The journal of hypnosis and consciousness exploration

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1 Issue 2: January 2014 The journal of hypnosis and consciousness exploration In This Issue A Note from the Publisher: Understanding Hypnosis An En-Lightning Experience Paul Aurand How to Enter a State of Hypnosis Roy Hunter The All-Powerful King Scott Schmaren Sermon, It's Ironic Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles A Symbolic Life C. G. Jung Sports Psychology vs. Sports Hypnosis John Wier My Search for the Meaning of Life Lambert Matias The Politics of Science Imants Baruss

2 Hypnology Magazine is, for me, a dream come true. That s why I am offering a FREE subscription to the first 1,500 people who see this message and visit Best wishes, Fred Kutchins Publisher To sign up for this special subscription offer go to: HypnologyMag.com The journal of hypnosis and consciousness exploration Copyright 2014 Fred Kutchins

3 you can t truly know what it is UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT is also a MEDITATIVE STATE CONSTRUCT a PERSONAL REALITY that is FREE OF SELF-LIMITING IDEAS AMAZING CONSCIOUSNESS is as LIMITLESS as the IMAGINATION use IMAGINATION to CREATE SYCHRONICITY, which can be thought of as IRONY on STEROIDS PHYSICAL RESPONSE CREATE my SAFE PLACE in my MIND FLOATING in a CLOUD, WALKING into the WOODS, Will we ever BE THE SAME AGAIN?...VALIDATE the IMPORTANCE of the MIND in SPORTS The journal of hypnosis and consciousness exploration Issue 2: January 2014 In This Issue 2 A Note From the Publisher: Understanding Hypnosis by Fred Kutchins, CH 4 An En-Lightning Experience by Paul Aurand, MHt 11 How to Enter a State of Hypnosis by C. Roy Hunter, MS, FAPHP 18 The All-Powerful King by Scott Schmaren 20 The Irony of It All by Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles 26 A Symbolic Life by C. G. Jung 29 Sports Psychology vs. Sports Hypnosis by John Wier, BCH, CI 33 My Search for the Meaning of Life by Lambert Matias 37 The Politics of Science by Imants Barušs, PhD Click the listing to go directly to that article. Fred Kutchins Editor & Publisher David Wood Creative Director/Designer Lambert Matias Director of Development All opinions expressed in any article herein are strictly those of the author. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. The ideas, procedures and suggestions contained in this publication are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding any aspect of your health require medical supervision. The publisher shall not be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this publication. Please direct all inquiries to: fred@fredkutchins.com 39 Author Bios 40 Hypnology Sponsors Copyright 2014 Fred Kutchins. No part of this publication may be reproduced except by permission. Articles herein are copyrighted by the individual authors thereof.

4 you can t truly know what it is UNTIL YOU EXPERIENCE IT A Note From the Publisher: Understanding Hypnosis by Fred Kutchins, CH As a child, I was puzzled by the lyrics of most popular songs since they usually were about romantic love, and I had no idea, really, what that kind of love was. It was only when I got a little older, and developed a crush on a little girl in my class at school, that I began to understand the meaning of the songs. The same thing applies to hypnosis you can t truly know what it is until you experience it. And even then one is hard put to find words for something so subjective. There is, in fact, no agreed upon scientific definition. Attempting to define hypnosis it is like walking across a valley toward a far-off mountain: The closer you get to the mountain, the more it seems to recede into the distance. Nevertheless, there are many useful working definitions. One of my favorites is by psychiatrist Herbert Spiegel: Hypnosis is a dynamic state of attentive, responsive concentration even to the point of dissociation. The keyword here is dynamic. People often assume that hypnosis is a kind of sleep. In actuality you are hyper-alert during hypnosis. All your senses are intact you can hear, speak, move around and think. But what happens is that your subconscious moves into the foreground of your mental field, while the more analytical part of your mind slips into the background. This is significant because the subconscious mind holds the essence of who you really are. It is the seat of your emotions, habits, memories, dreams, intuition and creativity. It is the repository of forgotten or repressed material extending back into the womb (and perhaps even farther). It is where your deepest beliefs and motivations are stored. But unlike your conscious mind, the subconscious is not bound by the imperatives of logic and linear thought. It takes everything as literal fact, responds best to simple imagery and tends to think globally rather than analytically. It has difficulty comprehending negation or negative polarity as expressed by words such as no and not. For the subconscious, past and future do not exist; it lives totally in the Now. (While many of the foregoing characteristics are associated with the right hemisphere of the brain, I do not mean to imply that the subconscious is located there or synonymous with it. The term subconscious is simply a metaphor for certain cognitive processes that occur below the level of awareness.) From birth until around the age of six you live completely in your subconscious. Although you are actively engaged with the world around you, you have not yet developed what has been called the Critical Factor, i.e. a conscious, reasoning, judgmental mind in effect, a gatekeeper to your subconscious. Without this 2 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

5 CONSTRUCT a PERSONAL REALITY that is FREE OF SELF-LIMITING IDEAS protective shield, you are vulnerable to any impression that comes your way. Everything you see, hear and feel leaves a permanent imprint. In The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life (Simon and Schuster, 1997), psychologist Nathaniel Branden puts it this way: All of us are moved by ideas and values of which we may or may not be aware. We hold premises, implicit if not explicit, about the nature of man and woman, the things that most matter in life, the ways human beings should relate to one another, right and wrong, good and evil, the meaning of work, love and sex, the nature of justice, the relationship of the individual to society and the government, and so on. When asked to articulate these beliefs, people often have difficulty. Their philosophy is largely subconscious, and has never been brought into the light of full awareness. (Italics added.) This makes it more difficult to check against reality or to revise; they are stuck with old thinking that might not even have been theirs in the first place but merely absorbed uncritically from others. What, then, is hypnosis? It is a quick link to our internal imaginative ability. It helps us to integrate creative potentials within our personality and get unstuck from old patterns of thinking and behavior. Hypnosis preoccupies and quiets the conscious mind thereby creating an ideal condition for your subconscious to receive, and incorporate, transformative suggestions and/or insights. Hypnosis can help you to understand that many of your dominant beliefs are purely arbitrary that your most compelling fears and compulsions are groundless that you have unexpressed talents awaiting release and, most importantly, that there exists within you a reservoir of untapped strength for positive change. But change cannot be imposed upon you. A hypnotist, like any other trusted advisor, has no actual control, only influence. Whether or not you follow his/her instructions is always your own decision (notwithstanding hypnotism stage shows, which are contrived to create the appearance of hypnotist control). Recently, a man called me and said he wanted to stop smoking. Fix me! he pleaded. I explained that I was not a fixer but rather a guide or a coach. I told him that my service as a consulting hypnotist would consist of helping him to utilize hypnosis in order to reinvent himself as a non-smoker. Smoking is a choice, I said. If you want to stop, you can. It s your decision. I even added that often a single hypnosis session is all that is necessary. This was not what the man wanted to hear. He was disappointed even angry and he ended our conversation abruptly. Apparently he had hoped that I could make him stop smoking, presumably while he slept. (I learned later that he had called me only to placate his wife.) The great promise of hypnosis is that it affords us the opportunity to construct a personal reality that is free of self-limiting ideas, beliefs and patterns of behavior acquired in the past. But old habits sometimes die hard. As part of the hypnotic process, we must be willing to confront our demons in order to see just how hollow they really are. Only then can we move forward into a fuller realization of our true human potential. The Meditative Rose by Salvador Dali 3 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

6 "NO! GET OUT OF MY BODY!" I scream in my MIND An En-Lightning Experience by Paul Aurand, MHt July 17, As the storm approaches from a distance there is talk of delaying the swim meet. We are all disappointed. Do we really need to follow the ten minute rule and delay the meet for ten minutes because of the distant rumble of thunder? The thunder seems so far away. It hardly seems a threat. As the sky grows darker I watch the clouds approach from the other side of the lake. A giant bolt of lightning, way on the other side of the lake lights up the sky. Orion, our little three year old, asks to go home. "It s OK, RyRy. Don t worry" I say. A few minutes later there is another huge bolt of lightning, closer this time but still at the other end of the lake. Orion becomes more insistent. "Go home Daddy, go home!" he pleads with me. It is getting darker and the clouds fill the sky. The meet was delayed again and I decide to take Orion to the car. As I climb the hill to the car, my wife Lindsey and Nicole, our fifteen year old niece visiting us from Arizona, gather up the beach chairs and cooler and follow. I set Orion down in the street next to the car in order to unlock and open the door. I pick him up and place him on the front seat. Leaving the door ajar I go around to the back of the car to load the trunk. Nicole comes up behind me with the cooler and a chair as I lift the tailgate. As we begin to load the car there is an incredible explosion and searing flash of white light. It is as if a bomb has gone off. There is no warning, no thunder, no flashes, just a huge explosion. And then it starts. I an being electrocuted. My feet and legs begin to vibrate. My whole body goes rigid. And the sound! A roaring buzz fills my body as the electricity climbs up through me into my chest and arms. I feel completely helpless. The ground is alive with current that is killing me. I can t move. I can t run. There is no place to go. I cannot escape. I feel my feet vibrating in my sandals as the lightning comes up out of the street and climbs over the rubber soles into my legs. It is the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. Every muscle in my body tenses and cramps. Like thousands of Charlie horses all at once. My car keys fly out of my hands, my hat pops off my head, and my glasses are blown off my face. I think to myself "Will it ever stop?" I rage against the relentless charge of energy invading my body. "NO! Get out of my body!" I scream in my mind, as I fight with all my strength. I grow weaker as I bounce rigidly, upright on the pavement. It feels like an eternity, I wonder if it will ever end. Will it stop or will I die? I don t know which will come first. And then stiff like a statue I am thrown backwards. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Nicole, in the same upright position falling backwards too. There is no way to brace myself from the fall. My muscles don t respond and it is all happening too fast anyway. I feel my head bouncing on the street as I am thrown down. The pain of my head hitting the pavement is nothing compared to the searing 4 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

7 Why is this HAPPENING? Will we ever BE THE SAME AGAIN? pain of my convulsing body. Later, eye witnesses say we actually flew about six feet in the air like missiles. Then the rain begins. A few drops and then torrents of rain mixed with hail. Some call it a white out. Everything seems to be in slow motion. People are walking to their cars stunned by the blast, checking to see if their children are alright. I feel invisible. "They don t know I just got hit by lightning. They don t know I am dying." Then I try to move but can t. One arm moves slightly. There is no response in my Legs. Some parts of me are numb and some are in intense pain. I moan at first, my body still jerking. The moans grow into howls and then, at last, words form and I scream for help. A figure comes toward me reaching out. "Don t touch him" someone shouts, and he runs away for fear of being electrocuted by me. I still can t move. Then another person approaches. He checks me and then Nicole as we lay in the street only a few feet apart. Someone brings a blanket. Others try to call for help but their cell phones don t work because of the intensity of the storm. Then Lindsey, comes over. She touches my head and tells me to pray. "Call the angels. Call the angels" she says. My mind is rushing "Nicole is OK. What about Orion? Check Orion!" My legs won t move. And my arm, it doesn t work either. Oh God, what is happening? The rain is heavy now. I am getting wetter and wetter. Lindsey is hit too, at the same time as Nicole and me. Her legs sore, she is limping and her arm is burned. Thank God I got Orion in the car just seconds before the explosion. I am too wet and the water in the street is getting deeper and deeper. With help I sit up but am unable to stand. Nicole and I are carried to the car, out of the rain, at last. We wait for help. The police arrive soon after the calls are made but the ambulance is taking forever to get here. Reunited with Lindsey and Orion, we are all crying and in shock. Nicole is still not talking. When we ask her questions she can only cover her face and cry. Lindsey is saying she was carried by the angels. All we can do is cry and thank God we are alive. Still waiting for the ambulance. I am starting to feel my body again. Now my head hurts as the bump swells. The cop is sitting in the front seat with Lindsey, drenched through, taking names and addresses for his report. He goes out into the rain again to get me an ice pack for my head. After 45 minutes the ambulances finally arrive. They do their triage and put Lindsey and Orion in one ambulance and me and Nicole in another. The road to the local hospital is closed as some trees, felled by the storm, block the way. They take an alternate route to a small country hospital in Warwick, NY. During the ride I find I can move my arm again. What a relief. And the feeling in my legs begins to return. I ll be able to walk! Every time I ask Nicole how she was all she can do is cry. She still can t talk. We are taken into the ER, Nicole on the stretcher, I in a wheel chair and Lindsey in one too with Ryan in her lap. They take us to separate rooms. My chest is shaved and electrodes are attached for the EKG. They take blood and urine too. We are in shock. We move between sobbing and laughing, cracking morbid jokes and thanking God. Lindsey is ordering deep dish pepperoni pizza from the ER doctor and I m walking around with a blanket over my shoulders saying I m the savior. 5 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

8 I REFUSE to LIVE MY LIFE IN FEAR What the hell is happening to us? Why is it happening? Will we ever be the same again? What are the effects of being hit by lightning? Are we ok? Are we alive? Finally Lindsey and I are able to hug. The tears flow. Orion is alive, Jon-Paul, our eleven year old son, is spared, we still have each other. But, Nicole, is she going to be alright? After J.P. talked to her a bit she begins to talk. Words at last! We have to call Nicole s mom at work. "We are OK; we are in the hospital; we were hit by lightning!" I tell my sister. She is speechless. She drops the phone, her boss picks it up and puts us on the speaker phone. We need authorization to take blood and run an IV on Nicole. I get on the phone with Lynette trying to reassure her. We got hit by lightning but we are OK. "Are you sure?!" She asks, dumbfounded. I can t talk anymore. Lynette gets the details from the nurse and makes arrangements to catch the next flight out. The doctor is explaining that the lightning can make our hearts beat irregularly or make them stop. It also drives certain elements out of the muscles causing muscle damage and possibly overloading the kidneys. They have found blood in Lindsey s urine and want to do more tests. Nicole goes to the bathroom but forgets to fill the sample cup with urine. She will have to try again. My IV is about done and now they want to do another. I just want to go home. They really don t know what to do with us so they decide to discharge us. The television news teams are waiting for us. We make the evening news and the front page of most of the newspapers. Dazed and confused we return to the sight of the lightning strike to retrieve our car. We realize we are in no shape to drive and have friends take us home. The next day we realize we are in pretty bad shape. Still in shock and sore everywhere. It is hard to move. It feels like I ran a marathon and then got run over by a steam roller. I call my insurance company to report the emergency room visit and they insist we go back to a better hospital immediately. "You never should have been released! Your heart can stop any time in the first twenty-four hours after being hit by lightning." If my health insurance company is insisting we go back to the emergency room immediately I know we are in rough shape. Three doctors and two emergency medical clinics refuse to see us. They just don t know what to do for lightning strike victims. Finally, a hospital with a doctor who has treated lightning cases agrees to admit us and off we go. It has been days since we were discharged. The initial injuries are healing but we are noticing other long term affects. My upper back is in chronic pain. We all have substantial short term memory loss. We forget what we are doing, people's names even where we are or how to get home. I stop to put gas in the car and wonder why the tank is already full. My son reminds me that I just stopped a few minutes earlier and filled it up. I have no memory of doing it. The other big after-effect we notice is sensitivity to storms and to electricity in general. I am scared to open the refrigerator door or to turn on a lamp. Hours before a storm arrives I can feel it. My legs hurt like they did the day after the lightning. Our friends the Cottens are healers and they work on us. They have learned a unique treatment for electrocution. They put our feet in galvanized metal buckets of water and attach the buckets to pipes with jumper cables to ground us and drain the residual electricity from our bodies. They pass microchips over us from head to toe and we feel the waves of energy leaving. Following the treatment we feel much clearer and less confused. Our bodies feel less charged. Weeks have passed. My energy level is still frustratingly low and the memory loss is frightening. So many questions arise. I m trying so hard to get back to normal these days. But, do I really want normal? What is normal anyway? Was I ever normal? What do I want this life to be? I almost lost this life. In striving to restore some sense of normalcy in my life will the unique opportunity to make more conscious, perhaps even divinely inspired choices about how I live this new life fade as I fall into the same old routine? Or, will I make the most of it? Will I in some profound way, be guided to be or do something exceptional? 6 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

9 And, in that MOMENT knew that it was BECAUSE I WAS LOVED Some say I was touched by God. Others say devils were after me. I refuse to live my life in fear. Something deep inside me knows that some "good" will come of this. Although it is a traumatic experience it isn t a disaster. No life was lost. We are not outwardly wounded or scarred. We don t even glow in the dark. I know something is different, but, I don t know what it is yet. Will we write a book, develop some extra sensory perception, become great healers or just be a little nutty? "He is a changed man since he was struck by lightning" they say. But, what has changed? How has a brush with death changed me? Can I ever be the same again? Do I want to be the same? Promising myself I will change is a far cry from being changed. And that raises an important question. Did I choose this? Was it chosen for me? What am I supposed to get out of all this? These are questions I live with each day. Knowing the long term effects of trauma held in the body, I began to search for ways to release the fear and pain that I carried from the experience. Hearing of the empowerment intensive workshop being offered by David Quigley, I signed up hoping to have the opportunity to release as much of the trauma as possible. During this intensive weekend each attendee had the chance to have an individual session with David facilitating and the group supporting the process. I couldn t wait to do the work and was one of the first to volunteer for a session. As I got comfortable on the pad on the floor, David began to gently regress me to the event. The first image that came was one that has been recurrent since the lightning strike. For me that image was the doorway to the past and the healing that I sought. I saw myself setting Orion down in the street next to the car, opening the door and placing him on the front seat. With this image comes the realization that had he stood in that spot a few seconds longer, he would have been killed by the lightning strike. I thank God every day that I got him into the car that, although he witnessed the whole event, he was safe and unhurt. It was this image that began the process of reliving the entire event in very slow motion. David, supported by the whole group, skillfully guided me to the moment the lightning entered my body. By going through the event again, this time in very slow motion I was able to feel and process what had taken a fraction of a second, over a period of about three hours. As I regressed further my feet began to tingle and then they started to shake. Slowly at first and then more and more violently. The shaking slowly rose up my legs following the same course the lightning had traveled. Ten or fifteen minutes into the regression my legs shook harder and faster than I could have possibly moved them if I had tried. People in the group were amazed and a little scared too. As the shaking rose up into my hips and back, my whole body began to convulse. My body undulated on the floor in wave after wave of release. Each wave bringing more memories of the terrible pain I had experienced. Each wave releasing more of the trauma held in the muscles and nerves. I remembered that as I was being electrocuted by the lightning it ran through my body in waves. Each pulsation bringing me closer to death. At this point David encouraged me to welcome the lightning into my body. I thought he must be crazy or perhaps even cruel. But, as I had fought the lightning with all of my strength when I was hit, much of the energy and trauma was stuck in my body. It became clear to me during this process that the back pain I was experiencing was connected to the tremendous unprocessed energy that had become lodged in my back. So, letting go and letting that tremendous force pass through me was just what I needed to do. As I stopped fighting and "welcomed" the lightning into me, my body began to relax. The violent shaking and convulsing gradually subsided. And then came death. I remembered the few moments my heart had stopped and I was "dead." Supported by the group I curled up into a ball and went into the fetal position lying on my back. Everything grew dark and I entered that great void, that "nothing" place people report in their near death experiences. I remembered screaming "NO!" I don t know how much choice I had in the matter but as far as I was concerned, there was no way that I was ready to die yet. 7 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

10 ...charged with HEALING ENERGY and encouraged me to LET IT FLOW THROUGH ME... From that very quiet and peaceful void, I heard David quietly guiding me to ask, "Why? Why had this happened? What was I to learn from it?" And, in that moment knew that it was because I was loved. "Loved? This is how you love me? What kind of love is that?" I thought. But then I felt it, that indescribable, unconditional love that is limitless, bathing me. And the other message that came to me was, "Listen. Listen to spirit, meditate, turn inward and listen. Spirit speaks to you constantly, all you need to do is listen. Listen with your heart. Listen with your body. Use your wonderful mind but listen to spirit." Flooded with love for all that I am and all that I have done to help others I began my return journey back into my body. I came back to life. New, fresh, reborn, I came back, slowly uncurling. Opening up. Becoming aware of my surroundings, almost three hours had passed since the beginning of my regression. I felt completely transformed. Like a baby starting over. I was blessed with the chance to do it again, in a new and better way. As I opened my eyes I was greeted lovingly by the entire group. "Welcome back!" No one could believe what they had just witnessed. I was speechless. David suggested we go outside to feel the earth and see the sky. I was helped outside and knew I had to take my socks off to feel the earth beneath my feet. It was like feeling the earth for the first time in my life. As the group made a circle around me to offer a group hug, the sun, which had been hidden in grey skies all day, burst forth and shone so brightly through the autumn leaves blessing this profound moment. I looked up to see the most brilliant light I have ever seen as an electric angel appeared to remind me of the power I had been instilled with as a result of this incredible experience. It reminded me to share the power in this experience with others. It showed me that I was now charged with healing energy and encouraged me to let it flow through me into the other members of the intensive. As I opened my arms to share the energy everyone in the group felt waves of energy pass through them. What a healing. What a transformation! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I am completely free of the chronic back pain I had experienced and far less fearful of electric storms and electricity in general. I know the long term affects of trauma held in the body and am glad to have found a way to release it through the empowerment intensive. As a healer and hypnotherapist I am able to use the powerful techniques that David uses to help me in my work with others. In addition to the powerful regression and trauma release work there are a few other treatments that have helped greatly in my recovery. As there is so little information available on how to treat lightning strike victims and their residual symptoms, I feel it would be helpful to mention the things we found most beneficial. After emergency medical care and being released from the hospital for the second time I received a life saving acupuncture treatment. My pulses were over charged on the right side of my body, which was the side that the lightning had entered. And, my pulses were almost non- existent on the left side where the lightning had exited. This severe imbalance of the pulses often precedes death. It took quite a long treatment but, with persistence my pulses evened out and I felt some relief. At times during the treatment it felt as though mild electrical shocks were moving through my body. Acupuncture seems to be helpful in balancing the system after electric shock. Massage therapy helped ease the muscle pain that remained after the violent convulsing. It also aided the release of trauma from my body. With each treatment I felt more and more comfortable. It helped me begin to process the fear and shock that I held in my body. Upon the advice of a nutritionist we began taking a number of supplements that, over time, helped heal the muscle and nerve damage and reduce the short term memory loss. For over a month following the lightning strike we all experienced a tremendous thirst. We drank gallons of water every day and still felt thirsty. Our nutritionist advised us to take trace minerals. The lightning forces minerals out of the muscles and into the blood stream. We had to replace these minerals by taking liquid 8 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

11 KAVA KAVA was a great help in REDUCING THE ANXIETY minerals or trace minerals. Another benefit of the trace minerals is that they help improve the electrical conductivity in the nervous system. Our brain function improved by taking the minerals daily and our persistent thirst subsided. For the short term memory loss we started taking phosphatidylserine. This supplement helps with memory retrieval and is used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. Within a few weeks of starting this supplement we noticed less forgetfulness and less memory loss. It has been a great help. B vitamins help repair nerve tissue. Especially effective is Inositol which is in the B vitamin family and is supposed to help with repairing the myelin sheath that protects the nerves. This protective coating gets burned as the lightning travels through the nervous system. Inositol aids the re-myelinization of the nerves and is often recommended to patients with Multiple Sclerosis for this reason. The herb Kava Kava was a great help in reducing the anxiety we experienced daily following the accident. It especially helped calm us during storms and other anxiety producing events. I feel certain that treating these conditions immediately following the lightning strike may lessen the long term effects of being hit by lightning. I would be glad to help any lightning strike survivor with information, experience, referrals and healing sessions. Image from the movie Powder (Buena Vista Pictures, 1995) 9 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

12 People don't realize HOW VAST THE SUBCONSCIOUS IS. Dean Stockwell 1936 Dean Stockwell on Acting and the Subconscious I hate to admit it, but you can't do a role unless it's somewhere in your psyche. People don't realize how vast the subconscious is. It's like infinity. Dean Stockwell in The Boy With Green Hair (RKO Radio Pictures, 1948) 10 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

13 SELF-HYPNOSIS is also a MEDITATIVE STATE How to Enter a State of Self-Hypnosis by C. Roy Hunter, MS, FAPHP 2005, revised 2011 Before learning how to enter a state of self-hypnosis, let s briefly discuss what constitutes the state of self-hypnosis, and the role of imagination. Meditation became popular years ago in various forms. While some people endeavor to blank the mind or silence the conscious thoughts while meditating, the meditative state of mind is a state of altered consciousness. Self-hypnosis is also a meditative state, which I prefer to call meditation with a focus such as imagining standing barefoot in the sand on a beautiful beach with a gentle breeze blowing, or being in a mountain meadow with a nearby waterfall that you can see or hear. While your conscious mind knows your location at any moment, simply imagining being in a peaceful place while physically relaxed helps you enter a state of altered consciousness. Self-Hypnosis = Altered Consciousness I frequently explain hypnosis to a prospective client by asking a question such as, "When is the last time you cried real tears during a powerful movie? Even though your conscious mind knew you were sitting in a theater watching actors and actresses, your subconscious accepted them as real characters because you were in a state of altered consciousness or more accurately, a state of guided self-hypnosis! Even though the "critical faculty" can be bypassed when we get engrossed in a good movie, that motion picture does not control us; it only guides us through its story. It could be said, then, that the movie is our hypnotist until the closing credits cross the screen. We could get up and walk out or turn off the DVD player if we wanted to, so we could more accurately say that the movie puts us into a state of guided selfhypnosis, similar to meditation because our brain waves are in the alphastate. The Four States of Mind There are four states of mind: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Beta We are in the beta state for most of your waking hours. It's a good thing, too, since beta is like high gear, a good place for decision making, reasoning and logic. Brain waves are above 13 cycles per second, often greatly higher, and may or may not be rhythmic. 11 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

14 CONSCIOUSNESS is as LIMITLESS as the IMAGINATION Alpha As our brain waves slow down to between 8 and 13 cycles per second, we enter the alpha state of mind. The door between conscious and subconscious is opened, and it becomes easier to access the memories and storage of new information. We may become mellow in this relaxed state, finding it easier to use the imagination, which is why our favorite actors and actresses become the characters they play while the movie fills our senses of sight and sound. Theta & Delta Below the two conscious states are theta, the dream state, and delta, which is deep sleep or total unconsciousness. Whether or not you remember your dreams, you must pass through theta on the way to and from delta. Likewise, you must pass through alpha on the way to and from sleep. We enter a state of selfhypnosis at least twice daily, on the way to and from sleep. Now that you have read about the alpha state, are you ready to experience it? Entering Self-Hypnosis The number of ways of entering an altered state of consciousness is as limitless as the imagination. I ll describe the most common technique, and provide two others methods for the benefit of those who have difficulty responding to the first exercise, which is called progressive relaxation. If you have learned another method from another book (or from a seminar) use what you prefer as long as your chosen method works. I suggest you read through this exercise once or twice to become familiar with the contents before you begin using the actual technique. The specific words you will use can vary from the typical session suggested here, but you should follow the basic format. Scripts are like training wheels, serving only as a guide to get you started. Progressive Relaxation Now let's begin the session. Find a comfortable place to recline or lie down. If you wear hard contact lenses, remove them. If you chew gum, throw it away. Also, be certain that your clothing feels comfortable. If possible, unplug your phone or turn on your answering machine - and make certain to put your pets in another room. Some animals seem to sense the mental peace you feel in the alpha state, and will want to be close. (Experience taught me that a cat suddenly pouncing on your stomach during relaxation can be quite a jolt!) Now that you're comfortable, take several deep breaths. Close your eyes if you wish. Imagine yourself letting go of all of your cares and tensions as easily as you let go of the air from your lungs. Background music is optional - but recommended if you meditate in an area where there may be distracting outside noise. Think to yourself words like the italics on the following pages while fantasizing being in a peaceful place. That peaceful place can be a beach, the woods, a waterfall, lake, stream, meadow, etc. Note the grammar is often imperfect, because the words are intended for the subconscious. Three dots indicate a pause... As I now imagine a relaxing sensation entering my toes, my breathing continues to be free and easy - just as when I sleep. The relaxation becomes more and more real with each breath I take, moving up into my feet... It feels soooooo good to relax that it becomes easy, comfortable, and automatic for the relaxation to move up into my ankles... The relaxing sensation becomes more and more real with each breath I take. It now moves up into my calves. All my nerves and muscles just let go, responding to my desire to relax... The relaxation moves right on through my knees, going up into my thighs... all the nerves and muscles letting go into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. My hips relax. It feels soooooo good to relax, that the feeling continues right on into my stomach muscles and up around my rib cage. With each breath I go deeper and deeper relaxed. 12 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

15 finding that TIME seems to CONDENSE or EXPAND The relaxation moves on into my lower back, going right up into my shoulders - just as though gentle fingers have just given me a soothing back rub. The soothing feeling of relaxation moves down through my elbows, going right on out through my hands and fingers... With each breath I take, I just go deeper and deeper... The back of my neck relaxes... My scalp relaxes... It feels soooooo good to relax that the feeling of soothing comfort moves into my forehead and temples. With each breath I just go deeper and deeper. My cheeks relax. My jaw muscles relax... My entire body now feels completely relaxed... At this point you may very well be in a light or medium state of alpha consciousness from this sample induction. If you practice self-hypnosis at night before going to sleep, you may find yourself sound asleep long before you finish the exercise. Some of my clients tend to fall asleep before getting past their knees. If you still feel considerable awareness, however, you may wish to deepen the relaxation by using additional self-talk as follows: As I now count from ten down to one, I become deeper and deeper relaxed with each number - just drifting down into a very soothing tranquility. Number Ten - deeper and deeper, relaxing physically... Number Nine - deeper and deeper, relaxing mentally... Number Eight - deeper and deeper, relaxing emotionally... Number Seven - deeper and deeper, relaxing totally... Number Six - every nerve and muscle relaxes completely... Number Five - each number taking me deeper and deeper... Number Four - the deeper I go, the easier it is to go deeper... Number Three - just drifting into total relaxation... Number Two - just drifting into deeeeep hypnotic peace... Number One - waaaaaaaaaaaaay down deep... Again, some people may benefit by also fantasizing a peaceful place with pleasant sights, sounds and feelings. Others may prefer to use the script as written, without the added "safe place." Make your own choice. If you prefer, you can record this script into a tape player, changing all the "I" and "my" words into the second-person format. You may experience time distortion - finding that time seems to condense or expand (ten minutes seems like two - or twenty). Also, you may notice that your mind tends to wander. In fact, your thoughts may wander considerably as you go deeper into the alpha state. You may have to keep bringing yourself back to each new number, sometimes forgetting the last number counted. If this happens, just go on with the first number that comes to your mind. Some of you may have to count down twice to get deeper, or count from a higher number. Many people start the countdown with 20 - and some even start with 100. You make the choice. You may return to full beta awareness by simply telling yourself that you feel wonderful and wideawake at the count of five. Then count from one to five either mentally or out loud. If you wish, use the following script as a guide... Now, I am going to count from one up to five and then I am going to say "fully aware." At the count of five, my eyelids open and I feel calm, refreshed, relaxed, fully aware, and normal in every way. One... Slowly, calmly, easily, and gently returning to full awareness once again. Two... Each muscle and nerve in my body is loose, limp, and relaxed, and I feel wonderfully good. Three... From head to toe I am feeling perfect in every way... physically perfect, mentally alert, and 13 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

16 use the IMAGINATION to CREATE a PHYSICAL RESPONSE emotionally serene... and when I get behind the wheel of your vehicle, I am totally alert in every way, responding appropriately to any and all traffic situations. Number four... My eyes begin to feel sparkling clear, just as though they were bathed in fresh spring water. On the next number now, my eyelids open and I am then calm, rested, refreshed, fully aware, and feeling good in every way. Number five... Eyelids open now. I am fully aware once again. Take a deep breath, fill up your lungs, and stretch. While some clients find that they can enjoy progressive relaxation during the first attempt, most others find that they must practice the technique several times first. A minority of clients may discover the need of other techniques; so some of my readers may be asking an important question: "What if I don't respond to progressive relaxation?" I can best answer that question by providing additional options... Alternate Exercises A minority of people may find their patience wearing thin trying to enter self-hypnosis with the technique described above. Although you certainly have the option of choosing a hypnotherapist to help you, one of the following alternate inductions may help you attain an alpha state... droopy and drowsy... The harder I try to keep my eyes open, the more they want to close... As I breathe deeply and slowly, my entire body just wants to relax and let go... relax and let go... until my eyes just want to close all by themselves... Repeat this until you find your eyes getting so tired that they have to close. Once your eyes finally close, continue with the deepening described in the Progressive Relaxation script. This eye-fixation technique works well as an alternative for some who might fail to respond to progressive relaxation. A Boeing employee told me some years ago that he could stare at a candle and simultaneously imagine his arm feeling lighter than air. Within seconds his arm floated in an apparent weightless feeling. He demonstrated his ability in my office, putting himself into a rather deep trance within one minute. Naturally, his ability made my work much easier! He combined eye fixation with a variation on mental misdirection, discussed next. Mental Misdirection Some hypnotherapists use the imagination to create a physical response, misdirecting the conscious attention in order to produce a trance. You can do this for yourself by taking one of the exercises described in Chapter 2 of my book, Mastering the Power of Self- Hypnosis (2nd Ed., Hunter: Crown House Publishing, 2011) and holding the imaginary water bucket a little longer. Eye Fixation Get comfortably seated, reclined, or lying down. Stare at an object, such as a candle or a dim light. A candle works well, because the flickering produces eye fatigue (although you may use any object if your eyes are sensitive to light). Take two or three very deep breaths before you begin. Now stare at your chosen object, and imagine your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier with each breath you take. Say to yourself... As I try to keep my eyes focused on the candle [light, or other object], my eyelids become heavier, 14 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

17 FLOATING into a CLOUD, WALKING into the WOODS, LYING on a BEACH LISTENING to waves of RELAXATION Get comfortably seated or reclined. Now hold your arms up in front of you and imagine you are holding a bucket in one hand, and a hundred helium balloons with your other hand. I now imagine that a cord is tied to my wrist, and a hundred helium balloons are tied to the other end of the cord, tugging my arm upward. I can SEE the balloons and FEEL them tugging... I'm holding an empty bucket in the other hand, and someone pours water into the bucket. I can SEE the water pouring, HEAR the water splashing, and FEEL the bucket getting heavier as it gets fuller and fuller... heavier and heavier... pulling my arm down... heavier and heavier, fuller and fuller... as my other arm gets higher and higher... As the bucket gets heavier and fuller, my arm just wants to release the bucket as I release myself into trance... The harder I try to hold up the bucket, the heavier it gets...until I release the bucket and release myself into trance... When I release the bucket, my arm drops and I just drop off into deep, hypnotic peace... or I can release myself into total relaxation... If you feel responsive to your imagination by now, you can drop both arms down and proceed with the counting as described earlier in this chapter; otherwise continue... Someone DOUBLES the number of helium balloons, while someone else drops a rock into my bucket... The bucket is getting SO HEAVY that it would be so easy to just release the bucket and release myself into trance... It's so easy to release the bucket and just release myself into trance... Drop your arms into your lap now, and proceed with the counting previously described for deepening your trance. Use the awakening technique described above when you are ready to return to beta consciousness. Very few of my clients use mental misdirection to enter self-hypnosis; but some of my students report satisfying results. You may wish to try all the techniques described in this chapter several times, and choose the one you like the best. Personal Observations... Some people drift off to sleep practicing self-hypnosis, so be sure to set an alarm unless you have time for a nap! Many people remain very aware and start noticing distracting sounds or distracting physical feelings, such as uncomfortable clothing or an itch, etc. When you enter a light state of alpha, you have an increased awareness of anything perceived through the five senses. Rather than thinking that you might not be in hypnosis because of hearing background noise, etc., recognize your increased awareness as a signal that you already reached a light trance state! If the counting fails to deepen you to your satisfaction, you may try other helpful techniques involving additional use of your imagination. For example, if desired, you can use an imaginary elevator to help you go deeper. If you don't like elevators, use an escalator, slide, or steps. You could also be floating into a cloud, walking into the woods, lying on a beach listening to waves of relaxation, or you may be getting into an imaginary Jacuzzi. (Note: Do NOT do this exercise while sitting in a real Jacuzzi!) Again, you may incorporate these deepening techniques with any of the induction exercises described in this chapter. Another deepening technique involves adding a peaceful place to the meditation. (A later chapter contains an empowerment exercise to help you enjoy your peaceful place.) The degree of success varies from person to person. Some of you may find the progressive relaxation technique works great the very first time. Others may have to practice all the above techniques (as I did) until finding the best one. In fact, I had so much stress when I first tried self-hypnosis that I had to go to a hypnotherapist for post-hypnotic suggestion to help me learn self-hypnosis. Even simple meditation had proven difficult previously, because others instructed me to simply "blank out" my mind. Well, that's difficult at best if not almost impossible for me to do, 15 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

18 CREATE my own SAFE PLACE in my MIND because even when I relax, my mind still runs a thousand miles per second. (That's why I create my own safe place in my mind when relaxing. You may find benefit in doing likewise.) Practice entering self-hypnosis through each of the exercises in this chapter at least once before attempting any of the other self-hypnosis exercises in this book. As you develop your ability to relax, you may find yourself able to enter an alpha state easily by taking two or three deep breaths and thinking the word "relax" each time you exhale. Numerous clients create what they call a "centering" technique to help them enter the alpha state more easily each time; and some of my students refine their centering into a signal for quickly entering the alpha state. Employing such a trigger for instant self-hypnosis has many benefits. If you feel you need help, find a qualified hypnotherapist in your area to work with you. If you wish, you may record your voice on a cassette tape for any of the above scripts and listen to the suggestions to relax. If you prefer this method, remember to change the to the "you are" format rather than keeping the first person format. 16 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

19 NOTHING WORKED until the clubhouse manager referred him to the HYPNOTIST Tobacco Strikes Out! Though baseball is considered America s most wholesome sport, it has long been associated with the unhealthy and disgusting habit of dipping tobacco. Recently San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy was able to stop his 36-year dipping habit after one session with Scottsdale, Arizona hypnotist Alvera Paxson. Although he had looked on the dip as a means of relaxing, Bochy ultimately came to the realization that the dip was probably what created a need to relax. Now, I'm not dipping, and I'm fine, I'm comfortable, he said in an interview published in the San Francisco Chronicle. You'd get nervous about it, and you'd start kicking yourself for ever starting. Bochy had tried to quit many times, but nothing worked until the clubhouse manager referred him to the hypnotist. Bochy said his three-hour session with Paxson seemed like only half an hour. I just remember sitting in the chair, and she was talking to me. There wasn't something swinging in front of me. She just puts you in this relaxed state of mind, very calm, but she makes sure you don't go to sleep. Having learned of Bochy s success in quitting, a stream of people has sought Paxson's help. One man, she said, flew to Arizona from Thailand. Many of them will tell me, If I could just find a way of thanking him (Bochy), Paxson said. They respect him and respect who he is. They're grateful that he's willing to talk about it because so many people have hang-ups about it and they're closed off to this kind of therapy. Bruce Bochy, Manager, San Fransisco Giants 17 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

20 Your SUBCONSCIOUS MIND controls every ASPECT and FUNCTION of your body and mind The All Powerful King Inside of You by Scott Schmaren Inside of you is an All Powerful King who is capable of making all of your dreams come true. Whatever you tell him you want with purpose and conviction he will make it happen in your life. He has that much power and he resides inside of you right now even as you are reading this article however you must be very careful because he takes whatever you tell him literally, good or bad. So be careful of what you tell him you want. He believes what you tell him to be true, even when it isn t and he can make bad things happen just as well as good things. Good or bad whatever he produces for you he believes it is the right thing for you. He takes everything you say literally. Does that sound like a fantasy or a crazy story? It isn t. I am talking about your subconscious mind and what I have described to you is exactly how it works, whether you believe it or not. Very little of what we do we do is at a conscious level. Neuroscientist now know that only about 10% of what we do is at a conscious level and 90% is subconscious. Your subconscious mind controls every aspect and function of your body and mind. Your heart beating right now, the breath you just took, every chemical and hormone being released and used in your body right now is being controlled by your subconscious mind. If you think about it, you will realize how amazing that really is. Many times the reason you seem to have such a hard time letting go of bad habits is you try to change them at a conscious level and that doesn t work. Your subconscious mind believes the bad habit is actually good for you and will at some point override your conscious mind. It is how you can rationalize or make excuses for your bad habit. It is the reason for so many years I would lose 50 or 100+ pounds and then I would put the weight back on, even though I didn t want to. My subconscious mind perceived me as being fat and that being fat was a good thing, even though that sound crazy. That is how you get stuck in such negative patterns in your life and can t seem to change them. So, how do you change these negative images and beliefs you have about yourself? Long term change almost never happens at a conscious level. It has to happen at a subconscious level first and then it becomes part of our conscious reality. When I changed the perception of myself from being fat to being thin, then I was able to change myself physically. Change happens from the inside out not the outside in. You have to change the movie that is running all day long inside your head. Your homework today will help you do that and it is simple, easy and fun to do. 18 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

21 You are AMAZING Your Daily Homework Do this exercise every night as you go to sleep. As you are laying in bed ready to fall asleep close your eyes and visualize exactly how you want your life to be. See it in great detail. Hear the sounds you would hear if it were real and feel all the emotions you would feel. Then fall asleep on that visualization. All night long your subconscious mind will be working on that image you created and as you do it more and more you will begin to make adjustments in your habits, values and beliefs. It is simple and it is very powerful and overtime it can change your life! In Napoleon Hill s classic book on success, Think and Grow Rich he discovered that the most successful people in the world did this every night as they were going to sleep. People like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, The Wright Brothers and many more did this powerful exercise So do the exercise every night. You are going to go to sleep anyway and the exercise requires no additional time from your day. How great is that? You are amazing, so do things that help you discover how amazing you are. 19 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

22 I believe the UNIVERSE tends to MAXIMIZE IRONY The Irony of It All: A Sermon to Countryside Church, Unitarian Universalist Given on Labor Day, Sunday, September 1, 2013 by The Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles Introduction Labor Day for me is a holiday of reflection. As my ministry requires that I give away about half the time I work for free, I end up working a large number of hours. Labor Day is one of the few days in the course of a year when I am not working, so it has come to be a day of spiritual reflection for me. Today I share some of those spiritual reflections with you. I have a metaphysical theory. I believe the universe tends to maximize irony. Whatever happens will tend to be the thing that messes with you the most. What's more I think we all know this. Here are some examples: Imagine it's Friday, and your backup hard drive crashes on your computer. Rather than immediately running out and replacing it that same day, you promise yourself that you will pick one up at the store after church on Sunday. It's only a couple of days, right? Now just about every one of you can guess what I'm about to say: that sometime before Sunday arrives and you make a new backup of your computer, the main drive will crash and you will lose everything. You're all expecting that punchline because you also believe that the universe tends to maximize irony and therefore of course that is what is going to happen. You close on your dream house, which you know is a bit of a financial stretch but it's the home you've always wanted. So of course the next day is the day when your company announces lay-offs. You decide you've really got to do something about your weight. So you eat a light lunch. You stop off at the health club on the way home and take out a gym membership. So of course when you arrive home you will discover that your spouse was in the mood to bake pies. Examine your feelings. Almost none of you are surprised by the scenarios I've just described because you know, as do I, that it almost seems like there is a metaphysical principle at work here. In our universe irony is always maximized whenever possible. Or at least it seems that way. Irony is usually defined as a contradictory outcome of events, as if in mockery of the promise and fitness of things. It's a romantic and literary notion but I think there is more to it than that. This morning I want to explore the whole notion of irony and see if perhaps there isn't some religious and spiritual truth to this notion. 20 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

23 The HUMAN BRAIN seeks MEANINGFUL PATTERNS in apparently RANDOM INFORMATION Apophenia Is it irony really one of laws of the universe or does it just seem that way? There is a psychological principle called Apophenia coined in 1958 by Klaus Conrad, a German psychiatrist, in an attempt to explain the distorted thinking of early stage schizophrenia. The human brain seeks meaningful patterns in apparently random information. A bunch of random stuff happens, but our minds project a pattern onto it and we think there is some sort of meaningful order to it. Then, we come up with an explanation for that order and volia we think we have seen an omen, or a miracle, figured out how to win at roulette, discovered a portrait of Jesus in a burned potato chip or discovered evidence of a new conspiracy theory. In your order of service today I had printed a short piece labeled "To Be Read During the Sermon." Open up your Bulletin and find it and take a minute to read it now. Klaus Conrad, MD, % of the people in this room will have read this to be: 7H15 M3554G3 53RV35 7O PR0V3 H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5! 1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5! 1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG 17 WA5 H4RD BU7 N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3 Y0UR M1ND 1S R34D1NG 17 4U70M471C4LLY W17H 0U7 3V3N 7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17. This Message Serves to Prove How Our Minds Can Do Amazing Things! Impressive Things! In the Beginning It was Hard but Now, on this Line Your Mind is Reading it Automatically With Out Even Thinking About it. That's Apophenia. There are no words in the original passage. 21 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

24 MENTAL ILLNESS are in fact EXAGGERATIONS of NORMAL STATES of human CONSCIOUSNES It's only meaningless characters that sort of resemble words. Your mind sees the resemblance, the pattern, and projects a meaning onto them, and you read it as if it were English text instead of the lines of gibberish it actually is. Most mental illness are in fact exaggerations of normal states of human consciousness. Depression is an exaggeration of normal sadness. Anxiety is an exaggeration of normal worry. Dr. Conrad believed that schizophrenia was an exaggeration of normal Apophenia in which the patient see levels of meaning in random events to a degree that overloads the processing power of the human brain. Could it be that irony is just another example of Apophenia? Random stuff happens, but because it happens in a way that makes us feel regretful or rueful, our mind projects a pattern onto it an we think it's meaningful? There is actually no connection between the fact that I just washed my car and that fact that a rainstorm happened them moment I put the hose away; I just think that there is because of Apophenia. Certainly, this is what is happens some of the time, and I think that s kind of neat. Why This Ability Evolved According to Evolutionary Theory, the behaviors and qualities we possess, develop for a reason. The reason is they help us survive. If the world is such that it is better to be big rather than little, the most successful creatures will be big. On the other hand if the world is such that it is better to be little than big, the opposite will happen. Why have we evolved with the capacity for Apophenia? Why have our minds developed in such a way that we automatically seek meaningful patterns in even random information? What purpose does that serve? It relieves stress. There is no stress greater than the feeling of helplessness. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania s School of Professional Psychology began a series of famous experiments in 1967 in which he conditioned dogs to feel helpless about being able to escape pain. The dogs quickly learned that there was no response they could make in the experimental situation that did not result in some sort of electrical shock. After a series of repetitions, the animals simply gave up trying to fight back. They stopped trying to avoid the pain, and even when obvious opportunities were provided to the conditioned animals to escape, they would not. They had learned they were helpless and simply endured the pain with stoicism, while unconditioned animals quickly jumped out the open door to pain free freedom. Experiments with other animals produced the same result, as did some interesting experiments on human subjects. Seligman believed the stress had caused the animals to become too depressed to care about their own condition. He reasoned that stress must have reduce serotonin activity in the brain, especially in the basolateral amygdala which controls motivation. This is to say that Seligman believed the physical stress of the electrical shock produced a psychological depression in the mind of the dogs. However, more recent work has shown that Seligman was mistaken. Stress doesn t just produce psychological and emotional distress, it actually causes permanent physical change. Scientist Moises Velasquez-Manoff wrote in a recent New York Times article that current research shows the the more helpless one feels when facing a given stressor,...the more toxic that stressor s effects. In fact, the earlier one experiences helplessness, the worse it is. For a child s nervous system, by evolutionary design, is impressionable. The research shows that the early developmental experience of feeling helpless actually changes a person s DNA making them more prone to illness. As such experiences are far more common among poor children than among wealthy, this has come to be called the Status Syndrome. 22 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

25 Having a SENSE of MEANING MAKES US STRONG In people who experienced feelings of helplessness in early life, the telomeres, the structures at the tips of the chromosomes become measurably shorter. This causes accelerated aging, inflammation and a predisposition for degenerative diseases like heart attacks and diabetes. Bruce McEwen at Rockefeller University in New York calls this the biological embedding of stress. To quote Velasquez-Manoff, Your parent s social standing and your stress level during early life change how your brain and body work. As more American children grow up in poverty than in other developed nations, this may explain why as a nation we are sicker, even though other first-world nations have people who smoke or drink more than we do on average. Because stress is so toxic, especially to children, it appears we have evolved a mechanism to fight back, and that mechanism is Apophenia. When we are in a bad way our mind tries to figure out a pattern or a meaning. This helps us maintain hope. Austrian Psychotherapist Viktor Frankl who was sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1944 and lived as a prisoner there, when he was released, wrote a great book, Say Yes to Life In Spite of Everything, published in English under the sexist title Man s Search for Meaning. Frankl based his findings on what he had experienced in the concentration camp. One of the things he said was If you know the Why, you can deal with any How. That is, if your suffering and anxiety have meaning to you, then you will be able to deal with them better because you will not feel helpless. The rabbi at Auschwitz who believed he was suffering to uphold the honor of the Jewish people could keep hope and survive better than the person who thought the suffering had no meaning. Having a sense of meaning makes us strong. And so our mind instinctively looks for meaning, even in random things. It knows that if it can find a meaning, we will do better than if it cannot. So we have evolved the ability to do that, and much of the time it works. You become resilient. Irony, is what we experience when we think we have found a meaning in events, only to have circumstances conspire to make that meaning problematic. It s the emotion we feel when we realize that our meaningmaking mechanism has sputtered and flopped. You resolve that from now on you will make your own decisions, which causes you to make a bad investment because you ignored expert advice. You resolve to concentrate on your graduate studies and then realize you were too busy to go to church because you were home studying theology. Someone you know chokes to death because they decided to finally sit down and eat a healthy meal of root vegetables. You learn that the most shoplifted book in the United States is the Bible, and that some environmental organizations which want to ban fire extinguishers because they contribute to global warming. Illusion or Reality? But is that all there is? Really? 1. Feeling helpless in the face of events is really toxic. 2. To combat that toxicity, our mind automatically tries to find a meaning in events, because that makes us feel better. 3. Sometimes the meaning we make turns out to be obviously wrong, When we realize that we experience the emotion of irony. 4. But even when the meaning doesn t turn out to be obviously wrong, it s still just something that we made up, right? Now, this would be a really appropriate place to insert the final quote from the Narrator at the end of the Rocky Horror Picture Show: And crawling on the planet s face, Some insects called the human race. Lost in time. Lost in space. And meaning Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

26 SYCHRONICITY, which can be thought of as IRONY on STEROIDS But the reason I m not going to do that is because I don t think that s true. I believe there is a spiritual reality behind this world and that it filters through into this world and that irony actually helps us see it. There can be no proof of such a reality, but there can be evidence for it. That there may, in fact, be a meaning behind events. Synchronicity We make our guesses as to what life means. Sometimes that works, and sometimes that s ironic. But occasionally, there is what William James called, a Something More. This is what my favorite religious philosopher/psychiatrist Carl Jung, called Sychronicity, which can be thought of as irony on steroids. Sometimes, there is layering of coincidences that is so deep, so overdetermined, that the probability of this actually being a coincidence drops close to zero. At that point what seems to be a collection of coincidences becomes something else--as if there were something leaking into our universe from somewhere else that isn t explainable as simple randomness. In 1952, Jung himself wrote about such an experience in his book titled Synchronicity: "A young woman I was treating had, at a critical moment, a dream in which she was given a golden scarab. While she was telling me this dream, I sat with my back to the closed window. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, like a gentle tapping. I turned round and saw a flying insect knocking against the window-pane from the outside. I opened the window and caught the creature in the air as it flew in. It was the nearest analogy to a golden scarab one finds in our latitudes, a scarabaeid beetle, the common rose-chafer..., which, contrary to its usual habits had evidently felt the urge to get into a dark room at this particular moment. I must admit that nothing like it ever happened to me before or since." Jung handed the beetle to the woman, and said here is you scarab and immediately she had an immense personal breakthrough in her therapy. Now if that s not creepy enough, consider the case of the Pauli Effect reported by the great physicist George Garnow. Dr. Wolfgang Pauli was notorious for causing scientific equipment to break. He didn t actually damage it himself, but all he had to do was walk into a laboratory and scientific equipment that had been working perfectly suddenly would go haywire. One day in his lab in Gottingen, Professor James Franck had a complicated machine for the study of atomic phenomena suddenly collapse for no reason he could find. Franck sent a humorous letter to Pauli, who Franck believed was in Switzerland, about this. He quickly received a response from Pauli telling him that at the exact moment when the machine collapsed, Pauli was in Gottingen on a train sitting in a railroad station on his way to visit their mutual colleague Neils Bohr. Most of us have had experiences like this. You pick up a telephone that has not yet rung and find that the person you intended to call is actually on the line and was in the process of trying to call you. A book falls off the shelf and opens to exactly the passage you were looking for. Sometimes there is layering of coincidences that is so deep, so overdetermined, that the probability of this actually being a coincidence seems to drop close to zero. At that point what seems to be a collection of coincidences becomes something else--as if there were something leaking into our universe from somewhere else. In your gut you know it isn t fully explainable as simple randomness. Jung thought they were incidents of the collective unconsciousness, a group mind composed of all minds, breaking into our lives in a way that nudges us toward greater wholeness. These are the moments that the mystics of both East and West hold up as evidence that there is something more to our universe that just matter and energy, cause and effect. These moments, and we ve all had them, are not PROOF that there is a spiritual reality, but they are EVIDENCE that one may truly exist. That there may be a deeper order. 24 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

27 one knows it IN ONE S GUT as something that is JUST OBVIOUSLY VALID I stress I make no claim of proof. One cannot convince a spiritual skeptic. But like Jung, I make personal testimony to the sense that there is something more at work in life, at least from time-to-time, and that one has what philosophers call an a priori sense of this. That is, one knows it in one s gut as something that is just obviously valid. A Priori Understandings Philosophers have long suspected that there is a sense of basic knowledge that is actually built into the structure of the human mind. Now, some decisions are really complicated and one has to think them through carefully to figure out right from wrong, good from bad, praiseworthy from blameworthy, wise from unwise. Some are so complex as to defy any clear analysis. But still, there does seem to be a baseline sense of what is true, as Harvard Philosopher John Rawls puts it in his book A Theory of Justice. Remember that commercial by Ally Bank from 2009 where a market researcher is stilling at a table with two little girls and asks one is she would like a pony? She says yes and he reaches into his pocket and produces a little toy pony. Then, he asks the other girl if she would like a pony and when she says sure, he kickers and calls over a real pony and gives it to her. "You didn't say I could have a real pony," says the first girl. "Well," says the man, "You didn't ask." Then the announcer say "Even kids know it is wrong to hold out on somebody. Why don't banks?" Why not indeed? The point of that commercial is that we all do have a sense of what is correct and what is not, at least in certain cases. Where does that inner sense come from? Perhaps the same place as the awareness that something special has happened when coincidence piles upon coincidence in a way that defines logic and becomes a something more. May we reflectively cherish that something more. I do. And that s my sermon. 25 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

28 Only the SYMBOLIC LIFE can express the NEED OF THE SOUL A Symbolic Life From a seminar talk given in 1939 to the Guild for Pastoral Psychology, London by C. G. Jung C.G. Jung ( ) You see, man is in need of a symbolic life badly in need. We only live banal, ordinary, rational, or irrational things... but we have no symbolic life. Where do we live symbolically? Nowhere except where we participate in the ritual of life. Have you got a corner somewhere in your house where you perform the rites, as you can see in India? Even the very simple houses there have at least a curtained corner where the members of the household can perform the symbolic life, where they can make their new vows or their meditation. We don't have it; we have no such corner. We have our own room, of course, but there is a telephone that can ring us up at any time, and we always must be ready. We have no time, no place. We have no symbolic life, and we are all badly in need of the symbolic life. Only the symbolic life can express the need of the soul the daily need of the soul, mind you! And because people have no such thing, they can never step out of this mill this awful, banal, grinding life in which they are "nothing but... Everything is banal; everything is "nothing but," and that is the reason why people are neurotic. They are simply sick of the whole thing, sick of that banal life, and therefore they want sensation. They even want a war; they all want a war; they are all glad when there is a war; they say, "Thank heaven, now something is going to happen - something bigger than ourselves!" These things go pretty deep, and no wonder people get neurotic. Life is too rational; there is no symbolic existence in which I am something else, in which I am fulfilling my role, my role as one of the actors in the divine drama of life. I once had a talk with the master of ceremonies of a tribe of Pueblo Indians, and he told me something very interesting. He said, "Yes, we are a small tribe, and these Americans, they want to interfere with our religion. They should not do it," he said, "because we are the sons of the Father, the Sun. He who goes there" (pointing to the sun) "that is our Father. We must help him daily to rise over the horizon and to walk over heaven. And we don't do it for ourselves only; we do it for America; we do it for the whole world. And if these Americans interfere with our religion through their missions, they will see something. In ten years Father Sun won't rise anymore because we can't help him any more." Now, you may say, that is just a sort of mild madness. Not at all! These people have no problems. They have their daily life, their symbolic life. They get up in the morning with a feeling of their great and divine responsibility; they are the sons of the Sun, the Father, and their daily duty is to help the Father over the horizon not for themselves alone, but for the whole world. You should see these fellows; they 26 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

29 ...when people feel that they are LIVING THE SYMBOLIC LIFE, that they are ACTORS IN THE DIVINE DRAMA. have a natural fulfilled dignity. And I quite understand when he said to me, "Now look at these Americans; they are always seeking something. They are always full of unrest, always looking for something. What are they looking for? There is nothing to be looked for!" That's perfectly true. You can see them, these traveling tourists, always looking for something, always in the vain hope of finding something. On my many travels I have found people who were on their third trip around the world - uninterruptedly. Just traveling, traveling; seeking, seeking. I met a woman in central Africa who had come up alone in a car from Cape Town and wanted to go to Cairo. "What for?, I asked. "What are you trying to do that for?" And I was amazed when I looked into her eyes the eyes of a hunted, a cornered animal seeking, seeking, always in the hope of something. I said, "What in the world are you seeking? What are you waiting for? What are you hunting after?" She is nearly possessed; she is possessed by so many devils that chase her around. And why is she possessed? Because she does not live the life that makes sense. Hers is a life utterly, grotesquely banal, utterly poor, meaningless, with no point in it at all. If she is killed today, nothing has happened, nothing has vanished - because she was nothing! But if she could say, "I am the daughter of the Moon. Every night I must help the moon, my Mother, over the horizon" ah, that is something else! Then she lives; then her life makes sense, and makes sense in all continuity, and for the whole of humanity. That gives peace, when people feel that they are living the symbolic life, that they are actors in the divine drama. That gives the only meaning to human life; everything else is banal and you can dismiss it. A career, producing of children, are all maya compared with that one thing, that your life is meaningful. 27 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

30 ...in fact, he had not the SLIGHTEST IDEA what had happened. A Case of Spontaneous Hypnosis In his introduction to The Portable Jung (Viking Press, 1971), mythologist Joseph Campbell relates an intriguing story of spontaneous hypnosis that occurred around 1905 in Jung s lecture class in psychiatry at the University of Zurich: A middle-aged woman on crutches came into the room one day, led by a maid. She had for seventeen years been suffering a painful paralysis of the left leg; and when he (Jung) had placed her in a comfortable chair, bidding her tell her story, she went on at such interminable length that he had finally to interrupt. Well now, he said, we have no more time for so much talk. I am now going to hypnotize you. Whereupon she closed her eyes and fell into a profound trance without any hypnosis at all, continuing, meanwhile, her talking, relating the most remarkable dreams. The situation for the baffled young instructor, before his twenty students, was becoming increasingly uncomfortable; and when he tried to wake her, without success, he became alarmed. It took some ten minutes to bring her to, and when she awoke, she was giddy and confused. He said to her, I am the doctor; everything is all right. At which she cried out, But I am cured! threw away her crutches, and was able to walk. Flushed with embarrassment, Jung said to the students, Now you can see what can be done with hypnosis! Whereas, in fact, he had not the slightest idea what had happened. The woman departed in the best of spirits to proclaim her cure, and himself as a wizard, far and wide. 28 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

31 ...VALIDATE the IMPORTANCE of the MIND in SPORTS Sports Psychology vs. Sports Hypnosis: What s the difference? by John Weir, BCH, CI The origin of sports psychology dates back many decades, and the field first started gaining popularity in the 1930 s with the classic basketball experiment conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago. Since that time, there has been an increasing emphasis placed on the role of the mind in sports due to the growing number of institutes such as Stanford University and Harvard University conducting research studies into peak sports performance. In the 1970 s, Dr. Bob Rotella, a famous golf psychologist, hit the scene which helped popularize the use of psychology in golf, and helped to further validate the importance of the mind in sports. Besides sports psychology, the other field that was simultaneously gaining popularity and proving effective was the area of sports hypnosis. In this article, I will explain to you the differences between sports psychology and sports hypnosis as well as shed some light on the truth about hypnosis in sports. In my opinion, I think sports psychology is a great thing. However, I feel that it is limited in an area that is so very important. I believe that sports psychology contributes two major elements to athletes. First, sports psychology has been excellent at gathering research, conducting experiments, and providing data about athletic performance. With more and more graduate level programs being offered in this field it is opening the doors to grant money to fund more research projects and ongoing experiments. This leads me to the second contribution of sports psychology which is the data they accumulate and produce. Sports psychologists have definitely provided very insightful information into the minds of athletes and what is needed to produce results. The downside or the limitation of sports psychology that I see is not in the information, but in the vehicle of communication used to transfer that knowledge to athletes. I believe that sports psychology deals with the wrong part of our mind to affect change or improvements in a person s behavior. Sport psychologist s primarily deal with our conscious mind. If we were going to summarize the role of the conscious mind in a nutshell definition it would be: The primary job of the conscious mind is to judge, evaluate, and critique all the information we are exposed to. It then filters this information and only allows into the subconscious mind information congruent with the habits/beliefs established there. Since sports psychologists communicate to and work with an athlete s conscious mind, the information has to go through our filters and processes of analysis. The end result is the information is intellectually understood but rarely applied in one s performance. Athletes will know what to do with sports psychology, but following through with the insights and applying it is another story entirely. 29 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

32 SPORTS HYPNOSIS provides a UNIQUE TOOL to ATHLETES The most powerful contribution to the sports world in regards to sports hypnosis is the vehicle of communication. Sports hypnosis provides a unique tool to athletes who want to speed up the learning process. The subconscious mind is a person s biocomputer that operates things like the automatic processes of the body, provides the storehouse for memories, triggers your habits, and maintains your self-image to name a few. Information is processed by the subconscious mind non-critically the same as a computer. It doesn t discern the difference between good or bad, it simply moves towards a person s most dominant thoughts. Additionally, it doesn t know the difference between real events or vividly imagined ones, and will actually develop the neuropathways during intense visualizations virtually the same way as if the action was actually being performed. In my opinion, the natural communication process of hypnosis gives sports hypnotists a tremendous advantage over sports psychologists. First, as you can see from the description above, the subconscious mind accepts information non-critically as opposed to dealing with the critical conscious mind. This gives athletes the ability to change negative belief systems and habitual behaviors much faster and easier than if dealing only with the conscious mind, which judges all the content. Next, when the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it acts upon it without having to consciously think about the task. Do you have to think about your habits or do they just naturally happen? Sports hypnosis is a way to eliminate negative habits quickly by going to the source of them and makes it easier to implement new positive behaviors as a natural part of your performance. Finally, hypnosis makes it easier for athletes to create life-like visualizations and virtual performance experiences. When an athlete does mental rehearsal like this, the subconscious mind begins developing stronger neuro-pathways to physically execute the task. The Brain Imaging Center in San Antonio, Texas said that visualization actually creates 80% of the neurostructures in the brain to perform a task. Sports hypnotists also have the advantage because they can utilize the information gained from sports psychologists and can condition it in the subconscious mind of an athlete. This is so powerful and important because hypnosis is able to help athletes take the information they intellectual understand and transform it into actual behaviors, which then become like second nature for the athlete. Hypnosis goes beyond understanding and intellectualization, and accelerates the process of application, integration, and the formation of positive habits. The main disadvantage in regards to hypnosis is that it is a process that is misunderstood by athletes. Many still hold the common misconceptions about hypnosis due to false portrayals from Hollywood. There is a lot of information available that reveals the truth about hypnosis, but let me give you a quick summary. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring process of our minds that is deeply rooted in science and validated by scientific testing using fmri s, EEG s, and more. When a person gets hypnotized they don t go unconscious or to some mystical place, it is merely an alteration in their brainwave frequency which naturally occurs seven-to-ten times everyday so subtly that you don t even realize it. If you have ever driven 30 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

33 The MIND plays a PIVOTAL ROLE in PEAK PERFORMANCE your car on auto-pilot and arrived at your destination not remembering how you got there then you know what I am talking about. There are four major brainwaves; beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Beta is a fully alert, waking state, and Delta is unconsciousness or sleep. Alpha and Theta waves are the in-between states of mind which are utilized in hypnosis. Everyday when you wake up and every night when you go to sleep you go through each of the brainwaves. Hypnosis is a process that makes use of the alpha and theta states of mind because they are our super-learning states in which we can process positive information non- critically and to the subconscious. Also, the alpha state is what all athletes are in when they are in the zone. Believe it or not, athletes have been using forms of hypnosis for decades. It has just been packaged under a variety of different names. Athletes are more familiar with terms such as visualization, positive thinking, guided imagery, and mental rehearsal which are all elements of the hypnotic process. However, for whatever reasons they shy away whenever they hear the word hypnosis. When an athlete incorporates these elements while in the superlearning state, or hypnosis, they are able to accelerate the learning curve in their sport, increase their ability to execute tasks related to performance, and establish positive habits that lead to success. The mind plays a pivotal role in peak performance in any sport. Whether you support sports psychology, sports hypnosis, or both just make sure you are incorporating some type of mental training into your practice regimen. When the mind and body come together that s when excellence happens in sports. 31 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

34 I was TRAPPED by my IGNORANCE and we both KNEW IT. The Witch Doctor s Secret In Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration (W. W. Norton & Company, 1979), Norman Cousins recounts an experience he had probably in the early 1950s while visiting the famous physician/theologian/pianist Albert Schweitzer ( ) at his African clinic: At the dinner table of the Schweitzer Hospital at Lambarene, I had ventured the remark that the local people were fortunate to have access to the Schweitzer clinic instead of having to depend on witch-doctor supernaturalism. Dr. Schweitzer asked me how much I knew about witch doctors. I was trapped by my ignorance and we both knew it. The next day le grand docteur took me to a nearby jungle clearing, where he introduced me to un mes collegues, an elderly witch doctor. After a respectful exchange of greetings, Dr. Schweitzer suggested that his American friend be allowed to observe African medicine. For the next two hours, we stood off to one side and watched the witch doctor at work. With some patients, the witch doctor merely put herbs in a brown paper bag and instructed the ill person in their true use. With other patients, he gave no herbs but filled the air with incantations. A third category of patients he merely spoke to in a subdued voice and pointed to Dr. Schweitzer. On our way back to the clinic, Dr. Schweitzer explained what had happened. The people who had assorted complaints that the witch doctor was able to diagnose readily were given special herbs to make into brews. Dr. Schweitzer guessed that most of those patients would improve very rapidly since they had only functional rather than organic, disturbances. Therefore, the medications were not really a major factor. The second group had psychogenic ailments that were being treated with African psychotherapy. The third group had more substantial physical problems, such as massive hernias or extrauterine pregnancies or dislocated shoulders or tumorus conditions. Many of these problems required surgery, and the witch doctor was redirecting the patients to Dr. Schweitzer himself. Some of my steadiest customers are referred to me by witch doctors, Dr. Schweitzer said with only the slightest trace of a smile. Don t expect me to be too critical of them. When I asked Dr. Schweitzer how he accounted for the fact that anyone could possibly expect to become well after having been treated by a witch doctor, he said that I was asking him to divulge a secret doctors have carried around with them ever since Hippocrates. But I ll tell you anyway, he said, his face still illuminated by that half-smile. The witch doctor succeeds for the same reason the rest of us succeed. Each patient carries his own doctor inside of him. They come to us knowing the truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to go to work. 32 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

35 I was looking for some MEANING, a PURPOSE, a REASON or ANSWERS My Search for the Meaning of Life by Lambert Matias We ask ourselves questions like, What is the meaning of life? or Is this all there is? or What is my purpose? and What am I supposed to be doing? I don t have all the answers yet, but let me share a story with you. Years ago, I met a complete stranger by chance that changed the course of my life. I was attending a business conference in Chicago and the stranger was manning a booth outside of the main room. But unlike the other booths, this one was being completely ignored. It was as if there was a No-Fly Zone around it. Being the gregarious trendsetter that I am and always looking for a different adventure it s the Sagittarius in me I walked to straight over to the stranger in the empty booth. Looking back today, I now realize that I was meant to meet this person. At the time, however, I had no idea of the impact it would have on my life. The booth signage and a stack of flyers spread out on a table indicated that the man was a hypnotist. Ah-ha! That s why no one went near him. I guess people didn t want to be clucking like chickens for the rest of the conference! Not me I wanted to cluck like a chicken! I walked straight over and began a conversation. I could tell the man was happy to have someone, anyone, stop by his booth. I wasn t all that impressed. But I took a card and a flyer anyway. I m not sure what I was looking for. I just knew I was looking for some meaning, a purpose, a reason or answers to some of my questions about life. I had often wondered what my purpose in life was. Is life like peach or a nectarine? 33 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

36 maybe, the ANSWER might be SOMEWHERE I HADN T THOUGHT TO LOOK BEFORE What s the difference? Should you just live a normal life that you feel is just like everyone else s? Or can you live a life that you define for yourself and that gives you so much satisfaction that you have to pinch yourself each day to make sure you re not dreaming? I hadn t found the answer at work; I hadn t found it at home; I hadn t found it with my friends. Maybe, just maybe, the answer might be somewhere I hadn t thought to look before. Later, as I sat perusing the hypnotist s flyer, one sentence jumped out at me: I teach people how to unlock the hidden potential they have inside. Something hit me at that moment. I ve read many self-help books. I ve read all the sales and success manuals. But nothing had truly worked for me. Maybe this hypnotist guy has something that could be a little different, I thought. Long-story short, I called him when I got back to my office and left a voic . When he called me back, I made an appointment to see him later in the week. I was very excited, but despite my expectations, I came out of the session with a feeling that I didn t really have any hidden potential. And although I felt relaxed I thought that the $100 fee I had paid for the hour may have been in vain. But, after a few days, I noticed a curious change about myself. For the first time in a long while, I was in a good mood and I had a really rosy attitude. I actually had a positive feeling about life, about my business, my clients, and I had a fresh outlook on my future. I actually felt a sense of control! Maybe the meaning of life for me was to just start feeling good about things. Shortly thereafter, a friend whom I will call John, phoned me and said he was going through a really hard time. He said he was completely stressed-out, struggling with problems with his business, needing to figure things out, etc. He sounded almost as if he was ready to kill himself. I didn t know what to say and I didn t want to seem preachy, but toward the end of our conversation, I casually mentioned to John that I had recently gone for a hypnosis session that had helped me and that maybe he would benefit from one as well. I gave him the hypnotist s phone number and forgot about it. I didn t find out until months later that the hypnotist may have saved my friend s life. I learned that John was so greatly affected and helped by the hypnotist (he had gone for a series of sessions, it turned out) that he decided to attend hypnosis school and become a practitioner himself! Today, John is a well known and respected certified consulting hypnotist and a sought after speaker on many personal development topics. I had no idea. I never dreamed that a casual, offhand suggestion could impact somebody s life so dramatically. But that s not the end of this story. You see, in return for my simple act of referring him to the hypnotist, John was adamant about giving me free lifetime hypnosis sessions if I ever needed his help. Little did I think that I ever would have to take up his offer. But it happened in 2009, when the financial markets crashed and the housing crisis was in full swing. I had been working in the mortgage industry, and I found myself in the middle of a house-of-cards that was falling down all around me. I watched many friends, colleagues and clients get completely destroyed financially and emotionally. And I would have been one of them had it not been for John. I had lost hope, lost my way, lost my business, lost my house, my car and I even lost my dog. My family moved away and I was sleeping on a sleeping bag in a cheap apartment. I had a stress-induced heart attack. I was a mess. Remembering John s offer of free hypnosis sessions, I called him in desperation. It was now his turn to return the favor I had done for him. He became my sounding block, my emotional Rock 34 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

37 find the STRENGTH that WE ALL HAVE INSIDE OF US of Gibraltar. He put me back on the path of life, with a focus and determination to pick myself up, dust myself off, and keep fighting the fight and moving forward one step at a time. He got me to calm down and relax and find the strength that we all have inside of us. Yes, I did have inner potential after all! Finding the strength to stay in the game lead me to one opportunity, which led to another, and yet another. With John s help, I managed to get back on my feet, stronger than ever. I ll always be a work in progress, but today I am I am stable, strong and very happy. If it weren t for John, I know I wouldn t be here today. So that brings me back to the question: What is the meaning of life? The same is true of your relationships and every other aspect of life. That is what gives life meaning. If you live your life in fear of losing things and are focused on what s lacking, then life will always be taking things away from you and it will always seem like there is not enough. You must give first. You must be the one to add energy into the equation. A body at rest stays at rest. And, a body in motion stays in motion. Something has to provide the starting energy or the stopping energy. That energy needs to come from you. It takes energy to maintain relationships and do things. The answer comes in the form of another question. What are you doing to have a positive effect on the lives of others? One thing I have learned is that your life does not become meaningful until you serve and help others, that is, until you are living for something bigger than yourself. It all comes back to you. In this world, what you put out is exactly what you get. Call it karma or call it the Law of Attraction. No matter what you call it, this unseen hand works for everyone the same way. Maintain your vehicle with regular servicing and will it serve you. Nurture your money and it will grow. Life gives you what you put into it. If you think you have nothing to give, you are wrong. You must change your mindset. Change how you think. For all those questions I had about life, the only place I hadn t looked for answers was inside myself. And even though I had always thought of myself as an intuitive person, I needed someone to guide me at first. I needed John. Anyone can pick up and swing a golf club naturally, but you need someone in the beginning to show you the technique(s) of doing it right, and then you can go practice yourself. You need someone who can help you from a different perspective than your usual pattern of thought. And it needn t always be someone with a degree in mental health. It can be a life-coach, a mentor, a hypnotist or 35 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

38 ...LAST FRONTIER to be EXPLORED is in the deepest regions of the SPACE BETWEEN OUR EARS. just a good friend and confidant who has achieved the kind results that you want to achieve. Like a weightlifting partner who can spot you, or a trainer who can work with you, you need some help to reach certain levels of achievement. Leaders are readers. I am reading three or four, sometimes five books at a time. I am always reading, studying learning. If you want to make significant changes in your life, you will need to change your mindset and maybe learn some new skills too. The Four Most Dangerous Words in Life: I already know that. You ll never learn about the meaning of life if you don t live life. Part of living life is learning and experiencing new things, seeing things from different perspectives, changing things up. Sometimes you need a change of scenery or a significant life event to happen, as in my case, for these changes to occur. A long time ago one of my mentors told me that you can t get out of a situation using the same kind of thinking that got you into the situation. The Aha! moments in life come when you learn to think differently. Many people don t find out what the meaning of their life is until they get old. Some never do. Why wait? You can begin now, and then you ll have the rest of your life to enjoy doing you re supposed to be doing. With all due respect to the late Jacques Cousteau and/ or Carl Sagan, I believe with my friend John that the last frontier to be explored is in the deepest regions of the space between our ears. All the answers are there. 36 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

39 many PEOPLE end up TRUSTING PUTATIVE EXPERTS for the EVALUATION of the EVIDENCE The Politics of Science by Imants Barušs, PhD An excerpt from Dr. Baruss book Science as a Spiritual Practice, Imprint Academic, 2007, pp I have argued that materialism is wrong on the basis of evidence about the nature of matter and the occurrence of anomalous phenomena. Matter does not comply with our naïve intuitions about its nature. Presentience challenges our notions of determinism. And the synchronistic behavior of REGs (random access generators) is contrary to the mechanistic conduct of billiard balls. For a materialist interpretation of the world to be false, only one counterexample is necessary Why, then, the pervasive persistence of materialism? I think there are a number of reasons. The first is that academics, including many scientists, appear to be unaware of advances in science outside their own areas of expertise; and, if they are aware of them, have not really thought about the implications of such advances. There has been some awareness of more salacious anomalous phenomena, such as the anomalous resonance between human activity and REGs, but a lack of awareness of the robustness of the scientific evidence of such phenomena. This is compounded by the problem that sometimes studies of anomalous phenomena have been incorrectly described in secondary sources leaving readers with the erroneous impression that nothing anomalous has ever really happened. Quite frankly, though, most academics neither have the time, nor perhaps the expertise, to read the primary literature, nor to seek out and witness for themselves the empirical investigations on which judgments about the phenomena are based. This is true even more so of the interested general reader whose access to the necessary resources could be limited. The result is that many people end up trusting putative experts for the evaluation of the evidence. The problem with listening to the putative experts is that there is a strong bias in the scientific community against research that challenges a materialist view of reality. If anything, that is an understatement. The politics of science are such that open discussion of fundamental problems with materialism is discouraged. There is a power structure in science, held in place through the admission of students to graduate programs, the approval their research projects and theses, the ring and promotion of university faculty, the approval of research grants, and the review and acceptance of academic papers and books for publication. The power of academics and scientists permits them to exclude from the scientific community half-baked fantasies about reality. The problem is that materialism is so entrenched that any disapproval of it can be censored. There is a price to pay for challenging authority and that price is exclusion from the scientific community. And thus, prevailing doctrines, such as that of materialism, can be sustained despite the evidence against them. 37 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

40 AUTHENTIC SCIENCE aims at a TRUE UNDERSTANDING of REALITY If all of this sounds as if something has gone terribly wrong the, yes, it has. Science, as I understand it, was intended to be an open-ended exploration of nature and not a foreclosure of lines of investigation that tread upon prevailing opinion. Science in its oppressive form has sometimes been called scientism and is not authentic science at all. For scientism, a materialist word view is dominant and governs what perceptions are acceptable. For authentic science, world views are shaped by the actual evidence that emerges in the course of examining whatever subject matter is of interest using whatever methods seem most appropriate. Furthermore, scientism has as its goal the collection of an objective body of facts, whereas authentic science aims at a true understanding of reality. In other words, I think that the point of science is the acquisition of actual knowledge by the scientist. And, of course, such knowledge could be contrary to popular opinions, including materialism. The important thing is not to stop questioning. Albert Einstein ( ) From an interview published in Life Magazine, May 2, Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

41 hypnosis and consciousness EXPLORERS Contributors to this Issue of Hypnology Fred Kutchins, CH, is a consulting hypnotist and founder of the Braid Institute, an educational forum pertaining to hypnosis and motivation. For more information, visit Paul Aurand, MHt, is the past President and lead trainer of The Michael Newton Institute for Life Between Lives Hypnotherapy. He is the Founder and Director of the Holistic Healing Center in New York City and has over 30 years experience as a healer, hypnotherapist and counselor. Paul is an award-winning Master Hypnotherapist and Certified Hypnotherapy Instructor. A dynamic educator, Paul teaches and lectures widely in Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Japan. He has been featured on both radio and television for his unique work with The Body Wisdom Process a synergistic combining of hypnotherapy, interactive guided imagery and healing touch. He can be reached through his website at C. Roy Hunter, MS, FAPHP is a well-known hypnotherapy instructor, a prolific author on the subject of hypnosis and a professional speaker. He is the recipient of numerous awards. In April 2000, Roy was inducted into the International Hypnosis Hall of Hypnotherapy Fame for his written contributions to the field. His latest text, co-authored by Bruce Eimer, PhD, is entitled The Art of Hypnotic Regression Therapy: A Clinical Guide (Crown House Publishing, 2012). For more information, visit Scott Schmaren, NueroPerformanceologist Scott Schmaren is a nationally known speaker, coach and author. He has spent over 20 years learning powerful success technologies. He has used what he has learned and created to transform his life, losing 180 pounds and maintaining it while rediscovering his vitality. Scott is co-author of the book, Stepping Stones to Success, along with Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra and Dr. Denis Waitley. Scott s forthcoming book is entitled, Neuroperformanceology: Transforming Your Life in 30 Minutes a Day. He can be reached at scott@ultimatevisionarymind.com. The Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles is a Board Certified Chaplain with a flair for hypnotism. He holds a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago With Highest Distinction and two academic prizes. Dr. Giles has an international reputation as a hypnotist, is an Advisory Board member of the National Guild of Hypnotists and is known all over the nation for his work with cancer patients. He can be reached via his website, John Weir, BCH, CI, is an award winning hypnotist who has been helping people achieve excellence in their lives since He is a Board Certified Hypnotist and Certified Instructor of Hypnotism through the National Guild of Hypnotists. A published author and the president of Today's My Day Productions, Inc., which specializes in making self-hypnosis audio programs, John is the creator of many hypnosis programs including the Mental Caddie-Golf Enhancement System. For more information, visit A. Lambert Matias is a tech-savvy entrepreneur with business management experience in a variety of fields. His latest venture, GovMobile, LLC, provides value-added machine-to-machine (M2M) and wireless solutions primarily to the federal government and public sector. He is also the founder of the E-Team, a mastermind group of entrepreneurs and average people who share a passion for creating happiness and a more enjoyable life. He can be contacted via Imants Barušs, Bsc, Msc, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at King s University College at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches courses in psychology, mostly about consciousness, and has written or co-authored 4 books, 27 papers, and 17 reviews, and given 64 presentations, mostly about fundamental issues concerning consciousness. He can be contacted at baruss@uwo.ca. 39 Hypnology magazine w w w. H y p n o l o g y M a g.c o m

42 Hypnology SPONSORS " Where technology is entertaining, and problem-solving is serious business" Midwest: Our office is in Chicago, IL Fax West Coast: Our office in Orange County, CA Fax What if you were in Baghdad, Iraq on 9/11? Famed hypnotist Larry Garrett was! This remarkable and deeply insightful tale of Larry s hypnosis sessions with the infamous Uday Hussein, elder son of Saddam, is now available in a brand-new revised edition. To order, visit: HYPNOTIZING-THEDEVIL-LARRY-GARRETT/ dp/ If you would like to join our growing association of Sponsors or to add an Event please contact Fred Kutchins at: fred@fredkutchins.com 40 Hypnology magazine w w w. Hy pno l o gy M ag.c om BACK CONTENTS FWRD