Thanks
to your encouragement... I
have finally decided to expand my site to include information about hypnosis,
which is the basis for my one-man show: "Journey into the
Imagination".
Many of you may know
me only in the capacity of a corporate speaker on the subjects of creativity,
change, risk, vision, teambuilding and breakthrough thinking. Others may know
me only as a clinical hypnotist and performer of hypnosis. I have purposefully
kept these two areas of my life separate because I have learned how the mere
mention of being "a hypnotist" impacts and colors people’s perceptions
of who I am and what I do.
People want to feel
comfortable with their beliefs, and hypnosis is one area which can cause
great discomfort. Why? Fear and fear only. Fear comes from lack of knowledge.
Concerning the subject of hypnosis, most peoples’ discomfort comes from
the erroneous belief that hypnosis is either fake or that hypnosis can cause
you to loose control, reveal secrets, do something you don’t really want
to do or make you crazy.
So,
I’m
going to tell you a little about the subject. Some of what you read may make you feel
yet even more uncomfortable. Stick with it. You will gain insight into yourself,
how you believe and therefore, how you make your choices in life.
I believe it's important
for you to know why I do what I do...
I
teach the principles of "QUANTUM LEAP THINKING" because I want
to coach people to gain insights which will support them to lead the best quality
of life possible. This can mean becoming more creative, learning to manage change,
taking more risks, having more fun, developing a personal or professional vision
and becoming more loving towards themselves and others. It can also mean, letting
go of the need to control, manipulate and dominate. I practiced clinical hypnosis
for years to help people help themselves. I continue to perform the show on a
limited basis, both because I love to perform and I love to see people learn,
question and open up, through entertainment, to their limitless possibilities.
In every arena of my life, what I do is connected to helping other people expand
their beliefs. If this sounds altruistic, it is merely by chance or fate or design
or… whatever.
I am very fortunate, indeed, because I love to do exactly what I do, and the
rewards have been many.
BELIEFS AND BELIEF
SYSTEMS
"Beliefs and ‘belief
systems’ are what determine the quality of your life."
If
you want to understand hypnosis, you must accept the sentence above as fact.
Beliefs are what hypnosis is about: Beliefs and using your imagination to effect
change. Hypnosis is nothing more than a skill and everyone has the potential
to learn the skill. Most people, I’m sad to say, are clueless as to their
own personal power. They are victims of their negative beliefs and fears, and
those of others.
All our beliefs, yours
and mine, were pretty much formed in our early childhood years. We were,
in a sense, "programmed"
by our environment, parents, friends, and teachers of all
kinds. Children are, metaphorically, like little living computers: vulnerable,
open and ready to be formed and molded. Some of that potential shaping is predisposed
by genetics. Some is not. We still have a great deal of control over the majority
of what we believe and all the choices we make.
Our
beliefs form a kind of "filter" through
which we see the world. If our beliefs are positive, loving and nurturing, we
see the world in one way. If our beliefs are filled with fears of loss, abandonment,
rejection, change, failure or success, we see the world in another way. The quality
of our lives is determined by our choices and our choices are determined by what
our filter allows us to see. Hypnosis is a tool, which allows us to modify, program,
reprogram or change our beliefs, thereby changing the filter.
So,
what about hypnosis? How you view hypnosis is directly related to your
beliefs about life. Your belief about what hypnosis really is, may or may not
have to do with what is true. When some people think of hypnosis, they encounter
the fear of losing control, being controlled, revealing secrets, or made to do
something stupid. Those fears have NOTHING to do with hypnosis. They have everything
to do with peoples’ learned beliefs, how they view their world and, therefore,
the choices they make.
Hypnosis is neither
good nor bad, right nor wrong. The fact is: hypnosis is confusing. You
can’t see it, touch it, examine it or taste it. Even the name is misleading.
It comes from the Greek word, hypnos, meaning "sleep". It isn’t
anything like sleep. In fact, hypnosis has nothing to do with sleep! And yet,
the name stays, along with all the myths and misconceptions which surround it.
We enter in to
and out of this elusive state hundreds of times during the day. It is
a state of concentrated relaxation. Daydreaming can be looked at as a form of
hypnosis. Have you ever been driving a car and were surprised that a forty-five
minute drive seemed like ten minutes? Hypnosis. Have you been so absorbed in
watching television, listening to music, surfing the web or reading that you
did not hear someone talking to you? Hypnosis.
If you are neither asleep,
nor unconscious, what are you? In this state, called hypnosis, your
mind becomes remote and detached from everyday cares and worries. In this relaxed
state, the part of the mind referred to as the "subconscious" is best
able to respond creatively to suggestion, self-talk and imagery. In this state,
you let things happen through your subconscious mind rather than trying to make
them happen through your conscious mind and will power. In this heightened state
of consciousness, suggestions given to you by the hypnotist, a tape or yourself,
can be acted on more easily. What are called "posthypnotic suggestions" are
suggestions, which can be "programmed" in the hypnotic state and will
be carried out in your "normal"
waking state. It’s important to remember that
we enter in to and out of many alternative states of consciousness during a typical
day. So even my use of the words "normal state" can be a bit confusing.
'The Journey' continues here 
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