Hypnosis can be successful in treating a
wide variety of problems, including:

• Anxiety disorders
• Physical illness & disease
• Pain management
• Stress and worrying
• Addiction control problems i.e.: smoking, weight loss, drug & alcohol addiction
• Habit control problems i.e.: nail biting, teeth grinding
• Fears and phobias i.e.: fear of flying. spiders, snakes, stage fright etc.
• Poor self- esteem
• Memory retention, study habits & test anxiety
• Insomnia
• Emotional, physical & mental trauma i.e.: abuse, accident
• Anger
• Relationship difficulties
• Coping with Dental & Medical Procedures
• Eating Disorders
• Headaches
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Post Traumatic Syndrome
• Sexual Enhancement
• Sexual Dysfunction
• . . . and Many More !

The Mind
Let’s look at it this way

There are three levels of the mind (like floors of a building – the frequencies mentioned on the other page is the elevator that takes you there)
1. Conscious 2. Subconscious 3. Super/Unconscious

Conscious Mind – your periscope into the world.

It controls your voluntary motor skills (i.e.: walking, talking, etc.)
Receives sensory input (i.e.: smell, taste, sight, hearing, touch)
Knows bodily needs (hungry, tired, etc.)

Your conscious mind has never created a thought.
(Bet some of your friends have told you that)
Nor is it able to think of more than one thing at a time.
(Oh boy! There goes the TV during homework.)

Subconscious Mind – two functions

Master Computer of the physical body – controls involuntary body functions (i.e.: heart rate, growth, digestion of food, healing a cut, growing hairs, etc.)

Informational Storehouse – records everything you have every heard, seen, thought, awake or asleep from the moment of your birth.

Guess what? The subconscious mind has no reasoning abilities.

Think of it this way – Our mind is like a computer. Our conscious mind is the monitor, our subconscious is the hard drive (just the facts) and all those suggestions are the software (programming) that runs our lives.

Super/Unconscious Mind – at least somebody is thinking in there.

This level is unaffected by experiences or suggestions. It understands how to resolve all problems. Ever felt like life is a maze? Well imagine this level of the mind sitting on a tower overlooking the maze. It can see which way to guide you to your goals.

Some key points on Hypnosis

Hypnosis is derived from the Greek meaning to sleep.
Hypnotherapy is the clinical use of hypnosis.
An objective rather than subjective approach, (clients desires: i.e. stop smoking rather than subject for entertainment (i.e. run around and cluck like a chicken)

All hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
You cannot be given a suggestion that is not within your belief system
or instructed to do something against your will.

Hypnosis is simply distraction of the conscious level of the mind.

Hypnosis works because we are all suggestible. (i.e.: advertisements, clothing styles, etc.)
The more personal the suggestion (i.e.: parent, friend – the more powerful)
An intense emotional experience (i.e.: assault or accident – the more powerful)
Repetition is also a powerful facilitator of suggestions.
(Say it enough, you’ll believe it and become it.)

There are three levels of the mind and four frequencies of brain wave patterns.

Four frequencies of the mind – much like the frequency of a radio

beta - conscious level of brain activity
from relaxed (13 cycles/second) to panic (50 cycles/second)

alpha - the bridge between the conscious and unconscious
necessary for remembering dreams, recalling information stored
in the subconscious (i.e.: telephone numbers, lesson assignments,
memory of past experience.)
13-8cps

theta - subconscious level of mind activity
information and function
8-4cps

delta - superconscious - subjective level of mind activity
intuitive, creative, spiritual base
4cps

Hypnosis--What is it?

There are many misperceptions as to what hypnosis and hypnotherapy are due to what we have seen in movies or on the stage. The assumption is that hypnosis, at the very least, is controlling whereas, in reality, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Do not equate mind control with hypnosis, we are always in control. Hypnosis is simply distraction of the conscious level of the mind and even if we "officially" have never been hypnotized we have all inadvertently fallen into the state of hypnosis. Have you ever been on your way to the store only to find yourself absentmindedly on the road to work? Perhaps you have become aware that you just drove a few miles without conscious awareness only to timidly peek a glance in the rear view mirror looking for flashing blue lights. Remember that favorite TV show you thought you were watching until you woke up.

Enough said, what makes hypnosis effective is that we are all suggestible. If not, there are a lot of companies wasting money on advertising designed to influence our choice of cars to buy, clothes to wear or the detergent to wash them in. Hypnotherapy is simply using the tool of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. It is objective in intent rather subjective, in other words, the intent of hypnotherapy is not to have you run around and cluck like a chicken but to assist you to achieve a predetermined set of goals of your choosing. How this is achieved can can vary according to different approaches but the mechanism remains the same. Our minds are similar to that of a computer with one difference—our computer does its own programming, the true meaning of sentient beings, self-aware and self-programming.

We have a conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. Our conscious mind is analogous to the monitor of a computer. We keystroke into our consciousness experiences and decisions which project onto the monitor of our awareness. Our conscious mind is our periscope into the world but contrary to popular belief it has never created a thought. It controls our voluntary motor skills, identifies bodily needs and monitors our senses. That is quite an important job but it does not think, to believe it does would be like believing the image on a screen created the movie.

The art of thinking rests in the subconscious and unconscious levels of the mind. The subconscious mind serves two very important functions. Firstly, it is the master computer of the physical body controlling all autonomic functions such as breathing, heartbeat, healing (ie: broken bones, cuts or bruises). Secondly, it is a vast storehouse of everything we have ever experienced, thought or dreamt. Everything, yes everything, is there. Our subconscious mind is like the hard drive of our computer—just the facts. It has no analytical or deductive abilities, simply an operating system and memory capacity. That may seem like a flaw but in reality it is an asset. The subconscious mind has no investment or attachment to either our physical aliments, addictions, emotional blocks or dysfunctional behaviors. As the master computer of the body it is able to instruct the body to return to its "original imprint and coding" meaning every cell of the body has the ability to reproduce itself without imperfection. It is the default state of our operating system—perfection. As the storehouse of vast sums of information it is simply "mental wiring." There is no investment whether we are afraid of flying or if we’re a smoker. It will support our behavior based upon the programming it receives.

The programming it receives—what does that mean? Remember the subconscious mind has no deductive or analytical abilities and it remembers everything it sees, hears or thinks. If I said to you the moon is made of green cheese you have now heard it and it is now retained in your subconscious mind. If you went to your mental filing cabinet containing your information on the moon you might find information on men walking on the moon or bringing back rock samples and the green cheese info is in there, too. After reviewing the file you make an analytical decision that the moon, in truth, is a rock orb rotating around the earth.

Let’s play a little game. Imagine that for the next two years every time you hear or see information about the moon from friends, scientists or astronauts it will be in reference to the moon being made of green cheese. Two years later you would open up that file on moon and take note of all the "green cheeses." At the very least you would doubt what the moon is made of, at the most you might actually believe the moon is made of green cheese. Imagine if that file was your self-worth, self-esteem or self-confidence. This is how an imprint and impression is created, the programming software running your computer. I kid people I’m a computer hacker and go in and change the programming, your willingness is the password which allows me access.

The third level of the mind is the unconscious level, it is unaffected by any of the imprinting and coding of the subconscious. It is our higher spiritual nature and will always make decisions for our highest good, see the resolution of any problem or know the answer to any question. Why then do we make so many errors in judgement and action? This level will not interfere or "out scream" the conscious level of the mind. It is the still small voice that speaks to us will all the love and wisdom of the universe. You know that one. Yep! The one we wished we had listened to before we got into that particular mess. That may seem to be a flaw of the unconscious but it is our light at the end of the tunnel.

You may have noticed by now that no level of the mind stands alone, each having an important job yet unable to function independent from the others. Much of our mental anguish and mental confusion comes from our endeavors to compartmentalize our thinking. Hypnosis reintegrates these levels into one harmonious blend of thought.

Through my twenty+ years of utilizing the tool of hypnosis I have found a three-step approach to effectively create permanent and lasting change in your life. First, an invitation to the unconscious level of the mind to bring resolution to the problem at hand or the behavior to be modified. Secondly, instruction to the subconscious level to release any imprints or impressions which are either hindering what you wish to create or contributing to what you don’t want, always remembering the subconscious has no investment in your choices. The third step is direct suggestions that are in agreement with your conscious desires. These direct suggestions built upon the plateau of unconscious direction and subconscious release lead to permanent and lasting change.

Hypnosis is not magic—the magic is that when the levels of our mind are in harmony with each other—all things are possible.

Realizing your Resolution

“If I wanted to, I could...” always seems to be our excuse to why we haven’t: stopped smoking, lost weight, stopped drinking, quit yelling at the kids, gotten rid of that unwanted habit, released that fear, did better in school, or found that perfect mate.

We see things about ourselves we would like to change but often feel trapped or imprisoned by ourselves–condemned to what we don’t want. We set deadlines (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, pregnancies, vacations, New Years) to change our lives only to see the dates come and go with only our self-esteem and self-confidence disappearing.

We have tried every pill, program and patch–yet to no avail.

How do I know this? Been there, done that.

Until I found a different way. Now nearly a decade as a nonsmoker and currently diminishing inches around my waist I have found a “new way” and it has been the easiest thing I ever did and IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WILL POWER. IT SIMPLY HAD TO DO WITH CHOICE.

Through my years as a clinical hypnotherapist, I have had the opportunity to see what does and does not work. I have come to realize the attitudes needed to create permanent and lasting change in one’s life. When we understand how the mind works we can create what we desire. It is like learning to drive a car, when we understand how it operates it can take us to our destination. OUR MINDS ARE A VEHICLE OF TRANSPORTATION NOT AN OBSTACLE TO TO OUR GOALS. Many of us tend to back away from what we don’t want rather than head towards what we do. We try to get to our destination by shifting into reverse and backing away from where we don’t want to be.

This leads us to the first attitude: DON’T RESIST. What you resist does persist. Let me give you an example: Okay, ready, count to ten and don’t think of three. Don’t think of pink elephants. Get it? Notice that when you want to stop doing something you want to do it even more. Remember that last attempt at loosing weight when you promised yourself you would not have ice cream every day or how you smoked twice as much the day you said you would cut down? Resistance to a thing, behavior or action directs your energy to it and empowers that which you don’t want. WHERE ATTENTION GOES ENERGY FLOWS. While in the process of changing a behavior–enjoy the cigarette, savor the ice cream, forgive the angry outburst. GUILT DOES NOT WORK and runs interference between you and your goal. Guilt is driving your car with the breaks on. WILLPOWER HAS NO PLACE HERE, change is not a battle but a choice.
The second attitude is BE WILLING TO BE WILLING TO CHANGE. If you were already willing to stop smoking, lose weight, stop drinking, control anger… there would be no need to have a resolution–it would have already occurred. How does one express this willingness? Many of you have heard of affirmations, for those who have not, an affirmation is a statement about the future made in the present as if it has occurred in the past. It is the destination of our vehicle of change. An example: The active smoker affirms, “I am a nonsmoker with ease, health and abundance.” The person wishing to loose weight, “I am slim trim healthy firm and strong.” An affirmation should be personal, present and positive. Not “I will be a nonsmoker,” but “I am a nonsmoker.” Not “I will not get cancer,” but “I am healthy.”

Be careful what you think, say or feel after “I am.” The words “I am” unleash the creative force of your mind. Simply stated, how you see yourself is a self-fulfilling prophecy. How our affirmations become a statement of our willingness to be willing is by adding two simple words to it, “I CHOOSE.” For example: “I choose I am a nonsmoker.” “I choose I am slim, trim, healthy, firm and strong.” I have found a dramatic jump in the success rate of my clients using this technique.

Remember, I mentioned stopping smoking was the easiest thing I ever did once I put these simple attitudes into effect. And yes, I was a two pack-a-day smoker. I stopped smoking by saying, “I choose I am a nonsmoker with ease, peace, health and abundance” while puffing on a cigarette. One of the pitfalls about affirmations is that we think an affirmation should be a deterrent. An example: on our way to the refrigerator we repeat our affirmation, “I am slim, trim healthy, firm and strong” thinking that will cause us to make a U-turn between the couch and the refrigerator. That is resistance. Rather, while you are scooping out a large bowl of ice cream and slathering it with chocolate sauce simply affirm your destination.

The third attitude is NEVER SAY NEVER, that also is resistance. Never say you’ve had your last cigarette, last bowl of ice cream, last drink or last emotional outburst. Rather choose to not have one now. I have not yet had my last cigarette but for nearly a decade I have not had one now. Affirm your change for the now and the future will take care of itself. The result is simply you will forget to smoke, no longer desire the ice cream, be free of addiction, be calmer, healthier and happier because you have come to fully realize THE CHOICE IS YOURS.