The Transparent Hypnotist

Today’s tale takes place a few months after yesterday’s.  In that time I had begun to make my own recordings for reinforcement of my work with Marcia.  Being new, I had her listen to them first to make sure I wasn’t doing anything stupid.  Marcia told me I had a talent for coming up with good suggestions, and that I should consider getting training.

Like a kid with a new toy, I was excited about the possibility of learning to become a hypnotist.  While I waited for the beginning of the semester to begin that training, I eagerly bought books and read them and practiced on myself.  And I talked hypnosis with my friends, coworkers, anyone who seemed interested.  What I hadn’t done yet, though, was actually try to induce a trance in anyone else.

Then one evening a coworker, her teenage daughter, and I took in an improv show in Arlington.  After the show we sat around, waiting for the crowd to clear, and my friend mentioned to her daughter that I was learning to be a hypnotist.  “Oooh!” was her response.  “Would you hypnotize me?”

My first instinctive reaction was panic, of course.  Here?  With all this noise and all these people around?  But then I remembered a rapid induction I’d seen Marcia demonstrate, and it seemed foolproof.  The trick, I realized, would be to project confidence — act as if I’d done it a hundred times before.

So I stood the teen in front of a chair, feet together, stood a little bit too close, and had her look into my eyes.  I took my thumbs and traced the upper outline of her forehead, starting in the middle and working out and down past her temples.  Sure enough, as my thumbs crossed the temples her eyelids fluttered — I pulled her sharply toward me and gave the command to “Sleep!”

Sure enough, her eyes closed and she fell into me.  I caught her, still pouring suggestions into her ear to relax, let go, etc. — they may have been as much for my benefit as for hers — and guided her into the chair.

It was a short trance, basically just a down and back up with a few suggestions for energy and alertness for the drive home (Marcia taught me even before my training started to always give suggestions for a positive experience).  She came up on cue, grinning broadly and feeling great.  Her mom, my coworker, was impressed.  So was I, of course.

That adventurous nature, the willingness to play and experience new and cool things, is one of the reasons I love working with teens.  My first time introduced me to that.

<MR>

It was a dreary, gray, miserable Saturday morning … or maybe it just seemed that way to me as I drove down the highway to the home office of Marcia Proctor, a lady I’d corresponded with over email but not yet met.  A virtual stranger.  A hypnotist.

She met me at the door, led me to her consulting room, and listened while I told her a rambling tale about a dying marriage and various related crises.  I remember telling Marcia that what I hoped she could do was give me a way to draw the emotional poison, so I could deal with things without going (further) off the deep end.

We talked about hypnosis:  what it is, how it works, what it can and can’t do.  I actually knew a fair amount because I’d had an interest for a long time, but hearing her confirm what I knew and add to it was comforting.  And then came the induction … a short, gentle, permissive induction that is one of my favorites to this day.  Marcia has a great voice; in just a minute or two I was drifting on it, hearing but not quite following the stream of soothing words.  I nodded repeatedly, though I wasn’t quite sure sometimes what I was nodding about.  Something about a ring gesture with my finger and thumb, and letting tension and frustration and anger drain through it.  Yeah, right.

And then I was back, not really sure how much time had passed, not really sure anything significant had happened — after all, I more or less remembered everything Marcia had said.  Surely I wasn’t all that hypnotized, right?

“Go ahead,” she told me.  “Make your finger ring.”

Right, the finger ring.  I remembered that.  So I touched my thumb and forefinger together in a circle, and gently rubbed the tips together.  And I felt it — that sensation of stress and tension draining away, and at the same time calm and peace and contentment flooding in to take their place.  I did it again, and again, while Marcia watched my face and grinned.  Six tons of emotional weight dropped away in a few moments, just like that.

I left Marcia’s office with my shoulders up, my head high, and my spirits soaring.  For the first time in weeks I felt as if I had a say in how my life would unfold.  I was thinking clearly and in command of my feelings instead of the other way around.  That proved to me the amazing power in every person’s mind and showed how a good hypnotist can teach someone to focus that power and use it for good.

It was an awakening.

<MR>

By John Weir

I will always remember the first time I ever hypnotized somebody. It was
during the summer of 2000 and I was 18 years old. After attending a
seminar on personal development, I received a video titled “How To
Hypnotize Someone.” The video taught the hand clench rapid induction and
included a script. After watching the video several times and reading
through the script, I called my friend Nicole and persuaded her to let me
try it. She bravely agreed after some coaxing and met me at my apartment.

I didn’t know anything about hypnosis but I did what the tape said and
acted confidently. She sat down and I told her: “In a moment I’m going to
hypnotize you, it will take less than a second. In a moment I want you to
extend your arms straight out in front of you, fingers spread, then close
your eyes. The moment you close your eyes, it will feel like magnets in
your palms and they will begin pulling and tugging together. The moment
they touch, your fingers interlock and clench down tight together, so much
so that no matter how hard you try you will be unable to pull them apart.”

The entire time I am starring directly into her eyes just like the video
said and as I starred it already looked like she was hypnotized. I asked
if she was ready to be hypnotized and she said yes. I told her to extend
her arms and close her eyes. As soon as she did, I quickly pulled out the
script and gave suggestions like the ones I described. To my amazement,
she responded right away and her hands were pulling closer together. When
they touched her hands locked together and she truly couldn’t pull them
apart. I couldn’t believe it! Following the script I suggested: “In a
moment I’m going to touch your hands and say the word SLEEP. The moment I
do your hands instantly come apart and your entire body goes loose and
limp as a rag doll.” I was full anticipation and on the edge of my seat.
I leaned over, smacked her hands down and powerfully said SLEEP. She
immediately went as loose as a rag doll and fell straight off the chair
and onto the floor! When she hit the floor she didn’t ever react! I
couldn’t believe what just happened and was filled with both amazement and
fear because the script didn’t say what to do next! So I quickly thought
of the video, counted to 3 and told her to open her eyes. She opened her
eyes and she told me she felt amazing all over. After that experience, I
caught the “hypno-fever” and the rest is history.

They say you never forget your first time, but sometimes it’s hard to say just when that time was. Did I hypnotize someone for the first time in those years when I would invent fascinating mind games to lull my adolescent, insomniac self to sleep? Or might I say that my first time was the essence of the practical joke when my husband and I “hypnotized” several chickens to lay still on their backs on the stools of the ranch bunkhouse just before breakfast? (There are at least two “inductions” for chickens, by the way.)

I guess not – although those were events symptomatic of my lifelong fascination with consciousness and the way we can intentionally shift it.

The first time really, shortly after my certification and advanced training, was on a camping road trip with my children. We were in Yellowstone National Park, and my seven-year-old daughter Carson Rose was eager to see just about every waterfall we could get to. Unlike Morgan, her Wyoming-born, twelve-year-old brother, Carson had never before experienced high altitudes. After the half-mile, steep hike down to a lovely waterfall, she went totally limp after the first several steps back up the switchbacks and began to whine.

Now this trail was steep. I could huff and puff my way up on my own, but no way could I carry a tall 2^nd grader. We stopped, and I considered our options. Carson sat on a stone wall looking like a wilted flower ready to collapse.

Suddenly I realized I had tools I’d not tried out in practical reality before. I did a quick, child-oriented verbal induction with my tired daughter, and reminded her of the feeling of being strong and energetic.   I suggested that her muscles could recall being powerful and capable, and her mind remember being enthusiastic and determined. In about ten minutes I wrapped it up, wondering if it would really work.

Voila, Carson opened her eyes with a big smile and hopped down from the wall, ready to lead the way back up the trail. She made it all the way back without a lag or a complaint, but the bigger change, I know, was in me. For the first time, I truly appreciated the practical power of the techniques I had learned and would continue to use professionally, long after the kids were grown.

Caere Dunn

I am often asked what does hypnosis feel like? The curiosity is understandable. Most people have an awareness of stage hypnosis, either from live shows, or on TV, or even by watching clips on YouTube. As a result, people tend to think that hypnosis must be a very strange thing; how else could it make people behave in such an odd way?

Over the years, hypnosis has been portrayed in the media as many things, including a form of mind-control. Because of this, and as people tend to fear the unknown, the idea of “being hypnotised” often scares people.

However, hypnosis is not an unusual experience. I can guarantee that you have been “hypnotised” many times in your life. For example, have you ever driven to work and thought “I can’t remember any of that journey”?

Or consider how time flies by as you watch your favorite TV show; or how you can become so engrossed in a book that, when the phone rings, you jump right out of your skin!

All of these are examples of everyday hypnosis. Amnesia (not recalling a journey), time distortion (the evening passing by), and negative hallucination (enjoying a book so much that nothing else seems to exist) are examples of what they call “hypnotic phenomena”.

So, the first thing to remember is that hypnosis is a familiar, everyday occurrence - there is nothing to fear. Who hasn’t had the experience of drifting off into your own little world whilst talking to somebody? Hypnosis is something you’ll recognise, and also something unique to you. (Even whilst reading this article, occasionally your eyes will glaze over*, and you’ll recall a feeling or memory, and at that point you’re in a hypnoidal state, a precursor to hypnosis).

(* Don’t worry, I won’t be offended…)

So, what does hypnosis feel like? The truth is, hypnosis feels different from person to person, because people experience hypnosis in their own unique way. You can have a different experience of hypnosis from week to week, because you – like all people – are complex. Wonderful, complex, amazing, and with a built-in consciousness that is beyond mere description.

(Which means that, because hypnosis is an aspect of consciousness itself, perhaps I shouldn’t be trying to describe it! However, I’d best answer the question now that I’ve asked it…)

So - to answer the question - I’ll outline some of the things that often happen when experiencing hypnosis.

In a clinical setting, hypnosis usually feels deeply relaxing. Although you don’t have to be relaxed to enter hypnosis (and, by the way, entering hypnosis is always your choice – you cannot be forced to enter hypnosis), relaxation is used because it helps. Also, relaxation feels good, and can help with a person’s general well-being.

Typically, the muscles in your face and around your eyes are the first to relax, and your eyelids grow heavy and comfortable. To experience hypnosis, you do not have to close your eyes, but it can help if you do. However, if you keep your eyes open your pupils will dilate and you’ll get a ‘glazed over’ look, like staring off into the distance…

If you choose to close your eyes, your eyelids might flutter for a short while, particularly as you enter hypnosis, before becoming very still. Then, as tension leaves your shoulders, arms and legs, you may feel really heavy, or maybe very light, or you may even notice a feeling like floating in your own body. Imagine the most relaxing bath you’ve ever taken, hypnosis often feels just like that!

Because your body is relaxing so thoroughly, even the saliva glands can relax, meaning that sometimes you might swallow a bit more than usual. Also, your breathing will probably become slow and comfortable, and maybe your pulse will slow down a little too.

It’s not unusual for a person to report a shift in their temperature, most frequently reporting that they feel a little cooler. Sometimes the therapist may offer you a light covering (a hypno-blanket!) In a clinical setting, hypnosis is often so relaxing, that people don’t want it to end.

So far I’ve described feelings of profound relaxation, but hypnosis is much more than that; so what does it feel like mentally?

The first thing to note is that you are not “put under”. You retain your awareness; in fact hypnosis has been demonstrated to increases your awareness – more on that later.

Often, there is a sense of expectancy. Some researchers consider hypnosis to be, at least in part, a sociocognitive phenomenon (try wheeling that line out at a dinner party some time.) In simple terms, this is the idea that hypnosis happens because of social factors, such as the “role” you play when you’re being hypnotised, in conjunction with normal psychological processes. As a result, when you’re entering hypnosis you often feel a sense of “what is going to happen next?”

As you relax into hypnosis, you quickly become very focussed on your inner experience, to the near-exclusion of other ongoing stimuli, such as traffic noise and the like. So whilst the outside world gently drifts into the background, you gradually become less aware of your body. This is sometimes known as dissociation.

Aside from this physical dissociation, during hypnosis there is often a separation of conscious and unconscious thought. Researchers conceptualise this mental dissociation as “a relaxation or decreased reliance on the executive cognitive functions”. In other words, this is the experience of letting go, not wanting to control everything, and becoming completely absorbed in the moment. If you’ve ever had a Sunday morning lie-in, your train of thought wandering freely, enjoying the experience of your mind doing the thinking for you, then you’ll know just what that feels like…

Something else that will seem similar. Have you ever noticed that, whilst dreaming, we often accept completely illogical ideas, imagery, or events, without noticing anything odd? It is only upon waking that we appreciate just how weird and wonderful the dream actually was. In 1959, Martin Orne, MD, PhD, coined the phrase “Trance logic”. Orne was a famous researcher into hypnosis, who discovered that hypnosis also increases our ability to tolerate contradictory or illogical information. So when you are experiencing hypnosis, you will perhaps not be so focussed on logic and reason, instead prepared to think with more flexibility than before.

That increased flexibility has been noted by many researchers over the years. There is a term in psychology, cognitive style, which refers to the way in which we think, perceive and remember information; our preferred approach to the thought. It has been demonstrated that hypnosis increases our ability to move in and out of different cognitive styles. This increased ability means that, rather than losing awareness, in hypnosis we actually gain awareness: to think more clearly, to see things from different points of view, to ascribe new meaning to past events…

From a therapeutic point of view, this factor really justifies the use of hypnosis when helping people to find real and lasting change in their lives. Hypnosis increases our ability to look at problems differently.

Ah… one more thing: in hypnosis, there can be a distortion in our experience of time, often leading to an underestimation of the time spent in hypnosis. That in itself can be a really interesting experience!

So, to answer our question “What does hypnosis feel like?” we have profound physical relaxation, eyelids heavy and still, breathing slow and comfortable, maybe losing our sensory awareness of our body altogether.

Mentally, we are still aware, but with a day-dreamy quality that lets our minds wander; enjoyably letting go and drifting, and yet able to consider new ideas or information with greater flexibility than before…

It’s an experience of consciousness that will feel, at least in part, as familiar as gazing out of a window. And yet hypnosis is also unique – it is not simple relaxation, it is not the same as meditation, it is something vast, complex, unique and beautiful…

So this is what hypnosis feels like, and what can I say: if you’ve been thinking about experiencing it, realise now there is nothing to fear and give it a go!

Any questions or comments, you know what to do!

Adrian

One phone call changed one man’s life and as a result affected millions of others. While it may sound cliché-ish, reality is where clichés arise.

Morey Bernstein was a Denver-area hardware dealer. One night in the early 1950’s, while working out a sales campaign, he received a fateful phone call. A young man who introduced himself as Jerry Thomas said he was stranded at the Denver airport and couldn’t find a hotel room. He said that his cousin had told him that if he ever needed help in Denver to call Morey.

Morey recognized the name of Jerry’s cousin: it was one of his biggest customers. The campaign would wait: this had to come first. Morey drove out to the airport, picked up his new guest, and brought him back to stay in his guest room. Then Morey took him over to a party at a friend’s house.

Jerry proved to be a very personable individual. When asked about his hobbies, Jerry responded that his was hypnosis. This being the early 1950’s, hypnosis was not a widely-known subject, mostly disbelieved rather than believed. Challenged, Jerry gave a demonstration of hypnosis, hypnotizing one of the other guests. In addition to the standard tests during trance, he also left a post-hypnotic suggestion for the woman to remove her left stocking and shoe while eating. Everyone watched in anticipation, and she performed the task as suggested. Then, when her stocking-less and shoe-less state was brought to her attention, she was dumbfounded at the sight. To quiet the remaining doubters, she was quickly re-hypnotized and instructed to ignore anything her friends might to do make her laugh: they tried everything they could but the woman was stone-faced in response.

To say that Morey was fascinated at the sights would be an understatement. Being the grandson of the founder and born into the family business, raised and trained to take over when the time came, his life was filled with sales campaigns and straightforward business decisions: he had never experienced anything like remotely this, and was almost consumed with a passion for learning hypnosis. He read every book he could find on the subject and practiced on his neighbors and friends.

One of his practice subjects was a woman named Virginia Tighe (named Ruth Simmons in his book.) During one session, she began talking about herself as another person: Bridey Murphy, a Dublin woman in the late 19th Century. She described her life, her husband and family, and her death. There were other lives, too, but this one was by far the most detailed. In the weeks that followed, Morey questioned Virginia about her life, recording everything she said.

In 1956, Morey Bernstein collected his material and published “The Search for Bridey Murphy” which started a national phenomenon. The book itself became a multi-million copy best-seller and the story became an international sensation. The concept of reincarnation, stripped of any religious connection, resonated in the public consciousness. Reincarnation parties became the rage, even appearing as a photospread in Life Magazine.

But was the story true? Unfortunately, Morey’s own research was pretty spotty, and further investigation discovered alternative ways Virginia could have learned what she reported about Bridey’s life. Books attacking and defending the original book were published, further muddying the waters. No matter, the “Bridey Murphy” phenomenon brought hypnosis back into the national spotlight during a period when it had been lingering at the fringes of discussion, and most likely influenced others to learn about the subject.

It also generated two movies based explicitly on reincarnation: “The Undead”, a Roger Corman film, and “The She Creature.” In “The Undead”, a prostitute is hypnotized in a past-life regression to a time when she was executed for being a witch. The act of the regression changes her own personal history, endangering not only her present life but all of her intervening lives as well. The psychiatrist himself has to be regressed back to that time to correct history, at the cost of his own life. In “The She Creature,” a woman is regressed by a sinister hypnotist and becomes a national celebrity. The hypnotist is also able to use her as a trance medium to evoke a much more distant past life and manifest it in the present, ordering it to kill on his command.

Location: Manchester, UK

Cyber Location: hypnosismanchester.com

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

Full time. You could say that I work full time for part time pay.  There are loads of therapists around, its not an easy way to make a living.

2. Do you specialize in any type of hypnosis?

Yes, hypnoanalysis.  This is about finding the root cause of the clients problem.

3. Is there any type of hypnosis you do not do? Why?

I don’t do stage hypnosis.  I am not enough of a show off!

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

Actually No.  Since I went for a course of hypnoanalysis a few years ago, I don’t get stresses, angry or tired.

5. Describe your hypnosis office or work setting.

I work from a nondescript office in the city center.  My clients seem to like the anonymity of it rather that having “therapy practice” written over the door.

6. Describe a typical day in your life.

I get up at about 7.30.  Answer emails, phone messages, and do paperwork until about 11.  Drive into Manchester, see my clients till about 4. Grab something to eat.  Drive to my evening practice, see clients till
about 9.  Drive home.

7. Where did you get your training in hypnosis and are you certified?

I trained with the IAPH.

8. Most fabulous hypnosis technique you use?

Again, hypnoanalysis.

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

Going back to when I first started.  Doing a session through a Fire Alarm test.  Did not phase my client one little bit!

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

To clients I would say, forget about how many years of experience or how many letters these people have behind their name, just ask yourself “do I like this person, do they seem genuine and honest?”  If so, they
are the therapist for you.

To therapists I would urge them to really know why they want to become a therapist and make sure they feel sorted and grounded before taking on the burden of other peoples problems.

I remember well the first time I hypnotized another person. It was in the evening and my wife and I had been invited to a party. We had driven to the party in my ‘62 Buick Skylark. The party was being given for a friend’s birthday celebration.

It must have been winter, because it was dark. I don’t remember the year, or month, but I do remember the situation.

We were sitting next to each other in the front seat when we pulled up to the house. Al, Jimmy and their friends were inside waiting. They always had good parties, and we were looking forward to this one.

I had sent away for a book on hypnosis a few weeks earlier, and I’d gotten it in the mail just in time for the party. It was Harry Arons “Master Course on Hypnosis”, and I’d read a few chapters. So I thought what the heck, I’d try it out on my wife. That’s right, right here in the car in front of Al and Jimmy’s place, in the dark, before we go in. So I asked her if it she’d like to try it, and of course she said “Oh. I suppose so”.

Now I’m not saying these were ideal conditions, but who ever said they had to be. I reached up and turned on the overhead light, found a good chapter on induction and started to read, aloud. Presto. I was amazed. So was she, but like I was.

It’s just a good thing I’d read enough of the book before we got there to know what to do next. It was great. The induction went smoothly, and the part about how to awake a subject was just like the book said it should be. Of course, there was no deep trances achieved, but even a light state was more then I had hoped for.

After she awoke, we headed on in and we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest.

Gary Noble

by Gary Noble

I was at a used book sale the other day, and I came upon an interesting item titled “The Training of the Will” by Johann Lindworeky, S.J. So I picked it up and was amazed as I read the contents listed inside the front cover. WOW, I thought, this should prove interesting, very interesting. So I decided to show you the list in the table of contents. Note: this not all-inclusive. See if these topics wouldn’t interest you too:

1. The Psychology of Will.
1. The Act of Will.
2. The Will and Movement of the Body.
3. Our Purposeful Action.
4. Concerning the Power of Intention.
5. The Strength of Will Power.
6. The Motive Force of Will.

2. The Pedagogy of Will.
1. Evaluation of Specific Proposals for Forming the Will.
2. Reasons for Coue’s Success.
3. Right and Wrong ways of Thought Control.
4. Practice in Self Control.

3. The Specific Tasks.
1. Formation of Will Power.
2. Acquisition of will power.
3. The Formal Process of Making Resolutions.
4. The Content of the Training of the Will.

4. The Complete Task.
1. The Limits of the Training of the Will.

And of course, Practice Suggestions.

These chapter titles and headings would suggest a very interesting read. It would appear there are some chapters on education and some chapters about practice. The truth is, in my opinion, there‘s not much in any of these chapters to interest even the most avid hypnotist, let alone a layperson.

The guy that wrote this tomb was Jesuit Friar Johann Lindworsky. It’s said he was a pioneer in the psychology of the Will. He wrote several works, but none as famous as this popular book he penned in 1929. There are those in the Catholic community who feel this is the finest example of scholarly writing about The Will ever published by one of their own. They would have you believe you have the ability to control your Willpower through the practice and conditioning suggested in the book.

I have not found this to be the case. Of all the books I’ve read, this one is by far the most difficult to follow and understand. Although the chapters are laid out in a concise manor, and the topics follow the headings, the reading is such that you are taken away from the subject matter and thrown into a whirlwind of gobble-de-gook gibberish. The way he writes is difficult to follow, and I’m not sure weather or not Fr. Lindworsky himself can make a valid argument for the subject inferred by the title of the book.

The book begins with the obvious statement: The art of willing has interested the mind in all ages. And goes on to say: I must admit in advance that I am not able to point out an altogether simple means of training the will. Furthermore, I cannot assert that success will result from the application of my method…

He does have some feelings of superiority tough, which are portrayed by his statement in the first chapter: Here, beneath this surface rock, gold is hidden; dig of it, doing your level best, and you will surely find all you need for your life. If however, you wish to become a great man among those who will, a kindly genius must guide your hand so that you begin digging at the right spot and find a very rich vain.

His work is filled with questions, in almost every sentence, which he finds difficult to answer himself. He begins early in the first chapter telling about the child, the young person who should have access to training his will. This must be done by his teacher, not harshly, but with a firm and guided hand. There are written illustrations that prove to be highly questionable as to their practical applications in the real world.

Volition then becomes the subject, and is followed throughout the book. As you may be aware, volition and will are both very similar subjects. They even have similar definitions. Wikipedia defines willpower and volition thusly: Willpower is the colloquial, and volition the scientific, term for the same state of the will; viz., an “elective preference”. The need to bring volition into the text is brought on by the need to test subjects for their ability to retain the training that is to follow. Testing the will is almost impossible, says Lindworeky. Although the act of will has various forms of expression.

He does make a valid argument for “The Theory of a Necessary Preceding Image of Movement”. There is no movement without a preceding image of the movement. If, however, such an image of the movement has been formed, the movement will follow of itself, if no inhibition appears, because the nervous excitement radiates from the center of sensation, which is activity in the formation of the image of the movement, to the motor center of the brain by which the muscle is moved.

The second chapter of the book was, for me, the most informative. Titled “The Pedagogy of Will”. It begins: After having acquainted ourselves with the nature of volition, we need only apply our findings to the various problems of the training of the will in order to develop a pedagogy of will. Simply stated, pedagogy means, “to teach”. Thus we need only learn to teach willpower, and as you can imagine, this chapter will teach us how to do that. If only it were so simple.

The first heading in this chapter shows promise though. “Evaluation of the Specific Proposals for Forming Will”. Now we’re getting down to business. The first sentence reads: Hypnosis and suggestion, including autosuggestion, are not infrequently named among the means of influencing and forming the will. He goes on to define suggestion, autosuggestion and continues by telling a little about the theory of hypnosis. Then he tells us that suggestion is morally admissible. Thanks Johann.

Continuing into this chapter you will find some mention of hypnosis. “Hypnosis Not an Education Procedure” talks about the process of hypnosis being available to qualified person only, and not to the teachers of young men. He continues with: Hypnosis can be applied only to the cure of nervous disturbances or conditions which have developed on the basis of neurosis. It must be used only by an experienced physician, when in the judgment of a conscientious expert no other remedies are available. On the other hand, hypnosis can never permanently remove a passion. Even if it temporarily removes the stimuli originating in the organism; e.g., the stimulus to drinking, and even if for a short time it diverts the mind from dangerous goal, it, nevertheless, is ineffective if it is not supported immediately by positive moral education. Finally, it cannot achieve the main task of education, the inculcation of the high ideals and values. Accordingly, all means which approach the hypnotic procedure must be discarded in self-education as well as in the education of others.

So much for the future of hypnosis. This guy was out to squash any thought of the practice of hypnosis as we know it today. Thank goodness he wasn’t well read in the outside word. He had created his “guide” for use in the Catholic community, and it has not been widely distributed for many, many years.

There are some who may be interested in reading this book, but be prepared for a lot of double-talk. Most of the sentences start out with a question, and then occasionally the question is answered. It is a trying tomb. It can be purchased at will on the Internet.

I have, I think, found the true essence of the focus of this book. Several weeks before finding this “gem”, I had been learning the practice of Hypnotherapy. The schooling was not difficult, but it taught me a number of things. The most important was to believe in myself. This sounds simple, but it’s more involved then most people think. I hadn’t become accustom to believing in myself. I took what I did, and what I thought, for granted. I thought everyone did. Not only did they take me for granted, they take themselves for granted. Life was simple. But I learned in those few months of training than we need to believe in ourselves, and in others.

Although there were no classes on self-appreciation with the instructions, it was something I figured out on my own. And another thing I figured out was how powerful the mind really is. I’ve learned that I could change myself. Sure, I could hypnotize other people, but the simple fact is, and more importantly, I could change myself.

I’ve started using a short saying that I repeat over and over again to myself. And I found it works. In fact, it works quite well. I‘m not saying it will work for everyone, but it works for me. I repeat my saying over and over, and what I say will begin to happen. This positive force is mentioned in The Training of the Will. I found it in several places. It’s not as obvious as it should be, but it’s there. I’m not surprised at finding it in the book, I’m just amazed at how prevalent it is. Of course, as I read it, I didn’t pick up on it right away because the author leads you to believe that it takes someone else to do the training. This is only half true. The teacher is important, but not nearly as important as the student. The student must be shown he has the ability to change himself.

Something I remember reading in Harry Arons book “New Master Course in Hypnotism”

Can also be found in The Training of the Will. It says, When the Will and the Imagination Come in Conflict, the Imagination Invariably Wins. These are words to live by.

Well my faithful friends, I leave at 4 am tomorrow morning and will be gone until next week. I know for sure that I will not be anywhere near a computer from Thursday afternoon until Sunday night. But…as usual I am taking this time to feature some wonderful hypno friends. Please feel free to comment, I will release the comments when I can.

Here is the line up:

Wednesday, July 23 - A Book Review by Gary Noble

Thursday, July 24 - The First Time with Gary Noble

Friday, July 25 - 10 Questions with Steve Williams

Saturday, July 26 - Esoteric Saturday with Terry O’Brien

Sunday, July 27 - The Sunday Question with Adrian Tannock

Monday, July 28 - The First Time with Caere Dunn

Tuesday, July 29 - The First Time with John Weir

Wednesday & Thursday,  July 30 and July 31 - The First Time with Michael Raugh - except Michael is going to share with us both the first time he hypnotized someone else and the first time he was hypnotized!!!!