The Transparent Hypnotist

(guest posted by Michael Raugh)

Morning, everyone.   It’s been way too long since we had a Monday news round-up.  Part of the reason, I’ll confess, is that I haven’t found much to include.  Ellie is much better at finding these things than I am.  Still, here’s what a bit of Googling turned up.

From naturalnews.com comes a short piece by Steve G. Jones that touches on how researchers use hypnosis to study how the brain responds to different stimuli.  His sources are all pretty old and the piece is vague, but at least it’s possible and factual.

A piece on WebMD last week talks about a recent University of Geneva study on paralysis that looks interesting.  A dozen volunteers were hypnotized and givent he suggestion that their left hand would be paralyzed and then, while hooked up to a functional MRI, told to move that hand.  Those results were then compared to a control group who were not hypnotized but instead told to fake the paralysis.

A press release from the weekend announced that Jeffrey H. Cohen received the Humanitarian Award from the IACT/IMDHA at their May convention in Florida.  IMDHA has seriously upgraded its image, in my estimation anyway, since merging with IACT and coming under the guidance of the likes of Robert Otto and Wendi Friesen.

Did you notice anything that I missed?  Leave a comment and let everyone know.

<MR>

As I write this it’s just a touch under two months until the annual National Guild of Hypnotists Convention.

I spent some time recently looking over the convention catalog, which is posted on the convention page of the NGH website.  A few of the one-hour seminars caught my attention and I thought, in the absence of a Friday 10 Questions, I’d draw some attention to them for the benefit of those who plan to attent (or who are maybe trying to decide).

• Marx Howell will be doing a lecture on regression techniques with an eye toward avoiding traumatic abreactions.  Marx’s experience with forensic hypnosis (using hypnosis with crime victims) makes him an expert on that and I know from past seminars that Marx is an outstanding presenter, so I’m looking forward to this.
• Joann Abrahamsen is on the schedule with her annual “Gimmicks, Gizmos and Gadgets” presentation.  I love this seminar!  Every year Joann shares the latest in toys and gadgets she’s discovered that, whether intentionally or not, can be used very effectively as hypnosis props.
• Bernard Yam will be exploring the scientific side of hypnotism, discussing FMRI technology and its implications to how we view … well, everything.  I attended his seminars last year and enjoyed them both.
• My favorite presenter of all time, Gloria Constantas, presents “Hypnotist, Hypnotize Thyself!” about using hypnosis on ourselves.  This will be an absolute must see.
• These two really surprised me:  Philip Holder is holding a seminar Friday called “Put the Pizzazz Back In Your Sex Life” in which, according to the blurb, he will discuss using hypnosis to help with better and more satisfying sex.  Then on Sunday, Sharon Stidham presents “Not Tonight — I Love You, But I Have a Headache — Zen & The Art Of Middle Aged Sex” which pretty much says it all right there. Anything remotely about sex has been taboo with NGH for years, so I hope there is a strong turnout for these.

Mind you, those are just a few picks that jumped out at me from approaching two hundred possibilities.  There was also the usual contingent of things that strike me, at least up front, as of dubious value or credibility.  Hypnosis to cure allergies?  There are seminars on past life regression, on whether or not to believe in PLR, and now there’s one on “Lives Between Lives” — which seems to say that there are lifes in between the past lives!  I’m a pragmatist when it comes to that sort of thing, but I’m sure they will be well attended.

And of course it wouldn’t be an NGH convention if there wasn’t also a collection of old stand-bys:  morning yoga and chi kung, seminars on how to conduct seminars, and of course “How To Prepare A Winning Convention Proposal.”

Since I’ll probably be busy this weekend and may not get a Sunday Question posted, let’s close with one:  Are you planning to attend the NGH Convention in August?  What seminars do you plan to attend?

<MR>

Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, MA (from their website)

(Guest poster:  Michael Raugh)

Good morning.

First things first:  Ellie is okay.  She’s run into a serious time crunch because of some of the changes she alluded to in her real-world life, and that’s what has kept her from the blog.  When she returns I’m sure she’ll share as much of the story as she can.

My sweetheart, Julie, had day surgery recently at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, which involved a different sort of pain than Ellie’s.  Often as a hypnotist I feel a little out of place in a medical facility.  So many real doctors tend to see hypnotists, especially “lay hypnotists” like myself, as a nuisance at best or charlatans at worst.  The staff at Newton-Wellesley gave me none of that vibe, I rush to say.  They are delightful people and made us feel very comfortable.

In the 19th century James Braid performed hundreds of amputations and other surgeries using only hypnosis for anesthesia.  A number of modern hospitals welcome hypnosis in childbirth (talk to my friend Dee Bitner about that) but it’s not often seen in other forms of surgery.  And Julie was no exception.  She is capable of reaching very deep trance states up to and including the Esdaile state, so in theory she could have had her procedure that way, but there’s a time and a place for experiments and this wasn’t it.

We did make ample use of hypnosis both before and after the procedure, though.  Before, for example, I put Julie in a moderate trance to help her remain relaxed and distracted while the nurse tried twice to establish a good IV and then had to yield to the anesthesiologist because Julie’s veins were hard to pin down.   The nurse commented on how soothing my voice was.

After the procedure Julie was in a fair amount of pain despite the medications still in her system.  We worked on that and were able to  lessen the pain somewhat, but the narcotics interfered with her concentration.  It wasn’t until that evening when she could focus well enough to really take control of her body’s responses again.  I’m proud of my honey, though, because she made it through the next few days needing nothing but hypnosis and a little Advil to keep herself comfortable.  As a result she felt good enough that we spent Memorial Day weekend out and about, within reasonable limits, and that helped us both feel worlds better.

<MR>