Hypnotherapy in Beckenham

2008-12-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

I have recently moved for the 3rd time in 18 months since leaving Beckenham and moving back to Essex. I am now in the Ashingdon/Rochford area of Essex near Southend on Sea. I have moved my Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy practice here also.

WEBSITES UPDATE

2006-11-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

I've been busy with developing a new website this month. The site is called:

Bromley Healthcare Information

This website is both a community service and a new promotion for myself and a few colleagues.

2006-10-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Take a look at these two new sites belonging to friends of mine:

Caroline's new site is here

Imogen's site is here (I built this one myself)

2006-09-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've built a new website to hold information specific to Critical Incident Debriefing (CISD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is an area I am specialising in these days. Why not go to www.traumaresolution.com and take a look.

Motivational Self-Hypnosis Courses in Bromley

2006-08-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Just a note about my latest project, which is to deliver a unique Motivational Self-Hypnosis course I have been planning for some time. The first two courses are scheduled for Bromley on 25th November 2006 and 27th January 2007. For more information please follow this link

Consider for a moment what it would be like if you could make the changes you want to make in your life. Perhaps you want to change old habits, or perhaps learn new skill. I wonder if you sometimes feel very anxious and this gets in the way of doing what you truly want to do? Just imagine for a moment that you could find the real you, and release all the power and motivation you have deep inside.....You'd like that wouldn't you? Well, this power packed programme will help you to connest with that inner power and start you off on your road to achieving your goals. Interested? Go here for more.

NEW WEBSITES

2006-07-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

I have several new websites and so I have decided to list the main ones here as a reference for anyone who is interested:

Alan Crisp Clinical Hypnotherapist - www.yourtruth.co.uk Original site

Alan Crisp Clinical Hypnotherapist - www.hypnoseek.com Main site

Metaphysical Hypnosis - www.metaphysicalhypnosis.co.uk Dedicated to Metaphysical Hypnosis Techniques

Personal Development and Healing - www.developmentandhealing.com Personal Development Courses commencing in the near future. Includes Self Hypnosis, Self Motivation and Hypnopathworking.

Development Information (a bit of a hobby this one) www.freewebs.com/developmentinformation - Some intersting info....

Therapists United - www.freewebs.com/therapist1 - The website of the therapists support and netwworking group I founded recently.

2006-07-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here are two good sites for free information:

Site one is for free ebooks Templar University about Philosophy, poetry, spirituality, and many other topics.

Site two is free information about Indirect Hypnosis

Try them out.......

Self Hypnosis Training

2006-06-10T00:51:00.000-07:00

I've developed a new side to my business at Development and Healing you can see the website at www.developmentandhealing.com

In late 2006 I'll be providing Motivational Self Hypnosis Courses starting in the Beckenham/Bromley/Croydon area. By mid 2007 these powerful courses will be available at other London, Kent and Surrey Venues on a regular basis.

'Therapists United', the therapists support group I founded in April this year is growing well and the second meeting takes place at Beckenham Public Halls on June 16th. For nore details about the meeting, or to keep up with what's going on with the group, just go to www.freewebs.com/therapist1 . It's worth a visit to the site to gain tipos about marketing if you have a therapy buisness, and there's a listing of group members in-case you might need a therapist from one of the many disciplines represented in the group membership.

Best regards to anyone reading this,

Alan

This is nice!

2006-04-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

If You're Feeling Down Go Here

http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com

CHECK THESE OUT IF YOU WANT TO QUIT SMOKING

2006-04-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Smokers Diary

http://www.testify.freeserve.co.uk/smoke/smoke.html

Terrific site about Tobbaco, Nicotine, Smoking, etc

http://www.whyquit.com

Stop Smoking Hypnotherapy

http://www.freewebs.com/stopsmokinghypnotherapy

Nails in the fence

2006-03-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a motivational story for you:

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a
bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must
hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had
driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned
to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually
dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to
drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He
told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull
out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father
that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and
led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at
the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say
things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a
knife in a man and draw it out.
It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still
there. " A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.
They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to
open their hearts to us."
It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND, even if it means sending
it back to the person who sent it to you. If it comes back to you, then
you'll know you have a circle of friends.
YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONOURED!
Now send this to every friend you have!! And to your family.
Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole.

VERITAS CONSEQUENS

2006-03-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

VERITAS CONSEQUENS

For those of you who know mw, you'll know my personal (and family moto) is 'Veritas Consequens'....Transaltaion = 'Truth According To Reason'....and on that note take a look at www.snopes.com A site devoted to urban myths and whether they are true or not (that is to say did they happen or not, and did they happen just as the story goes)...pop along and take a look.

Alan

What is Life Coaching

2006-02-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

What is life-coaching?

Life-coaching is a means of bridging the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. It will often involve clarifying those two first.
Life-coaching works through a dynamic partnership focussed entirely on the client and the client’s agenda. Our lives have become so complex, opportunities so plentiful, that exploring what’s important to us as individuals and our own unique situation is the quickest and often the only way to know exactly what to change and how to change it. And to identify and move beyond those things that are holding us back from the lives we really want.
In life-coaching, people experience significant shifts in their lives. They become clearer on who they are and what they need in their lives to be fulfilled. Living the live that’s truly right for them, it all becomes easier, more joyful. They also get to do, be or have more of what they want or need in every conceivable area. Better than this, they do so more quickly and easily, with more enjoyment and far less stress. They go from being driven by their needs to being inspired by their goals for life, and they create the conditions to easily sustain this easier, happier way of living.
Clarity
Coaching commences by exploring what the person really wants. Even when people believe they know this, greater clarity and self-awareness emerge through coaching. And sometimes, people discover different aspirations, ones that make them feel very positive, so positive they want to leap out of bed each morning.
The focus of coaching and the skills and objectivity of our coach enable us to know ourselves more fully than ever before. And, rather like a sports coach watching an athlete, a trained listener hears and reflects back to us subtle and fleeting clues to our unique motivations, like a change in voice tone or energy level.
Growth
What we learn about ourselves through coaching will include our potential and gifts, but also anything we may have previously avoided. A priceless benefit of having a coach is that an independent professional with your best interests at heart will tell you necessary truths when others won’t – and tell it within a context of genuine praise and belief in you and your ability to change that makes it easier to hear.
As coaching proceeds clients come to feel more and more comfortable in their lives. However, like anything that stretches you, coaching won’t always feel comfortable. Your coach will challenge you and ask more of you than you would of yourself. You needn’t accept all your coach’s requests but once you choose to commit to something, your coach will hold you to it – and to being the best you can be. As coaching progresses, you will know from your actions that you are indeed capable of more.

You’ll make choices and step outside your comfort zone. But you will do so far more easily than you otherwise would and you’ll notice your comfort zone rapidly expand. Any temporary discomfort is vastly outweighed by the delight of leaping over hurdles you wouldn’t even have approached before, and of living a life that really suits you.
Holistic and sustainable
When we know what we really want for ourselves, we have more energy, focus and direction. Regular coaching builds momentum, sustains inspiration and enables people to be consistently perform at their best. Clients mobilize more effective resources and discover the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable way forward.
All coaching is holistic – no goal is allowed to become more important than the person. Coaching often includes building or fine-tuning an environment and support systems so that they provide the structure that ensures your on-going ease and success. It may involve streamlining, to reclaim energy drained off in secondary activities. And it frequently leads to better resources, be they cutting edge tools for personal development, connections or whatever else will be most useful at that time.
What does life-coaching cover?
Any or all aspects of your life. Some people come for specific issues (such as health, relationships, finances or a transition) or projects (like creating a new life or developing a seminar program). Some come to enjoy more what they’ve already got, to fine-tune some aspects of their life or for self-development. Others are drawn to coaching by a general dissatisfaction or a sense that something could be better. And some create more space for themselves and for spontaneous, joyous action by cutting back on their commitments.
What’s coaching like?
Coaching sessions are friendly, relaxed but focussed and amazingly powerful on many levels. Most coaching takes place through regular, pre-arranged sessions. Email coaching can also be very effective and my clients benefit from both, with email coaching between calls.
Is coaching for you?
Is your life as you want it?
Do you really know who you are?
Are you living at your maximum potential?
Would you like to know yourself better?
Are you ready to change and grow?
Are you worth it?
Do you want to make a difference?
If not now, when?
The best way to explore and experience how you could benefit from life-coaching is in a free, introductory session without obligation of any kind.
Because Alan is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist, you can be assured of the very best support and technical help to get you from where you are now, to where you want to be. Many Life Coaches do not have the depth of experience of working with people and their problems that is afforded by training and experience as a therapist, and so can fall short of your expectations when previously unnoticed problems or challenges intrude into the coaching process. Alan’s experience and knowledge allow him to provide a very thorough and seamless experience for you in developing your inner strengths and overcoming any challenges they present themselves along the way.
Other therapeutic interventions which can be combined to make the process far more effective as required:
· New You
· Self Belief
· Confidence
· Direction in Life
· Hypno-Path Working

See my website at www.hypnoseek.com for more information.

Running for Compassion

2006-02-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well done!!!! I said when Johnny Burke told me he was running in the 2006 London Marathon and that he would be raising funds for the charity: Mental Health Foundation.

I am adding this to my blog because I like to think that readres of my vblog are interested in the health, both mental and physical of themselves and their fellow beings. In this act of compassion for all those suffering from mental health problems, Johnny will be giving all who sponser him a chance to share their compassion and charity for people suffering with mental health problems through through him. Basically, you donate say £10 to sponser Johhny, and thereby manifest your charity and your compassion in the form of the cash, and then Johnny passes this on to the charity who turn it into supplies, caring help, or whatever is required. In this way your charity is applied. Remember though that the charity is your compassion and emotional attachement to your fellows in need and Johnny and the monay are just the medium through which you transfer your charity on to the needy recipient.

As Chuck Berry said (or sang) " GO-GO Johnny...BE (B) GOOD".

That's my sermon for this month.

ALAN

TRANCE AS A TOOL

2006-01-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a great artilce by Dennis Wier. For anyone interested in trance, this has some great insight.

Trance as a Tool Powerful yogic trance states are often created by the long term practice of meditation. When the mind is temporarily anchored in trance, a yogi may become sensitive to subtle influences or may gain enhanced and subtle perceptions. In addition, yogic trance states can also produce effects at a distance. Trance is a repetition or looping of consciousness. When the content of the trance has achieved a resonance, special types of psychic forces are generated. The effects of these special psychic forces are often identified with the behavior which produced them. Trance – for a yogi – is merely a tool consciously chosen to produce a specific result. Trance for most other people is an unconscious choice made to relieve pain or to avoid uncomfortable feelings or situations. Our Unconscious Trance States Most people slip in and out of various kinds of trance states hundreds of times during what is called the "normal waking state." Gurdjieff taught that to become aware that you are asleep is the first step in waking up. If you are interested in staying awake, it is quite helpful, now and then, to count your trances, just to make sure you haven't slipped back into unconsciousness. There are light trances, deep trances, short-term trances and life-long trances. There are pain relieving trances and pain producing trances. There are healing trances and pathological trances. I have been studying trance for the past 25 years and I want to explore with you just a few important areas where trances can be found: hypnosis, addictions, religions and work. So what is a trance? To many psychologists a trance is a state of limited awareness. Some psychologists would also characterize trance as a form of sleep, or dreamlike awareness or a kind of altered state of consciousness. Certainly trance has long been associated with hypnotic states, and with the altered states of consciousness of dervishes, shamans and yogis. Meditation does produce strong trance states. However, in my opinion, trance states are much more common than is normally believed. If the unusual trance state of a shaman or a yogi is desirable, then we might be tempted to believe that all trance states are desirable states. Hypnotic Trances The type of trance studied most has been the hypnotic trance. Milton Erickson, the great psychotherapist, had wonderful and nearly immediate psychological cures in a great many of his patients. His technique was called "Ericksonian hypnosis." Many people tried to explain what it was that he did, because in many cases, his patients claimed that they were not hypnotized and they were not in any kind of trance at all. Erickson's recorded dialogs were analyzed for years to try to find out what it was exactly that made his form of hypnotherapy so successful. Richard Bandler, John Grinder and others were successful in finally analyzing and modelling Erickson's techniques. They devised what they called "neuro-linguistic programming," also known as NLP, which is based primarily on Erickson's techniques. With NLP it is relatively easy to hypnotize a person and to keep that person in a trance state without their being aware that they are in fact in a trance. The technique of pacing and leading a subject from a rich or varied set of thoughts to a limited or impoverished set of thoughts is a technique used consciously by hypnotists, advertisers, sales people, preachers and politicians. Many stage hypnotists use Ericksonian or NLP derived hypnotic techniques in order to induce trance. TV hypnotists on daytime television can induce a trance after only a few minutes of seemingly innocuous talk. During this time, the subject can be given post-hypnotic suggestions to alter behavior and perception in peculiar ways during the TV show. Television advertisers and the designers of commercials are aware of the techniques of Bandler and Grinder and use them often in commercials. The trance-induction potential of television media is well-known and is often used for manipulating consumer tastes. However useful television is for commercial and social control reasons, it cannot be reasonably argued that promoting an impoverished reality is, in the end, really socially beneficial. Salespersons, preachers and politicians are aware of NLP techniques and often consciously use Ericksonian techniques in order to promote their own agendas. As you talk with a salesperson or listen to a preacher or politician you might never admit that you were in a trance of any kind. Have you ever spaced out listening to a preacher? Politicians? Computer software salespersons? Some professional sales training institutes unabashedly teach hypnotic techniques to their sales trainees. It is clear to them that if a buyer is put into a hypnotic trance then it is much easier to sell a product. Because the ethics of using such techniques on the unaware is questionable, some states have laws that give you the right to cancel a contract within 24 or 48 hours of signing. Supposedly, this gives you time to "wake up" from your unconscious state. So how can you tell if you are in one of these ordinary, unconscious trances? You are in a trance when your attention is limited and there is a certain repetition of thoughts. In an extreme case, your attention is so limited that it feels like "tunnel vision." The repetition of thoughts might be mantras, songs, repeating fantasies, or even the math calculations of balancing your checkbook. That song you can't get out of your head indicates a trance. Concentration, when the mind is focused on a specific problem or thought, is also a form of trance. You could characterize trance cybernetically as an awareness loop, or a circular flow of consciousness. Repetition of mantras, the whirling of dervishes, the chanting and drumming of shamans, the repetition of TV commercials all induce trance by limiting your attention and overloading your mind with repeated thoughts. The purposes may be different, the results may be different, but in my opinion the difference in trance is mainly of degree. Once your mind is flying around in a tight loop, at some point you become used to this tight loop. You can also say that you have learned the loop. At that point, you might have the feeling that you can think ordinary thoughts even though another part of your mind is still flying around in this tight loop. The part of you that is the conscious 'you' is the observer of the 'you' that is the automaton flying around in this endless loop. The conscious 'you' is actually in a trance even though you feel perfectly conscious. Here's why. Normally, you have certain cognitive abilities such as the ability to remember things accurately, the ability to make judgements, you are generally aware of your body if you put your mind to it, you are alert to your surroundings, and you generally are not observing yourself doing things, you are doing them. These cognitive abilities draw on our energies. When we learn new things, learning means that we can do it more efficiently. That means, we don't need to put all of our energy into maintaining what we have learned. At the same time, doing something by habit does take some cognitive energy, which leaves our conscious mind a bit short. Particular types of loops will absorb greater amounts of our energy, leaving our conscious minds relatively disabled. When we let our mind go in a loop, and then allow ourselves to step away and observe, the observing part may actually not function at full capacity. That means, your memory might not work so well, you may not be able to make a judgement, you will probably be much more self-observing, you may not be aware of your body, you may not be aware of your surroundings so much because of fixed attention. You might even hallucinate. Some psychologists call this trance logic. What is interesting is that this dissociated or trance state is often combined with rewards. That is, we are generally encouraged to go into trance even though this state results in a somewhat disabled mental condition. Whether you are passively watching TV football, or engaging in rational rigorously precise thoughts, or having an emotional jolt of religious fervor, or feeling patriotic passion, or if you are an addict of any kind, or if you have the compulsive mindset of a mass murderer you are in a trance. Why? Because all these states encourage a fixed, narrow attention span and they all reward the repetition of an impoverished set of thoughts. Most of the above are pathological trances, that is, over the long term they will produce pathologies. It is well-known that when you are in a trance your attention can be diverted effectively enough to produce anesthesia sufficient for dental work or some types of surgery. Lamaze natural childbirth breathing techniques uses the resulting narrowed span of attention to help reduce pain. This narrowing of attention, the concentration of the mind on maintaining the breathing patterns, diverts the attention from the physical pain sensations during childbirth with the result that the mother becomes less aware of any uncomfortable sensations. The power of a mind in a trance can do things which it ordinarily cannot do. Giving birth painlessly is only one example. Trance can also be used to reduce psychological pain such as anxiety, fear, worry, as well as the universal Weltschmerz. Instead of consciously addressing the causes of the pain, trance can successfully divert the attention so that one is aware of neither the pain nor the causes of pain. Hypnotic trance is only one way to remove pain. Alcohol, drug, religion, work, consumption, and TV trance addictions can also be counted as other ways of removing pain. I believe addictions of all sorts are forms of pathological trance. Pathological Trance States and Addictions Addiction can be better understood if we think of it not merely as "substance abuse," or performance addiction, but as a form of an impoverished reality that is maintained by a pathological trance. Limited awareness, tunnel vision, the special characteristic that identifies a dysfunctional, impoverished reality, also identifies a type of pathological trance state that may be also a characteristic of all addictions. If you really want to get into a pathological trance and stay there, here's a general recipe. First, you must impoverish your reality by removing all distractions and limit your awareness to a single, or at most a very few objects of attention. This narrowing of attention can be helped along by the passions inspired by drugs, trauma, by joining some religious or political movements or by staying at home and watching a lot of television or computer screen. It would be a good idea to get rid of distractions like kids, magazines or books – especially books that give you options or make you think about other possibilities. Second, you must convince yourself that all options – other than your chosen perfect ideal, of course – are "evil" and every attempt that your monkey mind makes to have variety must be crushed and that you must keep your mind "pure" and only allow thoughts about your chosen passion. This mental trick will serve to concentrate your attention firmly on the object. Controlling Your Addictive Trances Start at any place in your addictive trance. Addictive trances reward an impoverished thought-set. You can help reduce any addiction by rewarding the enrichment of your thoughts. This means to expand the variety of your thoughts without trying to remove the thoughts you think are the problem. Continue expanding and enriching your thoughts with new and stimulating ideas, people and experiences. When the variety of your thoughts becomes robust, ideas will be self-generating and the addictive trance will naturally cease to exist by definition. While pathological trances are not at all desirable, most people nearly all of the time are either in a pathological trance or are engaged in trying to get others into trance. It is precisely pathological trance, not the yogic trance, that permeates most of our waking reality. It seems to me that once we can identify these pathological trances on a personal level we can take steps to avoid them. If trance is defined as fixated thinking, then nearly all human activities create some type of trance. The bounded circles of thinking that keep us in trances are countless. The entire "ordered universe" is a trance. But there is an escapists pleasure in remaining in trance and a deep human fear of the chaos which can result if there were no trance "order" to life. Socialization itself is the process of putting a person into a long-term trance. You do not go to work naked because of socialization. The socialization process started by parents and continued by religious training, schools, universities and employment in different ways all create a multiplicity of long-term trance-states, the result of which puts you in a bounded circle of limited but socially acceptable activity. Without these long-term trances your life would be more chaotic and perhaps you would be more painfully aware of too many choices. Every choice we make limits our options and makes life seem more manageable. When we stick to our choices at all costs we are in a pathological trance. Perhaps the most important aspect of pathological trance is that it creates an unawareness or a "sleeping state". When your thoughts are limited in variety and your attention becomes fixed, the fixation alters perceptions, can create dream states, visions and hallucinations. In this sleeping state you are unaware of new information. Entranced by the street magician, you are unaware that the pickpocket has removed your wallet. The pathological trance state can create illusions which do not exist and cause the failure to perceive what does exist. On the other hand, the trance state of a yogi can be a tool to illuminate what is not normally perceived. Religious Trance There are religious healers who, by means of their special meditative trances, can perform healings in others. Such healers may certainly be envied for these powers. Yet, unfortunately, even meditative trance states can become pathological trances if they become an end in themselves. By knowing how to identify pathological trances it may be possible to avoid them. Like any other trance, religious states of ecstasy can be created by narrowing ones perception to the religious object. Second, every attraction that would draw you away from the adored and worshiped object must be seen as an impediment in some sense. Third, all rational and ordinary thought can stop. When this is accomplished, the only content left in the mind are the artefacts of the religious object, and this, and the resulting perceptions, is what the supplicant may appreciate as "religious ecstasy." So long as the ecstasy does not become an end in itself these trance states may be very valuable. Proselytizing religions often use methods that will induce trance. Peer pressure, confessional types of testimonials, sense deprivation, lack of contradicting testimony, hysteria, hyper- emotionalism all contribute to constrain awareness and to increase suggestibility. Suggestibility continued over time will give rise to hallucinatory trance states. When combined with the rewards of stress release, the trances become pathological and addictive. Religious fervor, as a state which feeds upon itself without end, is also quite definitely an addiction or a pathological trance state. The concentrative force of trance can also block out any sense of compassion for humans, and can be itself the basis for unimaginable cruelties. Religious addiction often carries with it an intransigence and intolerance of different points of view that can be as dangerous as a drug addict with a loaded gun. When religious fervor is combined with the rule of law and armed with deadly force, religious addicts effectively stop the evolution of a better type of human being.
Trance in the Workplace The person who can put long, continuous hours at a difficult job may only be capable to doing this if in a trance. The pleasures of an engaging job can produce feelings of timeless states. Repetitive jobs narrow the attention to only the work at hand. Part of the mind is engaged in the job, but another part of the mind is free to dream. The dream-state produced is exactly characteristic of trance. In this dream-state, the work is being performed, but the worker is not necessarily aware of working. He may be visualizing a beach, having sexual or power fantasies or other hypnoidal and hypnotic dreams. The worker seems awake, but is really in a trance of reduced awareness. Work addicts are almost revered for their devotion to the duty to work. Calvin and Zwingli have convinced entire societies that the person who works and makes money is closer to God and has most assuredly has an eternal lease in one of heaven's plushier communities. Employers love work addicts because of this devotion which so enhances profit. Work addictions are not limited to any one particular industry. As a professional computer consultant, I have seen how some employers shamelessly exploit willing computer programmers who are addicted to computers. Trance in the work place makes it easier to control information and employees. If an employee only does the job and knows neither what others are doing nor how they do it, that employee will never become a threat to the owners of the business. One presumes – falsely – that the owners of a business would be the only ones who would be aware of what their business is really doing. Yet, owners are themselves in trance and many times keep their attentions on the "bottom line." They, too, may not be aware of the social or environmental impacts of their business. Unfortunately, one of the disastrous side-effects of most trances is that they not only inhibit awareness but also they disable communication. One cannot communicate what one is not aware of. The most serious social side effect of pathological trance is the reduced awareness and disabled communication. Communi- cation of information is critical for any system to function. Human systems as well as computer systems, ecological, biological, political and social systems and more all require clear, accurate, timely communication of information in order to function. The lack of clear, accurate, or timely communication between individuals is the basis for misunderstandings, disappointments, hurt feelings, resentment, and violence. The human, economic, agricultural, industrial and social systems that rely on people who are in pathological trance has disastrous consequences. Pathological trance is unfortunately almost universally encouraged within business organizations. The more an employee can with single-minded determination execute the orders and policies of his organization, the more that employee is rewarded, promoted and respected. Single-mindedness, however, is a pathological trance. And trance always implies that there are areas where the employee is "asleep", unaware. When organizations encourage trance in their employees, and since trance disables communication, then there can be no wonder why there are so many system dysfunctions in the world. When, unlike a yogi, we do not choose our trances, and we are unaware of the types and nature of the pathological trances in our lives, then there are things we are unaware of. What we are unaware of causes more human suffering than the sometimes painful knowledge of the truth. One goal of a robust and magical life is to be as aware as possible of our options. When our unconscious pathological trances cripple our options the result is often disaster and tragedy in our personal lives, our society and in the environment. The foregoing was part of an article on trance.

by Dennis Wier

New (Free) Stop-Smoking Prep Session

2006-01-06T04:08:00.000-08:00

In December 2005 I introduce a free initial session for Stop-Smoking Therapy even though my clients success rate is second to none, because:

I realised over many sessions with clients stopping smoking with me, that I could provide them with an even better service giving added value to their session by:

Finding out a little about them, their smoking habit and the major things in their life at the moment prior to their session (each session is tailored for the individual client).

This allows me to help them to prepare for their session so as not to be nervous about the hypnosis, giving a couple of little tips that will also help to prepare for the session (all free of charge).

This ensures a great hypnosis experienced for all of my clients.

If a person presents to me as a heavy smoker (30 plus per day), or if they have been smoking for many years (20 plus), or if they are experiencing a higher than average level of stress in their life at this time, then I will normally suggest a short foundation/prep session of 50 minutes which is charged at just £35 including CD. This session is all about preparation and is not a hypnotic session. The CD clients take away with them teaches them to relax and distress and lowers their general stress levels before they attend the stop-smoking session about a week later.

I know most clients are successful in staying stopped as I get lots of referrals for smoking and weight loss and other problems from them.

I’ve been providing stop-smoking sessions for some time now and have plenty of experience, and want to give the very best service I can as it leads to more referrals and better press for me as well as a truly excellent experience for my clients…..

There is an added benefit to stop-smoking with me, as I give a stay stopped CD and a relaxation and stress relief CD to clients on completion of their session. These CDs ensure my clients can sail through their first few days as a non-smoker virtually stress free and feeling very positive about being a non-smoker and about life in general.

I really care about the people I work with and want their success as much as they do. I guess I just like people (after all, I am one myself….. a person that is).

THERAPEUTIC HEALING JOURNEY WITH HYPNOSIS

2005-12-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have just added this special support therapy to my list at a very reduced fee to help those who really need.

The purpose of a hypnotherapeutic healing journey is to promote and support healing by assisting people with cancer or other life-altering illnesses to access their own healing potential and their ability to thrive. This is done by teaching them to visualise their inner healer at work and they are taken through a healing journey process during the session.

These hour long sessions are provided at a greatly reduced fee as a community and humanitarian service to those who would like to use this powerful therapy to assist them in achieving greater wellbeing in mind and body.

Although hypnoanylists believe that many people with illnesses like those listed above may also benefit greatly from hypnoanalysis to identify and remove any causes of negativity that may be locked deep inside the subconscious mind. Clients who attend healing journey hypnotherapy sessions will receive information about hypnoanalysis and other psychotherapeutic interventions but no pressure to book such sessions will be applied.

Please be assured of a wonderfully relaxing session which will create deep feelings of positivity and healing when you attend healing journey hypnotherapy.

These sessions are always very popular and so advanced booking is recommended. The fee per 60 minute session is just £35 and includes an audio CD for you to take home and continue to use following your session, and this represents exceptional value.

When booking, please state the nature of your illness, e.g.: Cancer, HIV/Aids, ME/CFS

Pathworking

2005-12-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hypnotherapy Pathworking

Hypnotherapy Pathworking is a wonderful technique suitable for many individuals to use as they work through a complete life analysis in order to clear and rectify any bad programming, negative thought patterns or repressed memories.

Through the use Hypnotherapy Pathworking techniques, it is possible to illuminate hidden aspects of your personality. This exploration of your inner landscape reveals your world and your truth as your subconscious mind sees it. This gives a perspective that enables your therapist to guide you to make dramatic changes, even to the point of rooting out neurosis, and healing psychological trauma.

Hypnotherapy Parthworking can also be very satisfying as you are guided through the beginnings of a great journey that will give you balance and confidence to tackle whatever comes your way in life, and help you to create the future you truly desire for yourself.

This excellent technique is based on very sound psychological principles and yet takes much of its form from shamanism and the ancient mystical arts. Truly a powerful tool you can continue to use and build with once the basics and the initial clearings are completed with your therapist.

In pathworking, the therapist guides you through a gentle induction into a trance state and you find your way into your own inner kingdom. In this inner kingdom you are the king, the ruler, and you will find that once you find your inner kingdom you will be able to create a wonderful place for you to go to work out any of life’s challenges that are troubling you. This is done through interplay with the characters you will meet in your inner kingdom. These characters will be generated by your powerful subconscious mind and will represent parts of your own personality, and they will help you to find the causes for any negative thinking, bad habits, or illogical worries ort thoughts you may have from time to time. You are in control here and anything you see or feel is there to help you to be more and more the person you want to be, so that you can really enjoy being you and all that being you means. It would be true to say that pathworking is also akin to ‘parts therapy’ but its skilful use can take you far beyond the reach of any standard parts therapy, and it becomes a regular practice for many who find they can create the life they want for themselves with this powerful and ancient technique following their use of it to analyse and balance their life. This commencement with analysing and balancing is of vital importance to allow the strongest of foundations on which to build your future.

More motivation

2005-12-13T02:04:00.000-08:00

A man found an eagle
A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chickens did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked, cackled, and would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle grew to adulthood. One day he saw a magnificent bird high above him in a cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
(First ending) The eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of birds," said his friend. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth--we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.
(Second ending) The eagle looked up in awe and said, "Who's that?" His friend answered, "That's the eagle, the king of birds. He belongs to the sky. We belong to earth--we are chickens." The eagle went through the day thinking of the eagle flying high. The next day the eagle went down to the pond. When he saw his reflection in the water, he noticed that he looked a lot like an eagle. He began to test his wings, flying further and further each day. After a few weeks, he was flying high and gliding just as if he were an eagle. He realized that he was an eagle. He realized that he was an eagle and not a chicken. With that thought he flew above his past and his environment.
Are you a chicken or an eagle?

Motivation

2005-12-13T02:02:00.000-08:00

Breaking through shells

A few years ago, the cover of a prominent religious journal showed a picture of a chick just having burst out of its shell. Many people wrote to that journal to say that it was not a religious enough picture for the Easter edition. But what could be more relevant and religious than a small creature having grown and strong enough breaking free of the shell which had housed and protected it while it grew and had given it strength in the struggle to be free but which had now become a restriction to further growth.
Is there a shell you need to break through today? Old negative habits?, out of date and restrictive belief systems?, your comfort zone?) Sometimes these shells are caused by physical limitations, sometimes emotional limitations, sometimes spiritual limitations and sometimes a combination of any or all three.
The fertilized egg begins to develop a baby chick. By positive inner action, growth and development, the chick begins to grow. It begins to pick at its shell until at last it breaks and the chick is free. We have within our mind the ability to grow and develop beyond what we may have thought possible. By your mental unfolding, and with the help of hypnosis, you can leave your hurts, disappointments and failures behind and break through your shell into a brighter more positive future.
Think again of the chick breaking out of its shell: a soft, helpless chick begins to pick at the fixed and rigid limits of its world and keeps picking until those limits give way and it is able to stand erect and free. You may have seen a butterfly working hard at releasing itself from a cocoon. Again, it does not give up until it is free and the struggle is necessary to strengthen the butterfly’s wings for flight. Without this strength it could not fly or survive. If a little chick can break through such a tough shell…if a tiny butterfly can break out of a cocoon….then you can break through your perceived limitations and restrictions and fly free.

About stress help

2005-12-13T00:11:00.000-08:00

About Belief

Let’s say that your goal is to be a thin person; You want to lose weight. That is the content of what you may have failure feelings about, the actual ability and capability for you to lose weight.

Now ask yourself: What is some other goal that you are already sure that you will be able to get to in the future? An example might be: I know I am going to take a vacation. I planned this vacation and it’s coming up in two weeks, and there might be a problem at work, and there might be problems with baggage handlers at the airport, and the plane might be late, but I am going to take that vacation. I will get there somehow.

The point is that it is not so much a belief that the goal will happen as it is a belief about your capability to make goals happen.

We never know reality in the future. That is not the point. The point is to organise our thoughts and expectations about a desired goal in the very same way you would organise your thoughts and expectations about goals that you believe you can accomplish.

For instance: Maybe I can say I have confidence that I can buy a new car. Now, what I need to do is to take all the things about losing weight, and make them fit into the same framework as the way I think about buying a car.

Bottom line: It’s only a belief, and hard though it might be…it can be changed.

What is stress and how can Hypnotherapy help to reduce and manage it?

Stress can be defined as a state we experience when there is a mismatch between perceived demands and our perceived ability to cope. Stress can also be defined as an adaptive response by a body to change in the environment. Stress response evolved to enable humans to deal with life-threatening dangers or stressors such as being confronted with a wild animal or perhaps a hostile human. Situations like this required action – the activation of stress response to wither stay and fight or to run away.

Today we hopefully won’t have to face the same dangers as our ancestors but the stress response to demanding situations we face is still with us and our mind and body still prepare for fight or flight when confronted with this equivalent of the wild animal. This is where the problem may begin as activation of the fight or flight response with no physical outlet, such as if we are stuck in a traffic jam and can’t fight it or flee it, or maybe an unfair confrontation in the workplace where once again the response for action may be triggered but we cant vent it by fighting or running away without consequences we would rather avoid. Perhaps both of these events and more are experienced on the same day, perhaps every day, and the stress builds within us until it can damage our health if a solution is not found

Stress isn’t always bad – the stress response was designed to help and protect us and some people even place themselves in stressful situations they know they can handle for excitement and ‘the rush’ as it is often called.

We all experience stress in different ways depending upon our personality type, conditioning and possible training also.

When we face a stressor but perceive we have the ability to deal with it successfully a feeling of success and achievement can be gained. Getting the balance right between good stress to motivate us and encourage us to grow, and our ability to cope with the stress is possibly the key to remaining healthy, positive and active in whatever arena of life we find ourselves.
Our ability to cope with stress can be affected by our diet and the intake of good substances that out body needs to remain strong and flexible and to repair itself when needed. Also we should avoid anything that could cause us to be more stressed or weaker such as drugs, alcohol, smoking etc.

Finally, stress can be external, some event or situation that is causing stress, or internal, attitudes or emotions that lead to stress (anxiety, guilt, low self esteem, fear, etc).

What is the Fight/Flight Response? Why do we still have it?

The ‘Fight or Flight Response’ is a physiological reaction and is the body’s response to a stressor.

Changes in hormones prepare a person to either stay and deal with a stressor or to take flight/run away. This immediate state of alarm is when the body prepares to take action, and in this state a person will be extremely alert to their surroundings but also very anxious and possibly unable to concentrate.

The body will slow down systems not vital in responding to the stressor, such as the digestive system, which is why a person in a fight or flight situation may have a dry mouth and a nervous/upset stomach. The body will make other preparations such as improved cooling for the body as more energy is used and this will result in perspiration.

The fight or flight response is a very old and very basic response and has been with us for a very long time. It was originally a response to danger that would prepare our ancestors to fight the wild beast or the enemy who might suddenly threaten or confront them, or to take flight and literally run away from the danger.

This response is triggered when we send a message of alarm to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This area of the brain will then send a signal to the glands to release adrenaline, cortisol and endorphin into the blood stream. Increased levels of adrenaline increase heart rate and blood flow which in turn brings extra oxygen and glucose to the muscles. Cortisol causes an increase in amino-acids and sugars in the blood. Amino-acids are crucial for the repair and recovery of damaged tissues which may occur under stress and the blood sugar adds to the availability of glucose (fuel) for the body.

The release of endorphin, which is a morphine like substance only more powerful, provides the body’s natural tranquilizing system. Pain is blocked and a feeling of euphoria may be experienced, both helping to get the body through the situation it finds itself in due to stress.

We still have this response as it remains necessary to prepare and protect us in times of alarm, such as being involved in an emergency situation or being confronted with any form of potentially life threatening danger.

Once the initial stages of this fight or flight response are over, a person will have a psychological reaction to the stressor which will be based upon many variables including, personality type, conditioning, age, physical and mental ability, and knowledge relevant to the situation to be dealt with.

It is very often this fight or flight response kicking in that we tend to call a panic attack…what actually happens is that we may be in a situation where we can’t fight or flight, such as a meeting or on a train, and so we become more and more anxious and may feel as though we will pass out, or be sick, or any one opf a number of responses. What often happens then, is we find we have a desperate need to urinate, and that is another way the subconscious mind will sometimes attempt to gain our attention and force us to leave the arena in which we find ourselves at the time. It is normally the feeling of not being able to escape, and knowing that we might have this strong feeling to fight or flight that causes much of the anxiety and expectation of problems for most people who find they need help to overcome their problem.

Also, many people….no…that should be most people who suffer from panic attacks and anxiety will normally have the need for some Obsessive compulsive actions in their life…it can often be a type of coping, or controlling strategy….and more of that in another article.

Why hypnotherapy is totally different from any other form of therapy?

Hypnotherapy is different from any other form of therapy because of the way in which the therapy part happens while one is in hypnosis. Put another way, hypnotherapy is a very effective combination of hypnosis, or deep relaxation, and the chosen therapy, which might be for example; suggestion therapy or analysis.

Hypnosis allows an individual to enter a state of deep relaxation which in itself is a very useful therapy for combating stress. It also allows one to become calm and focused, as all parts of the mind work together and concentrate on solving the problem at hand, and therefore making the very best use of the chosen therapy as it is applied.

Why it is so helpful in cases of stress, anxiety and panic attacks?

Hypnosis is a state in which the conscious critical faculty is temporarily suspended or distracted and in which all parts of the mind work in harmony for the good of the whole being.

When in hypnosis an individual can become very relaxed and at the same time very aware and ‘sharp’, mentally focused.

For the computer literate, I would liken hypnosis to the ‘safe mode’ on a computer, where if a part of the system is acting up or malfunctioning, placing the system in safe mode allows for investigation and repair to be carried out safely while minimising the risk to the normal operating systems. In some sports it would be like a ‘time-out’, where all parts of the team come together briefly to review the current state of play, to identify where poor choices may have affected the outcomes and to choose a new strategy to move forward with.

In the normal hurly burly of life we seldom have time to take a time out, or to go into safe mode to pull together our resources and to calmly take stock and plan our best way forward. Hypnosis then, is a safe, relaxing state in which we can let go the tensions in and around us for a short period, and in which, if we desire it, a skilled therapist can guide us through the stages of investigation, discovery, planning and repair we may need.

Hypnotherapy therefore provides relaxation (and clients of good therapists learn self-hypnosis so they can find this deep relaxation for themselves) and is therefore useful at even this basic level, as a kind of first aid. The good therapist will help the client to find any repressed emotions, triggers and false instincts from the past that are a kind of out-of-date, erroneous, or maybe just no longer wanted or needed programming, that loops around once triggered to cause us much anxiety and feelings of panic, but we often don’t know why. Following this, the wonderful power of hypnotic suggestion, and possible Neuro-Linguistic programming will be used to provide new and efficient programming to support moves forward into a much more positive life with a better outlook on everything.

Choose your therapist carefully. They should be well qualified and experienced in helping people with the condition you have. Look for the letters DHP and GQHP after the therapist’s name, and they should be a full member of one of the major organisations supporting such therapists. Choose one that is covered by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council to be certain of validity.

Alan Crisp DHP, GQHP, MASC, MBIH, LNCP, GHR/GHSC Reg
Consulting Clinical Hypnotherapist
Full Professional Member of the National Phobics Society
www.yourtruth.co.uk www.hypnoseek.com

Insights about belief

2005-12-13T00:08:00.000-08:00

My new blogg

2005-12-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

Hi,

This is my new blogg page to keep anyone and everyone who is interested up to date with what I am doing in the wonderful world of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. If you would like to see more information, please visit www.yourtruth.co.uk and www.hypnoseek.com

I am always interested to hear from other therapists of any discipline, or anyone who would like more information about what I do.

best regards,

Alan