The Transparent Hypnotist

Photograph by katmere

Though it is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and all in the house are prepared to feast tomorrow (a hypnotist, her partner, and a cat), I am pretending that today is Monday. I have been remiss in my scheduled blogging posts, but some would say being too predictable is not a positive. LOL. So, here is what has transpired in the world of hypnosis since I last blogged about it.

Good

Everyday there seems to be a proliferation of people who mention that they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Crohn’s Disease (sometimes I wonder if these are not fad diseases similar to the likes of ADD - I am not saying people do not suffer from them, but sometimes I think there is a rut and its easy enough to foist people into categories for quick, cross-your-fingers-and hope-it-works treatment, but I digress). Like so many things out there, there are various ways to treat the problems. One can do medication, diet changes, and of course, hypnosis. For those of you reading this that suffer from the symptoms of IBS or Crohn’ (or are just curious), US News and World Report did a wonderful article on using hypnosis for treating both IBS and Crohn’s.

How odd our preconceived notions can be. They tell so much about a person - for instance how little I know about hypnosis in Iran. According to Presstv.ir, rather than having a mother-to-be use hypnosis in the birthing process, Iran now has had two successful cesarians under its belt using hypnosis for anesthesia. Bravo!

But, let’s not forget about using hypnosis to help with non-cesarian births. We have mentioned using hypnosis for birthing practices many times, but there seems to be momentum gaining on this particular hypnotic genre. NBC Augusta

And we can also talk more about the trademarked hypnobirthing with Lasi Leavy, a certified doula, and a childbirth hypnosis instructor with Hypnobabies. Learn more about this program by reading the www.readingeagle.com article.

Congrats go to Daniel Araoz, a practicing psychoanalyst and internationally known author who helped shape the “New Hypnosis,” a treatment model using both psychoanalysis and hypnosis, who just received the title of Senior Professor at at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

The Bad (as in super cool)

This category is usually reserved for news about celebrities using hypnosis for smoking cessation, weight loss, or even in creative pursuits. Now the tables are turning, and I find myself writing about a celebrity who has become a hypnotist. Catherine Hickland of One Life to Live has been studying the art of hypnosis and has just done her first comedy hypnosis show. Very cool, Catherine! (media.www.asuherald.com).

Odd or Controversial

Let’s go back in time a bit, perhaps to February 1980. We are at the University of Alabama. There are two young, female college students. One shoots the other in the back of the head, twice. Now we have one dead college freshman, and another who has not been convicted in those 20 years. Now 47, Jamie Kellam Letson has been arrested for the murder. For years police have pointed at her with suspicion, until now when they finally arrested her. But that is not what has caught my attention. Instead it is a reference to hypnosis - that the detective tried to have Letson hypnotized because:

“A lot of times under hypnosis people will tell you something they wouldn’t tell you otherwise,” he said. “I wanted her to go under.”

So, he had her hypnotized by a doctor, who ended the session abruptly without giving a reason for the conclusion. Interesting statements all in all. This is another myth that seems to float around out there - that hypnosis can be used as a lie detective sort of test. In reality, when people are in a hypnotic state, they can lie very convincingly. Sure in some cases (not many any more), some people use hypnosis to remember details, but that is different than trying to get someone to “tell you something they wouldn’t tell you otherwise.” I suspect the doctor in the case had many reasons to stop the hypnotic process (al.com).

Abortion - the USA’s dirty little dark side, something still not to be talked about in good company. However, a certain study done in Canada found that hypnosis helps reduce the pain of having an abortion. The ramifications for this are substantial, but in a good way. If hypnosis helps reduce the pain in this procedure, it may help reduce the pain involved with other gynecological procedures that are extraordinarily painful (doctor.ndtv.com).

Good Interviews with Hypnotists

Lisa Cairns, hypnotist for Newcastle’s St Oswald’s Hospice in Tyneside, is currently working on her PhD, which involves a study on using hypnosis to help control symptoms in patients with motor neurone disease (www.chroniclelive.co.uk).

Rona French of HArmony Hypnosis in Hilton Head, SC (www.islandpacket.com). She discusses waking hypnosis.

Peter Mabbutt, Director of Studies at the London College of Clinical Hypnosis (www.brudirect.com.)

Here I am again, back home with my cup of tea and you. My morning has been spent actually reading my own blog. Since I have been gone Gary Noble, Steve Williams, Terry O’Brien, Adrian Tannock, Caere Dunn, John Weir, and Michael Raugh have all been kind enough to share their stories and thoughts here at the Transparent Hypnotist. Thank you all so much!!!

As you probably notice, there are no 10 Questions today. I am at that stage again where I need to corral some new hypnotists to participate. If you would like to answer the ten questions and be featured on a Friday (or know someone that might like to do this), please email me at ellie.blunt@gmail.com. For those who are concerned about how I might edit your answers, I do very minimal editing - mostly spelling and punctuation correction if it is glaring. I prefer to publish these posts in your words and expression (plus I hate being edited and I know I am not alone in this).

Also, many of you have asked is I would be going to the NGH conference coming up shortly. Sadly, I am not. No, I am not holding a grudge because the organization has refused to answer my questions about blacklisting hypnotists, but because life interrupted my schedule. I had an opportunity to commune with nature (my recent trip) and some dear friends for a week. It was a choice between that or the conference (as well as a week I have planned in September to study with my own mentor), expense wise. So, alas, I will think of you all having a great time up there in New England and I will spend that weekend on a local hike. I hope those of you going will consider writing a post about your experiences there for this blog. Michael did an excellent one for us last year.

See you tomorrow.

What a week! Huge thanks to Michael, Gary, Mark, Terry and Frank, who wrote some provocative posts and kept this blog interesting during my travels.

Many good questions were brought up.

Michael’s Sunday Question asked about hypnotizing family members. I have and they have been easier than my close friends. We know Debbie’s answer. How about you?

Michael also asked a bit of a rhetorical question about are we using our tools as best we can in our relationships and with clients. I think that is something, especially with clients, we need to constantly ask ourselves. In personal relationships, I often find I have to rein myself in at times. I have to wait for someone to want my help (just like in client hypnosis). Sometimes that is the hardest part.

Then Mark asked:

Could anyone suggest techniques for trainers teaching adults for developing mentally captivating and memorable lesson content? How can we talk directly to the subconscious to improve assimilation and accommodation of useful content?

Great question! That will take more time than this cursory walked down the week I was out of town. Anyone?

Frank’s Sunday Question asked if one can have too much hypnosis or can it be dangerous? I agree with Michael’s comment completely. I also think there might be a saturation point as well. I have had a client who used my audios for insomnia. He listened to them religiously (though I have told him it was unnecessary and potentially unhelpful). After several months, he said he believed they “wore out and he would like something new.

And now I need a coffee refill and back to business.

I cannot believe it. None of you have opinions on music in regards to hypnosis or meditation? No one wants to share their favorite composers? In the word’s of Pink Floyd (and yes I am dating myself), is there anybody out there.

In answer to my question, yes, sometimes I use music within a hypnotic or meditative setting. Mainly, I use it in the office before a session. I think it adds to the atmosphere to have something soothing playing when clients walk through the door. However, during the actual session, I tend not to use it, unless there is a lot of noise happening around the outside of the office. I record my sessions with a digital recorder and have found it is hard to find the right volume to play music at so it does not complete with my voice on the recordings. When I do a professional audio, though, I will use it to help pace the audio.

I also use music during meditations, both guided and in my own practice. On hectic days when my mind is trying to keep up with life’s pace, I find it easier to concentrate on the sounds of individual notes. I look at that as a luxury, though. I do not always use it, as I do not want to become too dependent on it.

I was also thinking about last week’s poll. Some said being mesmerized was not the same as being hypnotized. In thinking about this, I thought about what we learned about animal hypnosis, and have begun to think that being mesmerized is a lot like that concept. It is not a state in which hypnosis necessarily occurs, but could occur for humans if suggestions and such were given. Maybe it is like the induction section of a hypnosis session when the state of hypnosis is obtained? Any thoughts?

Photo by Jane M. Sawyer

The path has led me back to my door. The suitcase is yet unpacked, email unanswered, and the Irish Breakfast tea is still steeping in my mug. But I must say what a pleasure it is to return here and find the blog running strong. During my first few days away it was a little disconcerting to be totally away from the cyber-world, but the closer it came to my return the more it has felt like Christmas. The anticipation of seeing what had transpired since my departure was very exhilarating.

First, many thanks to Josh Houghton for his words on pre-talk. Many of us can totally relate to his beginnings in hypnosis - the thrill of the idea and the occasional disappointment when one finds it is a little more complex than the books and videos would have you believe. But Josh has made a very good point - most of the success one finds in the hypnotic arts and sciences (for all you pro-science people out there :)) is due to the pre-talk that happens before the session.

And now we come to Michael. Here is a huge monster thanks to all his hard work on keeping the blog consistent and interesting in my absence. I knew I had left it in good hands! The post about the best-laid plans, though harrowing, is really refreshing. I think we all have those moments when sessions, shows or what have you turn out a little different than we might have liked. So from Josh’s adding a pre-talk and Michael’s wisdom in being able to adapt quickly, they are two very good lessons.

About being a Jedi Master - that is too much fun. I have actually used the idea of the “force” with a few clients who seem receptive. But the whole idea of using it as a way to create success when the client feels hypnosis is the last resort is just brilliant.

For the Sunday Question of What do you do differently, if anything, with a highly religious client (great question), please still feel free to comment (Debbie left a great one, by the by). I hope to answer it soon, myself.

We have also been kept up-to-date with the latest news about hypnosis used to help focus groups.

So bravo Michael - feel free to take a sit in the big chair anytime. I also hope Debbie and Josh will consider guest posting again. In fact, Josh will do this coming Sunday Question.

As for the Poll, I am keeping last week’s going another week. It is in the right column, if you have not answered it yet.

And with this, I must adjust to this time zone again and get back to life in the pond.

Grand adventures await us this week. Are you ready? Have a nice hot cup of tea all set?

Thank Yous

First, let me start off by thanking Debbie Lane again for taking on the Sunday Question yesterday. And do keep up with her; I believe she mentioned she would be releasing a new CD in the near future. Her blog is at www.wisdomhypnosis.blogspot.com.

Guest Bloggers
I am on travel for the next little bit and rather than counting on coffee shops and time to keep up this blog, you will find others being transparent for me (though I will check in for quick hellos and such). Tomorrow Josh Houghton will be posting and then Michael Raugh will be handling the blog until next Monday. Also, our 10 Question Friday will be with Robert Hughes. So, please, continue to stop by and comment.

The Poll
On the poll front - it has been a bumpy ride. No more SodaHead for us. Check back in a bit. I have some other tricks up my sleeve.

The Turning Girl Controversy
And, as the turning girl has continued to create stir on my blogs (nothing like a good controversy, eh? LOL), perhaps I should recap the recent goings on. If you will recall, as it turns out, she is an optical illusion that I mentioned a while ago in my exploration of Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, posted on The Unwinding Path. I posted the turning girl as a fun little experiment to illustrate points in Edwards’ book. The theory behind this particular book is based on the state of consciousness needed for competent drawing (much like a state of hypnosis). The original premise is that the asymmetry of the brain and how it functions is the reference to left-brain or right brain.

Well some of my readers have gotten caught up in it and have begun to debate brain science on this blog. A gentleman with a Harvard email address checked in. Yet, poor Nick, if indeed you are from Harvard, when attempting to email you, my note was returned saying there is no such address. Please check in again if you are reading this. Is it possible we have someone merely using the intellectual property of reputation the Ivy-league? Another, tending to agree with Nick, accuses me of passing on misinformation. So, I though it would be fun to get on the Ellie soapbox.

Science definitely has its place. It is ever changing. New things are discovered. Old ideas are disproved. Old disproved ideas are looked at and proven again. Science is not absolute. That is the beauty of it. We try so hard to pinpoint and grasp the tangible in our egoic needs for structure. But, we cannot rest on these structures. The foundation is air. We have to keep questioning and re-examining. If we did not continue to do this, we would still be using lobotomies to subdue those who suffer mental maladies, not to mention some of the harsher medications that were used for the same purpose.

And science suffers the same issues as everything else - how the results are spun. There are studies upon studies, one proving one thing, another saying something different (and the results may be the same interestingly enough). In the realms of current thought (and it is thought), the two hemispheres of the brain are different. They work hand in hand to create a balance of some sort. It may not be as pretty as logical and creative, but it depends what you read and whom you believe - or on personal experience. The methods Edwards (which is what we are talking about) uses to teach drawing consciousness work (unless you are determined to make it not work). There is a consciousness shift that occurs, much like that felt and observed in hypnosis. It is a different state of mind. It is valid. For those who want to read more about the studies, by all means, please do so. If you enjoy reading abstracts and such, more power to you. But to try to explain it and discourse about it to the laymen (who have every right to discuss what we will), if it takes ideas about left-brain and right brain to do so, it is a way to make it all understandable. For those who feel instead, that I am spreading ignorance, I am sorry you feel that way. In my way of seeing it, I am opening a door to more potential understanding. If we all sat down and bowed to what little we already know, we would be in stasis. Nothing more would be explored or learned. What a sad place this would be.

Good morning. The Irish Breakfast tea is barely cutting through the slime of waking up today. My condition (whatever that is) appears to have gotten worse than better from my weekend retreat. So, anyone who was jealous, I have gotten my just desserts. I am off to the doctor (which I was hoping to avoid with my insurance woes).

Hang tight, though. If I am back with the daylight hours, I shall try to post something with more substance.

Until then…

What a fantastic Sunday Question! Huge thanks to Michael Raugh for being the Transparent Hypnotist’s first guest blogger! Hopefully we will see more of Michael here. And Debbie, thanks for answering the question. Anyone else, please feel free to answer it.

I am still getting my hypnotist head on for the week after recuperating in the mountains. It was quite relaxing and strange not being near a computer, no cell phone service, and no television (thought there was indoor plumbing and electricity). It takes one back to basics. So, I practiced a lot of healing self-hypnosis and guided meditation. When you come back from something like that, it is as though, on return to the everyday, everything is shiny and new.

I am contemplating this week’s poll around Michael’s question and should have that up and running much sooner than I did last week’s.

Also, my apologies for no Esoteric Saturday. I sent the post through the time cave, but it is now adrift and alone in cyberspace, its exact location unknown.

And so I have gotten out of bed again. The day smacks of being potentially too hurried, but maybe with a little deep breathing work, it will remain calm and casual. How does your day look?

Yesterday, my partner wanted to know what The Sunday Question was and he responded verbally. Pancakes. Pancakes help him to change things up and make life worth getting up in the morning. Now that is a nice answer. The question remains open for your response as well.

My answer? I try to avoid too much ritual in general. I try to not confine myself too much to any box, except for those that I find most pleasant. I blog in the mornings, have my coffee or tea and figure out the rest of the day at that point. That is the plus side of owning your own business. Others do not dictate your work hours. I go the office when I have clients or just need some quiet time. It is rarely ever the same.

Interesting poll results on Would You Let a Stranger that You Just Met Hypnotize You on the Street? So far the majority says “No.” Perhaps I should have included a question about stage hypnosis. Ah, there I think we have a new poll. Just give me a few…

Tentative upcoming plans for the blog this week:

1. Who the heck is Hippolyte Bernheim?
2. Another variation of the definition of hypnosis
3. Maybe, just maybe another of my favorite five somethings
4. 10 Questions with Adam Eason

And of course, we must not forget Esoteric Saturday and The Sunday Question. Animal hypnosis is still high on my list, but it needs time to do it properly. In our discussion on forms of hypnosis, we are still on the divergent history of the French Schools.

Also, on The Unwinding Path, I am still on the second chapter of The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but I did post my pre-reading-the-book-drawings over the weekend.

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.