The Transparent Hypnotist

 
Photography by Foto-4-Life – (cc)

“I would like a cup of decaf coffee, please,” I say to the Starbucks clerk.

“We do not serve decaf after (insert an afternoon time here),” she says looking slightly apologetic. Then she goes on to say that they can make a mean decaf Americano for me (and I can dearly pay for that, thinks I).  Now, if I were in London, Paris, or even Toronto, I probably would have no problem with this Americano stuff, but alas, being in the United States, I just want a simple cup of decaf. Maybe it is not manly to want decaf (oh right - I am a female) after 4 p.m., but the truth is, I really want one. I want the taste and not the heart-fluttering-keep-me-up-all-night regular coffee. Instead of shelling out a few extra quarters for the Americano, I remain stubborn and head over to Au Bon Pain, who happily provides me with a simple cup of decaf coffee.

This is a pattern that has repeated itself since January (when no Au Bon Pain is available, I have been known to go with 7-11 low-octane). Like the normal Starbucks coffee, I am left with a bitter aftertaste, especially after asking the latest clerk who I could speak to about the decaf issue and being told “no one would care.” 

But, BUT, there has been a reprieve. I some how missed all the articles about the decaf lay-off back in January and therefore was not privy to one essential key element - coffee on demand at Starbucks. If they have the beans (even in the retail area) and someone requests a certain type of coffee, they can often french-press it. Yes, it takes an additional four minutes for the coffee to brew, but if you are prepared for it, four minutes is an acceptable wait (a prime opportunity to meditate). 

This past Sunday I decided to see if this would work. I asked the clerk for decaf. She offered me an Americano. I asked if she could french-press my decaf. Rather than giving me a polite answer, she stormed off, found her preparation instructions, located the french-press, and after six minutes (two extra minutes for some passive-aggressiveness), I go my decaf. 

For those of you wondering why I am taking up the space to write about this on a hypnosis blog (even if you are aware that I am a big coffee and tea drinker), here is my reasoning. Hypnosis is all about change, suggestion, and often behavior modification. Though I shall not hypnotize you (though I would love to pretend that my writing is that entrancing), a change is needed. Though I praise Starbucks for trying to conserve on waste (and expense), I feel that decaf drinkers are being treated very badly and Starbucks could use some encouragement in their behavior modification of dealing with my demographic in a more compassionate way. The more we do not give into the fancy decaf products (Amercianos, lattes, cappuccino, and the like) and just ask for decaf, maybe they will understand that we are as important as regular coffee drinker customers. I am one small person, but since January, I have spent over $50 in decaf at other places because I did not know that Starbuck’s would accommodate me.

Now for the suggestion part of the post - if you are a decaf drinker, please consider requesting a cup of regular decaf in the afternoon. The french-press makes it possible. You will probably have to request it.

Please join my crusade for decaf at Starbucks in the afternoon and evening. Blog about it, get the word out, and let the world know. If you do blog about this or have a decaf Starbuck story, leave a comment and I will follow up with some decent do follow link love. 

Sources:

• Starbucks to End Continuous Decaf Brewing After Noon (Update 2) - Bloomberg
• Starbucks Offering P.M. ‘Unleaded’ On Demand - Epoch Times
• Starbucks Calls Off Decaf–After 12 PM? - U.S. News Blog

Photograph by nflorence2012 (such time en-route)

Mmmm. Champagne in bed with a side of black coffee. Blueberry pancake smell wafting through the house. This was my Valentine’s morning. No commercialism. No store-bought high-fructose corn-syrup products to threaten the weight loss (we will not talk about the two slices of pizza we had for dinner last night). It is always a nice way to celebrate love (mind you we do this at least once a month - maybe not the champagne, though it figures into many of the celebrations of life - winning small grants, contracts, publications, the whole shebang of living). So no matter if you are celebrating February 14 in all its glory, believe it is a greeting card holiday, or are just letting the day go by without a second thought, it does not matter. Celebrate the day and everything good it brings (for those of you who are depressed, just give it a try…think of three things that make the day more pleasant, even if it means celebrating a comfortable pillow to hug at night, a warm blanket, or even a month-long supply of anti-depressants). I know - easier said than done…but hey…it is worth a shot (I have dealt with my own depressions and find thinking of three good things a day is a real boon in getting balanced again).

Anyway, I am going to take it leisurely today. It had been my hope to unveil a new audio on this occasion, but it has been put on the back burner for a little while until it can have my full concentration. Instead, I am going to send you to another site for a heart centered meditation. It is extremely simple to engage in and today, out of all the days in the year, anyone can use a good pampering of the heart. So, please take a moment and take care of your heart with this heart centered meditation.

Source: http://www.freemeditations.com/heart-centered-meditation.html

Photograph by unrelaxeddad

Typing furiously, sipping my coffee as I pause, typing some more, I delete all the words. I repeat the process and find myself in something of an odd loop. Today the words do not flow as easily as is my norm. I know the words are there, piling up, pressing forward, but remaining behind the barricades of thought and rethought. They drivel out, one word squeaking under the pressure of the crowd, past the police tape of my mind. It is a word that really is more made up than a real word - bat’d.

Maybe bat’d conjures up imagery of flapping, creepy bird-mouse creatures or maybe for those of you who are no as dark minded as me, maybe there is the image of a Little League participant, awkwardly holding a device to send the ball, often fowl, sometimes not, back to the pitcher. Or maybe, just maybe you are a total optimist and see the grand slam (I see Cal Ripken), sound of metal and ball colliding, bat flying backward, and the slow motion run of a player begining the run to safety.

But for many others, you will have recognized the word bat’d for what it really is - an acronym for beta, alpha, theta, and delta. For one class or another, I realized I often mixed-up the order of brainwave activity. Hence, bat’d is my school girl solution.

It seems timely to discuss this now, since on Tuesday we discussed the alpha-theta machine, which helps people to experience the alpha and theta states of mind. But what does this really mean? As with the pulse that is inherent within the earth, think tidal influences and heart beats, the brain has a similar pulse. This pulse, which is what is tracked with Electro Encephalo Graph machines, has some distinctive rates that indicate different levels of consciousness.

This is where bat’d comes into play:

• Beta - (13-40 cycles per second) - this is probably the state you are in currently. It is the wakeful state of being.
• Alpha - (8-13 cycles per second) - this one is akin to a light day dream-like state, relaxation or effortless awareness. This is a good place to be for auto-suggestion (hypnotic suggestion) and for learning.
• Theta - (4-7 cycles per second) - This is the state one experiences when dreaming (REM), being totally engaged in the creative, and deep meditation. Some would say this is the area of the subconscious.
• Delta - (1/2 - 4 cycles per second) - this state is deep sleep. It is also thought to be the level where one can experience the collective unconscious.

Bat’d. Simple, easy to remember and useful when discussing consciousness.

Sources:
Brainwaves and Consciousness
The Learning Web
Psychic 101

Art by nflorence2012

I am traveling again, writing this after having spent the night on a sagging mattress and with temperatures being six degrees cooler than suits my comfort level. Grrrr and grumble, a most grumpy me. Maybe there is coffee. Maybe not.

As I bundle up in blankets to type this, I realize I have given much thought to Michael’s comment he left on my Sunday post about heartfelt wishes using the same principle as the Law of Attraction. Yesterday, when I was warm and comfortable, I was very much into the whole idea of a benevolent universe (I say this in a flakey, surface sort of way) and bristled a bit at the comment that the Law of Attraction is “bunkum.” Today that same comment makes me smile.

I have to disagree and agree with Michael because I do not think there is any clear-cut answer about the existence of the law of attraction and how things work around us. I disagree with the idea of just tossing it out as malarky. I think it is all in one’s own belief system. It is like religion, some people believe in one thing, others in another.  For some people the idea of the law of attraction gives them hope and a positive attitude that can do things like turn around how they view life. Potential becomes evident. But I do agree with Michael in the sense that the law of attraction is not about just putting your desires out into the universe and they just happen. This can lead to terrible disappointment. I do believe that like attracts like, but like can also attract its opposite. So, you have to be really careful. On most days, if you go about with positive intentions and work towards your goals also in a positive manner, you can definitely attract positive energy. But then sometimes the universe steps in and offers you a lesson. It may seem very contrary to what you desire, but I think there are times when the universe says, “Are you sure about this? If so, prove it.” We are then forced to show our true heart’s desire. Are we serious about making the change?

And as a fan of hypnosis, it is a path wherein we choose to make changes and work towards manifesting what we desire, staying strong through the challenges and temptations. So Michael, thanks for your thought provoking comment!

Today I was going to rail about governmental mind control and human rights. You know, stop bad governments from using mind control techniques on its people. I figured it would tie into theme of the blog since we have covered ideas about mind control and how they are not hypnosis. So, I sat down with the last bit of Irish Breakfast tea and began to look for sources. What I found instead were conspiracy theory pages, some very poorly designed and written diatribes, and some that there so well done, I could not tell if there was or was not evidence to support the claims.

Then I caught myself and was appalled at my behavior. I do not have to write a piece with research information that is well documented. I do not have to have “expert” quotes embedded in this. Instead, I need to write about human rights from my own experience and knowledge.

So, I visited Billy Warhol’s blog billiondollarbaloney.blogspot.com, where he has posted a piece entitled Shut the Hell Up!! - MSNBC Keith Olbermann to President Bush!!. Before I go on, let me phrase that my Nan raised me to never discuss politics, religion or sex in public forums. Just listen, she said, you will learn much about other people and they will never notice that you have not said a word. I have pretty much lived by this and find it hard to break out of the mold.

However, I found myself conflicted today. I have my own opinions about Keith Olbermann and I do so want to express them. However, after a morning of being ensconced in conspiracy theories, I have found myself wrapped and tangled in something more than my upbringing. I found myself tangled up in a pervasive sense of fear. Now in my line of work, I have always thought of fear as the enemy. It gets in the way of progress. But now, I am wondering if I am not wrong to feel apprehensive.

Do I exercise my human rights, those that the US Constitution empowered us with, especially the right to free speech (and by the way, do we even have a constitution anymore or is it just boat for tourist to visit)? Do I dare flex my mental muscles even with thoughts that might not fit a fascist government? Might Orwell and his big brother know what I really think? And if so, what will become of me? Will my blog get fingered and red marked, monitored by men in black, and one day, an ordinary day, while I am posting and drinking tea, will they burst into my house, and take my mighty keyboard away and throw me into some dark, wet , hell hole until I have been brainwashed and speak their language? That’s what those conspiracy theories say.

Or maybe, just maybe, I am already suffering from subtle manipulation or brainwashing. Perhaps it has creeped in like an uninvited guest that looks vaguely familiar so we do not ask it to leave. Somehow instead of feeling proud of our individual rights, something has caused a certain questioning of what is safe and what is not. There is that fear again. I do not believe its pervasiveness really has much to do with a few pages of negativity that I read this morning. I think it is more than that. You read about bloggers being arrested for being critical of their governments in the Middle East. To those who do not live in oppression, maybe this seems insane (well, it is insane), but how far away are really from that? Evolution can go one of two ways - forward or backwards. Will democracy fail and will we all find ourselves in such a world where we live in a tangible state of fear? This would be devolution.

And am I part of this decay process? By censuring my words, my thoughts and brushing them away like crumbs from my granola bar, am I am allowing myself to be controlled by fear, whether caused by inherent paranoia or a true threat? If it is paranoia, then this whole post is crazy. If it is real…

Here’s what it all comes down too - is the fear indeed a threat? Perhaps you are saying, my Ellie, you have an active imagination (true, true), but we now seem to be in a world where human rights seem to be faltering. Even in Mother America, supposed land of the free, do we take human rights for granted? Can we afford to do that?

And I will now begin to stop this babbling brook of words and as they slow to a trickle, perhaps you have read between my lines and gotten the message. Maybe not. Maybe you are wondering what I really think. Old habits die hard (thank you Nan). Caution is the word of the day, but Mr. Olbermann, today you are my hero.

Once upon a time, there was a left-brain and a right brain. These two brains came together and formed the mind of a human. And once upon a time, the debate about left-brain and right brain raged a bit on this blog. But as the debate waned, the fires turning to glowing coals that began to cool, here I go again fanning the flames.Though some believe that to say left-brain and right brain is an over-simplification, I believe it is terminology that helps us understand the complex science of the mind. For those of you about to become ignited in intellectual rage, I apologize, but I cannot let it go. Granted, I have tried, but I am still, slowly plodding through the exercises of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and the idea of left and right continually speak to me from all directions.

If you have been reading The Unwinding Path, you may have noticed a video on there by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist with a Harvard background. The lecture is about a stroke she had and the awareness that happened for her during that time. In it, she mentions the dynamics between the left and right brain hemisphere.

Then this morning, the good, old New York Times checked in with a story about another scientist, Anne Adams, who suffered a from a disease called frontotemporal dementia. This disease seems to affect people differently, but in the case of this scientist, it substantial increased her creativity.

“By then, the circuits in Dr. Adams’s brain had reorganized. Her left frontal language areas showed atrophy. Meanwhile, areas in the back of her brain on the right side, devoted to visual and spatial processing, appeared to have thickened.

When artists suffer damage to the right posterior brain, they lose the ability to be creative, Dr. Miller said. Dr. Adams’s story is the opposite. Her case and others suggest that artists in general exhibit more right posterior brain dominance. In a healthy brain, these areas help integrate multisensory perception. Colors, sounds, touch and space are intertwined in novel ways. But these posterior regions are usually inhibited by the dominant frontal cortex, he said. When they are released, creativity emerges.”

Anyway, for those interested in the consciousness related to the interaction of brain hemispheres, the article is really fascinating. Just thought you needed to know.

Also, the artwork at the top of this page, is the by Anne Adams.  If you click on it, it will take you other works of art she created.

Source: The New York Times

Yesterday I posted about the media’s notion that hypnosis is responsible for a new brand of thievery. Several hypnotists went to bat for the noble hypnotic profession and lobbied that the thefts were not done using hypnosis.

Well enter Derren Brown into the consciousness of this blog. Thanks to Breki Tomsason who passed along a video and his opinion, we can see how this type of thievery may work.

For those who do not read the comments, here is the Derren Brown video:

I understand the Derren can be a bit controversial, but let’s stay on topic. In the name of clearing the notion that such thievery is not hypnosis, what would you say this is? NLP? Distraction? Confusion? In other words, what would you tell others (when they ask, and ask they do) is the method of the crime? How would you say it is different from hypnosis? (Please note I am not saying it was hypnosis, I just want to know your thoughts).

Today millions of Christians are celebrating their faith’s seminal holiday, Easter. While it has been largely secularized by the odd concept of egg-laying bunnies, thanks to my Catholic upbringing I still tend to think of Easter as primarily a religious holiday, so my last guest post this Easter weekend will touch on religion as it relates to hypnosis.

Some religious sects to this day teach that hypnosis is a tool of the devil — that by clearing your mind to enter a trance, you allow Satan access to corrupt your heart and soul. Born-again Christians seem prone to this view, at least from what I’ve heard and experienced, though I doubt the attitude is limited to that group and I don’t have a good citation for you.

But someone who believes that being hypnotized will jeopardize their immortal soul is unlikely to show up in a hypnotist’s office anyway, so as a practical matter that belief isn’t all that relevant to client interactions. What I have found on occasion are clients who draw strength or pride from their religious faith and for whom it is an important component of their lives.

Not all religious people are Christian, of course. There are devout Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, pagan, and every other persuasion everywhere and inevitably some will seek out a hypnotist. When I encounter such a person I try to incorporate that faith when formulating suggestions because I believe that it helps if the client perceives that I understand and respect their religion even if I don’t share it (and of course I don’t bring up my own religious background at all). That requires a certain amount of caution, though, because if I misstate something important to their faith it breaks rapport.

Having said that, my Easter Sunday Question for you is:

What do you do differently, if anything, with a highly religious client?

<MR>

---

This brings my run as guest blogger to an end. Ellie will be back tomorrow, hopefully refreshed and energized by her time away. I look forward to her return, and I thank all of you for reading and commenting on my posts. And thank you, Ellie, for lending me the big chair. ;^)

My hypnotic sensei, Marcia Proctor, likes to compare hypnotists to Obi-wan Kenobi. Not because we’re wise, patient, and speak with a cool accent, but because to our clients we’re often the last resort. Or, as the movie put it, “Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

One of the questions I like to ask in pre-talk is what other methods the client has already tried to address whatever issue they’ve come with. I get all kinds of answers, depending on the situation; the one answer I never get is, “I haven’t tried before.” We’re never the first choice.

And of course that puts the pressure on, doesn’t it? Being the last hope means that if we don’t succeed nothing will — at least, that’s often the client’s perception. But like a good Jedi we set aside the fear of failure and trust our instincts. We listen, we choose metaphors that will resonate with this particular client for this particular situation, and we weave it all into a stream of soothing, helpful patter that, if we believe in ourselves enough, will have the desired effect.

Another thing we have in common with the Jedi masters is that we are often placed in the role of mentor to our clients. We don’t just give them suggestions to become a nonsmoker, we also become their coach in the process. And since I make a point of teaching self-hypnosis to all of my clients, I also become a sort of hypno-sensei to them as they experiment with self suggestion. Like Obi-wan, I’m teaching my padawan clients to use the force in their own way, and a lot of that is getting them to believe that they can.

I wonder whether Sir Alec Guinness ever went to a hypnotist.

<MR>

(Side note: for those who’ve posted comments in Ellie’s absence, they’re not lost — I simply lack the authority to release them from moderation.)

The morning is going a little too quickly today, so this is just a brief check in. I plan to be back a bit later with Ellie’s Favorite Five Permissive Hypnotic Scripts (I hope). Today consist of clients and a massage that will hopefully resolve my shoulder issue.

Have you been watching the progress at The Unwinding Path? Perhaps you are quietly participating, too?

And there is something else that I thought I would mention quickly because it has really come to light in my life. There have already been several challenges that have faced me in the early days of 2008. And I have come to realize how tenuous the tightrope is on the road to evolution and enlightenment. I suppose the universe must test it self out to see where we are in the process.Sometimes, I am not very evolved at all, and it is like getting a kick to the stomach area. Some of the challenges are dealing with companies with no compassion, soulless entities with robot-like customer service people. It is so easy to get wrapped up in that muck when it deluges life. But I guess that is the challenge, remaining compassionate within myself and with my clients. I find I become persnickety, critical, and two faced. Now mostly people do not see this, but I feel it none the less. So, I have adopted a stance that is similar to the when you feel awful and down, that is the best time to throw a party. Mine is when compassion within others is at a minimum (or non-existent), that is the time to be even more compassionate to yourself and others.

So, anyone have any other ideas for keeping the light of compassion on during time of darkness? Or perhaps one of you has a good story that speaks of your own limitless compassion when you yourself could use some? (Hmmm. 50 entrecredits and/or my appreciation for an answer I like).