Most of us know all about daydreaming or zoning out. It is that unique moment in time when we lose all connection to whatever is going on around us. We may be present physically but we feel as though we are millions of miles away. That is an example of naturally occurring subconscious thought and hypnosis is the simple process of enabling it to occur.

The subconscious mind is a complex and powerful place. It is where all of our values, beliefs, habits and patterns reside. It is also our body s control center; it regulates our breathing, heart rate and the thousands of metabolic functions that occur automatically everyday of our lives.

The subconscious mind is active when we daydream, zone out, stare at a television or computer screen or when we sleep. It is also active when we are hypnotized. Having access to this powerful level of thought is the reason hypnosis is so effective in offering long term solutions for so many physical and emotional concerns.

The conscious mind, or short-term memory, has a much different job description. It keeps us in the here and now. It analyzes, critiques, accepts or denies the storage of daily information into the long term memory or subconscious mind. With the client s trust and co-operation the hypnotherapist helps them bypass the critical conscious factor and is then able to offer new positive direction in the form of suggestions, imagery and metaphors directly into the subconscious mind, where it is then acted upon and becomes the client s new reality.

Think of the hypnotherapist as a tour guide. Since hypnosis is the language of the mind they skillfully use nothing more than words to point clients toward relaxing vacation spots in their minds. The hypnotherapist has no power over the client at all; it is completely up to them how relaxed they choose to become or if they wish to become relaxed at all. So essentially, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.

Hypnosis feels as right as rain! It is a natural peaceful moment of inner stillness. Some clients describe it as a peaceful heaviness, as though they are sinking or melting into the surface beneath them. Others describe sensations of floating or a mind body separation. For most, hypnosis is a combination of deep physical relaxation and heightened focus.

Fifty to 100% of those hypnotized hear and remember everything that is said to them during a session because the conscious mind may be taking a break, but it is still quietly monitoring things from the background.

Today hypnosis is widely used in 21st century medicine, psychotherapy, athletics and dentistry. It helps with smoking cessation, weight loss, relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, pain and stress. Hypnosis enhances general health, academic, sales and creative arts performance. It can help improve public speaking skills, confidence and self-esteem. Hypnosis helps clients to sleep better, improve concentration, memory and relationships.

It also helps students ace exams; it supports complication-free surgery and helps mothers comfortably deliver babies without the need for any medications. With hypnosis, clients are involved with the process of creating positive change, which is as empowering as it is rewarding.

The keys to success with hypnosis are fairly simple: you need to be an open and willing participant; you need to be truly motivated and lastly you should be sitting with someone who is professional and capable. In most states hypnosis is not a regulated profession which means there are no professional standards ensuring competence or accountability.

A good direction to take when looking for a qualified hypnotherapist is to find someone who is also a licensed healthcare provider such as a physician, registered nurse, psychologist, psychiatrist or a social worker. These individuals are educated and certified in their field and are more likely able to offer professional quality care.

You should also ask your primary physician for a referral. Although most doctors know very little about hypnosis it is a good base to cover and they may just surprise you with a referral. Another resource might be holistic health centers, where there are usually several modalities of holistic practitioners under one roof.

Online you can use sites like www.superpages.com which offer searches based on the category and distance from your home. From there you can research websites, office rates, qualifications and also get a feel for their level of professionalism, at least as it is presented on the internet.

From the initial phone conversation with a prospective hypnotherapist you should be able to gauge if they are generally interested in your concerns, how long they have been in business and what their qualifications are. You might ask if they are affiliated with any particular organizations. There are many reputable governing organizations which have their own code of ethics. An example would be The National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH).

You should also ask if the session(s) will be specific to your needs and if you receive a recording of the session for home reinforcement. Many hypnotherapists do not record the sessions and only offer a generic reinforcement tape while others offer nothing at all.

Also ask if they will teach you how to self-induce hypnotic trance which is a great way to help you own the process even more and it also helps you to become an independent practitioner giving you the opportunity to add new control and freedom to other areas of your life all on your own.

Another helpful question is to ask how many sessions you will need. The hypnotherapist should be able to give you a good idea of how many. You should also ask for references. I have a long list of satisfied clients who gladly make themselves available to anyone who is curious about my services.

If you get all the right answers to these questions and feel good about the person you are speaking with, the last thing is to make sure their rates are in line with the area they practice in. This varies greatly from one part of the country to the next. Don t let a few dollars dictate your decision. If you feel good about how they describe their services and they seem to respect you and your concerns don t let a few dollars get in the way of a positive experience.

Now that you have chosen a hypnotherapist the last step is to evaluate their office. If they got passing grades so far the chances are pretty good that the office experience well get good marks as well. Their office could be in an office building or in their home. You will know right away if it is clean and professional in appearance. You should feel safe and protected. The hypnotherapist should make you feel welcome and cared for. There should also be a comfortable place for you to relax during your session.

If everything meets your approval just relax and enjoy yourself. Hypnotherapy is a wonderful experience on many levels. You may discover great clarity and understanding. You may experience new freedom, control and fulfillment. In life we all follow the path of our most dominant thoughts, hypnosis lets you choose your thoughts and reframe your world.

About the Author

Paul Gustafson RN, BSN, CH is the founder of HealthyHypnosis.com in Burlington, Massachusetts. His 11 years of acute cardiac and hospice experience offer a solid foundation supporting his clinical approach to hypnotherapy. Visit HealthyHypnosis.com HealthyHypnosis.com or call toll free at 888-290-3972 for a free video about hypnosis.

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Have you ever been to a party that is totally dead? And did you wish that someone would come in the room and save the day? Did you maybe daydream that you could be that person and be an instant hero in a room full of beautiful babies? Well here’s an idea that may just fulfill this fantasy for you at that next bomb of a party–why not try magic tricks?

That’s right magic tricks! I’m not talking about the huge David Copperfield type illusions and shows. No just several amazing tricks that I have put together that can be done with household items (or items lying around at a party) that require no extra space or props or prep time.

When you think about it these are the most powerful kind of magic tricks anyway right? I mean you are instantly skeptical when you see magician Copperfield on TV doing his thing because its on TV and it is done with all sorts of special equipment and special camera angles. A total production that allows for so much to go on behind the scenes that it really doesn’t have to be magical at all. More like special effects on a movie really.

On the other hand if you were to say pick up a deck of cards and quickly do 2 or 3 magic tricks without any prep or specially prepared deck then you would truly be magical wouldn’t you. And I’m not talking about the 4 jacks in a house that’s on fire or the 9 stacks of cards with the chosen card specially placed to come out on top. These are lame. I’m talking about cards levitating and disappearing and reappearing. That sounds magical and amazing and hero creating now doesn’t it.

The cool part about these magic tricks is that they don’t require anything more than several hours of practice perfecting techniques and more importantly the knowledge that makes selling the trick easy. This after all is the true skill of a magician. Making the unbelievable seem very ordinary and matter of fact for you.

This knowledge needs to cost something too when you think about it. If it were free than everyone would know how to do the magic tricks and they wouldn’t be very magical anymore would they. So I don’t feel bad for charging for my expertise. It both protects my livelihood and protects the art of magic.

About the Author:

Boyd Troublerr started doing magic tricks when he was 12 years old. Now a master magician he loves to teach magic for the preservation of the art. Go to www.learnmagictricks.info.

Read more articles by: Boyd Troublerr

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Hypnotherapy Treatment and how it works

I have had numerous articles published lately and many people have contacted me to ask more about how treatment plans are decided upon for clients. Most of these individuals have been suffering form panic attacks or phobias. So I have addressed the core of the question here for all to read, and it is my sincere desire that this helps anyone considering hypnotherapy or psychotherapy as a treatment for their problems to understand just how the qualified and experienced professional may proceed (or in my case, will proceed).

Unless presenting with a need for simple habit breaking including smoking, weight control in some cases, driving test/exam nerves, help with general confidence and public speaking etc, most people need some form of analytical therapy at the commencement of their treatment in order to ensure that any route causes no matter how slight or weak they may be, are found and resolved before proceeding on to ensure future success for the client.

It’s a bit like looking for the splinter in the finger and if it is still hanging in there, remove it first before applying the antiseptic cream and plaster or whatever.

The average duration of treatment sessions is six, although much depends upon the style of working that is most effective for the client, balanced with which style of working is best to resolve the particular problem they have. This is where thorough training in a multimodality approach and practical experience of many types of problem with many types of client is essential to the therapist being sufficient to help in most cases. It’s a bit like a mechanic having a large tool box full of different and specialist tools. He/she will use the appropriate tool for the job, or part of the job being tackled at that time and so be able to effectively work through to a successful conclusion for the job in hand. If on the other hand, the only tool in their tool box is a hammer, they will tend to treat everything like a nail (all situations receiving the same rigid treatment pattern).

I, along with many of my colleagues, uses a multi-tool (multi-therapeutic technique) type approach and this allows for a very thorough yet very flexible way of working with clients no matter what their problem and no matter what their personality type, fears, concerns, etc. People come in all types, shapes and sizes, and their personality type, concerns and fears, likes and dislikes, coupled with ‘what works best for them’ dictates the way forward. Even then, the way forward can not be too rigid, as mid stream corrections in direction, speed, attitude, etc might be required in order to keep on the best course for resolution of cause and effective removal of symptoms. Sometimes it’s like lateral thinking. That is to say, that to get from A to B, you must first go to G, then to Y, then to D, and finally from there to B. Sometimes the most direct route is best. Sometimes the client does not feel comfortable with this direct approach, and more importantly, their subconscious mind does not feel inclined to go this route. When the subconscious mind is resisting one approach, we would be very foolish to continue with this route, as the powerful subconscious mind will always win out in the end. Therefore the experienced therapist will change tack, or use another tool of you will, in order to continue with effective treatment.

The powerful subconscious mind is truly a wonderful and amazing thing. It is so powerful that will-power will never overcome it. Direct assault on it’s deeply help core values will only produce further problems for the client, and if we confront their belief system head-on, we are in for many extra sessions of repair work before we can proceed (if we can proceed at all with this therapeutic relationship).

To enlighten readers further, the tools I would recommend are in your therapist’s tool box might consist of:

Hypnoanalysis (including direct regression to cause, free association, parts therapy) Suggestion Therapy (including metaphor) Neuro-Linguistic Programming Gestalt Therapy Personality Profiling and Balancing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) (a brief version of psychotherapy)

Also many good therapists are also armed with further and less main-stream technoiques which may prove to be very useful on occassion:

Past Life Regression Therapy Shamanic Journeying Energy Fields Therapy* Emotional Freedom Technique* Deep Relaxation Therapy Self-Hypnosis Training

*Variations and adaptations of Kinesiology type techniques

Again, your good therapist will be able to explain all of these to you, and some will use one more than the others which is fine as long as that suits you and your needs.

I do hope this has all helped in your better understanding of the fascinating world of hypnosis and psychotherapy.

I hold free workshops to help people to understand the uses of the above therapies on an ad-hoc basis. If you would like to know more please email me at alancrisp@yourtruth.co.uk or telephone 020 8658 4290.

Alan Crisp Clinical Hypnotherapist Beckenham, Kent

About the Author

Alan Crisp is a Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist with consulting rooms and a bust practice in Beckenham, Kent. He specialises in all sstress and anxiety related conditions and offers a free initial consultation without obligation.

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