The Transparent Hypnotist

 
Photograph by tnarik

There are times when I crave a little cream for my coffee. Sometimes a teaspoon of the cool, white liquid, turning the darkness of my beverage to a lighter brown is the height of decadence. I find this more so with my current goal to lose 20 lbs. I have always been a black coffee drinker, but every now and agin, as you may know, I love to shake it up and change things around. However with my current weight loss, I find it harder to justify the few extra calories provided by creamers (that little bit of cream really can add up in the course of a day). So, I take a deep breath in, look at the note that sits beside my computer that says 130 lbs. and I abstain.

But, I am not so good with abstinence that I will continue on the deep and furious path of phobia hypnosis work that I have been on for a little over a week. I need a break from the dark and heavy (call it taking care of the therapist in me). Today I am focused on my own personal goals and searching for more of the latest trends in weight maintenance and management. 

I have become aware of a web site called Skinny and the City, which combines nutrition and diet with fashion and beauty. I am a sucker for low cal. recipes (especially at the moment) and any advice on which jeans to purchase for my shape. But, I fear I do not do this site justice. It is the sort of site you can imagine Carrie Bradshaw (Candace Bucknell?) appreciating. It has the quaint feel of getting together with you best buds and well, being healthy (maybe still knocking back a martini or two). The site also offers an email service that will send you daily tips (including stuff that is not on the web site). I know, I know, more potential junk mail for the email trash can, but every now and then signing up for such things turns up real gems. I am looking forward to seeing what they have to say (five experts in the field).

 
Photograph by you-did

Somewhere on some bookshelf of my past, there is a NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) handbook. It is a hardback, well-kept, and treasured. I can see it sitting on the bookshelf and could walk right over to it, coffee in one hand, and pull it out of its resting spot with the other hand. I would like to do that now so I can have a lucid discussion of another handy tool called Eye Movement Integration(tm), but alas, the book is not on my current shelf. I move my eyes up and over as I recall that the bookshelf was in a totally different location from where I currently live or work and that book, where is that book? It is not in the box sitting next to the bookshelf, the one with all the books that will not fit. And for this moment I am desolate. 

Anyway, no point in dwelling. Someday the book will show up again, but that does not help me with today’s posting. Yes, Eye Movement Integration(tm) is indeed the theme, so I will have to go it alone without the book. Are you finding yourself looking back to the 10 Questions with Rebecca Batts and wondering where the reference to EMI was mentioned? No, it was not from Rebecca (whose favorite technique is progressive relaxation and visualization - we can talk about that another time if you would like). I was reminded about EMI in an article I mentioned yesterday on overcoming fear.

EMI as defined by the Free Dictionary (medical) is:

therapy in which the practitioner directs a client to recall a traumatic event, while leading the individual to move the eyes in a particular set of patterns to bring about healing and release from the trauma.

EMI originated in the work of Connirae and Steve Andreas in 1989 and has its foundation more in NLP than hypnosis. It continued in its legacy with the help of Danie Beaulieu, who wrote a book called Eye Movement Integration Therapy: The Comprehensive Clinical Guide. When thinking about eye movement in relation to NLP work, many of us tend to think of it more as a way to monitor another’s thought process, using it an an evaluation tool, rather than as one that is more therapeutic. EMI is the later and is based on the idea that eye movement accesses all the various sensory systems (could we call this reflexology of the eyes?). Guiding the eye movements of the client, the practitioner is able to help the client connect all the senses. With traumatic events, EMI practitioners believe that such occurrences are isolated in a person’s life, which causes all the problems both in actual neurology and thoughts. By incorporating eye moments, all the sensory systems are accessed. Though the event remains in the mind of the client, the goal is to lessen the emotional impact of it.

So how does EMI work?

The client thinks about the fear and responds to it by creating a statement that is the direct opposite of the fear, a statement that encompasses feelings of safety and security. Then the client thinks about the the source of the trauma (the event itself) or the root of their anxiety. As the client thinks about this, the practitioner slowly moves their fingers in front of the client’s eyes and has the client follow the slow movement (2).

The process has been well-described on Interlink, the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists:

Finally, change occurs during the EMI procedure because there is a five-way division of attention as the client is being asked to concentrate on the numerous facets of the intervention collectively. First, the client is being encouraged to wrap him/herself in a sense of competence/security which is remembered, accessed and anchored from a past personal experience. Second, he/she is being asked to watch an imagined “younger” self going through a representation of the problematic experience on an imagined movie screen. Third, to bear in mind a desired positive belief and any positive learning the client discovers and wants to preserve into the future. Fourth, the client is being instructed to follow the therapist’s finger, or target, as it is being moved across the plane of the client’s face. Fifth, the client is being asked to scale his/her level of discomfort as a Subjective Unit of Distress (SUD) repeatedly.

Sources:

• Eye Movement Integration Therapy: The Comprehensive Clinical Guide
• (1) NLP Comprehensive book review by Dr Graham Dawes
• (2) NV Daily

Quotes of the Week

“Hypnosis is like a daydream – but a controlled daydream” –  from hypnotist M. Vance Romane in an article about him in the Peace Arch News.

Never once did I move a muscle, and my brain stayed in a sort of squishy awareness. I found myself absorbed in her words, and I had absolutely no urge to squawk like a chicken — nor was I ever asked to do so – from writer Tonya Bina about the effects of her hypnotic experience for the www.skyhidailynews.com, guided by hypnotist Jodi Choronzy.

Hypnotism puts people in a trance that “allows access to parts of the mind that aren’t available consciously, and that allows for healing that doesn’t happen without a trance.” Hypnosis helps people move their focus from the pain – from York psychologist and hypnotist George Hunter in an article about pain management on www.pennlive.com.

He’s also helped people work through their phobias, including fear of the dark, fear of clowns, and once, fear of armadillos – about hypnotist Sonny Nardone (www.insidenova.com).

The Good

• Last week, here at the transparent hypnotist, we began a discussion of phobia hypnosis, as well as discussing the differences between the notions of fear and phobia. Josette Keelor’s article Overcoming fear on www.nvdaily.com continues more discussion nicely.

• Our blogger friends at the Huffington Post recently ran a posting by Srinivasan Pillay called The Science of Visualization: Maximizing Your Brain’s Potential During The Recession. It offers suggestions for maximizing your visualization experience.

• Words are not everything in hypnosis. In fact, you do not even need them to feel the effects of a hypnotic state. Instead you could try jazz. Yes, you read that correctly, jazz. In the New York Times music section Ben Ratliff wrote about musician Horace Parlan. He wrote about the hypnotic effect of Parlan’s tunes that include repetitive musical phrasing, that only varies slightly. I think it is valid to mention this in today’s news.

• The transparent hypnotist is totally impressed with Resham Ramsay, a junior at Las Lomas High School (Walnut Creek, CA) who organized an anti-stress day at her school. What a productive young person – oh, and yes, hypnosis was included as part of the day (www.mercurynews.com).

Today is International Women’s Day. Are you celebrating? Did you even know about it? I did not until I saw it posted on www.bloggersunite.com and as a supporter of that platform, I could not let today go by without a mention.

Perhaps you are like me and wonder what International Women’s Day is all about, so I will quote directly from the Blogger’s Unite site:

Started as a political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love to the women around them in a way somewhat similar to Mother’s Day and St Valentine’s Day mixed together. In others, however, the political and human rights theme as designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

So, are you wondering if my partner was ready with a Happy International Women’s Day card, flowers or even reminded me to locate my voter’s registration card? Nope. Instead he tends to celebrate me on everyday sort-of-days. This morning he brought me coffee in bed, along with my laptop so I could blog. Currently, he is napping next to me, wondering when I will be done with today’s post so the day can progress. But I am lingering on sites such as www.internationalwomensday.com trying to figure out the true meaning of IWD. Perhaps because I live in a free society, I do not have as much appreciation for such days, hence a reason to count my blessings and write this post. Yet, when I visit the links on the dedicated sites for this day, I see lots of articles comparing women to men. We (women) are not acknowledged as much, we make less money, and several things that make me believe we are not so far removed from the women depicted in the Mad Men Series.

What IWD has really made me realize is that in general I do not compare myself to others in the whole “women verses men” debate. Maybe at some juncture it will seem more relevant to me, but currently, I consider myself a blogger (a lady blogger in description, but a blogger in general). I am a hypnosis advocate (not a female hypnosis advocate, but hypnosis on the whole). I am a writer (not a female writer, but one with a perspective that is uniquely mine). I am glad to be part of the female sex (and am quite comfortable with what that means), but I also am grateful that there is the male gender. I am appalled at any sort of inhuman treatment whether it is a female or male being downtrodden or even an animal.

Granted I often talk about creating a non-profit for helping abused women regain some self-esteem and that is definitely a bit sexist on my part. But maybe, just maybe, that is wrong. Maybe I should amend it to abused people in general.

If we want a world full of equality, I do not think we can fight for one sex (or even race) over another - we need to have it all the way around. There is no “more equal” than something else, only greater or lesser than. Maybe we should spend our time bringing the systems all around us up and equalizing it as opposed to making it a competitive “greater than/less than” idea.

Just my thoughts. For this Sunday Question: what are your thoughts about International Women’s Day?

Photograph by Megyarsh

Tears. Not mine ( at least not at that time). Tears long past, but ever remembered. And it was in a place of a tearful legacy that I experienced my first day in Missouri. My travel companion and I had stopped in his SUV at the Trail of Tears State Park and camped  there. This was twenty years ago, when all was brand new, including me. 

The following day, we packed up and thus began a trek through the state that eventually took us to Branson, MO.  For awhile, we followed the steps of the Cherokee and that of Jesse James (my companion was a descendent, interestingly enough). It was during this time that I had a pivotal conversation about how interesting it would be to have a past life regression done or if it would be possible to tap into genetic memory (my companion had a huge interest in his ancestor). At the time I thought it would be pretty amazing, not to have one done, but be the one guiding the process. 

Photograph by amanderson2

So, Missouri is a bit near and dear to my heart. Recently, theHilton Promenade at Branson Landing and theHIlton Branson Convention Center Hotel have stepped up their advertising (especially on blogs). Every time I see a post about Branson (where I had a really amazing bowl of Chili at at truck stop there - yes, it was one of those trips), I cannot help but think about that trip that may have been the beginnings of my current passion (hypnosis).

When I see the other postings about Branson, I also think it would be great to revisit Missouri (yes, I am slowly beginning to feel the familiar longing to travel again). The NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament is about to happen there (and yes, I do wonder if any of the teams or team members are using self-hypnosis to improve their performance) as well as the the Walmart FLW Bass Tournament. There are also many shows that happen in that town. According to another source, Branson is also somewhat known for its hypnosis shows (though I could not find any on schedule). It seems there is much to do there.

The Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel offer some wonderful sounding packages for events such as the ones mentioned above (if you are not so inclined to camp). There is a part of me that would love to see the NGH (Naitonal Guild of Hypnotists) conference moved there (ah, there Ellie goes again, trying to shake up the establishment). It would not have to be the big conference, but maybe something like Solid Gold (winter hypno event). These hotels look great for such an event. I just cannot get up the motivation to go to Vegas for Solid Gold - there is just too much going on to concentrate properly. But Branson would be a great compromise. There is a lot to do there, but it seems more friendly (especially if you are a female potentially traveling alone).

Photograph by AntisocialtoryTory

Here is a potential conference itinerary (for me):

• Enjoy the HIlton Bed and Breakfast (for those of us who are not so inclined to do the coffee and pastry thing at regular conferences).
• Utilize the fitness room to get the energy flowing
• Do the usual conference stuff
• Enjoy a 10 Question alumni impromptu gathering on the Branson Belle
• Have dinner on the Strip
• And maybe take in a Kirby VanBurch magic show (unless he has a hypnotist at the theatre - that would be a must).

Anyway, these are my creative ideas on this warmer than normal Esoteric Saturday. hope you have a great day.

Location: Wilmington, NC
Cyber Location: www.TrinityHolistics.com

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

Full time.

2. Do you specialize in any type of hypnosis?

Natural Childbirth, past life regression, motivation, self esteem, stress management, weight loss, smoking cessation … almost everything.

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

I don’t do hypnosis for surgery at this time … but I would like to get into it later on.

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

All the time .. I used it from when I was a little girl assisting myself to sleep ( I visualized a violin playing the Lullaby tune) .. to using it to improve my life from depression, motivation, memory retention in college, contacting spirit guides, past life regression, pain management (when I was 11 yrs old!) …. ahhh .. you name it I’ve done it .. I just have not had the opportunity to use it it childbirth .. since I have not had a child yet :o)

5. Describe your hypnosis office or work setting.

I have a private home office setting. My clients love it .. since they feel like they are visiting a friend.

6. Describe a typical day in your life.

I have various days …. since I practice holistic nutrition - hypnosis - and shamanism …. my days are wonderful!

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

National Guild of Hypnotists is where I received my Board Certification .. but I have studied and practiced for fun, family and friends for over 15 years.

8. Most fabulous hypnosis technique you use?

Hmmmm ….. progressive relaxation .. and letting the client visualize something that can assist them to deepen themselves.

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

I had a weightloss client that had an ab-reaction … and the closest part of her that I could touch was her big toe … she came out of it easily …. wow! .. so I learned to sit closer to the client from there on out :o) .. thank God this only had to happen once.

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

Keep your confidence and leave your stress out of the office … your client needs you to be strong … they are looking for help .. .. you can help heal yourself when you give from the heart to your clients.

Photograph by alfredo lietor

Sitting along in the darkness, she found herself wanting to blend in with the darkness, to become a part of it. She longed for the ability to be invisible, not noticeable, not even a shadow with some bit of distinction, but to merge with the absence of color. But the rapid hear beat, the sweaty-stickiness of her hands, and the idea of not getting quite enough air told her she was not at all merging with the night. Instead she was defined, something a part from that which could not be seen. The crawl space would not conceal her loudness of just being.

The little door concealed behind the bags of winter clothes would be found. Even on the extreme end away from that little door, she just knew she would be discovered and the terror of being detected would fade away into something so much more sinister. There would be pain, flashing through like the ice of cold steel. There would be the momentary warmth of blood, seeping out from imaged wounds, and then a gradual death. Perhaps that would be a release.

These were the thoughts (imagined by me) of a past client. Was she coming to me to deal with the trauma of some fear she had experienced? Was this during a time when her house was burgled by cruel criminals? Was it a fear of an abuser of some sort?

No, this was a phobia. She experienced these ideas often as a child, when her parents would at first bring in new babysitters, and eventually it blossomed into something unmanageable. No one new could come into her living domain.

It seems timely to share this since this week we have been discussing the idea of fear and phobia. In talking about this topic through behind-the-scenes emails and such, the question was bridged about what is the difference between fears and phobias (especially when doing circle therapy). In looking at the first paragraphs of my client’s scenario, her experience could be interpreted as fear (before knowing it was a social phobia) if had she been hiding from a perpetrator of some sort who made her feel threatened (someone had broke into her house or someone was specifically coming to beat her). Fear is an emotional response to a danger or threat. It comes from an external source and causes feelings of wanting to avoid something or escape the danger (1).

Phobias are a bit different in that they are more irrational or their causation stems from a fear gone wild (2). In my client’s instance, she would have the fear reaction to anyone unknown entering the house, be it Girl Scout selling cookies or the girl next door coming over to babysit. She had developed a persistent, irrational fear of a specific thing - people coming into her house and causing her harm.

Phobias are often classified into three direct types (though they are considered anxiety disorders - we will cover that on a different day). These include social phobias (as in my client example), specific phobias, and Agoraphobia. Social phobias deal with responses to other people and social situations. Specific phobias have something that triggers the phobia. This is the rodent, bug, water type phobia. Agoraphobia is experienced by those who have irrational fears of leaving their living space (3).

It is fairly clear-cut in my example and there are of course fine lines that can blur the reality between fear and phobia, but it is good to know where the dividing line is between the two. The fear of flying, for instance - fear or phobia? Both maybe? I guess it would be the perceived threat of immanent death that causes the fear (stemming from either having known someone who was involved in a plane crash or watching the news). Yet, there are statistics that say that flying is safer than being in a moving car…so then the fear is more irrational. Hmmm…

What are your thoughts?

Sources:

1. Ohman, A. (2000). Fear and anxiety: Evolutionary, cognitive, and clinical perspectives. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.). Handbook of emotions. (pp.573-593). New York: The Guilford Press.
2. Edmund J. Bourne, The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, 4th ed, New Harbinger Publications, 2005.
3. AllPsych Journal | Phobias: Causes and Treatments

 
Photography by net_efekt

There are are no walls covered with yellow, flowered wallpaper in my childhood home. However there was the children’s bath that featured blue walls with a contemporary (1970s) plaid, scary by today’s decorating standards. Interspersed in the plaid were patches of lavender paint, as though someone had a Jackson Pollack afterthought. I never thought much about the wallpaper. It was something that just ‘was.’ But then I remember reading some Victorian Horror story about a woman who went mad when she was locked in a room with yellow, flowered wallpaper. Only, when I was really young and I was once, I did not understand the idea of madness. I did not know this was a story about the ebbing sanity of a person. All I knew was that people were stuck in the wallpaper and wanted out. This horrified me. The plastic-like way they pushed out from between worlds, reaching, struggling and grasping for anything living.

And sure enough, that childhood bath took on a new and terrifying aspect. What if the people in the yellow wallpaper traveled to my blue wallpaper and wanted out while I was washing up? Would that splotch that looked like an eye materialize into one, becoming three-dimensional as a face pushed through?

As the years passed, I eventually forgot about the people in the wallpaper (though I admit when I get terribly bored, I tend to look for shapes and human features in wallpaper, cracks and such). Since beginning work with people’s phobias and fears (and discussing circle therapy yesterday), The Yellow Wallpaper popped back into my mind.

It was like synchronicity when it suddenly appeared in the proverbial shelves of the DailyLit, a site that sends you book installments in your email. So, I have now added one more thing to read (I am calling it a coffee break) to my list and am slowly making my way through it. Yes, I am reading The Yellow Wallpaper (it is free) and will have it done in eight days (eight installments). I am fairly sure this is the story I read that profoundly scared me as a child, but now being older and wiser (or just older - LOL), it should be interesting to see the main characters descent into madness from a professional point of view.

Care to join me in reading it?

Art by  Eddi 07

One of the ideas about hypnosis that bubbles my passion is the connect of its flexibility – that it is not just one formula-based solution. Though I do know some hypnotists who just use scripts (often memorized but scripted none-the-less), it is the hypnotist who has a full toolbox of techniques that make them most helpful (in my humble opinion). When I started doing 10 Questions for Hypnotists, I sort of had this naive idea that I had touched on most hypnotists’ favorite techniques somewhere along the way. I was delightfully surprised to see that my knowledge is cursory and that there is still so much more to learn (thank goodness).

When looking at Cindy Locher’s answers to my 10 questions, she mentioned one of her favorite hypnotic techniques - Circle Therapy. I admit, I know knowing of this “circle therapy” and she inspired me to learn more. In fact I was so inspired, that I have begun looking at the past responses to that same question and thus will implement “The Tool Box” as a regular feature on this blog. At first I believe it will be like “Ellie’s Favorite Five” in that it will happen when the spirit moves me. At some point I do see it becoming a regular feature.

So on to circle therapy. This is what Cindy said about it:

I love releasing the negative emotional energy around people’s fears and anxieties using the “Circle Therapy” technique taught at HMI. It allows them to have such an immediate sense of relief.

Circle Therapy
Well, I am all into release processes. So what is Circle Therapy? Basically, it is used for the elimination of fears where the cause is known. There seems to be a caution in every source I have seen about this process, so please keep that in mind. In other words this is not for handling phobias, just fears and anxiety. This is not a regression method, but a form of desensitization, though some hypnotist take the person to the actual source where the fear was first experienced. Once the fear is encountered hypnotically, suggestions are given for a more positive emotion or feeling like relaxation. The idea is that relaxation and anxiety are inharmonious and one will supersede the other - one opts for relaxation and the cessation of the anxiety (of course).

How Circle Therapy Works
Basically, the client is induced (put into a deep state of relaxation - remember our friends alpha and delta) into a hypnotic state. The the hypnotist suggest that the client experience the fear or anxiety and then adds the suggestion to do something like exhale the fear, inhale relaxation and deepen the hypnosis. Suggestions are given to help the client deal with the fear, so that the fear becomes less. One hypnotist has the client open his or her eyes at this point before repeating the process. This process continues and the it becomes more and more difficult for the client to continue experiencing the fear. Words such as “the more you try to feel the fear, the harder it becomes to do so and instead you find yourself becoming amused…” With this the hypnotist guides the client to exchange emotions. Instead of fear, they feel amusement.

Many clients will show some sign of an abreaction (cringing, tears, jaw clenching, etc) when they experience the fear, but the goals is to have this reaction subside into a smile or something positive.

And here I have to put a disclaimer. I am not an expert in circle therapy and know only what I have read. This posting is meant to stimulate your interest so you will continue to explore this on your own (in other words do not hold me liable for it, as this is just a discussion).

If you use circle therapy or have any thoughts about it, please consider this an open forum to discuss it.

Also, Paul Durbin offers a wonderful explanation about circle therapy at http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/releaseanxietyfear.htm#(4)%20CIRCLE%20THERAPY:

Sources:

Photograph by Oneras [what about peace?]

Quotes of the Week

• For example, not only can I help those that want to gain control over a compulsive internet porn-watching habit, a master hypnotist can also help women remove those mental blocks that prevent them from experiencing the “Big O” – Hypnotist Jake Shannon in a comment on inthisweek.com

• HYPNOTHERAPY, is an effective and speedy technique of Psychotherapy utilizing the natural phenomena of hypnosis to gain immediate access to the roots of the presenting problem, situated deep in the patient’s subconscious. Smoking, Slimming, addictions, performance, Stress, Anxiety, Worry, Phobias can be tackled through this manner  – Dr. Hans Vischjager in the Sunday Time’s article Are you looking for a breakthrough?

The Good

All a person has to do is smile, just a basic toothy grin, and you can learn a lot about that person, especially, forgive me if you will, about that person’s dental hygiene. I have lived in enough places were dental hygiene is not popular, be it due to lack of priority of funds or terrible dental phobias. I cannot do much about the former, but Lisa Adams discussed the latter in the Daily Record’s article How to get over the terror of going to the dentist. It is not all “hypnosis is the only way to go,” though she is an advocate. It talks about productive ways you can make your dental visit less nerve-racking.

Goodbyes

Milton Motta Peligrinetti otherwise known as Taurus do Brasil, a Brazilian hypnotist passed away in Tijuana on February 25. We offer our condolences to his family and friends. We also offer our best to his son who will continue on as a hypno performer (signonsandiego.com).