HypnoMiracles

Hypno-Miracles

Dr. David C. James, CHT

In the 1986 movie, "Star Trek: The Voyage Home," the intrepid crew of the USS Enterprise travelled back in time to 20th Century San Francisco on a mission of great importance. During their adventure a crew member sustains a serious head wound. Contemporary doctors decree that the injured man will have to have open skull surgery to repair the extensive damage. Just in the nick of time, Dr. "Bones" McCoy arrives and before the attendants can get the patient into surgery he pulls out a two inch stainless steel cylinder with lights flashing at the tip and with a few circular motions around the wounded man’s head…viola, he is completely well and able to get up off the gurney and return to duty. One of the take away lines from that scene was when Dr. McCoy heard what the 20th Century surgeons had in store, he shook his head and said "Barbarians."

One cultural commentator observed that twelve gadgets from the Star Trek series, from the hand held communicator (cell phone) to the computer touch screen are now part of our day to day experience, but alas the hand-held subdural hematoma scanner and repair tool isn’t. So for the time being, the delicate and dangerous work of brain surgery still takes place in an operating room.

In this article I’d like to dispel a common myth for people who are thinking about beginning the life changing journey of hypnosis. Like brain surgery, hypnosis has yet to develop a hypno-miracle where all the client has to do is comfortably relax in the reclining chair and when they open their eyes, they have stopped smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day, their metabolism is reset so they are losing 20 pounds of weight a month, or their decades long struggle with insomnia is healed forever.

Now please don’t misunderstand me…the mind is powerful and hypnosis is a potent and effective tool to make positive and lasting change. It is now a fact, (not a theory) that people have experienced great change in cases of Lupus, Parkinson’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Hysterical Blindness, cancer, heart disease, crippling depression and more using the power of their mind alone! In his book "You are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter," (Hay House) Dr. Joe Dispenza shows how tools like hypnosis can change our neurology and the ways that we interact with our genetic processes (epigenetics) to release healing power through our entire body.

Study after study have demonstrated how broken bones heal faster, surgical procedures can be performed without anesthesia, and pain can be reduced without prescription medicines all through the power of hypnosis. Fertility issues can be resolved and then hypnobirthing can ease the pain of labor and delivery thanks to the power and effectiveness of hypnosis. Fibromyalgia pain can be banished and burn patients suffering can be reduced when hypnosis is introduced into the recovery process.

The benefits of hypnosis are not confined to physical healing and symptom relief however. Study after study have shown how hypnosis can help people reduced their anxiety or depression, increase their academic, business or sports performance, stop smoking or lose weight. One client asked me, "Well what is hypnosis not good for?" I told them that the power of hypnosis is so great that as a rule of thumb I’d argue that whatever the mind creates, we can use hypnosis to help the mind correct.

As I suggested earlier though, people who aren’t familiar with hypnotherapy often don’t understand that, as powerful as the mind is, the journey to healing and well-being is just that…a journey. This is not to say that even with a first hypnosis session powerful things don’t begin to happen, but it is rare that miracles take place on the first visit. It is likely that follow-up sessions are going to be necessary as the layers of the mind are engaged in an ever deeper way to bring about the change desired.

As in every successful therapeutic relationship there are two people involved, the therapist and the client. Such is the case with hypnotherapy as well. The hypnotherapist is trained and certified to lead the client into the hypnotic state and use their powerful tools to work with the sub-conscious mind where change takes place. But the client has a role to play as well. The client needs to be as "present" as they can be in the session and often the therapist gives homework to the client to do between sessions to reinforce the power of the hypnotic process, and it is absolutely essential that the homework gets done. After all, the hypnotherapist has you for one hour out of one hundred sixty eight hours in a week! So whether the therapist provides CD’s/downloads to listen to or other assignments, the client benefits greatly by participating fully in this adventure. Like any therapeutic relationship, trust between client and therapist will grow over time, but it is important that both give their best efforts towards the client’s progress.

Often the hypnotherapist gets asked the question "how many sessions is it going to take before I accomplish my goals?" The only ethical answer that a therapist can give is "I don’t know." That is not to say that hypnotherapy is a never ending process; we know for example that most people who want to quit smoking can do it in 4-6 sessions and that clients with pain can experience some relief pretty quickly. Each case, however is different since each client’s mind process is unique and wonderful. This shouldn’t be a cause for discouragement, but rather a case for optimism: your hypnotherapist is going to take you on one of the most important journeys of your life and at the end of the process you will be amazed at the power of your mind!

All you have to do to see the power of hypnosis is to "Google" a search of "Celebrities and Hypnosis" to see how many have used hypnotherapy to make incredible changes in their lives and careers. But Google doesn’t tell the whole story as it doesn’t see what we see in our hypnotherapy offices every day; people like you and me whose lives have been changed for the better because we believed in the power of our mind. Who knows…you might even experience a hypno-miracle yourself and in the process discover that your dreams can come true.

Dr. David James is a Certified Hypnotherapist, Author, Public Speaker and Meditation Teacher in Los Angeles. He is available for hypnotherapy in person in the Los Angeles area and around the world with Skype.