I provided my first, practice hypnosis session for my certification today, and can say that I have only one thing to be concerned about...Loving it too much!

I purposely chose someone who believes she cannot be hypnotized and worked with all of her objections with deep respect. The second I went off script and allowed myself to relax into it, she went down in about 30 seconds. It was amazing.

We talked entirely too long about it afterward. If I'd been charging for it, I would have eaten up my profit in analysis and capturing the various moments. It was great.

Yesterday, I delivered the keynote I have been working on for months and it went really well. I adapted to the news from the night before and the audience really seemed to appreciate it. I had the pleasure of finding out that Brene Brown, who went on right before me, did the same thing.

Can I just say, I had a skype-based hypnosis session with someone from a different program 3.5 weeks ago. Since then, I've lost 10lbs and had zero stage fright before or during my speech.

The conference center put dessert on the table before serving the main meal...very efficient...so I ended up looking at that cheesecake for about an hour and a half and never even considered it. Not resisting, just not caring. That would NEVER have happened before.

Yay!

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That is fabulous, beekaytee! I'm apparently very hypnosis resistant! But your enthusiasm is making me consider trying again.

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I've never been successfully hypnotized by a human, but I can be hypnotized in nothing flat by the glowing box.

bee, all of that is wonderful, and I'm glad things are going so well for you!

Steph, I have no helpful info re gallbladders, since mine seems to love fatty foods, as does the rest of me. Best outcome ~ma with yours!

ffs, just get a robot body and be done with it, yo

I have been fighting off the Black Dog of Depression for a couple months. Not really surprising, all things considered, I guess. BUT! I found a good doctor, at least so far she seems to be a good doctor. She upped my ADs, which is helping, and she actually listened to me. (I told her I don't want to take a statin ever again. She gave me *professional* side-eye. We agreed to argue about statins later.)

Also, I've lost 17 pounds since the end of April, by basically not eating much.

My ankle remains stubbornly stiff and swollen. I'm told it could take a year before it gets back to normal. Ugh. I don't have an effective painkiller that doesn't also put me to sleep, so that's unfortunate.

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That is fabulous, beekaytee! I'm apparently very hypnosis resistant! But your enthusiasm is making me consider trying again.

Laura, I'd be happy to do a facetime/skype session, if that would be fun for you. It would be good practice for me and no obligation, beyond time, for you.

Zen makes a good point. We've all experienced hypnosis in one form or another. If you've ever been on a long road trip, or a common commute and 'woken up' to find that you've traveled farther than you realized, you have experienced a hypnotic state. In that state, you don't feel weird or different, but you CAN feel tremendously relaxed...and what could be bad about that?

The technical definition is "The bypass of the Critical Factor of the conscious mind, combined with the establishment of acceptable, selective thinking." (I'm being tested...gotta memorize) The Critical Factor is the analysis portion of your conscious mind.

We work really, really hard to maintain our defenses around self image. If you've thought all you can think about a habit you want to change, hypnosis can really help. It diverts your attention away from those old and painful patterns.

All that means is relaxing the mind enough to unclench certain expectations, thereby making it possible to adopt new thought patterns.

For example, for the last few years, I've been practically pathological around crap food. Sugar and fried foods, specifically. Racing out the door to get to the CVS by 10pm to snag a Heath Bar, Red Vines (a lifelong favorite), chips, etc.

At this point, I'm not thinking any creepy stuff like sugar is of the devil, or imagining sweets as [fill in the blank] disgusting thing (aversion therapy never sticks). I just simply don't care about it. My relaxation around the topic is unprecedented.

The next two topics I'm working on for myself are procrastination and installing an interest in exercise. The first one I can easily imagine changing, the second one not-so-much. It doesn't matter! I don't need to have a desire to exercise, all I need is a willingness to let the relaxation and new suggestions work.

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That sounds great, bee. I'll email you to discuss further.

Zen, yay for a good doctor!! Are you still doing PT for the ankle? I have heard that it takes a really long time too. I am generally in the "if what you are doing isn't working, try something else" camp.

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I'm done with PT, but I might go back for more. I had unrealistic expectations! I thought I was going to get that cast off and go jogging or something, and, no.

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Yeah, ankles are super complicated. Getting more PT would probably help keep you on track.

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"if what you are doing isn't working, try something else"

I am so with this!

I thought I was going to get that cast off and go jogging or something, and, no.

Boo. Zen, is it painful and/or weak? I'm wishing speedy strength.

That sounds great, bee. I'll email you to discuss further.

Yay!!

I'll be posting a calendar of available times soon. I'm psyched to practice for the next two weeks. Then, there will be a big launch.

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I'd be interested in learning more. My mom used hypnosis to quit smoking. If I remember right, she had one session and quit cold turkey.

Puppy love is amazing. Except Crowley likes to go for the tackle snuggle, even when I'm working. Sweet doggy, please stay off my laptop. Let's hope the love continues after the 16th and his snip snip appointment.

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My mom used hypnosis to quit smoking. If I remember right, she had one session and quit cold turkey.

::ears perk up::

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