Why didn’t you become a lawyer? Well I studied law for 4 years. The first year was part time whilst I worked in an office, and the last 3 years were full time. When I finished my degree, I realised that to get a job in law required even more study. I’d had enough of studying law at that point. A big part of studying law was to empower myself.
What did you do? I started working with my dad, gardening at various places. I liked it when the weather was fine, but I knew it was not my calling! I also joined my first band, which was called ‘Scenario’. We wrote and performed all our own songs. I played lead and rhythm guitar, and did a bit of backing singing.
What happened next? I was gardening at a lady’s house who ran a rehabilitation unit for people suffering from mental health problems. She asked if I would like a job, and I though “Why not?” It was something very different to what I had ever done before. I really enjoyed the job, and I wanted to learn more. I devoured many books on mental health and self help. I wanted to really understand and be more able to help these people. I often visited the library and second hand book shops to buy these types of books. One day I came across an old battered book on hypnosis. I think it was called the “Uses And Abuses Of Hypnosis”. I read this book several times and became very interested in hypnosis.
So where did you get your formal training from? Well I scoured the internet for more information about various training courses. I eventually decided to learn at the London College Of Clinical Hypnotherapy. It was probably down to it being the most expensive course. I reasoned that it must be the best if it was the most expensive!
When did you start you own practice? I did some free sessions for people whilst I was learning. Almost as soon as I finished my course I started my own practice. I hooked up with a friend of mine who had a Reiki practice. She got me quite a few clients and I was underway! I decided the easiest and most cost effective way of starting was to become a ‘mobile hypnotist’. I would travel to their homes to treat them. I could offer a convenient service at a good price, since I did not need to pass on any costs for hiring or buying premises. Word of mouth spread, and my practice grew quite quickly.
What made you decide to start practicing online? I always prided myself on giving customers a good deal, so I made a few hypnosis recordings that I would give away in order to enhance the sessions that I gave them. The quality of these recordings started getting better and better the more I did them. I was also developing my keyboard playing skills for a new band that I joined around this time, called Ignition. I thought I would try and reach a wider audience of people I could treat, and utilise my skills as a hypnotherapist and a musician simultaneously. It gave me great joy creating all these therapeutic audio sessions, and it still gives me as much joy today.
What about the future? I’m going to continue to build HypnoBusters up. I want it to be the best and most respected hypnosis downloads site in the world. For this I don’t mean contain the most individual sessions, or even to make the most money. I want it to have a reputation for providing audio sessions that actually work. I also want it to have a reputation for keeping its morals. There are limits as to what can and should be treated online. For example I see some sites that offer audios for things like sexual abuse. For a start even a very experienced hypnotherapist should have specialist training to deal with such heavy issues, and they should certainly not do it online. Who is going to provide comfort to their clients should they become traumatised with these terrible memories? There are also some sites that offer treatments for things like cancer. There is absolutely no proof whatsoever that cancer can be treated by hypnotherapy. I recently heard a story about a young lady who stopped her chemotherapy treatment because she was so convinced that her hypnotherapy sessions will cure her. As far as I’m concerned, those hypnnotherapists are taking advantage of people, and probably have not thought about the possible consequences of what they are doing.
What else in the future? I am thinking of perhaps starting a guided meditation site, with audios, articles, and maybe videos on meditation. This is very embryonic in my thoughts right now as I still have a lot of work to do on HypnoBusters. I also have ambitions to write books in the future, so maybe I will write some on hypnosis, meditation, or more specific self help titles.
Thank you very much Jon. Any final words? If you want to grow and improve, then you must be prepared for change. Change can unsettle us and make us feel uncomfortable. However it is necessary in order to facilitate growth. Do we really want to be doing the same things day in day out for the rest of our lives? Just keep reminding yourself every now and then that ‘Change is good’ and that it is well worth the temporary feelings of discomfort that you might experience along the way.
Abreaction – An involuntary release of emotion, often related to a negative experience in the client’s past, which releases pent-up feelings and can provide relief from the earlier trauma.
Affect Bridge – A technique hypnotherapists use to access a previous instance of a patient’s problem by accentuating the disturbing feelings in the present. This allows their current adult resources to resolve the source of the problem.
Age Progression – Also known as FUTURE PACING, involves suggesting the client imagines themselves in the future.
Age Regression – The hypnotherapist suggests the subject imagines a particular time or event of their past, regressing them to an earlier age.
Alpha Waves – This is the slow brainwave activity of hypnosis. It is also known as hypnoidal. Alpha is slower (deeper) than Beta, the awake state, and faster than Theta, which is a deeper hypnotic state. It occurs at 7-14 waves per second.
Analgesia – Removal of all perception of pain.
Anchor – A specific stimulus such as a word, image or touch that through association evokes a particular mental, emotional, or physiological state.
Amnesia – Forgetting events. Some people who have a talent for achieving deep states of trance may have spontaneous amnesia for the session. A hypnotherapist can give a post-hypnotic suggestion to forget what has been discussed during the hypnotherapy.
Anaesthesia – Removal of feeling or creating numbness in a specific area.
Association – A process by which a subject comes to respond in a desired manner to a previously neutral stimulus. This is achieved by repeatedly presenting it along with a stimulus that elicits the desired response. This is also known as Pavlovian conditioning. Pavlov fed dogs at the sound of a bell. The dogs soon began salivating at the sound of the bell.
Auto Dual – When a hypnotherapist gives suggestions in the first person, and the client repeats those suggestions, either out loud or internally.
Auto Hypnosis – Hypnotising yourself. More commonly known as SELF-HYPNOSIS.
Auto Suggestion – Giving suggestions to yourself. This is also known as SELF-TALK. Although it does not involve a formal trance, these messages are absorbed by the unconscious mind. Always aim to give yourself positive self talk, and encourage you clients to do the same, for this reason.
Aversion Therapy – Giving your client suggestions that focus on negative aspects of a habit. E.g. Feeling sick when smoking, or associating a bad taste when nail biting.
Auto Dual Induction – An induction usually given to ‘Intellectual Suggestibles’, where the patient believes they are hypnotizing themselves. While feeling their own pulse, the patient repeats what the hypnotherapist is saying.
Beta – Normal waking brain wave activity.
Body Syndrome – A physical manifestation of an emotional trauma. An unreleased, repressed emotion can be expressed in physical discomfort.
Cataleptic – A state in which the subject appears unconscious yet their muscles become rigid, and remain in whatever position they are placed. Hypnotists sometimes use this as a proof to a client that she is in hypnosis.
Clinical Hypnotherapy – the therapeutic use of hypnosis.
Compound Suggestions – A technique used for increasing the effectiveness of a suggestion through repetition or looping. E.g. “Your right foot is relaxed and as your right foot relaxes your calf is relaxed and as your foot and calf relaxes your leg muscles relax…”
Conscious – The logical, reasoning, decision making part of the mind. The conscious state is that which we use in our normal waking state. This part makes up less than 5% of total mind.
Critical Factor – The divider and regulator between the conscious and unconscious minds. This works as a filter taking information from the conscious, deciding what information should be accepted and stored in the unconscious, and what should be forgotten and discarded. This is thought to take place during sleep, and may be the reason why we ‘sleep on’ a particular problem, and feel better about it in the morning.
Deepener – A technique used to deepen the level of hypnotic trance. There are many techniques, such as going down stair cases, deep breathing etc.
Delta – The slowest and deepest brain wave activity. This happens during sleep, and the deepest levels of hypnosis.
Direct Suggestion – Giving a direct suggestion to do something, as opposed to a covert suggestion.
Dissociation – A ‘splitting off’ of the self so as to protect the mind from something undesirable. A hypnotised client can then distance himself from an otherwise disturbing event. This is commonly achieved by suggesting that the client can see themselves in the third person – often on a TV or cinema screen.
Double Bind – When a subject is given two alternative suggestions within a sentence, they will more likely respond to the stronger suggestion.
Ego – The part of you that decides how you will react to your environment and situations within your environment.
Ego Boost – A hypnosis session that aims to give general feelings of calmness and well being. Ideal first session for most therapies.
Ericksonian Hypnosis – A branch of hypnosis named after Milton Erickson.
Esdaile State – This is thought to be the deepest state of hypnosis currently known. It was named after James Esdaile. The state is said to be extremely peaceful and deeply relaxing.
Eye Accessing Cues – Studying the movements of the eyes which indicate visual, auditory or kinesthetic thinking when moving in certain directions.
Eye Fixation – An induction which involves staring at something, such as your hand or a swinging watch.
Forensic Hypnosis – Legal applications of hypnosis. Although hypnosis cannot be used for testimony, it is sometimes used by police to gather evidence by improving the recall of witnesses.
Fractionation – Bringing a client in and out of hypnosis during the session either as an induction or to deepen the level of hypnosis. This is often used with clients that are a little nervous of the hypnotic process.
Gestalt Therapy – Therapy involving role play.
Glove Anaesthesia – A technique whereby the hypnotherapist numbs the hand by giving suggestions that it feels numb like wearing a leather glove when touched. This numbness can then be passed on to another area of the body.
Hartland’s Ego Strengthening Script – The first ego boosting script which, although still useful, is generally thought to be out dated.
Hypnoanalysis – Using hypnosis to get to the root of an issue.
Hypnobirthing – The use of hypnotherapy to aid in a painless, yet drug free or drug reduced birth.
Hypnogogic – The state where a person is going into a hypnotic trance.
Hypnoidal – A light trance state.
Hypnopompic – The state where a person is leaving a hypnotic trance.
Hypnosis – The act of introducing a person into a hypnotic trance. Hypnosis is like daydreaming – a form of relaxed concentration. Definitions of hypnosis vary, and there is no single accepted definition.
Hypnosis Download – Where a pre made hypnosis session can be instantly downloaded from a computer, usually for the purposes of therapy.
Hypnotherapist – One who performs hypnosis for therapy; a specialist in hypnotherapy.
Hypnotherapy – Hypnotising someone and then using psychotherapeutic techniques for the goal of positive change.
Hypnotic Trance – A state of (usually) relaxed, yet focused awareness.
Hypnotic Tunnel – Using the same words, phrases and speech patterns as your client.
Hypnotisability – A person’s individual susceptibility to hypnosis.
Hypnotism – An earlier word for “hypnosis.”
Ideo Motor Response (IMR) – Involuntary unconscious physical movement. This is commonly used to communicate with the unconscious mind e.g. “Raise the left index finger for yes, raise the right index finger for no.”
Indirect Suggestion – Using permissive suggestions such as “Whenever you wish, you may allow your eyes to close”.
Induction – The process of guiding someone into hypnosis.
Initial Sensitizing Event (ISE) – The original memory responsible for causing the symptoms in which the client is suffering from.
In Vitro – In reality.
In Vivo – In the mind.
Law Of Compound Suggestions – It uses the idea that a first suggestion is weak; a second suggestion strengthens the first; and a third suggestion strengthens the second, which in turn strengthens the first, and so on.
Minds Eye Deepener – A deepener which suggests that your mind also has an eye which can close, causing a deep state of relaxed concentration.
Mirroring – A hypnotherapist might align himself in a similar position or posture as the subject order to establish rapport.
Modelling – Studying and imitating the behavior of others who excel in order to try and replicate their success. This provides the basis for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).
Negative Hallucination – When a hypnotised person cannot see what is really there.
Neuro Pathways – These pathways within our mind are created with every thought and new memory we have.
Pacing – Mirroring someone’s posture, behavior, and/or language in order to help build rapport.
Parts Therapy – A therapy in which specific egos or personalities within the unconscious are addressed and worked with.
Past-life Regression – Taking one through the memories and events of their possible past-lives. It is open to debate as to whether these are actually past lives or created metaphorically in the mind. What is known is that these past-lives have proven useful in therapy for many clients of hypnotherapy.
Patter – Refers to the form of speech that the hypnotherapist will use whilst communicating with the subject during a hypnotic trance.
Positive Hallucination – When a hypnotised person sees what is not really there.
Post Hypnotic Suggestion – A suggestion made while a person is in hypnosis to be acted upon after the session. This may include stopping smoking, exercising more etc.
Pre-Induction – The interview which takes place before the actual trance work. This time is usually spent gaining rapport and easing any concerns the patient might have.
Progressive Relaxation – A technique used to progressively relax the entire body by focusing on isolated areas, and then relaxing them.
Rapid Reactional Hypnosis – When a person is taken in and out of a hypnotic trance to accomplish a much deeper state of hypnosis.
Rapport – Refers to the communication between the hypnotist and the subject before trance work has commenced. A good sense of rapport between the client and the hypnotherapist is essential for a successful hypnosis session, since the client may otherwise resist the therapy.
Reframing – This is often used during age regression or parts therapy, when a past event is altered to release emotional trauma.
Resistance – A clinical hypnotherapist cannot force a subject into a hypnotic state, and so a patient is said to be in a state of resistance if they block the hypnotherapists suggestions.
Script – A pre-written script of what a hypnotherapist will say during trance work. These are usually adapted to take into account the individuality of the client, and their particular goals.
Secondary Gain – Where a seemingly negative or problematic behavior actually carries out some positive function. For example putting on weight may help a person who has commitment issues and does not want to attract a mate.
Self Hypnosis – Where you guide yourself through a hypnotic trance without the aid of a hypnotherapist.
Somnambulism – A deep state of trance.
Stage Hypnotist – A hypnotist who performs hypnosis for the purpose of entertainment.
Staircase Deepener – A hypnotherapist deepens a trance by guiding the subject down a staircase, suggesting that they get deeper relaxed with each step down.
Unconscious – The part of the mind that holds our beliefs, morals, habits, addictions, memories, etc. The unconscious makes up over 95% of the total mind, making it far superior to the conscious mind.
Symptom Producing Event – The event that triggered the symptoms the client is currently suffering from.
Symptom Substitution – Swapping or replacing one symptom for another.
Systematic Desensitisation – The use of imagery in a systematic way to help desensitise someone from an anxiety or phobia by gradually taking them through greater anxiety provoking situations.
Time Distortion – A characteristic effect of being in hypnosis. Time can be subjectively experienced as longer or shorter than usual. Often a subject comments that a session felt shorter than it actually was.
Under – How lay people often describe hypnosis. This should be discouraged as it implies that the hypnotherapist has complete control over the subject.
Yes Set – Asking several questions where you know the answer will be ‘yes’, in order to help convince the subject to agree to a suggestion by getting him in a ‘yes’ mode of thinking.
I hope you found my glossary of hypnosis terms helpful. If you would like to learn MUCH more about hypnotherapy, I have created a script book with over 100 scripts, PLUS a bonus free gift…
Want to know how to use hypnosis scripts? Read on…
Hypnosis scripts are a written transcription of what a hypnotherapist says during therapy. Hypnosis scripts detail everything that needs to be said, just like a script for a play.
Hypnosis scripts are useful for showing hypnotherapists how to treat more ailments and deal with more problems. A hypnosis script also gives a therapist a valuable insight into how other therapists deal with issues.
Scripts can also be used by people who are keen on self hypnosis. Although they can’t read out the script at the same time as hypnotising themselves (because their eyes are usually closed), they can gain valuable insight into what strategies to use for certain therapies.
Different people use hypnosis scripts in different ways. Some will read them verbatim. Some will follow them but change them to suit the patient and their own style of delivery. Others will simply use them to get a general gist of how to treat a certain problem but use their own words.
There is no right or wrong. A well written hypnosis script should be able to cater for most patients and most therapists.
Hypnosis scripts should normally be read in a slow, calm, and clear way. The subconscious mind is not great at processing words, so a slow pace is good. Actors like Morgan Freeman often talk with a slow hypnotic voice that can mesmerise the audience. If you listen to his narration in movies such as ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, this will give you an idea of the pace and feeling they need to be read at. You can also gain more of an understanding by listening to other therapists hypnosis audio sessions.
A hypnosis script should be read with confidence and conviction. They must be read with some passion. If they are read with disinterest, the subject will pick up on this, and the therapy will not work.
You must believe in the script you are reading. If the subjects gets a hint that you do not believe it will work, then they are unlikely to believe in the therapy. If you believe in the script, then so will the patient, and the therapy will work.
Clinical hypnosis scripts are useful for the beginning hypnotherapist who wants to learn how to treat more problems. They are also useful for experienced therapists to expand their ‘therapeutic tool bag‘. The best hypnotherapists are always on the look out to expand their knowledge base. A good hypnosis script book can be a very valuable asset to most hypnotherapists.
Now you know how to use hypnosis scripts, this is one place you can find them…
In order to lose weight, it’s good to have as much knowledge as possible about weight loss.
Here’s some weight loss facts to help you better understand how to lose weight…
64% of the United States adult population is considered overweight. This percentage has increased over the last four decades. Excess weight has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults being overweight. Increases have been observed across all age groups.
Hypnosis can be used to treat all the above problems. This has the knock on effect of permanent weight loss.
Weight loss can decrease your likelihood of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoarthritis, and certain types of cancer.
Weight loss occurs when you are in a state of negative energy balance. When your body is spending more energy in work and heat than it’s gaining from food. It then uses stored reserves of fat or muscle.
Although weight loss may involve loss of fat, muscle or fluid, weight loss for the purposes of maintaining health should aim to lose fat while conserving muscle and fluid.
Being overweight has been identified as a cause of cancer, and is projected to overtake smoking as the primary cause in developed countries, as cases of cancer linked to smoking dwindle.
Psychological well-being is also at risk in overweight people. Discrimination is common socially and legally. This may affect their ability to find a partner or obtain employment.
Despite the widespread availability of nutritional information, it is evident that overeating remains a substantial problem. From 1971-2000, obesity rates in the United States increased from 14.5% to 30.9%. During the same time period, an increase occurred in the average amount of calories consumed.
For women, the average increase was 335 calories per day (1542 calories in 1971 to 1877 calories in 2004). For men the average increase was 168 calories per day (2450 calories in 1971 and 2618 calories in 2004). Most of these extra calories came from an increase in carbohydrate consumption rather than an increase in fat.
The primary sources of these extra carbohydrates are sweetened drinks. Thisaccounts for almost 25 percent of daily calories in young adults. Dietary trends have changed with reliance on energy-dense fast-food meals tripling between 1977 and 1995. Calorie intake from fast food quadrupling over this period.
In the early 1980s in the US, regulations were lifted that limited the advertising of sweets and fast food to children. The advertisements of these products directed at children has increased. Bad habits are instilled at a young age, making them harder to shake.
Agricultural policy and techniques in the United States and Europe have led to lower food prices. In the United States, subsidisation of corn, soy, wheat, and rice through the U.S. farm bill has made the main sources of processed food relatively cheap compared to fruits and vegetables.
There is a common misconception that obese people eat little and gain weight due to a low metabolism. There is no scientific support for this idea. What has been found is that obese people under report how much food they actually consume.
A crash diet is where a person wilfully restricts themselves of all nourishment (except water) for more than 12 hours. The desired result is to burn fat for energy with the goal of losing weight quickly. Crash dieting is not the same as flexible intermittent fasting, where dieters fast for 2 days each week and calories are cycled. Generally the weight lost in a crash diet returns when normal eating resumes.
It is healthier and more successful in the long run to make small permanent changes to your lifestyle. It could be cutting sugar in coffee, stopping drinking fizzy drinks or walking to the local shops instead of driving. Hypnosis can help you make these permanent changes which helps permanent weight loss.
When reading facts about weight loss, it is clear that to lose weight, you MUST make some lifestyle changes. By continuing to live the same way, you won’t lose weight. As the saying goes, “Do the same things, and expect the same results”.
UPDATE! We’ve been getting loads of feedback about massive permanent weight loss with our Gastric Band Hypnotherapy Session. Here’s a few examples bellow…
Here’s why hypnosis is great for helping you sleep…
There is little doubt there is a correlation between hypnosis and sleep. Anyone who has been in hypnosis knows how similar it feels to being in the early stages of sleep.
Once you reach adulthood you need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Any less and you feel tired, find it hard to concentrate, struggle to make decisions and increase your risk of depression. More than seven to eight hours of sleep can also cause problems, leaving you lethargic.
There are two main types of sleep, Non-REM and REM.
Non-REM: The brain is quiet and peaceful. Your body repairs itself and hormones are released into the bloodstream, preparing for the day ahead. There are four stages to Non-REM sleep.
1. Pre-sleep – The muscles relax, body temperature drops and the heart beat slows. 2. Light-sleep – Still easily awoken without feelings of confusion. 3. Slow wave sleep – Blood pressure begins to fall. 4. Deep slow wave sleep – Very hard to wake up, will awaken confused and groggy.
REM: Makes up for a fifth of sleep time. During the REM stage of sleep the brain becomes active, body very relaxed and the eyes move around quickly. This is the sleep stage in which dreams become more vivid and easier to remember.
Over the course of a night you switch between Non-REM and REM sleep around five times a night.
How Hypnosis Helps Where Pills Fail
Sleeping pills do little to cure the problem, only mask it. People often report feeling groggy after taking sleeping pills, and they can be highly addictive.
This is not a problem with hypnotherapy. Hypnosis is a natural alternative that results in deep sleep with no side effects or addictions.
The way hypnosis and sleep works is simple. The hypnotherapist helps the patient relax. This allows their conscious mind become quiet, and is the perfect state for the beginning stages of sleep. While the conscious mind is relaxed, the hypnotist then makes suggestions such as, “your eyes feel heavy”, “your mind and body are totally relaxed”. Once this is achieved sleep will follow.
Want a relaxing and peaceful deep sleep? I can program your subconscious mind to help you get to sleep and stay asleep, with my deep sleep hypnosis MP3…
