Working4Me

Learning Drill for Ericksonian Hypnotic Language Patterns

I mentioned some time back that I purchased a deck of Jamie Smart's Ericksonian Hypnosis Playing Cards. What an awesome tool for learning hypnotic language patterns! Like drinking games, you can incorporate hypnotic language patterns in virtually any card game to help internalize those patterns in your speech.

Here's a simple drill you can start using now, even if you don't particularly like card games:

1) Every morning, shuffle the deck and draw 1, 2, or 3 cards.
2) Repeat a few examples of each to yourself so you can hear yourself using them.
3) Those are your patterns for the day - make sure you weave them in your conversations throughout the day. Don't worry about having a goal in mind, or implanting suggestions in anyone's mind. This is practice, so just get natural at using those patterns!

If you pay attention to the things people say around you every day, you'll notice that certain people have their own way of phrasing things habitually.  Making Erickson's patterns part of your habitual language will result in lining your everyday speech up with one of the most persuasive communicators in recent history.

Can Hypnosis Be Used to Steal?

There's no doubt that there are plenty of scam artists out there that can use skills like cold reading and basic persuasive techniques to get money out of their mark.  But in this news story, a shop keeper claims he was put into a hypnotic trance wherein the perpetrators then used mind control to make him give them $1000!

It would be great if that surveillance tape had audio of how this supposedly transpired.

Check out the story and see what you can make of this: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/strange/news-article.aspx?storyid=92475

Hypnosis Podcast: Hypnosis Downloads Podcast

The podcast produced by Mark Tyrell of HypnosisDownloads.com so far contains short samples of particular hypnosis recordings that he has produced for download. The library of downloadable hypnosis mp3s available on HypnosisDownloads.com is quite diverse - Mr. Tyrell must be a very busy man with all of these downloads he's done, and he continues to make more and more!

I could get in to the content of his recordings, but it's not necessary because I am linking to his podcast which contains samples, so you can hear for yourself and determine if his style of hypnosis suits you or not. In my limited experience with his stuff, I would say that it's good quality and the recordings I have tried do contain solid hypnotic technique. Audio quality is excellent and his tonality is very well suited to the task at hand.

Check out the HypnosisDownloads podcast so you can judge for yourself. The most recent post as of this writing is a write-up about speed reading and there is a preview of a hypnosis session attached.

Hypnosis and Children - We Do It All The Time

Hypnosis and Beyond has a nice post about hypnosis and children. Sometimes in hypnotherapy training you're cautioned about using hypnosis with children, and of course caution is a good thing in all cases - make sure the parent is there, tape the session, etc.

But what are some of the ways that our hypnotic skills are useful in our daily encounters with young human beings? Children are learning machines! They are, consciously or unconsciously, modeling every behavior they see and hear, especially from adults. This brings to mind a great billboard I saw over the weekend. It has a picture of a little girl on it, with the text (paraphrasing): "Every time you yell at your spouse, she learns a lesson."   

Hopefully we, as adults, are conscious of the messages we are putting out when we're around children. They may notice things about our behaviors that we ourselves don't realize, just as though we were being modeled by an NLP expert.

One of the many ways that hypnosis happens with children on a daily basis is storytelling. I don't know if you have realized it yet, but storytelling is something hypnotists can do very well. And stories can carry unconscious messages, whether we know it or not. As you tell stories, to children or to adults, you might become more aware of the messages you're embedding in the stories, and whether your nonverbal behaviors are congruent with those messages... or not.

So, to boil this down to a nice list, here are just a few areas I propose might involve hypnotic communication with children, in nearly any context:

• Stories
• A mother's touch
• Your tonality when speaking to and around children
• Rhythm
• Nursery rhymes
• Television programming
• Religious services (if you want your kids to take it seriously, you better take it seriously)
• Metaphors and similes
• Everything you do or say around kids

Hypnosis and Breast Cancer

You've heard the media reports, and probably seen countless blog posts about the beneficial outcomes from using hypnosis as a pre-surgery treatment in breast cancery surgery. Here's one more - but what makes this one different is that it points to the actual researcher's article. It's been said about the media to deduct 50 IQ points when the topic is religion. I would extend that to science and especially hypnosis as well.  Here are the report's conclusions:

Conclusions: Hypnosis was superior to attention control regarding propofol and lidocaine use; pain, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset at discharge; and institutional cost. Overall, the present data support the use of hypnosis with breast cancer surgery patients.

Catch the article itself here, on the oxfordjournals.org web site.

The Benefits of Future Pacing

In anybody's beginning hypnosis training course, one of the topics that will come up is the use of hypnotic triggers. Related to NLP anchoring, hypnotic triggers allow you to access your hypnotic effects and outcomes by using a simple action such as touching your elbow or squeezing your thumb. This action is "anchored" to your trance state, or if you're using classical hypnosis language, it "triggers" your posthypnotic suggestions into effect.

But the problem is, what if you forget to use your triggers when you need them?  Do you need a trigger for remembering your triggers?

This is where the concept of future pacing comes in. Future pacing is essentially the process of rehearsing the use of your new behaviors at some future time, while you're still in trance. By doing this rehearsal, you can become comfortable with the new behaviors and at the same time, you're effectively anchoring the situation itself as the trigger for the desired behavior.  This eliminates the need to consciously fire off triggers on yourself or on others and allows you to move through life with your enhanced behaviors effortlessly.

Don't forget to remember to build a good 4-tuple, using all of the senses, when you future pace. See what you'll see, hear what you'll hear, feel what you'll feel, and smell/taste what you will when you're performing so well that you surprise and amaze yourself!

Ericksonian Hypnosis Playing Cards

It seems like a long time ago that Jamie Smart began selling his Ericksonian Hypnosis Cards. At first, he launched them with a deep discount, which typifies his excellent customer service. And yet, I resisted the urge. Neither the small price nor the time commitmennt to play with them were in my budget at the time.

And many moons have passed, with Jamie Smart developing more decks like Irresistable Influence and I believe an NLP deck. And still I had not bought.

But last week, my wife mentioned offhand that I hadn't bought myself any small treats lately. I brushed it off at the time, but she was right. Such a treat was in the budget last week so I went on Amazon to make my purchase.  The Ericksonian Hypnosis Cards arrived within days....

...Let me say first that I shy away from playing card games because I tend not to do too well with them. I probably just don't get enough practice. Now that I have flipped through the language patterns on this deck of cards, I can't wait to engage my wife and my friends in hypnotic card games!

The cards themselves seem to be of high quality and come in a durable plastic carrying case, not a cheap cardboard box that will fall apart within weeks. Each card is a typical playing card, but in the place of artwork you'll find printed one of Milton Erickson's famous hypnotic language patterns and a slew of examples. Game play seems to be similar to drinking games - modify any card game as though it were a drinking game, but instead of drinking, read a hypnotic language pattern. It's so simple, learning through play, that I can't wait to try it.

Perhaps a game of hypnotic solitaire is in order this afternoon.

I'll be doing some play testing with Jamie's "Hypnotic Slapjack" and other modified card games, and I intend to develop some of my own learning drills with the cards. I'll be posting them here when I do.

Once again,  Good work, Salad!

Cuba Teaches Medical Hypnosis to Panamanians

By way of the International Herald Tribune, the government media agency AIN reports that 80 Panamanians have completed training in medical hypnosis, offered by the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences in Cuba.

Due to a shortage of conventional medicine in Cuba, attention has turned toward various alternative therapies. While I personally would not recommend replacing conventional medicines with hypnosis, they appear to be using it to treat various ailments like bronchial asthma, stress, sexual dysfunction and "some types of skin diseases", all of which might actually be aggravated by stress which could be helped by hypnotherapy.

A very short news item, light on details, but it's interesting to see hypnosis being taught across international borders like this.

Hypnosis and Catholic Christianity

Jimmy Akin, a well-known Catholic apologist who holds the 2005 award for Best Apologetics Blog, today wrote a pretty good overview of the morality and safety of undergoing hypnosis from a Catholic point of view. Well, it's on a Catholic apologetics blog (an excellent one, at that), but really this can apply to any form of Christianity.

While he has reservations over whether altered states of consciousness even exist (he's actually pretty accurate in mentioning that hypnosis isn't too different from any other relaxed, focused state), he addresses the common fear of demonic exposure when he lays it out about as straightforward as I've ever heard it said:

On it's face, there's nothing supernatural about any of this, and that would make me wary of claims that one is opening oneself to the demonic.

I tend to take whether someone is open or closed to the demonic at face value: You're not inviting demons to influence you unless you're inviting demons to influence you. Since there is nothing overtly demonic about hypnosis (e.g., each hypnotic session does not begin with a prayer to a demon) there is no overt invitation to demons to influence you through it.

I'll add my two cents by addressing the new age hypnotists. Anyone who's been reading this blog knows that I'm advocating a highly ethical hypnosis practice that takes great care to keep clear of any religious or new age philosophy. No sane person would willfully invoke evil when doing hypnosis, but well-meaning new age folk will oftentimes slip in content that will convey their worldview to the client. They may not even realize they are doing it, but recall how powerful presuppositions can be!

Or on the flip side, a hypnotist from one of the more well-known religions might presuppose something that's so contrary to the worldview of the client, that the client won't even go into trance.

If you're confused by what I'm saying, go and review Richard Bandler and especially John Grinder when they write about the ins and outs of content-free hypnosis. Off the top of my head, I believe John Grinder's Whispering in the Wind goes into some depth on this matter of getting out of the clients way as much as possible.

Back to the Jimmy Akin topic- yes, classical hypnosis can be quite safe when practiced ethically, but do choose your hypnotist carefully. Certifications and medical degrees are not necessarily an assurance at this point; the best approach is to get a feel for the kind of person they are by checking references and discussing any concerns you have up front. And of course, you can affirm to your self, perhaps by using a self-hypnosis technique on your own, that your unconscious knows best what suggestions are ecological for you and which to discard as irrelevant.

Update: Jimmy has a follow-up post about the moral implications of hypnosis for Catholics here.

New Book on Milton Erickson

I just learned of a new book about Milton Erickson and his unique approach to psychotherapy and hypnosis. Titled Milton H. Erickson, M.D.: An American Healer, it's edited by Bradford Keeney and Betty Alice Erickson.

I'm quite looking forward to getting this, as it not only profiles Erickson and his work, but it even includes a DVD containing previously unseen footage of him working.

As of this writing, it's available at Amazon for a pretty deep discount. Buy now, you probably would jump at the chance to learn more about Milton Erickson.

Technorati Tags: hypnosis, erickson, hypnotherapy, nlp

Hypnosis Search Engine Added to Working4Me Site

Over to the right of the page you'll see a new tag cloud and search box. This is a Euerkster-powered hypnosis  and NLP search engine, which I will be tuning for the Working4Me site.

How will this be different than other search engines? The difference that will make the difference is that I'm able to tweak this engine to focus on high quality sources of hypnosis and NLP information. Information that you can use. Information that isn't necessarily trying to sell you some product (as I parodied on my April Fool's Day post... hey if we can't poke fun at ourselves then we're taking ourselves too seriously!).

I'm endeavoring to keep the search results focused on the highest-quality sites and blogs out there, filtering out the overly commercial and new age. I understand that there's usually some commercial interest, so that's okay... when I talk about filtering commercial stuff I really mean spam.

If you have suggestions for specific sites that could be included in this search, please let me know in the comments box of this post. Note, if you want to get your blog included, do leave a comment but for now the engine software does not yet provide for promoting specific blogs; currently it will search the entire blogosphere.

On the flip side, if there's a specific site that's problematic in showing up in the results, please contact me so I can investigate.

I hope this proves to be a useful resource as it continues to improve in relevancy.

Hypnosis and Motivation: It's All in Your Head

Think for a minute why we use hypnosis, and what we can accomplish with it. Whether it's weight loss, motivation, memory enhancement, time distortion, athletic performance... the list goes on... you're going to encounter the skeptic who says "yes, I see you accomplished this, but it's all in your head. Hypnosis is snake oil, a placebo."

What an interesting thing to say! Of course it's all in your head, or at least that's where it starts! I use these kinds of objections as an opportunity to offer up one of the simplest metaphors I can come up with: that hypnosis is a software update for our minds.

Computer hardware carries a wide range of potential. We can use it for many things, from tax preparation to full motion video rendering to decoding the human genome, even controlling robotics or household appliances. In a typical general computing situation, say we have two identical hardware configurations, where one of them is being used for the genome project and another is being used to play video games. The difference that makes the difference lies in the software.

Software is a set of instructions and descriptions (data) that puts the hardware to use towards a specific goal. Changing what software you're using, or updating existing software, alters how work is performed, what work is being performed, and the overall efficiency of a task- even the health of the computer.

In a similar way, our minds contain descriptions and data, beliefs and thought processes, that drive our actions in daily life. On the athletic field. At work. Playing with our kids. Arguing with someone. Changing that software will alter the behaviors that are manifested, oftentimes at a consciously imperceptible level.

Sometimes, like our computers, our memory could use some optimization (there's a good hypnosis script called the "Library" for that). Other times, weight management session is like implementing an admin script to flush out excess files. And there are times when malware in the form of limiting or destructive beliefs intrude upon our consciousness and start driving harmful behavior, like when a PC gets infected to become a spam zombie.

The next time (there will be a time!) someone tells you "it's all in your head", be sure to ask: if it's not supposed to be in my head, then where should it be? How do I know if it's in my head or not, and what would happen differently if it wasn't? If someone's life changes, is it always in their head? How can I effect this external change without starting with my own mind?

Since we know all willful changes start with a goal, and that step one to accomplish your goals is to make them well-formed, saying that hypnosis results are all in your head seems highly redundant. In fact it seems like a great lead-in to a conversational induction... which reminds me of a story about a certain doctor named Milton....

History of Hypnosis

The Rock River Times brings us part one of Robert Sieveking's excellent
hypnosis history timeline. Not unlike what you would find in a hypnosis
training manual, this is a great overview that you can refer your
clients to check out.

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.pl?cmd=viewstory&cat=6&id=12483

An Exercise to Celebrate World Hypnotism Day

Rather than use World Hypnotism Day as a promotional event, I'll celebrate by contributing a quick exercise for the new year. Since World Hypnotism Day lands so close to New Year's, and we're all in a reflective mood, let's shift from reflection to projection and anticipation as we take a look at our year ahead with this (rough edit of a...) self-hypnosis script.

Take a moment and just relax. You may want to sit down where you won't be interrupted for a few minutes and close your eyes. Now, scan your body and just notice any feelings you may have as you continue to relax. It doesn't matter if you start from the top of your head and go down, down through your neck and along your arms, down again through your trunk and into your legs, and finally to the tips of your toes. Maybe you would rather start from the soles of your feet, sensing and feeling your self all the way to the tip of your scalp.

Which ever way you choose, it's the right way that's left you turning your attention inwards. You don't need to go deep if you don't want to. Just trust that your unconscious knows exactly where you need to be in order to effortlessly create a realistic list of one-year goals. Have a few of these goals, make sure they are stated in the positive and get creative- how will you know when you've reached these goals? What will you see, feel, or hear?

Now imagine the year ahead as a brilliant line moving off into the distance. This line contains the entire year ahead. Trust that your unconscious will handle all the details- all you need right now is this high-level view because it's so easy to conceive a map from above.

Follow the line to the end in high speed. Perhaps you can imagine starting a pulse of light following that line, beginning at the present point, picking up any necessary resources along the way, and moving out into the future. The pulse follows the course you set out as it travels along that brilliant line.

As the pulse reaches the area of the line representing December 2006, it's possible to make a bright, beautiful, panoramic picture of yourself at that time. You've achieved all of your goals for the year. The picture is so detailed now that you can see anything you'd like to see that represents your accomplishments. Maybe you've made those details visual, or maybe they are a sound or a smell. Maybe the details are literal, or perhaps they are abstract, creative representations. All that matters is that the picture, the sounds, the smells get more and more vivid and intense and pleasurable.

You can repeat this journey as many times now as your unconscious desires, in rapid time. And when you're ready, perhaps 10 minutes have passed, and you can bring you awareness back to full waking consciousness with the knowledge that you've just created the first resource that you carry along that line into the next year. You can access this resource any time you need- waking, sleeping, or in trance as you have an excellent year in 2006.

This is a very rapid process. You may wish to do more work around your goals for the year, or you may not need to do anything. Perhaps your goals are simply inevitable. But if would like more comprehensive material about goal development, Tony Robbins' books are pretty strong in this area, as well as the countless hypnosis CDs for sale on the Internet.

Hypnosis Christmas Wishlist 2005

Since it's three days until Christmas, this is really more of a wishlist for 2006, but here it goes anyway, in no particular order:

1. Richard Bandler's new time distortion DVD
2. The Complete Works of Milton Erickson

A Pzizz machine

Conversations with Milton H. Erickson, Volume II: Changing Couples

Taproots: Underlying Principles of Milton Erickson's Therapy and Hypnosis

Just a few things off the top of my head. I had considered the Journey to Wild Divine biofeedback game but it has mixed reviews on Amazon. I'd like to get a peek at it sometime, though.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Does Stress Really Make You Sick?

Following up on the quarreling couples article, I have news of another study showing that stress impacts the immune system. Courtesy of Life Extension Daily Update on December 5th, Agence France-Presse reports on an Australian study showing the link between stress and the release of neuropeptides that weaken the immune response.  Researcher Fabienne Mackay was quoted, saying:

"During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it inhibits the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens in the body," she said.

"That stress makes you sick is no longer a myth, it is a reality and we need to take it seriously."

Mackay was also quoted discussing the need for relaxation techniques and even yoga to help combat stress and its numerous effects on our health. As hypnotists, we already have the skills to keep stress levels down; how many of us actually use them?

In my own experience, I usually take a "trance break" either midday or in the middle of an intense work period in order to keep the stress down. Since I've undertaken this practice, sometimes using the Betty Erickson technique and other times simply using my own rapid induction anchors on myself, I have noticed a qualitative change in my stress responses. I also believe these breaks are consistent with Herbert Benson's "Breakout Principle" and enhance my creativity.

If we combine regular physical activity, a healthy lifestyle, and self-hypnosis, we may have the beginnings of performing at our peak.

Hypnotic Language Pattern: Implication

Steve Andreas' web site is a gold mine of material that he has written over many years. Today we'll take a look at the Verbal Implication language pattern which he discusses as an overlooked pattern employed frequently by Milton Erickson. Verbal implication is a language pattern that is quite distinct from presupposition, in that a presupposition can be spotted by negating a statement and noticing what's still true, while implication cannot be detected definitively through verbal content alone.

According to Andreas, the usage of the verbal implication language pattern is dependant upon meanings and associations completly within the minds of the listener. As an example: "It's not easy learning language patterns completely by yourself" may carry the implied message that it's easy to learn hypnotic language patterns with other people.

To generate implications, Andreas proposes this algorithm: Create Outcome, Generate Opposite of Outcome, Divide World into Two Opposing Contexts, and finally Create Sentence by Applying Opposite Outcome to Worldly Context that is Not Present.

Read the full article at Steve Andreas' web site, and browse around to learn more quality information from one of the early players in NLP history.

Free Hypnosis eBook Downloads and Hypnosis Articles

The Spanish web site Hipnosis Sociedad Profesional De Hipnosis has quite a few downloadable hypnosis ebooks in PDF format. Most notably, they have quite a few works written by Milton Erickson. Click on the category Articulos, and do some exploring. The left sidebar is where I found the Ericksonian books, towards the bottom.

There is of course quite a bit of information in Spanish as well.

I've also located the Hypnogenesis archives page, which contains many articles on hypnosis. I have not read all of these articles so I can't speak for what's in them, but nevertheless I thought it handy to point out the resource. If anybody has any input as to the usefulness of these articles please leave a comment. Personally, the weather's too sunny this weekend to be inside reading all day, so I must go.

Have a good weekend!

More on Religion and Hypnosis

As a followup to my earlier write-up about religion and hypnosis, I've quoted a nice section from Wikipedia below. The Wikipedia does not link to specific references for this text, so I am still looking to verify the specifics although it's congruent with what I have read elsewhere. I will update this specifc post when I find references.

Objections had been raised by some theologians stating that, if not applied properly, hypnosis could deprive a person of their faculty of reason. Saint Thomas Aquinas specifically rebutted this stating, “The loss of reason is not a sin in itself but only by reason of the act by which one is deprived of the use of reason. If the act that deprives one of his use of reason is licit in itself and is done for a just cause, there is no sin; if no just cause is present, it must be considered a venial sin.”

In 1847, a decree from the Sacred Congregation of the Holy office (The Vatican) states, "Having removed all misconception, foretelling of the future, explicit or implicit invocation of the devil, the use of animal magnetism (Hypnosis) is indeed merely an act of making use of physical media that are otherwise licit and hence it is not morally forbidden provided it does not tend toward an illicit end or toward anything depraved."

Later, in 1956, Pope Pius XII gave his approval of hypnosis. He stated that the use of hypnosis by health care professionals for diagnosis and treatment is permitted. In an address from the Vatican on hypnosis in childbirth, the Pope gave these guidelines: (1) Hypnotism is a serious matter, and not something to be dabbled in. (2) In its scientific use, the precautions dictated by both science and morality are to be need. (3) Under the aspect of anaesthesia, it is governed by the same principles as other forms of anaesthesia. This is saying that the rules of good medicine apply to the use of hypnosis.

Source: Wikipedia

Clinical Hypnosis: Not a Stunt, but a Focused Mental State

From the Washington Post, comes a very nice write-up based on material from the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. Covering the usual topics such as myths about hypnosis, applications of hypnotherapy, and how to choose a hypnotherapist, although it displays an overt bias against "lay" hypnotists, encouraging people to choose someone with a medical degree. (So 7-8 years of university in an unrelated field plus an unknown number of hours in hypnosis training is better than a focused hypnosis training with a known amount of experience? Computer programmers enter deeply focused mental states as part of their jobs, should they consult a medical doctor for guidance in coding?)

November 17th is the Great American Smokeout

Just a reminder that the Great American Smoke Out is coming up in the next couple of weeks

If you wish to quit smoking, now is the time. The holiday season is coming up, and many of us are feeling loss over relatives and friends who have passed on because of the effects of smoking on their health. Instead of becoming one of those people- become someone who will enjoy your healthy lifestyle. Get whatever help you need- enlist your friends, relatives, your local hypnotist, acupuncture, massage, prayer - and you will succeed.

Drink healthy amounts of water, eat healthy, and you want to change the circumstances around your old habits so that you can create new habits. Perhaps a nutritionist can assist with a regimen that will help you along.

For hypnotherapists and / or NLP practitioners, this is a great opportunity for developing your practice while helping the community.

People all over the United States will be refraining from smoking for just one day, many of whom will continue the endeavor and never smoke again. Make yourselves available to those that need your help this year. Perhaps offer a special rate for smoking cessation, or maybe hold a seminar for some group work.

Forbes Online article on hypnosis

Forbes Online has a nice write-up of the benefits and growing popularity of hypnosis. Not particularly in-depth info, but could be useful if you'd like to point your potential clients to a light article in a large media publication. Somewhat amusing though is the quote "Hypnosis puts a person in a trance-like state"... Trance-like?  Interesting phrasing, and even more interesting when you imagine hearing it with the right tonal shifts ;-)

Visit: http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/2005/10/18/hypnosis-health-treatment-cx_sy_1019feat_ls.html

Hypnosis and Religion

In your practice, it's likely that some of your clients are Christian, Jewish, or of another religious persuasion. Now, since they are already your clients, they may not have any specific qualms about the use of hypnosis but chances are that they may know someone who personally feels that hypnosis is counter to their religious principles. Perhaps you have even encountered directly someone with this idea (I have, and while I helped open their minds a bit, I feel I could have been much more persuasive and thorough).

It can be difficult to explain our position, especially in the light of hypnosis being employed by many in the New Age movement to enhance their own practices, and this is extending far beyond the well-known concept of past life regression! This article is not the place to challenge that practice, but I will propose that the marketing of such combined services can contribute (if composed in a confusing way) to certain messages reaching the public that may distort what hypnosis is perceived to be and how it's used. Remember that one of the NLP presuppositions is "You cannot not communicate!" Hypnosis is a tool, a set of skills, not attached to any religious (or atheistic, or new age) worldview yet it's compatible with most Judeo-Christian religions.

So what do we do? We educate ourselves so we can educate others. To that end, I would like to send you to Chaplain Paul Durbin's site. While is site as a whole is a complete treasure trove of educational material on hypnosis that every practitioner should have bookmarked in their browser at the top level, we'll focus on the article Hypnosis and Religion, which is a compilation of Durbin's writings along with those of others in the field.

This kind of material is seldom covered in today's hypnosis training- perhaps it's time it was added at least as an appendix to the training manuals! The question can be dealt with on many levels, technical, theoretical, scientific, and even authority- many churches have known positions on hypnosis and many of them affirm that it's a legitimate activity for adherents to their faith. Find out what specifically the objections are, and do your homework to answer them correctly and thoroughly. I sat down doing web searches to compile an article which would delve into specifics, but in the course of that searching I found the Durbin Hypnosis site which has already done the work. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Review: Time for a Change, by Richard Bandler

Time for a Change
by Richard Bandler
Meta Publications, 1993

Here is a book which warrants reading, and re-reading, in several different states of consciousness! One reading for simple intellectual edification, one reading with the intention of actually experiencing the trance inductions contained within, another reading "as-if" an academic looking for the language patterns, perhaps even taking notes.

From the Induction: "In this book you will find more powerful ways to understand, shape, and use your states of consciousness, your driving beliefs, and your esperience of time itself."

Bandler does not disappoint. Each chapter outlines powerful hypnotic phenomena that we can apply, in a waking state, to improve our lives. Chapter One installs the NLP attitude, including curiosity and motivation and above all the belief that you can achieve any hypnotic phenomenon and do excellent trance work.

Chapter two is titled "Believe in Laughter- Frame Problems as Humor and as Something to Enjoy". Drawing heavily from Milton Erickson's unusual sense of humor in his therapeutic applications of hypnosis, we are imbued with a lighthearted approach to life and its problems, bringing to my mind echos of Don Juan Matis' statement about how the warrior's greatest foe is self-importance.

Chapters three and four build on our trance induction skills and further enhance our understandings of how to run our own brains. Included here are Bandler's insights on why the classical hypnotic monotone voice is unnecessary and perhaps detrimental to the trance process.

The remaining chapters illustrate and install some incredible tools. Among them, an unconscious sorting process for clearing out accumulated outdated beliefs and replacing them resourceful beliefs which can be run nightly (similar to computer systems administration tasks), time distortion, and hyperesthesia (also known as hyperemperia, or heightened awareness).

Even the appendices are worth the purchase price: an eye accessing cues chart, a wonderful introduction to the Meta Model by Robert Dilts, linguistic presuppositions, submodalities, an outline of reframing, and a quick discussion on tonality. The Meta Model discussion should be required reading... so many "NLP" books and tapes gloss over this subject which really lies at the core of NLP.

The edtion I have is printed in trade paperback, with text size and spacing that makes this read easy on the eyes. This book earns its position on my bookshelf with no reservations whatsoever.

Is the iPod Nano the Ultimate Hypnosis Mind Machine?

Today we're going to take a look at the options we have in terms of hypnotic trancework on the go. With the advent of highly portable digital audio
players and electronic audio files, we're now free of some of the limitations of listening to CDs or cassettes for doing autohypnosis.

If you're reading this site, chances are pretty good that  you like me  have a sizeable collection of hypnosis tapes and CDs that either
take up a bunch of shelf space in your home, or even more likely, clutter up your living space. I propose that a simple solution to this
comes in the form of Apple Computer's iTunes software.

iTunes will run on Windows and on Macintosh, and you'll find its interface is the simplest of all the digital music library programs
on the market. Converting your collection will be easy- simply pop the CD in your CD-ROM drive and click the Import button in iTunes. Yes, it's that simple.
You can then easily organize your hypnotic tracks by author, by subject, by length, etc with the use of playlists. Now you're free to pack those CDs up in a box in your closet,
where they will be out of your way and you can now use that free space for hypnosis and NLP books instead.

Now that your collection is digitized, it's not exactly portable unless you've done the importing on a laptop. For the ultimate in portability,
check out the latest in digital music players, the iPod Nano. The Nano has several distinct selling points:

Battery life
Short charging time
Lightweight
Color screen for viewing imported images
Durability
Style

The iPod Nano can hold 2- or 4- GB of audio. Now, there are plenty of players on the market that hold up to 60 GB, but for our purposes
we're looking for durability and battery life so this is where the Nano will shine because it uses flash memory instead of a hard disk. Flash memory
has lower power consumption and is more resistant to shock than hard disks, although recent reports indicate that the first batch of iPod Nanos may require screen protectors due to scratching.

You can sync your iTunes library with the iPod Nano similarly to the import operation above: easily and automatically.

Additionally, you can sync music and audio books (including hypnosis audio books!) that are available for purchase right from the iTunes Music Store.
The pricing you'll get by downloading these audiobooks will be cheaper than purchasing CDs in the local book store, and you're not burdened by a physical box
laying around your home or office.

If you're a fan of binaural beats, you can download the bwgen software (again, available for multiple operating systems at bwgen.sourceforge.net) and create your own
binaural beat audio tracks for use on the iPod.

Hypnosis and Diabetics

Hypnosis can help diabetics to dramatically improve their condition. Learn a hypnosis technique in this article.

(PRWEB) September 15, 2005 -- Hypnosis. For many, the word conjures up images that make a person uncomfortable. Many fear hypnosis because they fear a loss of control, yet a person is actually more in control of their body when he or she is in a state of trance.

This fact should interest people with diabetes, because control is exactly the issue that concerns them: controlling blood sugar levels.

Hypnosis can help diabetics to dramatically improve their condition. Learn a hypnosis technique in the following article by Devin Hastings, founder of the Diabetes Research Association of American and owner of MindBody Hypnosis.

Hypnosis has been a medically recognized phenomenon for well over four decades. In 1958, the American Medical Association and the American Dental Association made resolutions recognizing hypnosis as an accepted form of treatment in medicine and dentistry.

This was three years after the British Medical Association passed a formal resolution approving hypnosis as a valid therapeutic technique for treating neuroses and for relieving pain in surgery and childbirth.

One example of hypnosis helping people with diabetes is that it can change their insulin requirements and sometimes eliminate them. This is illustrated in a case study found in the book, Mind-Body Therapy, by Ernest L. Rossi, PhD and David B. Cheek, M.D.

In this book is an amazing story about a 33-year-old patient with insulin dependent diabetes who was pregnant. She was in the hospital because she and her doctors were considering ending the pregnancy because of severe toxemia and two diabetes induced comas that had occurred in her previous pregnancy.

Dr. Cheek, talked with the patient and her husband about using hypnosis to control pain and thus control her insulin needs. Upon her agreement, the patient was then trained to use hypnosis to achieve complete abdominal anesthesia.

She was also trained to be able to awaken from trance to respond to doctors or nurses questions so that they did not think she was in a diabetic coma.

Here's where it gets more interesting: "On admission to the hospital she was taking 180 units of insulin a day, using 60 units of protamine zinc, and filling out her requirements with Regular insulin. The response to the surgery was remarkable. She maintained a normal temperature, pulse, and respiration after a total hysterectomy under spinal anesthesia. Her blood sugar never went over 117 mg. / 100 cc. although she was eating a regular hospital diet from the day of surgery."

But it gets even more fascinating: "No insulin was used during the hospital stay. During the next 11 months, she used only an occasional dose of insulin during periods of emotional stress."

Please understand very clearly that this is an exceptional case that is discussed only so that the door can be opened to the possible benefits of hypnosis for diabetics.

Now, let's look some of the ways that any person with diabetes can absolutely benefit from hypnosis.

I discovered that there are 7 ways in which hypnosis can powerfully help.

I will discuss a couple in this article by starting with this question: What are some of the areas that cause problems for diabetics?

First and foremost of course is diet and exercise. Hypnosis has a long history of helping people to attain and maintain an ideal and healthy weight.

In other words, among many benefits, hypnosis can help the diabetic to more easily comply with the recommendations of their doctor. In their book, Clinical Hypnosis: Principles and Applications, doctors Harold B. Crasilneck, PhD and James A. Hall, MD state: "Hypnotherapy can often help in treating obesity, an observation that is one of the most clinically confirmed in all the literature on hypnosis."

This brings us to a very important point: Hypnosis is not meant to, nor could it ever, replace standard medical treatment.

In fact, hypnosis is most effective when used in conjunction with traditional health care. It is also important to note that most hypnotists are not licensed as medical practitioners.

Therefore, a hypnotist must always have a fully informed doctor's referral before helping anyone in any manner that is medically related.

What else can a hypnotist do for you as a diabetic? Well, you know that food management is crucial in diabetes. Visit any physical therapist that is helping a diabetic amputee to rehabilitate and you'll understand.

Many of those who have suffered amputations did so because of their out of control and indiscriminate eating habits. The results are horrifying. This is just one of the many devastating diabetes complications brought on by a destructive diet.

Can people with diabetes avoid this outcome without having to suffer a lifetime of denial?

Yes. Through the use of hypnosis, people can actually change their inner motivations thereby decreasing their desire for unhealthy food and unhealthy amounts of food.

At the same time, a hypnotist can help a person to increase their desire for better foods and to develop better eating habits.

How does this occur? The method is complex, but it can be described concisely. Hypnosis is your ability to convince yourself that something is true.

When you believe something, that belief is reflected in your thoughts, feelings and actions. So, once you use hypnosis to convince yourself that you prefer healthier foods and activities, then it becomes a habit to think and behave that way.

Think of hypnosis as a lever, a simple tool that can help people to remove blocks in their lives that were previously impossible to budge.

For each individual, the blocks are different. The mechanism by which hypnosis removes these blocks is that while in trance you have the ability to perceive things differently. When you see or think of something differently, its effect on you is changed.

Many people wonder if they have to do hypnosis on an ongoing basis. The answer is that it depends on the person and their situation.

Some people have been able to become nonsmokers after one session. For others, it takes a little while longer. Changing a belief is as personal and fickle as getting over a cold. But know this: it is absolutely proven that it can be done.

There are two reasons I am pioneering this approach to diabetes management. First, is that in 1992 I was going blind from diabetes but after using hypnosis, I regained 20/20 vision.

The second reason is that my mother has been devastated by diabetes and it is my passion to help so that another child does not have to watch their parent being taken apart piece by piece by diabetes.

Here's one way you can use the power of hypnosis right away. The next time you are faced with a difficult food choice, such as finishing off all the food on your plate even though you are not hungry, close your eyes and take five deep, belly breaths. With each breath you inhale, tell yourself that you feel very full.

With each breath you exhale, tell yourself that it is okay to not be a member of the clean plate club. Think about the fact that, whether or not you eat the food, it ultimately ends up as waste either in the restaurant trash can or in your toilet. By realizing this, you are releasing yourself from the harmful hypnotic command that you must eat everything on your plate. Practice this technique at least 10 to 15 times and you will notice a change.

How else can hypnosis help? Another area in which hypnosis can help the person with diabetes is exercise. The hypnotist's specialty is motivation. In fact, as defined by The National Guild of Hypnotists, a hypnotist is a stress-management consultant and a motivational coach.

Think of the benefits of being motivated to see exercise as something you want to do rather than something you have to do.

In conclusion, there is overwhelming medical evidence that hypnosis can help people with diabetes because it is a proven safe and powerful method of helping people to change.

Thank you for reading this article.

--Devin Hastings, founder of the Diabetes Research Association of America and owner of MindBody Hypnosis

"Speak well to yourself because your deep mind is always listening."

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