The Transparent Hypnotist

I was thinking about Gloria’s idea of starting our own hypnosis cartoon or something that showed a positive side to what we do. And as I was tripping around cyberspace, I watched a 20 minute video project called “The Scarlet Avenger.” It is wonderfully camp, but done extremely well with the 1940s genre. Anyway there is the wonderful moment when the villain, “The Skull,” tries to hypnotize the heroine. At first, I was about to sigh, roll my eyes and shake my head, but kept watching. I am so glad I did. I think they did a good job with showing certain elements of hypnosis. I will not say much more and let you decide for yourself.

So, sit back, relax…

If you have decided you are now a fan of the Scarlett Avenger or of filmmaker Scott C. Clements, you can stay up to date with him and his blog at scarletavenger.blogspot.com.

My partner gets a daily quote of Zen sent to his email. Most of the time he shakes his head and hits “delete.” Then sometimes, they suddenly ping into my email, such as this one.

He said after reading my comments on regression and seeing the “truth,” this one was meant for me (and now you):

In your heart you already know

Perhaps sometimes, we need a hypnotist to help us see what the heart really says.

Hope you all have a great Friday.

So, here is this blog that I share with you on a daily basis, and you probably have it figured out that I am a prolific journaler. Yes, I even have a private journal that not even you get to read. Sometimes I do share snippets from it, but that is the joy, it is completely up to my whim. It is definitely my own form of therapy, uncensored (un-spell-checked - you can just imagine).

I have kept a journal since I was 16. A few journals have gotten me in trouble because others have felt a need to pry into them, which if you have ever had that happen, feels like a violation of the soul. For a while I would stop writing journals because of this and find myself feeling like something was missing from my life. It was. My words, my conclusions, my thoughts, they had no outlet. So, hence another journal would be started.

Often I find myself suggesting to clients that they keep journals to track their habits, patterns, and stresses. Surprisingly, several have admitted that they used to keep journals but had had experiences like mine and did not feel like they could keep one without it being read. (Shame on you if you violate someone by reading his or her journal).

So, I have been searching for a solution and may have just found one with MyTherapyJournal.com. It is online and secure (and you know, if those who feel a need to read your journal hack the system, well, maybe you need to face some truth yourself). The trick is to not let any one know your password (but you can change it if someone figures it out). The big plus, though it does cost a bit to have a journal here, is that the information is stored outside of your location. It cannot be happened upon accidentally.

Additional factors I like about this program are that it automatically graphs information, so you can see progress (or patterns). There are two ways it does this. There are preset questions you answer in your journal entries or you can customize the questions for your specific needs. How you answer these will be recorded on the Progress Graph(sm). It also tracks your mood.

There are several other factors that make this attractive as well. There is a key word search for finding information quickly, so if you want to look back on a particular issue, you can easily find your past entries. And for the visually inclined, one can upload photos to it and email entries that can be shared.

In today’s earlier post, we talked about the truth. It seems like this idea of a safe journal would really help one to understand personal truths, to plan out life accordingly, and see the growth process.

To visit MyTherapyJournal.com, please click here.

Here is an example of the Progress Graph(sm).

Sometimes I wake up in the morning with a song running through my brain. Today it is something else; it it a phrase that keeps repeating itself.

The truth will set you free.

Very rarely do I have biblical quotes that haunt me, but today it is this one. I have no clue why it is there, but it is.

So, yes, the faithful cup of tea is in my hand, and I am pondering it.

I have been doing some regression work with clients, which is why I think this phrase is coming to mind. And being from the school of thought that believes that the client must come to his or her own conclusions, make their own connections for it to be helpful, there are times when I just have to clamp my mouth shut and sit on my hands. It takes everything not to jump up in the chair and say “don’t you see it? It’s right there in front of you.” So, then I try to ask questions that will bring them to the point (without leading questions).

Well, luckily I do this because the other day when working with someone I know fairly well, this occurred. This person is trying to make some life changing decisions. With everything that he had said, I thought I knew the conclusion he was going to make. IT WAS SO OBVIOUS. But I kept my mouth shut and continued asking him questions about how the experience correlated to his present situation.

And shut me up, blow me down, what he came up with was so beyond my vision or awareness, I was dumbstruck. His answers were profoundly insightful. But it is the case as James Garfield once said:

The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.

And I think this is the crux of the matter. The truth is always there, but sometimes it is so hard to live by the knowledge, to live honestly. I suspect if we all lived honest lives, in that we live the way we really want too or should, life would probably cease to function, sort of like the impossible Utopian world idea.

To do what would set us free is to take a risk, to potentially give up the comfort zones we have created in mediocrity. And so then is it not fear that stops us in our tracks?

But I am ever optimistic (most days, though I have been a bit grumbly this week). I think if one learns “one’s truth,” it can take hold like a root, and growth happens, perhaps slow and imperceptible, but it is there doing its thing until something fabulous blossoms.

Now you have read my ramblings, feel free to do the same.

Maybe it is the full moon (or semi-full) or maybe it is just something within me that makes me restless, but every now and then I harbor a fantasy about moving. And I have done this, uprooted myself at various times and started fresh. It is completely invigorating. And yes, I even think of moving when I am perfectly content where I am. Perhaps I am an adventurer at heart. Perhaps that explains some of the hypnosis affinity, it is never the same day twice.

So sometimes, I curb the urge for new ground just by looking and thinking about where I would go. Realize I have thought about places from Boise, Idaho (which I really like by the way) to Madagascar. And thanks to our pal the ol’ Internet, our connecting force, my imagination is given cart blanc.

You really should try this, just looking into the idea of moving. Sometimes I find getting wrapped up in the little details makes me lose interest pretty quickly. But sometimes not. And I do not mean looking at the glamorous “this is what I would like life to be” concept, but more in line with “this is my life now and how I would do it.” This means considering total relocation, selling houses, finding a new place to live and work, all that fun stuff.

Now for this little project, I am all about easy. There are websites or portals that you can go to, such as the ones from National Relocation. This gives a definite idea of what it really means to relocate. they have it all, movers, agents, loan officers - works. If you would need to consider selling your home, that means finding out its value and that of the potential place of movement. You can find all this on their real estate section. And once you have a good idea about that, it is time to be realistic, not in desire, but in what you can afford. They have a mortgage section that explains what kinds of loans are available and you can get mortgage quotes (though I would not indulge in wasting some poor loan officer’s time unless I was serious). And if you are really into the whole realistic fantasy (which I admit I tend to fall into this category…if one must categorize) you can consider the idea of snapping up foreclosures. Your dream house may be there, waiting for someone to not make their payments. If you look at the stats in a specific area that you are interested in, it is truly amazing what you will find. In all honesty though, I find foreclosures to be a sad idea, bad karma or something. Just because some one had some misfortune does not mean some one else should benefit by it. But this is my fantasy, feel free to do as you please.

Now once you have done this realistic fantasy thing, you may find yourself totally stressed, which may make the day to day where you are seem just a bit better, or perhaps if you are like me, you will see the wonderful potential of adventure out there just waiting to be had - if not in acquisition, in dreams. Then again, maybe you will be truly sparked into momentum and find yourself really going somewhere new.

Today, I made arrangements to move to Connecticut. Perhaps tomorrow I will consider Kansas. I hear Manhattan is nice.

I have given up the idea of sleeping…at least for tonight. Maybe it is true that as one gets older, one needs less sleep?

And so, while waiting for the kettle to wake up, I shall continue my diatribe about doctors.

Paul had some good advice yesterday about handling referrals.

After attending last year’s NGH conference, it seemed to be stressed, particularly by the doctors, that we should let them know if we are working with one of their patients and give them a follow up. I totally respect this, as this is how they work with their medical peers. However, this leads to a few problems. Many of my clients say they mention to their doctors that they want to try hypnosis. Several have reported that the doctors often look at hypnosis as a crack-pot remedy (still?). Now to me this just speaks of an uneducated, over-worked-with seeing-the-pharmaceuticals or surgical instrument sales people. Sorry. Transparent enough, for you? Now for those of you doctors who do recommend concepts like hypnosis, good for you. You have my complete respect (and positive thoughts).

Now I do understand that doctors provide their own form of healing, which is why we go to them traditionally. Hypnosis may not even be on their radar, and that is fine as well (I cannot speak about all the minutia involving prescriptions). All that I am saying is that if your patient, my potential client, feels this might be a positive step in their wellness, do not just disregard it along with the snake oils. Rather than doing them a disservice and making them feel small for the suggestion, try looking into it as an option for your patient.

Well, shoot. My tea is ready and I am spent.

Ethics. What an interesting concept. As I sit with my faithful British Breakfast tea today I am thinking about ethics. Perhaps it is not really ethics but a question of them.

The concept is doctors and our relationship to or with them. I am fairly doctor friendly for the most part - respect what I do and I shall offer the same courtesy. I work with a couple who send me referrals and generally, I consider what I do complimentary to traditional medicine. It is not a substitute.

On my intake form, I ask about current illnesses and if the new client is seeing a counselor, psychologist, etc.

Here is the dilemma. I have several clients who come to me for various needs from addiction elimination to sexual issues. When I ask them about following up with their doctors, counselors, or psychologist, they often (more than not) ask me not to contact them. I always respect the wishes of my clients or I do not take them on in the case of certain mental conditions.

Now, I suspect the doctors and such would still want me to contact them, but as a patient, I have had things in the past that I felt were not any of my GP’s business, so I respect my client’s desires to do the same.

Any thoughts? And yes, this question is open to anyone at all - clients, doctors, quick browsers…

You may have noticed this week’s poll ask about hypnosis organizations. I feel obligated to say the following:

This is not a complete list and I mean no disrespect to any organization left off.

Since no one answered yesterday’s question, I had to go with the organizations that I was aware of and could think of this morning. So, if you want to mention an organization not listed in the poll, please feel free to list it in the comment section of this post. If anyone else belongs to organizations mentioned on the comments, feel free to give it a “here here.”

Also, for those of you who answered last week’s poll on consultations, a few of you mentioned “other.” I am curious, what do you mean by “other”?

Most mornings, here we sit, I with my coffee or tea and laptop, and you with, well whatever you drink. And you patiently read my words about my life and feelings about being a hypnotist. Ah, what a grand romance it is. Needless to say, I am completely committed to this relationship.

But…but…it is nice when this effort helps to pay the bills, or at least for the Internet and coffee habit I have. One such way that I am doing this is becoming involved with www.blogsvertise.com and the opportunity for you to do the same is there as well. You have my blessings and support to take advantage of this (if it keeps you coming back to have coffee with me). The way it works is that you register your blog (you have to have a blog) with them. If your blog is approved by www.blogsvertise.com, an administrator will assign you writing tasks to talk about a specific advertiser. You do not have to endorsement them, just talk about them in at least 60 to 100 words and include a minimum of three or more links. Payment is anywhere between $4 - $20 a post and is made to you through PayPal. In other words, start a blog, make sure you have a PayPal account and talk about things that you enjoy. It is that simple.

If you are interested, you might want to look at their FAQ.

There are a few organizations for hypnotist out there. How does one ever decide which one’s to join? And why join? What’s the point?

There, that’s it, the Sunday Question. Organizations - which ones do you have membership in and why? And if you do not belong to any, why?

If you have been reading this blog for a little while, you probably already know my affiliation with the National guild of Hypnotists. But why are my loyalties there? Well, when thinking about going professional, I talked to as many people as I could and looked into various associations. As I was barely starting out, I did not have a lot of money to spend on memberships so I chose one. That meant it had to be really inclusive. I chose the NGH because it represented several interests (performance, clinical, metaphysical, etc.), was well established with a large membership and time, offered certificated that is respected, and had decent prices on vendors with malpractice.

So that’s mine, how about you?