The Transparent Hypnotist

Photograph by ST33VO

The phone would ring off the hook with potential clients clamoring for my services. That has always been a goal of mine (and every other hypnotist out there). It is how I imagine marketing success. What I did not imagine was the phone ringing off the hook and having past clients ask me if I was hosting another hypno Halloween party. For goodness sake people, I barely mentioned I had the notion of doing so. But okay, I get it, you want a Halloween party (maybe this is a barometer that last year’s party was okay).

So now I suddenly find myself on this Tuesday morning looking for creative (and affordable) party ideas rather than reading hypnosis journals. In looking at www.celebrations.com ideas, they suggest a “green party” (maybe that will go well with my new Hybrid, sigh). Recycled paper invites (maybe using old obituary columns?), using organic apples from the local farmer’s market and homemade carmel, and utilizing the local thrift store to create a new, slightly-previously-owned costume. The site suggest using old sheets instead of table clothes, but I have a ton of handwoven fabrics that would look fairly sophisticated. And of course I would do some sort of guided visualization to begin the festivities, but I am not so sure what would be appropriate for a green Halloween theme…a walk through an old fashion pumpkin patch, maybe? Any ideas?

But then last year, when I was working with my weight loss clients, one of the exercises we supported each other on was dancing. Maybe the ‘70s Disco Demons and Divas party idea would be more fun? It would sort of be like stepping into Lorne’s karaokebar from the television series Angel. Dry ice punch and a homemade mirror ball. THere are some pretty intersting Halloween Decorations that could add to the atmosphere. That seems doable. Maybe the invitations would have a Saturday Night Fever (playing on the fever aspect) quality. This might be the sort of thing to do in my home yoga studio as opposed the the office. Rather than doing a guided visualization, I could do a short hypno show (but do it with demonic, over-the-top magician being sure to be as cheesy as possible). Hmmm.

The green idea is low key and fairly easy. It would be a good right-after-work sort of drop-in thing. The demon disco is a lot fun and a lot more work - but would probably have a repeat of people calling in October next year. Any thoughts?

It is that time of again - time to start thinking about The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk®. With the recent findings in the University of Liverpool’s study on how hypnosis slows down the progress of dementia, many of us would be the perfect team captain. What better way to get the good word of hypnosis out while helping a most worthy charity. There are also needs for volunteers and participants.

For those of you who are not hypnotists, Alzheimer’s is something the will probably impact us all (as I am sure you know). I recently was at a social event and ran into an acquaintance. He pulled me aside and asked if I could help him deal with his father. As it turned out, his father is in the middle states of Alzheimer’s. I mentioned the Liverpool study and of course he was interested, but what he really wanted was a little boost to deal with all the powerful emotions in having the one person he thought he could always rely upon forget who he was. This, to me, would be one of the very worst nightmares.

By supporting the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk in anyway we can, maybe there will come a time when people will not have to face being forgotten by loved ones. We can do more than hope. We can be part of the solution.

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.

I had meant to mention this sooner, but May 15, 2008 (tomorrow) is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights Day. It is a day when many bloggers gather together to address a cause that needs attention and now is a time when human rights need to be considered. I am not so sure what I will blog about, but I suspect there is plenty.

To learn more or to participate, visit Blog Catalog to join.

Also, feel free to list your blog in the comment section here if you are participating. A little linky love can go along way.

Here is a really quick heads-up. Lee Darrow is going to be on the Ghost Divas web radio show tonight (I know, I know, it is quick, but i just got the message).

This is what the message says:

I hope you will tune in! This is live, call-in web radio, so grab your headsets, have a tall, cold one and some munchies, because we’re going to be talking about how NOT to ghost hunt as much as about how TO ghost hunt!

Lee

The show airs tonight at 10 pm (maybe EST) at www.para-x.com.

If any of you who occasionally participate on this blog (commentors, 10 Question participants, guest bloggers, Ellie’s Favorite Five, etc.) have events coming up, let us know, and if we can we will spread the word here.

A day late, but no matter. Did you know that this week is National Sleep Awareness Week. I almost snoozed right through it. LOL. Are any of you participating or doing anything for it? If so, feel free to mention it in the comment section of this post. Needless to say, I am doing little more than blogging about it here, but at least that is something.

It is sort of odd, too. Normally I have clients around who see me for help with sleeping better, but currently my roster is free from those. I work a lot with sleep issues because inevitably some one will come to me with a different problem and after the first session they will call me back to work on the sleep stuff. It seems that the night directly after their session was one in which sleep did not evade them. In fact many say their best sleep nights are after a hypnosis session (and sessions not necessarily related to sleep issues).

Here’s a great quote you can use in your material. It comes from the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Communication in a press release they sent out on February 28, 2008:

Nationwide, an estimated 50 to 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep loss and
sleep disorders. Sleep loss is associated with health problems, including obesity,
depression, and certain risk behaviors, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking.

We often spout these types of facts, but now you have a source in which to attribute it.

So, anyway, happy National Sleep Awareness Week. The National Sleep Foundation, who sponsors the activities of this week, has a lot of interesting resources. They offer the Sleep Challenge (you can win one of those fancy beds) to see how much you know about sleep.

Yes, coffee in hand, I am looking into the new year and thought I would let you in on it. As I sview this blog as celebrating World Hypnosis Day every day, I still want to participate on January 4. This year I am taking a more personal approach. Friday will herald the development of a secondary blog to this one. I am always intrigued with self-help books, programs and blogs. I like learning new things, so this new blog will be an experiment in this. I plan to find programs to try, especially in the consciousness areas, and go through the process indicated. If you are interested in joining me, you are most welcome. Support groups are always a good thing and a way to share an experience, even if only in cyber space.

I have not yet decided on a name, so perhaps you may have some suggestion? In fact lets make this interesting, leave a comment on this post and for entrecard users, if I choose your’s, you will receive a 100 credits.

And yes, this blog will still be going strong, so no worries there.

Please let me know if you have an idea for the name of the blog. I will also soon be announcing the starting program.

And a quick question? Have you voted in Blog Battle Royale III, yet?

It is finally ready, a bit spur of the moment, but an act of kindness none the less. When considering doing an act of kindness, it seems like big things come to mind - helping others in need, volunteering, and so on. But I have always been an advocate of the everyday human, you know the one, perhaps similar to yourself, who takes care of their own needs and such. Well, this type of human also should have kindness granted (absolutely, do I hear an amen?). That is my focus.

I decided to do something close to the heart of the blog, and therefore have created a a short guided meditation (mp3) for anyone who wants to rediscover kindness. This download (free of course) is 14 minutes long and features no subliminal messages. It is not straight out hypnosis, but close.

Basically it is a relaxation audio that guides the listener through visualizations to inspire and remember kindnesses granted and given.

Please enjoy!

Click here to download

or visit the download page at archive.org.

Memory is a fascinating thing. Why is it that some things are easier to remember than others. For example, I cannot recall a series of four numbers easily, even to the extent of when people hurriedly give me their phone numbers. Even in the two second attempt to write it down, the numbers are gone.

A few days ago, I posted about National Memory Screening Day. Since that time, and a party later, questions have arose about how to tell if you should get a memory screening. How do you tell if it is acute memory loss verses aging? Good question.

So according to the National Memory Screening web site (in case you have not looked for yourself), here are a few questions you should ask yourself:

• Am I becoming more forgetful?
• Do I have trouble concentrating?
• Do I have difficulty performing familiar tasks?
• Do I have trouble recalling words or names in conversation?
• Do I sometimes forget where I am?
• Have family or friends told me that I am repeating questions or saying the same thing over and over again?
• Am I misplacing things more often?
• Have I become lost when walking or driving in a familiar neighborhood?
• Have my family or friends noticed changes in my mood, behavior, personality, or desire to do things?

If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might want to consider getting a screening.

Other questions that I have heard this week include “what is the memory screening process.” Again according to the same web site it is as follows:

Various types of healthcare professionals provide memory screenings, including social workers, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and doctors.

The face-to-face screening takes place in a private setting; only the individual being tested and the clinician are present.

A screening consists of a series of questions and/or tasks designed to test memory, language skills, thinking ability, and other intellectual functions. Screening tools include a Mini-Mental Status Exam, a Seven-Minute Screen and a clock drawing.

The person who administers the screening will review the results with you, and suggest whether you should follow up with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional for more extensive testing.

Results of the memory screenings are confidential. Typically, you will receive the screening results to bring to your healthcare professional or, with your permission, the clinician at the screening will send the results to your physician.

Today is the day. Happy Blog Action Day. I am even drinking green tea to be a little greener.

The theme is environmental issues. So, the question becomes, how can hypnosis positively impact the environment.

So here goes.

How Hypnosis Can Impact the Environment in a Positive Way

• Helping people to quit smoking.
  • Less toxic pollutants in the air.
  • Less cigarette buts leaving their long-term disintegration in the earth itself.
  • Less packaging waste.
• Helping people to adapt a healthier diet of natural foods
  • More fresh vegetables means less packaging waste for the environment.
  • The waste are biodegradable and better for the earth itself.
• Helping make the habit change to living greener.
  • By helping people to change lifestyle habits, the environment can benefit.
  • These habits could include being more conscious of energy used for lighting and temperature control.
  • It could help people become more recycling conscious.
  • It could help people become more waste conscious.

If you would like to add to this list, please use the comment section. I am sure there are more.