Haven’t written a blog post for a while, but I was inspired to write one today from a question an audience asked at last week’s workshop “Overcoming your fear using the subconscious mind” organized by YPO Lagos chapter.

If a client tells me they have had hypnosis before, I always ask “do you think you were in the state of hypnosis?” and some of them will say “I don’t know”. There are 2 possibilities

1) they were indeed in the state of hypnosis but since hypnosis is in fact such an everyday occurring phenomenon,it’s difficult for them to tell the difference. That’s why I always do some small tests so clients also realize there’s indeed something that is out of ordinary, so that they themselves know that they are in the state of hypnosis.

2) they were not in the state of hypnosis. Everyone responds to hypnosis differently, but did you know that they also respond to different hypnotherapists differently? If you make a round of all the hypnotherapists in your town and challenge them to lock your hands, you will see very few, likely none, will have the confidence to take up your challenge and among those who do some will be able to lock your hands and some won’t. That’s why I do not work with everyone that comes to me, I choose to only work with those that responds well with me.

So how do you choose a hypnotherapist? comes the next question. I think it’s more similar to choosing an artist than a surgeon. When you choose a surgeon, you probably want someone who has done it many times before – the nature of the procedures requires precision and practice. But an artist is a completely different story – inspiration, intuition, gift and perception are perhaps as important if not more so than their techniques. An artist also has to fit your style.

If you are looking for a hypnotherapist, please take time to get to know them first. I am sure if you take your time, you will find the therapist that’s uniquely right for you.

It’s remarkable just how many celebrities use hypnosis—how many CEOs and heads of production companies. It’s sort of a secret weapon for a lot of very successful, very wealthy people.

says Dr. Steve G. Jones in this Forbes article: Using hypnosis to be better at business.  In fact, not only in the business world, first rate politicians also routinely employ the techniques of hypnosis. This Forbes article: Donald Trump, political mass hypnotist? outlines how Donald Trump uses hypnosis to influence.

Dilbert creator Scott Adams (who is a also a trained hypnotherapist) describes the state of hypnosis as acquiring a power.

The subject has all of his regular faculties operating plus he gains some more, if he has no objection to those new powers. For example, a subject under hypnosis would get a little extra power in one or more of these areas:

1. Extra relaxation
2. Extra imagination
3. Extra focus

I see hypnosis as an extremely powerful tool in creating the success mindset – unlocking your beliefs in yourself, connect with your own confidence and competence. Most of the people think they have to succeed in order to feel successful. But they got it backwards. You have to feel successful first, you have to have the success mindset first before your can create the success you want in life.

Hypnosis and self-hypnosis are also very powerful in finding creative ideas and solutions. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) once said,“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”. To break free from the way he thought, he used self-hypnosis to explore his creativity. Einstein was known to have hypnosis sessions every afternoon.  According to his writings, his famous “E=mc2″ revelation came during one of these sessions.

Adding NLP techniques, entrepreneurs and executives can further increase their influence and persuasion power. Entrepreneurs have to sell their ideas to investors and employees, executives have to sell their ideas to their bosses and colleagues. NLP helps you build connection and rapport so your messages can get across and get accepted by others more easily.

If you are serious about becoming successful, then hypnosis and NLP are two powerful tools that you have to have. It makes the journey easier, more enjoyable and possible.

Someone asked me recently if hypnosis can be used to help him learn French because he feels he has hit a plateau. Yes it can!  The state of hypnosis is a state of high mental alertness (contrary to popular belief). Hypnotic states are associated with increased theta wave activity*. See this Forb’s article on theta wave and foreign language learning. The article talks about Researchers from two Swiss universities found that they could enhance the learning of words from a foreign language by exposing people to the words during non-rapid eye movement sleep (NonREM sleep) – the deep, dreamless sleep period that most of us experience during the first few hours of the night. They found that learning the foreign words overlapped with the appearance of theta brain waves, an intriguing result since theta is the brain wave state often associated with heightened learning while awake.

The best way to use hypnosis to learn a new language is probably through self-hypnosis.  If you would like to find out more about self hypnosis, just drop me a line.

*Sabourin, M. E., Cutcomb, S. D., Crawford, H. J., & Pribram, K. (1990). EEG correlates of hypnotic susceptibility and hypnotic trance: Spectral analysis and coherence. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 10(2), 125-142.

Many people think hypnosis lack scientific evidence. Some of them even perceive hypnotherapists as charlatans.  But on the other hand, we also hear stories of dramatic success with hypnosis. So does hypnosis really work?  Is there really something there that goes beyond the placebo effect?

Stanford’s Dr. David Spiegel is in the forefront of research into hypnosis.  Dr. Spiegle is the Director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences as well as the Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford.

Dr. Spiegle spoke on new research at the Integrative Medicine Research Lecture Series presented by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).  He said “Hypnosis can be an effective method for managing pain, and treating anxiety and stress-related disorders. Past studies have shown that people hypnotized before operative care have a shorter procedure time and a significant reduction in intraprocedural complications, such as hypoxemia and vomiting.” In the talk, he also gave examples of recent research that shows that hypnosis can relieve Parkinson’s tremors, help people quit smoking and help moderate gastric acid production.

Dr. Spiegel commented in this New York Times article “[hypnosis] is an effective and inexpensive way to manage medical care… People think hypnosis is about giving up control. But it’s actually giving control back to the patients.”

So yes, hypnosis really works. Here are more hypnosis related articles on Stanford University School of Medicine’s blog.

Have you thought about your New Year’s resolution yet? Are you curious what other people are aiming for in the new year? I came across on statisticsbrain.com the most popular New Year’s resolution statistics. Here are the top 10 things people want to achieve:

1. Lose Weight
2. Getting Organized
3. Spend Less, Save More
4. Enjoy Life to the Fullest
5. Staying Fit and Healthy
6. Learn Something Exciting
7. Quit Smoking
8. Help Others in Their Dreams
9. Fall in Love
10. Spend More Time with Family

As a Board certified hypnotherapist, I am wondering how many people are aware of hypnosis as a tool to help them achieve their New Year’s resolution?

If you are curious how hypnosis may help you, be it stop smoking, lose weight or something else, you can get in touch with me at http://www.innerwisdomhypnosis.com