent him to another hypnotist.

Please feel free to share your stories here.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Close your Eyes

It was disturbing. It was brilliant.

This is my take on the movie Close Your Eyes (sometimes called Hypnotic). It is an uncomfortable movie that is about a hypnotist (and his problems with being a hypnotist), who inadvertently gets snagged into helping a particular police officer (trying to quit smoking) crack a serial killer case. The case does veer off into the occult. But, there are a lot of really interesting hypnosis references that I feel are beautifully done. The movie shows what goes on in the mind of the hypnosis client. There is particularly nice imagery related to smoking cessation. I cannot say enough about this. Wow. And I admit to trying this sort of imagery out on my clients with interesting results (that would make for another blog entry). There is even a scene in which the hypnotist becomes in tranced by his own induction, though it becomes a nightmare. For any of us who sort of go along with our clients when we hypnotize them, this really hits home.

Anyway, I tend to go into a movie prepared to like it (and I did). Others obviously do not and this seems to be the case. It has gotten a fair amount of panning, though there are some favorable comments. Judge for yourself and feel free to share here (even if you do not like it).

To learn more about the movie, go to http://www.flp.com/films/closeyoureyes/movie/index.html.

Friday, July 6, 2007

Wind Chimes

There are times when I when time sneaks by and lenghtens itself out within the day when working with clients. I suspect most do not mind, but I find when I do this, my energy tends to lessen. After spending five hours with one client (I felt bad and only took payment for two hours), I decided enough was enough.

So, I bought an alarm clock with wind chimes. When the regular session time is up, it gently chimes, reminding me to wrap it up.

Sadly, my wind chimes seemed to have stopped functioning. I am bummed.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Party Tricks

Perhaps this has happened to you? You are at a party and someone finds out that you are a hypnotist. The questions begin (can you hypnotize me? will I bark like a dog? does it really work?) and answer obligingly because you love hypnosis and want to share your knowledge about it. Then sure enough, it begins - It being - hypnotize me. Do it. Then someone else chimes in that they want to be hypnotized.

Do you:

  1. Laugh it off
  2. Tell them to make an appointment
  3. Seem highly offend - after all, you would never ask a brain surgeon to perform a little surgery at the same party
  4. Do a rapid induction and turn it into a quick party trick

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy Fourth of July, America!

Today I will honor the United States in their ever-quest for Freedom. Let us hope for peace, and that they find it - SOON!

So forgive my New-Agy-warm-and-fuzzies as I suggest rather than writing much more here, that anyone reading this, please take a quiet moment and send some peaceful thoughts out into the world. We need it.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Forum Answer to the Sunday Question of the Week

For those readers who are not on the same various hypnosis forums I frequent, I thought it would be good to start posting some of the response to Sunday questions receive there.

This is from AlienGiblet in response to the question about whether hypnotists benefit from the suggestions they give their clients:

I used to do a dull repetitive job. While working I used to practice framing hypnotic suggestions in different ways, direct, indirect, authoritative, permissive, content and process. Sometimes while doing this for suggestions like felling warm or time distortion I would notice myself responding to the suggestions.

I figured that doing a repetitive rhythmic physical activity while being deep in thought I entered a trance state to some degree and this increased my response to suggestion. I know of some hypnotists who claim that when they are working with a client they are almost as deep as the client.

Do you think you may be hypnotizing your self along with your clients? I think that if your unconscious mind regards the suggestions as relevant and helpful to you it may accept them.
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions! And yes, I do agree that often while hypnotizing someone, the hypnotist may benefit from relevant suggestions.

Monday, July 2, 2007

The Poll

Today, it is a cup of tea that sits idly by waiting to be consumed. What happened to the weekend? It seemed like just moments ago I sat down to type in Friday's posting.

Well, I noticed Blogger on draft (Blogger's testing zone of new features) now offers polls. What fun. So, seems like we should try it out. Perhaps this will become a regular Monday feature, a shorter less involved question than the Sunday one.

So, if you have not noticed it, it is to the right of this posting. It is now above my image icon. The answers are totally anonymous, so please feel free to answer the questions honestly. I will also keep a posting record of all the results.

If you have any questions you would like the polls to include, please let me know.

This week's questions is asking if you are a hypnotist, do you use hypnosis personally. If you feel like giving a longer answer, feel free to respond to this post.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Sunday Question - Client Suggestions

The Sunday question is when hypnotizing others do the suggestions you give affect you? In other words, do you find yourself experiencing the outcome the clients' hypnosis?

Personally, a lot of my clients come to me with changes they internally want to make that are removed enough from me that I would never know if the suggestions I give would affect me. I am not a smoker, not currently addicted to anything (well, that may not be completely true - there is the morning coffee and or tea, but no one has ever come to me for caffeine issues), among others.

However, what I do notice is that when working with weight loss clients, I occasionally get personal benefit. It is usually with suggestions for eating only when the body needs food, not so much the mind. I find my snacking goes way down, as do my portion sizes.

How about you?