The Transparent Hypnotist

Location: Germantown, Maryland

Cyber Location: members.aol.com/marciadp

1. Are you a full time hypnotist, part-time or hobbyist?

Part time until my daughter is out of college, and I plan to go full time then.

2. Do you specialize in any type of hypnosis?

Smoking cessation, stress management, pediatric hypnosis, phobias, etc.
3. Is there any type of hypnosis you do not do? Why?

No.

4. Do you use self-hypnosis regularly in your life? If so, how?

Yes, as pain management, stress management.

5. Describe your hypnosis office or work setting. I have two offices.

One is at a wellness center. The other is in my home - I converted my living room into an office. Two recliners, a sofa and two chairs.

6. Describe a typical day in your life.

First my day job as a tech writer, then home or the wellness center to get ready for clients.
7. Where did you get your training in hypnosis and are you certified?

The Hypnotherapy Institute in New Jersey. I am certified as a master hypnotherapist.

8. Most fabulous hypnosis technique you use?

Ericksonian techniques and parts regression therapy.

9. Worse moment ever in a hypnosis setting that ended up being a valuable learning experience.

I was working with a 14 year old with Khron’s Disease, who was having problems with having bloodwork drawn. Her mother told me it was the needles. Taught the girl self hypnosis and the magic spot technique. She was able to achieve trance easily, did a pinch test, and she never felt it. The following week, she was back, and the mother and grandmother were there, saying she became combative, and still fought having the blood drawn. I finally asked the mother to let me talk with the girl (very much in a child state). The girl said, yes, she was able to do what I taught her. I asked her why she was having a problem at the doctor’s office. She said it was the rubber band that hurt - the tourniquet. She really wasn’t worried about the needle. I got her back in hypnosis and talked about the tourniquet. I asked her to imagine that when the tourniquet was used, it was like a big teddy bear hug squeezing her tight, helping her to get better soon. I learned that with children, the parents really don’t always know. Never take the parent’s word for it. No matter the age of the child, get the child’s input.

10. Any words of advice to potential clients or other hypnotist.

The mind is so powerful, so fascinating, and to use it for a larger potential is exciting.

Sometimes I could just scream (and maybe I will - primal scream therapy, kinda nice). Marketing, marketing, marketing. That is all there ever is or so it seems. Imagine that phrase said in a Jan Brady sort of way and you have my tone and my meaning. It really eats into time. What sort of world is this where rather than being good at what we do, we have to indulge in these things we do not do well. I know it comes with the territory, but it is really burning my energy until a client comes in and I remember why I go through it. But it would be nice to have more clients, less marketing.

With that said, I am always looking for some sort of marketing thing that will not zap me. The is one of the reason’s why I started The Unwinding Path- so I could try out various things in a way that I enjoy (being that I am an addicted blogger). So then comes along Guerrilla Multilevel Marketing, a book and strategy by Jay Levinson and James Dillehay, which may prove to be an inspiration. They have devised a system for Network Marketing Leads. On their web site they offer a free sample chapter, which was an easy read (not talking over or under my level) and the table of contents. Perhaps it is like most products of this sort in the sense that it is all common sense, but it looks like it would be a good direction to follow.

Has any one else tried the Guerrilla Marketing process? Any one interested in trying it with me in a month or so?

There you are, all peaceful and grateful for the air you are currently breathing. Perhaps you are afraid to be too hopeful, yet, most things are well in your world. Then something large or small shatters it and you are left wondering - what the HELL happened? Does this ring true for anyone else?

Well this recently happened to me after an initial visit with a potential new client. He came to discuss the possibility of me hypnotizing him for smoking cessation. I have always been very respectful of those who choose this route of consultation rather than just making an appointment for the session itself. It gives both of us an opportunity to know if we want to work together. And I just realized as I typed those very words, that this is indeed the case - we both get to decide.

At first I was going to use this post to rant about how he was completely distasteful and would probably not be a great client - I am not so sure he is capable of listening to my suggestions. My impression from our meeting is that he was more curious about hypnosis (in a skeptical kind of way with ideas of disproving it) and about not letting a “female” take control of him (even though I tried in vain apparently- to explain that the hypnotist is never in control of the client and that if he does not believe it will work, it probably will not).

There is always a pang of something when I realize I may not be able to help someone who seeks my services, but I suspect this man (my polite side wants to call him a gentleman, but the truth side of my consciousness is unable to do so) would be wasting his money. Yuck.

So rather than the vent session I had thought this would be, what I have come to realize in writing this, is that I do not have to accept him as a client and that is just fine.

Yuck and good riddance.

Sometime back this past summer, I blogged about a day when I was not up to my usual par in clothing and style. I received some very nice support from you all about it that made me feel much better. However, I have as yet to lapse into total casualness in my work practice.

Now another dilemma faces me. I recently was at a networking event and the subject of cars came up (I almost think this should be outlawed from polite conversation as are politics, religion and sex. LOL). There seems to be rampant opinion about what a car says about a person, especially a small business owner. It does not matter if you are frugal or not, apparently people believe that the niceness of a car tells more about you in your profession than does one’s actual work. I am being a bit sarcastic here, but may be not.

Well in my insecurities about this, I have been looking at the idea of getting a “business car.” Car Prices are not so bad these days, if one comparison shops. Carsblvd.com offers such a comparison where you can select the type of car you are interested in buying (plus various details like make, years, etc) and it gives you a couple of quotes. It seems fair enough. What happens is that dealers get to give competing quotes that may provide for an opportunity on a good deal.

The problem is that I have no idea about what sort of car I would like. It would have to have great gas mileage, but also a classic look. Do you think there are classic cars that are like the tailoring of classic clothes - they never really go out of style?

In researching Ellie’s Favorite Five, I end up spending a great amount of time on my fellow hypnotists web sites. It is a rather enjoyable occupation, if you ask me. I love exploring how we all define the hypnotic experience, so I thought periodically I would share some of these definitions with you.

This first one is not from a hypnosis site, actually. It is from The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Dictionary of Medical Terms (I was there for other research needs).

Hypnosis:

A trance-like state in which a person becomes more aware and focused and is more open to suggestion.

I find this particularly interesting because of the usage of the word “trance-like.” This is a historical (I actually mistyped that as hysterical, whoops) debate among those practicing hypnosis - is there such a thing as trance? I guess using the word “trance-like” allows room for either.

As always, your opinion is appreciated.

Click here to view my definition.

Ellie needs a vacation. January has just plum tuckered her out, but alas there is no reprieve insight for awhile (well that’s not right, there are a few road trips planned for a few weekends, but I want it now. LOL). So, to help me refuel my batteries and with hopes that this will help you as well, I decided to list my current favorite five vacation scripts. For those non-hypnotists who read this, I recommend Robert Hughes’ By the Sea because it has almost everything one needs to have a full hypnosis experience, except a recorder.

Ellie’s Favorite Five

Silvia Hartmann - Ice River. Reading like poetry, this visualization takes a winter scene and turns it into a mystical experience. Silvia refers to this experience as a “hypodream,” differentiating it from regular hypnosis because it does not seek earthly results (weight loss, smoking cessation, and so on). It has a bit of New Age thrown in and seeks to help those interested with Lucid Dreaming and entering the psychic realms. It is a vacation from the ordinary.

Robert Hughes - Relaxation by the Sea. This is a fully encompassing script that is originally suggested for creating your own, personal hypnosis audio. It involves an induction, a countdown deepener, and even physical response. The imagery is gorgeous and very soothing.

Christine Davies - Holiday Stroll. This is a beautiful walk that one might take when staying at a hotel. It has lovely guided imagery of a garden and then a beach. This would require another induction and deepener or could be used for imagery work itself.

Wayne F. Perkins - A One Minute Vacation. Who cannot use a one minute vacation? This is a self-hypnosis relaxation exercise that allows the participant to choose the vacation or place of peace. It is very permissive.

Ron Stubbs - A Mental Vacation. I include this because it is extremely similar to Wayne Perkins’ One Minute Vacation. There are only slight modifications. I am not sure which script came first, but it is a good example of either Universal Consciousness or influence. They are interesting in their slight differences.

Chicory coffee and Beignets - that is where my heart is this Fat Tuesday morning. While the rest of the States are geared up for Super Tuesday, I am not. I am sitting here, trying to get myself motivated to go vote and there is a certain detachment that has occurred within my being, almost like low-grade depression. It seems a waste to put Super Tuesday and Fat Tuesday on the same day. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Perhaps it is that I am still a bit bummed about missing Hypnoticon last weekend or the realization that I probably will not make it Vegas for Solid Gold either, too much going on to be able to get away, but I really think a change of perspective would be good about now. But not to addle you with my own half-empty thoughts today, I can pinpoint my issues.

I have a client I am working with who has a fabulous trip planned to the Far East (is that still PC or is the term out of favor?). In between the wonderful travel itinerary and exoticness of it all, there is a world of anxiety. The long flights to Hong Kong, not speaking the language, and even the different diet are conflicting with her desire to travel. So, we are working on all this - enjoying the release from having to be in control during the flight and using that time for therapeutic rest and healing. This along with suggestion work on concentration and retention for learning the language, as well as self-permission to eat only what appeals and not feel forced to eat anything she finds distasteful, all serve to give her more pleasure once there. However I suspect once she gets caught up in the trip itself, she will be fine. It is just the pre-jitters and some other inner issues that are adding to her guilt in going (leaving the children with the grandparents for the first time) and such.

So as I work on pulling a program together for her, I get this slight pang and longing to be the one going on this trip.

But, it’s Fat Tuesday. I will have and eat my king cake, too.

Well, it seems as though I did not accomplish very much on my list for last week. Perhaps planning so ahead is not the way to go on such a blog as this. It so easy to get caught up in the rapture of blogging, it is easy to forget that I still see clients. LOL. (I would never actually forget that). So suffice to say that we will continue the road of forms of hypnosis and the normal stuff, 10 Questions, Esoteric Saturday, and the Sunday Question. Whatever happens beyond that will be icing on the cake, though I am trying to get more regular with Ellie’s Favorite Five. I am just about over the slight negativity from the last time I did it (odd response to linking to someone else). Yes, I am sensitive and as I do this for fun, it takes a little longer to recoup sometimes.

So, look for the new poll soon, and also we start The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain today on The Unwinding Path.

Happy Monday.

In the end, I did not go to Hypnoticon. But, from what I am hearing, everyone has had a great time. One thing they did, apparently, is scatter out through Atlanta and did street hypnosis, where they approached strangers and asked if they wanted a hypnotic experience. They then proceeded to provide the opportunity and hypnotize those interested. Though I suspect I would not have been so comfortable doing this, it is an interesting way to educate the public about hypnosis.

So here is the Sunday question:

If you are a hypnotist would you consider doing street hypnosis and be comfortable doing so, and if so, why or why not?

For those non-hypnotists, if you were approached by a stranger on the street, would you consent to try hypnosis and if so why or why not?

*Entrecard users - 50 entrecredits for my favorite response.

Since our past Esoteric Saturday’s were a bit heavy, thought we would hit today with something a little more fun. A children’s book. That’s right folks, hypnosis has made it into the picture book world for children with Probuditi! Written and illustrated by Caldecott winner Chris Van Allsburg, this is an interesting little foray into our favorite subject.

Not to spoil it for you (it is a super, quick read), it is about a little boy who gets it into his head to hypnotize his pesky, little sister and mayhem ensues. At first, my feathers were ruffled because it seemed to embrace one of the awful myths about hypnosis, but the end shows that it might not be as it seems. It is a subtle ending and it’s rather charming. Point taken.

Interestingly enough, when you read the reviews for it in Amazon, no one really mentions the hypnosis angle (which is a major theme). Instead people take the racial topic, which I personally think has nothing to do with the book. But people will read into what they want, I guess. However, last year it was voted one of the 25 best children’s books by Time Magazine.

Anyway, if you have read this, let me know your thoughts.