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HYPNOSIS
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Hypnosis Background
"Hypnosis . . . a repressed state of mental functioning in which ideas are accepted
by suggestion rather than logical evaluation.." American Board of Hypnotherapy
I know that when the subject of Hypnosis comes to people's minds, they usually think of a Stage performance. Some might remember one of those old 1940's movies showing the evil scientist swinging a watch/pendulum in front of a damsel in distress. She would then swoon , and looking more like a zombie would begin to sleepwalk. Others might remember a news story that an amnesiac trauma victim was helped to remember the details of a crime he just witnessed by using Hypnosis. After all these stories, naturally it's no wonder that many people have odd perceptions about the true nature of Hypnosis.
After all, Hypnosis is nothing more than like being asleep, except you are also conscious as well. It's like your total focus is awake, aware, and waiting for a comforting voice to guide to the next step. Remember, you are awake and you will not do anything that you wouldn't normally do. You remember everything that takes place in the session and are in total control throughout the session.
The name "Hypnosis" was coined in the mid-1800's by James Braid. He began experimenting with the techniques of his famous predecessor, Anton Mesmer. James Braid's earlier experiments led him to believe that Hypnosis was like sleeping, so he used the Greek word for sleep, "hypnos," to describe his work. Later in his life he changed his opinion, as he found Hypnosis was not at all like sleep - the client was very much awake throughout the session. However, by that time the term 'hypnosis' had taken and is now the term everyone uses for this unusual state of hyperawareness.
In a Hypnotic state, one's usual waking consciousness is suspended of disbelief and doubt; suggestions are readily accepted. Depending on the session, these suggestions may either provide a deeply relaxing, aware peace of mind or be a place that will accept suggestions to rebuild (and heal) one's personality and even remove pain and illness.
Even before the 1800's people had been using these healing methods. There is evidence in ancient Sanskrit writings that thousands of years ago, healing trances were used in the temples in India. Ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls inform us about the use of sleeping temples where trance inductions for healing were used. The most famous of recent times was Paracelsus, the 15th Century Swiss medical doctor who discovered that mercury was a cure for syphilis. He also made breakthroughs with the use of magnets to cure illnesses. He would pass magnets or lodestones over the body to accelerate its healing ability. Others followed in his footsteps using similar means.
Anton Mesmer was the most famous (or infamous), due to his controversial views on the ability of the body to heal itself. In the 17th century where bloodletting was the norm for all medical procedures, Mesmer found that he could close a patient's wound after bloodletting by passing a magnet or his hand over the patient's body. Later Mesmer and his followers began using other verbal and non-verbal suggestions to deepen the trance states. Healing would then be suggested by the doctor and carried out by the client's unconscious mind.
Unfortunately due to the times, Mesmer was discredited as a fraud. Benjamin Franklin was one of several who investigated Mesmer's healing ability. Franklin summed up the opinion of the day: " This fellow Mesmer is not flowing anything from his hands that I can see. Therefore, mesmerism must be a fraud." Mesmerism is another name for hypnotism, but it would take the passage of two more centuries before the notion of energy work, hands-on-healing, and hypnotism would be recognized (in 1958 the AMA finally recognized hypnotism as a healing method). Even though Mesmer was discredited, his work was not lost on other revolutionary healers who followed.
Most of the misconceptions, apprehensions and fears about Hypnosis in Mesmer's day are those that are here even today involve the use of trance, which is the basis for all hypnotism. Trance is said to be characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination.
We frequently enter into trance in our normal everyday lives. Trance is a normal, wonderfully relaxed and useful state of mind. Watching TV is a good example. Have you ever gotten so involved in the drama enacted on TV that you never heard the person next to you speaking? Or perhaps on your way to work by car, did you consciously remember every turn, stop, go, direction change that you made? Most of us sort of go on 'auto-pilot' and get to work fine but rarely remember all the details getting there.
When you go into daydreaming, you are in trance. When you are deeply involved in reading a book or are in front of the PC, time seems to distort and goes by without you noticing it. You are fully conscious, but you tune out everything else, focusing intently on one thing, excluding everything else.
The only difference between this commonly occurring trance and a hypnotic trance is that you are in a different state of rapport : the common with your own self, and the hypnotic with that of the hypnotist. Your Unconscious mind opens itself to receiving information directly and uncritically from the Hypnotist. You not only fully understand while remember everything but will follow appropriate directions (as long as they don't conflict with your basic morality and go along with what the Unconscious mind really wants to do). You then have the potential for all manner of wonderful changes of personality, willpower and healing at your command - once you tap into the power of the unconscious mind!
My first memory of Hypnosis was in performing at High School parties. I was always fascinated with stage magic tricks and loved demonstrating at parties. Most of the kids though were more intrigued when I did hypnosis. I found out later what I was doing was called 'Stage Hypnosis', as I would place several people in a trance and direct them to act out in strange ways. It was all very harmless as the suggestions were to make a person eating a carrot think it was a slice of hot pizza, or plant a post-hypnotic suggestion in their mind that later that night they would do strange actions, such as taking off one shoe.
Somehow I just seemed to know how to hypnotize, as well as enforce safety measures in the sessions, with no formal training for either of these techniques. After college, I began working with a group of people doing another form of hypnosis, called "pathworking." This group preferred to use this form of hypnotic trance to recapture past lives. Through this training and subsequent years of experimenting on my own, I began formal study a few years ago with a transpersonal style but received final training at the American Institute of Hypnotherapy.
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Your First Hypnosis Session
Your initial Hypnosis session will begin with an exploration of the myths and facts about Hypnosis. You will be guided to explore the way your mind works and begin to unravel its complexities, as Hypnosis will be demonstrated to you in practical examples.
For most of the beginning sessions, you will be guided into trying out various suggestions. Each one will guide you into a deeply relaxed state of mind. What follows depends on the type of session you have selected. I have several different types to offer, for someone new to Hypnosis or for those who have experienced it before.
For most types of sessions, I recommend the first session be no less than two hours. However, an introduction to Hypnosis in general is found in the Hypnos sessions. Your initial Hypnos session may be 90 minutes in length and is specially discounted.
If perhaps you want to go further into Hypnosis for stress release and relation techniques, I would suggest the Relaxation Awareness session. Or perhaps you are seeking to learn Hypnosis for yourself and will benefit from regular Self-Hypnotic sessions. Another offering, if you are seeking to look more deeply within your being, might be an Exploration of Past Lives.
All sessions are held in a private studio; either in my massage place or at a local Chiropractor's office. Both locations are on Gough St, near Van Ness & Market, in downtown San Francisco. The room is always heated (as well as the massage table).
While being hypnotized, you will be sitting is a chair. Some people prefer using the massage table, as it allows them to lay down and get fully relaxed. You are always fully clothed (as this is not a massage) and covered with a sheet or blanket. The massage table is good for some types of sessions, however all sessions begin with the client sitting on a chair. Water is available upon request.
One consideration for this type of work is that since I am a man, it is recommended that I only work with a client of my own gender. However, whether you are a man or a woman, if you feel you might prefer someone else in the room, you may wish to bring a companion with you. An alternative might be to bring a recording device with you (so that all session details are recorded). I will be happy to discuss this matter with you.
Finally, it is suggested from the American Board of Hypnotherapy, that all clients complete an Intake form before the initial session begins. You can fill out the form online or when you arrive for your session.
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Introductory Session: Hypnos
"Hypnos" is Greek for 'sleep' and is the origin for the term Hypnosis. In its early days, people believed that when they were hypnotized, they were put asleep. That is far from the truth. One definition of Hypnosis is that it "is the use of suggestion, to induce a heightened state of suggestibility" (David Elman).
From early times, there have been people who have the ability to use their awareness of minds and the way they function to facilitate the healing of others.
The Greeks, Egyptians, Persians and Hindu used hypnosis thousands of years ago for therapeutic and religious purposes. There were healing places called sleep temples in ancient Greece and Egypt where patients were helped to relax by curative suggestions during their sleep.
Modern hypnosis began in the 17th Century with Frederick Mesmer, who introduced a variation of hypnosis using gestures and energy that emanated from his hands. This was the beginning of energy healing work as well as one of the methods I will be working with during a Hypnos session.
The concept for Hypnos was begun with my usual practice of giving Reiki, other energy healings as well as other types of massage and acupressure during the massage. Each massage is a variation on previous massages and in the process of experimenting with new elements, creates a deeper sense of healing within the massage structure.
Unlike my usual massage/bodywork session, the client remains fully clothed, as Hypnos is Hypnosis. At the end of the session, the client has the option of laying (face up) on a heated massage table. A blanket or sheet will be placed over their body to deepen the experience. The client will then be guided back into a relaxing hypnotic state and guided to being completely relaxed.
A Hypnos session is meant to be an introduction to Hypnosis, focusing mainly on relaxation of mind and body. Your first session with me will begin by exploring the myths and facts of Hypnosis. Once the misconceptions are revealed, Hypnosis can then begin to heal.
As Hypnos is meant to be a special introduction to Hypnosis, I am offering a special 90 minutes for $80 - just mention this website when you make your appointment. You of course have the option to try Hypnos for longer than 90 minutes, however it is recommended that your initial session begin with at least 90 minutes.
Other Hypnosis Sessions
Relaxation Awareness
Exploring Past Lives
Self-Hypnosis
Weight Control
Smoking Cessation
Hypnosis Session: Relaxation Awareness
A good introduction to my style of Hypnosis is the Relaxation Awareness sessions. These sessions are for those with no prior hypnosis or for those who have been previously hypnotized.
This is a focused type of hypnotic work. Its purpose is two-fold. First, to assist in deeply relaxing the client during the session, as well as to offer suggestions for maintaining a sense of calm in the midst of stress. Second, to provide a trigger-cue to release tension after the session is over. A trigger-cue is sometimes referred to as a 'post-hypnotic' suggestion ("suggestions made during the hypnotic state to be carried out after awakening" -American Board of Hypnotherapy). For these introductory sessions, the post-hypnotic suggestion will instruct the client to enter a deeply relaxed state of being just by triggering a simple cue (like a finger or hand motion), whenever relaxation is needed.
While it is recommended that your initial session be at least 2 hours, subsequent sessions may be 60 or 90 minutes in length. A special two session discount is available, with the initial two hour session for the first session and a 90 minute appointment for the second session.
Hypnosis Session: Exploring Past Lives
Due to the nature of this type of session, it is strongly recommended that there has been some type of prior hypnotic work (either with myself or with another hypnotist). Please contact me if you have questions.
This is a specific type of hypnotic work utilizing various types of imagery to allow the client to slip back in time, to before they were born, reliving their past lifetimes. There are many theories about the concept of reincarnation. My earliest personal recollections as well as training I received over the years, teaches the belief that after this life we go to a special place to await our next birth, in another body, in another time and place.
Some hypnotists believe in the existence of past lives while others only see it as a concept to understand a client's current problems. In some forms of hypnotherapy, the attitude is that these regression sessions contain information about personality development or reveal the origin to phobias or other mental difficulties that are occurring in the present day. These hypnotists then would use past life sessions only to gain information, discarding the lifetime information as being only fictional background chatter.
This type of past life regression is not the primary goal of my sessions.
My beliefs affirm the existence of previous lifetimes. In turn, my past life sessions will be for the client to view or (at times) even re-live some of their previous lives as actual events. In the course of these past life explorations, one may begin to notice a pattern with current-day difficulties. In Hypnosis, noticing patterns is key to resolving life's difficulties.
It is strongly suggested that your initial session be at least 2 hours, with subsequent sessions of at least 90 minutes in length. A special two session discount is available, with the initial two hour session for the first session and a 90 minute appointment for the second session.
Hypnosis Session: Self-Hypnosis
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. So while it is true that in a session, it is the Hypnotist who is guiding you, behind it all, in our sessions, it you who are doing hypnosis to yourself. The Self-Hypnosis sessions are a specially focused type of Hypnotism in which you will be taught methods to deal with stress and anxiety. In the process you might also become a bit closer to knowing yourself. All that is required is the willingness to put in a little effort to learn these new skills.
Self-Hypnosis is a skill. It is a great way to do anything that will depend on your own efforts. Some things that you might change within yourself are:
- Improve friendships and relations with spouse and others
- Sleep better
- Gain control over dreams
- Lose weight and keep it off
- Develop a better attitude; controlling doldrums, snits, and other 'bad' moods
- Control jealousy
- Improve memory and concentration
- Raise academic performance and grades
- Overcome shyness, stage fright
- Be more creativeIn our sessions, you will learn how the utilize these self-hypnotic techniques to use on your own. It is recommended to do at least 20 minutes a day of self-hypnosis when you have a specific task in mind to work on. You don't have to practice every day, but it is probably best if you do so for optimal results. Also, be sure to take notes of your actions, recording date and suggestions used. Keep in mind that any process that is good enough to help you achieve your goal is good enough to stick with.
Some clients prefer the option of creating a pre-recorded audio tape for their own personal use. You might like to record your own self-hypnosis tape. Often, using your own voice with your own suggestions can assist a person much better than using pre-recorded generic versions. Bring your ideas to session one and in session two, we will create a tape for you to use at home.
Of course you may also enjoy coming back for further sessions to enhance your progress.
While it is recommended that your initial session be at least 2 hours, subsequent sessions may be 60 or 90 minutes in length.
Hypnotic Session: Weight Control
Details Forthcoming
Hypnotic Session: Smoking Cessation
Details Forthcoming
Hypnosis Costs
$ 100/90
Minutes
$
140/Two Hours
Multiple, group discounts, and Gift Certificates available - please ask.
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Questions? Contact Derek
Thank you . . .
I look forward to helping you
relax and heal!
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